Itasca Latitude Rear gas Pusher. Opinions

[John___Angela]

Hi folks. We have a friend who is looking at buying a 2008 Itasca rear gas pusher. I know little about these things. Would love to hear some opinions, motors, transmissions used etc. Whadayathink?

Thanks in advance.

[xctraveler]

The RV market went bust along with the economy in 2008 so new ventures were not well received. GM stopped making the Vortec 8.1 L V8, it really was antiquated and not suitable to modern emissions requirements and Navistar acquired WorkHorse and did not have a suitable diesel engine to swap in. There was no other available gas engine, certainly not a Ford as they were building their own chassis. Thus what seemed like an excellent idea vanished.

[John___Angela]

RLS7201 wrote:
There was a water pump issue with the Workhorse gas pusher. Workhorse installed a redesigned fan clutch to correct the problem.

Richard

Thanks Richard

[RLS7201]

There was a water pump issue with the Workhorse gas pusher. Workhorse installed a redesigned fan clutch to correct the problem.

Richard

[John___Angela]

MagillaGorilla wrote:
So if there are no problems with a Gas Pusher, why did they stop making them and why were there so few made? It seems like most people would prefer the engine out back. So why doe MFGs not make them any longer?

Timing maybe, RV's and motorhomes had a few rough years around the time they came out. Might have just been simply a question of production. I think the chassis manufacturer also shut down at that time. Good question.

[MagillaGorilla]

So if there are no problems with a Gas Pusher, why did they stop making them and why were there so few made? It seems like most people would prefer the engine out back. So why doe MFGs not make them any longer?

[John___Angela]

Lash wrote:
Anyone who says the UFO has an overheating problem do not know what they are talking about. I have a UFO and have put over 57K on it in some of the hottest summers on record and have no overheating issues. Great chassis and if you are so inclined it would be a great purchase.

Regards

Thanks for the info Lash. I was collecting information for a friend who was looking at and ended up buying it. I like it.

[Lash]

Anyone who says the UFO has an overheating problem do not know what they are talking about. I have a UFO and have put over 57K on it in some of the hottest summers on record and have no overheating issues. Great chassis and if you are so inclined it would be a great purchase.

Regards

[John___Angela]

Mr.Mark wrote:
John, how many miles are on the unit?

I can see the interest with having the heat of the engine in the rear instead of up front.

MM.

I'm going to see it again tomorrow so I'll take a look but I think around 13,000 miles. If the generator is running (marquis 5500) when you start the engine you have to watch the gauges or you'll never know it's running. :). Kinda cool. .)

[Mr_Mark1]

John, how many miles are on the unit?

I can see the interest with having the heat of the engine in the rear instead of up front.

MM.

[John___Angela]

So had a chance to play around with it a bit. Kinda cool. Dead quiet. If there is any noise in the rig you won't know its running. Power is fine. Its on a sprung chassis, juice breaks. Overall not bad. Coach is a mid-line but seems well screwed together. Clean and simple lines. Anyway, thanks for the input from all.

[johnsonbert]

There is a member on here by the name of "Gramps", and I believe on IRV2.com also, that has a wealth of knowledge on the UFO pusher, and has one, not sure if it was a Monaco or Itasca, but you might try searching for any of his posts. As I remember, he talked quite highly of the UFO that he has, and I do not think overheating was an issue with the UFO gas chassis, that I recall reading. Hope this May help. Bert

[xctraveler]

sch911 wrote:
It's gotta be the Workhorse UFO chassis with an 8.1 I think....

It is the only chassis that had a gas pusher. I understand they had resolved the overheating issues. I really wanted one, but there were so few built and the mfg I wanted didn't build any at all.

I loved my 8.1 L Vortec engine for 110K miles!

[sch911]

It's gotta be the Workhorse UFO chassis with an 8.1 I think....

[moisheh]

Hi John: Very few of any rear gas pushers have been reliable. Lots of overheating problems. What engine ? What chassis?

Moisheh