Just purchased a Challenger 37LX and Having Problems

[breenw]

Hello all

We just picked up our new rig last night. We traded a 2007 Gulfstream SunVoyager for this new 2016 Thor Challenger 37LX. Bought it from Camping World in Greenwood, IN and having all kinds of problems.

My first question which I hope someone can help me with is where can I get a mattress pad or quilted topper to fit Thor's version of an "RV Narrow King". The mattress is 72" x 75" and I'm not finding anything but a 72" x 80". Anyone else run into this problem?

Also, we closed on the deal 2 weeks ago and finally picked the rig up last night because we threw down the gauntlet to CW and said "we are picking it up on Wednesday". We noticed this morning that there is a large hole in the roof and are wondering what kind of damage has been done to the rig. We've got a call into CW but of course they haven't returned our phone call. We had several issues that needed to be addressed when we did our walk through and we've been butting heads so to speak with them about the repairs. Very disillusioned with not only CW but with Thor also.

[bevedfelker]

That damage does not look like something done by Thor at the factory. I don't mean to be critical but why would you drive it off CW's lot without that being fixed? Was that damage noted during the walkthrough? Did you already sign the papers and pay for RV?

[breenw]

Yes we drove it off the lot. We picked it up when it was lightening and raining up so we did not crawl around on the roof. And yes, we had already closed on the deal 2 weeks prior as I stated in my post. I doubt everyone who buys a brand new rig crawls around on the top when they sign the papers and pick it up. Our walk-through was inside the trailer and around the outside but we didn't know this was on the roof as we didn't climb up there. Didn't know it was necessary that we should need to do that on a brand new rig. CW also said they had 2 service people that "went over the unit again with a fine toothed comb" so we took them at their word. Husband finally got a return call last night from the new service manager at CW who asked us to bring it back and they would fix it today. We dropped it off last night after they had already closed and parked it under their canopy. Husband is going down there this morning to see exactly what they have in mind. I'm sure they think they will just fill it with some type of caulking but that's not acceptable. Not sure why you think this couldn't have happened at the time it was in the factory. How could that be done when it is on a sales lot? It appears to us that it was not damage but poor workmanship as there is nothing in that direct vicinity that someone would need to affix or repair something once it reached Camping World.

[WillowRun]

Sorry for your anger-
1) short king and Queen mattresses are easily searched on google- many options but then i always check on amazon for pricing and free shipping
2) why would you pay for a rig and leave?
3) why would you NOT do ALL of your due diligence before you get PO'd about damage done at the "repair shop"...and now camping world will deny????
3) Thor has nothing to do with any of this yet-----

your big issue is now to document document and call and call.....CW is responsible....make sure you get into service, make sure Thor knows all about it, make sure you do MORE due diligence on the coach-

there are many components that you should have tested and tried BEFORE you gave them a dime......jacks? water? heater? toilets?how to use sewer, how to use generator and what switches to use or turn off.......time consuming but necessary....
Please try not to blow a cork- CW will be your biggest hurdle now! stay focused and keep your arrows pointed straight!!!! I would be so mad that I could not see .....take a deep breath....hopefully try out the rest of your coach---oh, document mileage so they cannot say you took it somewhere and hit a tree........
if it helps at all, we bough the class v version of your a- a super c 35sf--you will really enjoy it!!!!!

[Chip]

Hard for me to tell in the small pics, but it appears that the metal seam trim (or whatever its called) spontaneously sprung out because that screw in the picture was not fastened to a substrate that was able to permanently secure it. When it let loose it looks like it pulled some of the paint on the top cap off with it.

Probably threads into wood, and during installation someone may have driven it with too much torque and stripped out the wood that the screw threads bite in to.

If I am right, it could possibly be re-secured with a longer or larger diameter screw, or by using the steel wool trick.

However, that loose paint will eventually flake off and will need to be touched up.

If you can find a place that will sell you a rattle can of matching paint you may be able to make it look perfect.

Now if you see evidence that the area in question received some sort of impact then there may be something else that needs to be addressed.

[KCook]

I had the same issue with my roof, my dealer re secured it, the screw has come out. Keep a list of things to be fixed. We had a list for sure but all of our issues have been taken care of by my dealer (not CW).

Good luck, we love our 37KT.

KC

[EA37TS]

Looking at the pictures, especially the top picture, it appears the cap trim is broken. It appears the side edge of the trim is broken through around the area of the bend and then there is also what appears to be a crack running along the side from the break to the bottom edge.

The piece that is loose should be screwed into 1 1/2 inch aluminum tube which is used on the roof perimeter. It appears to be the trim piece that serves to cover the screws which mount the front cap to the roof. This is based on the Challenger 37ND roof structural diagram I received from Thor.

I had the side trim piece on my front cap come loose because of a broken screw. It was a simple fix for the dealer (not Crapper World) to remove the trim, replace the screw and then reseal the seams. Based on the pictures posted this looks like it will require a new trim piece and then painted to match the color of the coach. Plan on at least one week for the part delivery and then however long it takes the dealer to get the coach in for part replacement and painting.

As to additional damage, if the dealer can document the issue was in place when you demanded delivery of the coach and then drove it off the lot they can claim any additional damage is the owner's responsibility. You may want to hope the issue did not exist on the dealer's lot and that is came loose during the drive home.

[schreinertms]

Checked the same area on my Challenger roof and this is what I found:

[bevedfelker]

I made the comment because looking at the pictures it appeared that this hit something. It looked like some of the damage were cracks from contacting a foreign object. It didn't look to me like the screw popped out because it wasn't secured, it looked like the screw gave way when the trim was hit.

I may be wrong but that was what the photos looked like. I thought CW may have hit something hanging down from an overhang (like a rain gutter or downspout).

During the PDI I recommend at least climbing up the ladder and looking at how do the edge seams look. How does the caulk around the air vents, A/C, and toilet vent look? Also, is the roofing smooth, flat, and free of puckers, etc? Although it is not a detailed roof inspection, it at least gives you an impression of how well they assembled and sealed the roof. It is far better than waiting until rain water is running down your interior walls to find out the roof is not sealed properly.

Did any water get in through this hole and damage or stain the ceiling? Has CW made the repair and if so how did they repair it?

[schreinertms]

Not sure if you are responding to breenw or myself, but I can tell you that during my PDI, which was very comprehensive back in November, this issue was not present. My guess is that this is a result of "stress" relief as I am pretty careful driving my coach and to my knowledge and my wifes', I have yet to hit anything.
Plus there are no scratches around this seam and the screw seems to have lost its grip. The metal which makes up this trim has (aluminum?) spring to it so it was applying stress to the screw.

[bevedfelker]

Response was to breenw. And my suspicion was the Camping World hit something moving the coach around either before he bought it or when they moved it before he showed up for the PDI.

[RVCampingNut]

I agree with bevedfelker. It looks like camping world hit something and pulled it loose. I would climb up on the roof and see if there are any marks that look like something was hit anywhere. They may have caught something and this was the result.