Workhorse 25.5

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maidendg

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Joined
Jun 23, 2017
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Hello all,
I will be buying my first RV (class A) very soon. I plan to live in it for a few months while I move halfway across country to find a permanent home. I first started out just wanting to get a travel trailer but then I researched and researched and came up with "want" list that will best suit my needs: Class A, a gasser, wanting W24 Workhorse with 6 speed Allison, and Chevy of course, 50 Amp, roof AC, washer/dryer hook ups. I slowly raised my budget as I read about what I think I should have in my RV. I tend to buy something I know I won't want to upgrade later, I get attached to my vehicles, keep them forever. I am looking at the top of my budget range now to be able to get the things I feel I should.
Anyway to the point, I found an RV 2007 with a Workhorse 25.5 that is in my budget. The UVW states it is 19,990lbs  on the online brochure. I do not know the CCC or hitch weight yet. I did searches about how the Vortec 8.1 is an excellent motor but wondered if they strain with such a heavy chassis. Does anyone here have the W25.5? I just don't want to spend thousands and have engine/trans work constant overload. I suppose they wouldn't, or they wouldn't have built them? I just need some feedback besides myself talking to me :D
 
Do you have a specific model, Workhorse is just the chassis manufacturer, who built the house that is on top and what model is it?    You will find a whole spectrum of build quality in the house part of the coach even if they are all built on the same Chassis, some will use better construction materials  like Aluminum or Fiberglass vs EPDM Ruber roof material, full body paint vs vinyl stick on graphics, and on the interior solid wood cabinets vs particle board, fiberglass or Corian vs plastic plumbing fixtures, ...
 
I wanted to know if people have issues with the 8.1 Vortec/Allison Trans underperforming on such a big chassis, not so much the quality of the building materials. I guess I didn't clarify that.  :D
 
I think the Workhorse 25.5 was a W-24 variant with Banks headers.  I have a Vortec 8.1 w Allison transmission and they work quite well.  You should have no problems with performance.
 
I figured they wouldn't put out something that can't handle the job. The GVWR is 25,500. I can't find much info on W-25.5 at all except the weight increase from W-24.
 
My 8.1 kept going through starters.  The manifold would bake the solenoid.
 
I too have never heard of a Workhorse 25.5 unless they mean a W22 or W-24 that is 25,5 feet and i do not think so.

I am very happy with my w-24. is all i can say.

W-24 has a max GVW of 24,000 max CGVW of 2600 CCC is GVW or Max GCVW (if towing) less Tare weight.

CGVW is weight of RV plus towed car or trailer loaded.
 
The 8.1L produces as much horsepower as the mid-size diesels used in similar size rigs, so Hp need not be a concern. And the Allison is perfectly mated to it as well.  The drawback to a gas engine in a heavier rig is that it has to run at higher rpms to produce the required power, so ends up working harder (in the mechanical sense) to provide the same performance. It also accelerates a bit slower.

The W25.5 enhancement to the W24 was announced by Workhorse in 2005 but didn't get into production until 2006.  There were not many W25.5's built (nd not a lot of W24's either).  Buyers looking for larger rigs tend to go all the way to a diesel pusher to get the additional benefits of a rear engine, diesel low end torque, air suspension & brakes, etc. However, people who do own the W24 and W25.5 tend to give it get marks.

A common complaint about this family of chassis is the Auto-Park brake.  These chassis use a drum brake on the drive shaft behind the tranny to "put the vehicle in Park", but the mechanism needs some routine maintenance and is susceptible to corrosion or electrical problems. It tends to get bad remarks, but that is probably because it is yet another thing that RV owners are surprised to learn about because its not like their car.
 
Generally, in the RV world,, by giving the make & model of your RV most all the general info is known about that model from experience( the best teacher) and questions can be addressed. Using your method of questions reveals that you have been in the RV world about,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,25.5 minutes.>>>D
 
I found an RV 2007 with a Workhorse 25.5 that is in my budget. The UVW states it is 19,990lbs  on the online brochure. I do not know the CCC or hitch weight yet.
Click to expand...

Well, if the UVW is 19,990 and the GVWR is 25,500. then the OCCC is the difference, 5510 lbs. Near enough anyway, depending on how accurate the brochure UVW may be. Call it 5000 or a bit better, if you like. Note that I said OCCC, which has a different definition than CCC, but OCCC has been the official measure since June, 2008.

Gas chassis coaches in this size range typically have a 5000 lb tow limit. The GCWR on the W24 and W25 is 30,000 lbs. That would reduce the max tow to 4500 IF the coach was loaded to the 25,500 lb gvwr, but if the actual loaded coach was a bit lighter, 5000 lbs would still be practical (I'm assuming the hitch receiver still has a 5000 lb limit).

The W24 & W25 chassis have the beefier Allison 2000MH transmission instead of the 1000MH.

You can find some details in the Workhorse Chassis Guide, but you have to hunt for the W25-specific info, so read carefully.
http://www.deserttruckservice.com/pdf%20folder/workhorse_chassis.guide.pdf
 
I did have to Google OCCC  :D  I learned a lot reading through all of that, didn't finish yet.
 
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