sunlight
Durham,N.C.
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I am considering moving from my smaller Toyota motorhome to a bigger class A. i noticed some have the 454 and some the Triton 10. Is one better? Does one have certain advantages? Does one have more of particular kind's of problems? Are both equally easy to work on? These would be about 98-2001 units. Thanks Doug
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enblethen
Moses Lake, WA
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Joined: 01/05/2005
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Both Workhorse and Ford has had problems in the years you listed.
Ford v-10 had a problem with sparkplugs
Workhorse had problems with the brakes. They have a recall going on. If the brakes have been fixed they work.
My preference would be the Workhorse with the 7.4 engine.
Bud
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Weathertodd221
FL
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454 is NOT a workhorse engine. Not sure why people like to confuse workhorse with chevy... but the 454 is the better of the 2 older powertrains.
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1995brave
San Antonio, TX
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7.4 is the 454. Workhorse went to the 8.1 around the 98 time frame.
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LVJ58
Las Vegas, Nevada
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We had a 1984 coach on a GM P30 chassis with the 454, and now we currently own a coach on the Ford f53 chassis with the v10. As far as I'm concerned, of the 2 coaches we've owned, the Ford f53 chassis with the v10 is much better, hands down.
The very early v10's prior to 2000 did have some spark plug issues, however I haven't read very many posts on the RV forums from those who had issues with the spark plugs.
With exception of the Workhorse "W" series chassis I would consider the Ford f53 chassis superior to the GM P chassis for motor home application, having had both.
Good luck with your search
Jim & Sherry Seward
Las Vegas, NV
2000 Residency 3790 V-10 w/tags & Banks System
2003 Suzuki XL/7 toad
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Gale Hawkins
Murray, KY
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That would be the prime years of the 454 era.
32' is kind the length sweet spot in my view. We have the 92 version P30/454 TBI and it is an awesome chassis for service, ride and handle especially after going from 8R to 225/70 19.5 tires.
The Ford would be OK too. Those years were just the APEX of GM big block engines. Sure the 8.1 was more powerful version of the 454 and all but it was not a 454. 
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MitchF150
Washington, the State
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The issue with the spark plugs on those early V10's was 'usually' after the plugs were changed and the incorrect torque was applied to the plugs.. They were either over torqued and stripped the minimal threads that the heads had, or they weren't torqued enough and worked their way loose, due to the low thread count..
Later year models have different heads that have more threads and the problem is not as bad as it seems.
I'd go for the V10 over the 8.1 Workhorse, but that's just because I'm partial to Ford in general.. 
The Ford is smaller in actual size (6.8L compared to 8.1L), but has pretty close to the same power output.
The Ford is a over head cam design and the Chevy is a push rod design. Both are proven platforms, but you will rev the V10 more, but it can handle it.. 
The old 454 Chevy's are comparable to the old 460 Fords of the same era for those engines..
I remember the days when Dodge was in the MH chassis game too.. Can't beat a good ol' 440.. Lots of low end in those beasts..
Mitch
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enblethen
Moses Lake, WA
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I would suggest getting the rig that has the floorplan and other items you want.
I doubt there is really that much difference in the rigs if they are equally maintained.
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halibutman214
Oregon
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enblethen wrote:I would suggest getting the rig that has the floorplan and other items you want.
I doubt there is really that much difference in the rigs if they are equally maintained. This couldn't be further from the truth. I'd take the V-10 any day.
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Daveinet
il
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LVJ58 wrote:We had a 1984 coach on a GM P30 chassis with the 454, and now we currently own a coach on the Ford f53 chassis with the v10. As far as I'm concerned, of the 2 coaches we've owned, the Ford f53 chassis with the v10 is much better, hands down.
The very early v10's prior to 2000 did have some spark plug issues, however I haven't read very many posts on the RV forums from those who had issues with the spark plugs.
With exception of the Workhorse "W" series chassis I would consider the Ford f53 chassis superior to the GM P chassis for motor home application, having had both.
Good luck with your search As far as engines, you are comparing apples and oranges. 1984 454 was carborated and ran around 220 HP. In 1996, GM came out with the Vortec version, which was port injected and was 290 HP, a whole different animal. One assumes the OP is talking about similar year engines. Similar V10 engine was only 20 HP more, so not much difference.
Dave
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