quote:

Originally posted by DriVer:

quote:

Originally posted by Mahlon:
Is the UFO rear-mount radiator only? I'm guessing so.

Yes that's right. <snip>

Ah, well, I was in a hurry & so wasn't clear: I meant rear-mount as opposed to side mount.

quote:

Originally posted by Mahlon:
Ah, well, I was in a hurry & so wasn't clear: I meant rear-mount as opposed to side mount.

There wasn't any talk nor is there any information about the UFO having an option side-mount cool pack.

Looking at the fan, dam and cool pack you can see how well integrated the components are. The fan is recessed in the dam. The dam is a continuous cone shaped enclosure terminating on the rear of the cool pack. The direction of flow is outward through the cool pack.

From the original test beds, WCC found that they had to reduce the size of the cool pack because the engine wasn't achieving an ideal operating range. It was always too cool. The current cool pack is a layered radiator design and there aren't any other coolers sandwiched between one another. Both transmission and coolant lines run horizontally through the same cool pack and receive the same flow.

The single 18" fan augmented A/C condenser is mounted forward on an angle slightly in front of the front axle and behind the generator in the coolest air flow area possible under the chassis. Personally used under test drive conditions the dash mounted A/C was "cold".

From its inception the UFO was designed to overcome the previous rear gas cooling failures and Workhorse engineering certainly got it done.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: DriVer,

Question, hasn’t the rear gasser been done before? And the engine overheating caused it
be dropped. What will the UFO offer that it’s predecessor lacked.

quote:

Originally posted by mthom12:
Question, hasn’t the rear gasser been done before?

Yes it has and it was a disaster. The manufacturers that were using it dropped it like an excessively bad habit. At the time there just wasn't good or effective technology in place that would support the rear gas engine. Some of the problems stem from the engine itself and the balance lie in the available cooling systems of that period.

The 8.1L engine of today as used in the UFO is one of the most technology advanced gasoline V8 engine in use today on any large vehicle due to its basic design and accompanying support systems. The modern cool pack, its fundamental design and physical dimension and construction are light years ahead of its predecessor.

The production cool pack has actually been reduced in size to allow the engine to better achieve a normal operational range. The original design didn't allow the engine to adequately heat up because the engineers were more focused on keeping the engine cool and they wound up with cold, relatively speaking.

quote:

What will the UFO offer that it’s predecessor lacked.

The UFO offers a manufacturer the opportunity to design a completely flat floor design with a choice of engines from gas to diesel. The gas engine produces more HP and torque per pound of engine weight than before and the Allison 6-speed transmission provides all the performance that any owner would hope for from a 27,000 vehicle. The massive 255 tires on a gas chassis assure great road manners and ride comfort. The proprietary suspension is unlike anything that has been produced or conceived today from it's rear coil springs and torquebox to it's unique front axle design featuring 55 degrees of wheel cut. The UFO has re-written the book of how modern class A gas motorhomes will be manufactured.

There will be a UFO in the future of a majority of current motorhome owners that use this website if not today then soon. Why? Because it's that good!

DriVer - It looks like the GCWR has leveled out at 30,000 since introdution of the W24. Now that the UFO has a GVWR of 26,000 we are back to 4,000 as the max weight we can tow behind the chassis which limits the choice of vehicles you may choose. With the W24 you could tow 6,000 and had a much larger choice of vehicles to choose from. Do you know if there are any plans to increase the GCWR to match the towing capacity of the W24?

quote:

Originally posted by ghamblen:
Do you know if there are any plans to increase the GCWR to match the towing capacity of the W24?

In a word, No. However! Tow rating is a number. Actual what I can tow is a value that is determined by the driver. The UFO does not have a published tow rating.

Consider that the GVW + the actual weight of the toad = a value for gross combination weight, GCW.

The UFO at 7350 pounds is much lighter than competitive rear engine powered chassis and in the case of the UFO it counts and it helps achieve a usable GCW. It is altogether likely that an owner will be able to pull using sufficiently rated tow bars vehicles up to 5,000 pounds without any problems.

Blue Ox has partnered with Workhorse and is capable of delivering a 10,000 pound rated, direct frame mounted, bolt on hitch.

No one is claiming a 10K rating however the triple head receiver will be capable of being used to carry toys as well as offer a strong tow platform if one chooses an Alexus tow bar for example that also has a 10K rating.

In general I subscribe to towing less is more practice but I only have a 26K combination rating. Towing the 3700 Vue I rarely exceed my GCWR. (but I do exceed it with more GVW aboard like full water tanks)

quote:

...The production cool pack has actually been reduced in size to allow the engine to better achieve a normal operational range. The original design didn't allow the engine to adequately heat up because the engineers were more focused on keeping the engine cool and they wound up with cold, relatively speaking...

So, they don't put thermostats in L18 engines anymore? I thought that a thermostat would maintain a minimum temperature in an engine regardless of cooling capacity or ambient temperature? If the engine is not up to temperature, the thermostat does not open thus allowing no flow to the radiator. Up to that point there is no radiator as far as the engine is concerned. Otherwise, how would we ever get heat in our cars or trucks in the winter?

Thanks.

quote:

Originally posted by Goldsburg:

The point is that after the thermostat opens up, the cool pack begins cooling the engine.

These tests were accomplished with numerous sensors attached to different points on the automotive drive train and engine. The collected data determined the ideal size needed to configure the cooling system for production.

Newbie here trying to learn about the UFO. I am trying to find out which manufacturers are using the UFO chassis. Georgetown is the only one I have found so far, and they are making a 39 footer. I am interested specifically in which manufacturers are building on the 208" wheelbase. Does anyone have info on this? Thanks!

quote:

Originally posted by RBMiller:
which manufacturers are building on the 208" wheelbase.

There aren't any manufacturers that are currently building on the available 208" UFO chassis.