Motorhome Power Plant Chevy or Ford

[Endangered Species]

We have been looking at Motorhomes for quite some time. I personally would rather go with the Chevy Big Block, but 70% of the motorhomes I find for sale in my price range are Ford V10's.

So far I've had 2 people tell me to run away from the Fords and two people who liked them....What is the general consensus on the Ford V10... for reliability? I would be towing a 29' aluminum race car trailer also.

Thanks!

 

[5.7 hemi]

Find one that’s diesel.

 

[Bb70charger500]

Stay away from that Ford night mare

 

[bearman]

You can pick up a good used diesel at provost.com. they have series 60 and b500 trans running 500 hp or better most of them low mileage. Don't do the Ford's the crank likes to get twisted. For the Chevy get the duramax good engine and they have 400 allusion trans its a good setup.

 

[Richard Cranium]

It seems that the only diesels you can get are rear pushers & they're usually 35' & larger. I don't know why the smaller front engine motorhomes only are gas powered.


Here's a model that Submit & I both like....

https://winnebagoind.com/products/class-a-gas/2017/sunstar/floorplans

 

[BeeKool]

If the V-10s are all you can get in Ford walk away.
I Think they have a weakness for blowing the spark plug out the head requiring a Heli-coil repair. This doesn't sound fun in a motor home.what are the Chebbys you were looking at, 8Ls?

Reminder; motorhomes are money pits like anything else. One must also check the coach for previous rotted floor rusted trim screw and leaks. Especially if they have pop outs.
My father just replaced a bunch of rotted floor and rusted trim/outer hatch screws on his 15 year old Monaco diesel pusher.
W a 8.3 Cummins/ Allison
No matter what the make brand or price range. These things can be huge money pits.
Another thing that goes bad are the refer and the A.C..
When refers go bad fires happen! Check the recalls on the models you look at and make sure they've been up dated.

 

[Richard Cranium]

Personally, I'd never get one that old. When the time comes for me, I'd look for one that was a year or two old with short miles. They are plentiful.

 

[Gold Rush]

I owned a Tioga 29' for several years and pulled a 24' carhauler using the Ford V10 engine. Never had one bit of trouble with it. Like anything else, there are good and not so good ones out there. Buying used especially you have to check all the usual "buyer beware" boxes. The only negative I ever had was the terrible gas mileage!!! Best I ever got was 7 mpg and that was without the trailer..

I agree that diesel power it the way to go if you are planning lots of hauling miles. You will have way more power and better fuel mileage. In a forward engine configuration they would be REALLY noisy!!!

 

[BeeKool]

Personally, I'd never get one that old. When the time comes for me, I'd look for one that was a year or two old with short miles. They are plentiful.

My father bought his when it was 2 years old.
And it's been under a roof whenever it wasn't being used.
Kinda floors me that they coachmaker wouldn't use stainless screws.

He bringing it home from having the A.C. worked on last month.
On the interstate some lady pulled up next to him waving frantically. He got off on the next exit to inspect and found 3 of the bottom storage hatches had popped open all the way due to therusted attachment screws.
He went through and replaced every exterior screw one at a time w stainless ones..

 

[beanhead]

I know quite a few people that have RVs with the Ford and they're just fine. That said...I would personally go with the Chevy though, because just like everything else the Chevy parts and people that know them are more readily available. RVs are just like cars, the worst thing for them is sitting...they seem to develop issues when they're parked, and most of them are parked way more than they're used.

 

[Slap Stick]

A fried rented a F250 with the V 10 once to pull his race car after his 350k mile 454 went tango uniform. Said it was gutless and ate fuel.

 

[cr8crshr]

Why not MOPAR??? Just asking is all. Otherwise Diesel should be fine. Check out the FORD V 10 for info an their reliability. I say that because I have a FORD F150 with the V-8 Triton in a 2010. All the Triton's up until 2011 model are known for timing chain and sensor issues because of Ford's not addressing the issue earlier. A Federal lawsuit is still pending because Ford failed to fix it the first time it came up and still issued the V-8 Triton knowing this. Cost me 3000.00 for the fix as I had no other choice. Now I have a re-programmed repaired truck that runs excellent and gets some great Gas mileage. As for a Chevy??? No way will I ever own a Generic Motors vehicle. All GM's are "JUNK" IMHFO...cr8crshr/Tuck

 

[Richard Cranium]

My father bought his when it was 2 years old.
And it's been under a roof whenever it wasn't being used.
Kinda floors me that they coachmaker wouldn't use stainless screws.

He bringing it home from having the A.C. worked on last month.
On the interstate some lady pulled up next to him waving frantically. He got off on the next exit to inspect and found 3 of the bottom storage hatches had popped open all the way due to therusted attachment screws.
He went through and replaced every exterior screw one at a time w stainless ones..

It seems that most RV's are very disposable & keeping one that long is asking for trouble. Like vehicle, storing one inside is going to extend its life. I'm not faulting your dad, just saying.

 

[bearman]

Please look at prevost.com you will find a great deal on a 2-3 year old pusher coach.

 

[Slap Stick]

The prolem with buying a late model RV is....if you want it mopar powered...what engine ya gonnna get? Not much to choose from.

 

[Budnicks]

they age in dog years 6-7 years for every year on the road

I'd personally stay away from the Ford v-10's

buy something with a diesel 'you'll be money ahead'
even if you have to save & spend more

my last rig less than 1/2 the price as a new one
with only 25,000 miles
Cummins 5.9 diesel pusher, with an Allison 5 speed trans
you can find some of the smaller ones cheaper too

they are out there go to a RV Motorhome specific search
& forums

 

[bearman]

Molar is using cummins

 

[Budnicks]

they age in dog years 6-7 years for every year on the road

I'd personally stay away from the Ford v-10's

buy something with a diesel 'you'll be money ahead'
even if you have to save & spend more

my last rig less than 1/2 the price as a new one
with only 25,000 miles
Cummins 5.9 diesel pusher, with an Allison 5 speed trans
you can find some of the smaller ones cheaper too

they are out there go to a RV Motorhome specific search
& forums
View attachment 641040

this is my tow rig & 36' fifth wheel RV trailer now
(I sold my Featherlite 42'race trailer fifth wheel in 2007)
I'm not a big fan of the 2002 Ford f350 dually 4x4 extra cab 5 speed,
but it's a 7.3 Powerstroke
(my dad, the ex bus driver, loves driving it, like it's a D/D, me not so much)
but it's not ,the crappy 5.8 v-10,
the 7.3 it pulls very well & not the cheapest upkeep,
not the most expensive either
11mpg average up & down terrain, -14 mpg- on flat ground @ 65mph all over

I've towed all over the US, don't be cheap &
spend a little more now, you'll be better for it

 

[Richard Cranium]

How'd that rooftop mounted desk lamp work out when going under bridges?

 

[69a100]

It seems that the only diesels you can get are rear pushers & they're usually 35' & larger. I don't know why the smaller front engine motorhomes only are gas powered.

Because the big "class A" MH's are basically a pimped out tour bus, as where the shorter ones "class C" are on a truck chassis so they are smaller. I have been in the market for a older "Minnie Winnie" so I can find my own gig. The Mopar powered units I've seen are from like 1970-1995, the earlier ones being the Big Winnebago's from 72-77 with the eyebrow nose. And the later ones being a converted B van chassis. They were/are powered by 440's, 318's, and 360's. all with 727's and a huge rear end of 4:57's. So now y'all know.