Workhorse Opinions

[vjstangelo]

OK, once again we have found a promising used Class A, a 2009 Damon Challenger 371. It has about 10,000 miles. The motor/transmission is 8.1 with Allison.

My current tow vehicle is a Ford Excursion with the 310 HP V10, and 4R100 transmission. Short of the transmission blowing a front seal, the power train has been flawless for 123,000 miles.

I am wary of the 8.1, just because the V10 has been flawless.

If you own a Workhorse with the 8.1, please let me know your thoughts.

Thanks.

[xctraveler]

Not so much. Just reread the OP. They are just asking for opinions about the 8.1 they are considering buying. Frosty Mom has brought up another topic altogether. Haven't read back to remember her question but she was not the OP.

[Bird_Freak]

camper_ron wrote:

Frosty's Mom wrote:
good to hear so many happy with their 8.1 w22....i'm still scratching my head and wondering then what happened to our 8.1 w22 with the allison tranny. and this from a one-owner coach who supposedly was extremely conscientious about maintenance.

Easy, 8.1 Vorteck could not meet EPA standards so it was discontinued. I read where a new Workhorse engine is almost read for release. My 8.1 W22 does not use excusive oil and I have 66,000 miles on it. Pull a jeep liberty 4 time across country including Canadian rockys.

r0n.....:D

I think they are talking about all the trouble they have with theirs.

[jwoodie]

I have a 2005 Suncruiser 37' on a W24 chassis. The drive train is awesome, but noisy when the fan clutch is engaged. Original suspension was crummy, but after new FSD shocks, rear sway and steering stabilizer, it handles like a dream. Only problem now is remembering it's still not a car!

[rgatijnet1]

camper_ron wrote:

Frosty's Mom wrote:
good to hear so many happy with their 8.1 w22....i'm still scratching my head and wondering then what happened to our 8.1 w22 with the allison tranny. and this from a one-owner coach who supposedly was extremely conscientious about maintenance.

Easy, 8.1 Vorteck could not meet EPA standards so it was discontinued. I read where a new Workhorse engine is almost read for release. My 8.1 W22 does not use excusive oil and I have 66,000 miles on it. Pull a jeep liberty 4 time across country including Canadian rockys.

r0n.....:D

Actually after a long production of the 8.1L engine, GM decided to support the newer Duromax 6.2 engine for their truck line of vehicles.
The 6.2 could handle the same load and promised better fuel economy.

[camper_ron]

Frosty's Mom wrote:
good to hear so many happy with their 8.1 w22....i'm still scratching my head and wondering then what happened to our 8.1 w22 with the allison tranny. and this from a one-owner coach who supposedly was extremely conscientious about maintenance.

Easy, 8.1 Vorteck could not meet EPA standards so it was discontinued. I read where a new Workhorse engine is almost read for release. My 8.1 W22 does not use excusive oil and I have 66,000 miles on it. Pull a jeep liberty 4 time across country including Canadian rockys.

r0n.....:D

[Frosty_s_Mom]

good to hear so many happy with their 8.1 w22....i'm still scratching my head and wondering then what happened to our 8.1 w22 with the allison tranny. and this from a one-owner coach who supposedly was extremely conscientious about maintenance.

[xctraveler]

I had two coaches with Vortec 8.1 l, first on Chevy P30 the second on WorkHorse W22. We ran the second one for 110,000 miles in 8 years and the only failure was burned out exhaust donuts at about 85k miles. It had enough power and coupled with the Allison Tranny I never worried about getting where I was going in good time. over the 110k miles I probably added fewer than 5 quarts of oil altogether, mostly after pulling long grades. Techs told me that up to 1 qt every 1000 miles was within spec!

I did change to Bilsteins and had the coach alignment checked with change in tires. Alignment was performed in loaded condition per the manual. Alignment tech suggested I have toe in set to 0 deg for less wear and easier handling. It worked and I ran the coach that way for the last 75k miles. Did not get rivering on GY steer tires and wear was nice and even.

No info on the Ford product other than what I have read. Really sad the GM killed the vortec and then whoever killed WorkHorse. It was a great chassis from my experience.

[Flasho]

We currently have a 2003 Workhorse with the 8.1 and Allison trans. Like everyone else we had the brake recall done.
I give this drive train two thumbs up. It's a shame that it is no longer available to the motor home buyer.
We are considering buying a new motorhome but are putting it off for a while because this 8.1/Allison combo is just so good. It has over 76,000 miles on it and uses one quart of oil between changes. Not at all unreasonable.
The day will come when we have a Ford V-10.
I know I will really miss the 8.1/Allison.

[camper_ron]

rgatijnet1 wrote:

dezertcamper wrote:
The Chevy 8.1 is a great engine with plenty of power. The Allison transmission is an awesome transmission. I cant compare the Allision to the new Ford trans, but comparing the Allison to the Ford trans they were using back in the era your looking at, is no comparison and the Allison kills it! You don't hear about people having issues with the Allison Trans.

Now IMO the Workhorse suspension sucks! They have a joke of a sway bar system. In order to make my my 04 Workhorse chassis ride as nice as my family members 02 Ford chassis I had to add aftermarket Bilsteins, rear track bar & real rear sway bar. I have been told adding a front track bar & or Sway bar is a big improvement. So IMO to make the Workhorse ride as nice as the Ford I had to add $1,000 worth of suspension upgrades, and that is not doing the front suspension.

Actually the Workhorse chassis has very beefy front and rear anti-sway bars that, unlike the Ford chassis, do not use rubber bushings. They are directly bolted to the suspension and remains consistent because there are no bushings to wear out. I have 80,000 miles on mine with no trac bar and plenty of mountain roads and travel in the Great Plains with the high winds. I have Koni FSD shocks on my WH coach.

myin 2......:C

[timmac]

vjstangelo wrote:
I have seen a few posts that the 8.1 burned oil. Have others had this problem? My V10 did not have this problem.

My previous motorhome had the 8.1, yes good power but it went thru a quart of oil about every 2000 miles, more if I did lots of mountain driving and it only had 35000 miles.

[rgatijnet1]

vjstangelo wrote:
I have seen a few posts that the 8.1 burned oil. Have others had this problem? My V10 did not have this problem.

At close to 90,000 I do not have to add any oil between 5,000 mile oil changes. This is with mostly western mountain driving and towing an HHR.

[dateem]

We have the WH 8.1 with Allison in a 30' Airstream pulling an 05 Element. Good power, handling, ride and no oil consumption or problems thus far (knock on wood). I had a 04 Chevy Avalanche 2500 with the 8.1 that I put about 60k on with no problems other than a quart of oil every 3k miles. It would pull a house off its foundation.

[vjstangelo]

I have seen a few posts that the 8.1 burned oil. Have others had this problem? My V10 did not have this problem.

[timmac]

RVROSE wrote:
When we were looking for a new motorhome in 2005, the default engine in most rigs was the Ford V-10 and the upgraded engine was the Vortec 8.1. We went with a Newmar product that included the Vortec engine. I'm not smart enough to know if the Vortec was better than the V-10, but the motorhome makers made me believe it was.

Our previous motorhome ran on the Ford V-8. That one was a real loser!!! Loud, powerless, and thirsty. The Vortec 8.1 was a real improvement!!!! In 2005, I was probably afraid to try the new Ford V-10 after my experience with their V-8.

Now, it seems that the V-10 has lasted long enough to overtake the Vortec 8.1. Did Chevy goof or ruin it in some way or did the v -10 just get better.

After the fiasco with the bad brakes, Workhorse probably lost a lot of people who previously had confidence in their product.

The V-10 and the transmission got a lot better in 2006, a tad more HP and torque than the 8.1 and Ford introduced the 5 speed tow haul trans, The V-10 is a more fine tuned motor, no push rods, 3 valves per cylinder, smaller pistons, just a better design from my point of view, 8.1 was just a huge 496 cubic inch hunk of iron that ate oil while the V-10 is only 415 cubic inch with more power..

:B:B:B:B:C