WH chassis vs Ford chassis handing

[Gjac]

I read on here a lot about how to improve the handing of the Ford chassis, CHF, sway bars, shocks etc. I have not read as much about the WH handling issues. I have only test drove one WH and about 6 Ford MH's. In a short test drive performance seemed the same from 40-60 mph on similar length MH's except the Ford was much louder. Both seemed ok on the hwy to me with no passing trucks or north east pot holes to contend with. Can any one that has owned both comment on the ride quality of the WH vs Ford?

[Gjac]

hanko wrote:
no body would actually know how much HP and torque were added unless you did a before and after dyno test. The figures they give you are BS. I have also added full banks power pack and the 5 star tune and although I can tell it does improve performance especially in the hills I think banks hp gains are very optimistic
.

Performance gains are highly subjective to say the least. I have tried to quantify each performance mod with 40-60 mph times on a flat Hwy. Before any mods headers,CAI,FF muffler, advancing timing my MH took 19 secs to go from 40-60 mph, after the mods the time was reduced to 12 secs, a significant improvement in performance. Improved performance on a flat translates to improved hill climbing and less downshifting which to me is very important.

[timmac]

Gjac wrote:

timmac wrote:
Yep I did the CHF and I also have 4 air bags and went with the softer Monroe RV shocks, sound proof the doghouse and under the floors on drivers/passenger side, also I have the full Banks Power Pack system and 5 Star Tuning to make it shift better.

My ride comfort is a 100 percent better than the day I bought it.

. Tim, in your opinion which was a better performance mod the Banks or the 5 star tuning? How much HP did each add?

The Banks was installed by the last owner and I installed the 5 star tuning, the 5 star seem to really wake up the V-10 with the Banks.

Not bragging but when towing my 6500 lb setup behind motorhome I went over the Rockies on I-70 and did better than most semis and never had it floored.

I thought I was going to struggle but to my surprised it did very well, will never fear any mountain again.

[hanko]

no body would actually know how much HP and torque were added unless you did a before and after dyno test. The figures they give you are BS. I have also added full banks power pack and the 5 star tune and although I can tell it does improve performance especially in the hills I think banks hp gains are very optimistic
.

[Gjac]

timmac wrote:
Yep I did the CHF and I also have 4 air bags and went with the softer Monroe RV shocks, sound proof the doghouse and under the floors on drivers/passenger side, also I have the full Banks Power Pack system and 5 Star Tuning to make it shift better.

My ride comfort is a 100 percent better than the day I bought it.

. Tim, in your opinion which was a better performance mod the Banks or the 5 star tuning? How much HP did each add?

[timmac]

Yep I did the CHF and I also have 4 air bags and went with the softer Monroe RV shocks, sound proof the doghouse and under the floors on drivers/passenger side, also I have the full Banks Power Pack system and 5 Star Tuning to make it shift better.

My ride comfort is a 100 percent better than the day I bought it.

[Gjac]

timmac wrote:

Gjac wrote:

crasster wrote:
Most with Ford & Chevy Chassis seem to really think they handle well. Drive both and see which you like is probably the best advice I can give.

The Ford in particular I have not heard any complaints on the handling.

I guess that is why I asked the question because I have heard more complaints on here about the Ford over the WH. I am currently looking at a 22k lb Ford chassis and see a lot of mods folks on here talk about like the CHF (Cheap handing fix) which most report really helps the ride. I would rather not start adding track bars and such to get a decent ride.

The reason you have heard of more complaints on the Ford chassis is because there is more of them on the road, they all need some improvement to make it ride better, as to noise I don't know about that, I had a 2002 Flair with the 8.1 on a P-32 chassis and was more nosier than my current 08 Bounder on a Ford chassis, I also sound proofed the dog house and now its even more quiet.

Ford did lots of upgrades 2006 and newer with the chassis, motor and trans.

Pick the motorhome by the layout 1st chassis 2nd than make chassis improvements to make it ride better.

. I noticed that the newer Fords were much quieter than the older ones I tested. The fist Ford I tested I though the engine was going to blowin second gear. My old 454 was much quieter. It reached max torque at 1800 rpms , also because I put an extra layer of insulation. Did you do the so called CHF on yours?

[timmac]

Gjac wrote:

crasster wrote:
Most with Ford & Chevy Chassis seem to really think they handle well. Drive both and see which you like is probably the best advice I can give.

The Ford in particular I have not heard any complaints on the handling.

I guess that is why I asked the question because I have heard more complaints on here about the Ford over the WH. I am currently looking at a 22k lb Ford chassis and see a lot of mods folks on here talk about like the CHF (Cheap handing fix) which most report really helps the ride. I would rather not start adding track bars and such to get a decent ride.

The reason you have heard of more complaints on the Ford chassis is because there is more of them on the road, they all need some improvement to make it ride better, as to noise I don't know about that, I had a 2002 Flair with the 8.1 on a P-32 chassis and was more nosier than my current 08 Bounder on a Ford chassis, I also sound proofed the dog house and now its even more quiet.

Ford did lots of upgrades 2006 and newer with the chassis, motor and trans.

Pick the motorhome by the layout 1st chassis 2nd than make chassis improvements to make it ride better.

[Gjac]

crasster wrote:
Most with Ford & Chevy Chassis seem to really think they handle well. Drive both and see which you like is probably the best advice I can give.

The Ford in particular I have not heard any complaints on the handling.

I guess that is why I asked the question because I have heard more complaints on here about the Ford over the WH. I am currently looking at a 22k lb Ford chassis and see a lot of mods folks on here talk about like the CHF (Cheap handing fix) which most report really helps the ride. I would rather not start adding track bars and such to get a decent ride.

[crasster]

Most with Ford & Chevy Chassis seem to really think they handle well. Drive both and see which you like is probably the best advice I can give.

The Ford in particular I have not heard any complaints on the handling.

[tommykelly]

wa8yxm are you back on the road...I have read a few 8.1 engines that blew for no apparent reason...and there have been a few v10 engines also...

[wa8yxm]

Have not owned a ford but I can tell you about WH

Sway: not a problem, this is a 37'7" class A and it is not a problem

Tracking (Trac bar) or WAG. I added a FRONT track bar.. Seems to have helped
Also added a TRU-CENTER steering stabilizer.. Likewise.

Plan on adding a 2nd (Rear) track bar later.. but well, right now she drives nice so not sure if it will help.. Just covering the base.

[Stormy_Eyes]

I am happy with my WH. Back when it was new, the original owner paid a significant premium for WH over Ford. I test drive both Ford and WH models when I was shopping, and found acceptable some rides in both lines. There was a brake recall, and if you select a WH make sure the recall has been completed (if applicable).

If you select or are negotiting on. WH and have questions, there is an active WH forum on another rv site. Lots of loyal owners wish WH would get back in the rv chassis business.

[tropical36]

K Charles wrote:
Usually the taller the tire the better the ride. Wheel base, overhang and weight distribution have a lot to do with handling and ride. Some WH chassis' are better then others and some Ford's are better then others.

Probably one of the better WH chassis, was the W24.
Also, I believe that Hellwig has a suspension package for it, that's supposed to improve things considerably.

[crawford]

I believe you find Ford has many more the Chevy out there since the GM company no longer make them. Now I say Gas engine's but I love my Ford 53 chassis with my Georgetown triple slide 34.5. With the 3 valve per cylinder V10.