Build dates and Model years

[Summerwind]

Thanks straight away to all who have been so helpful to the info sponge here soaking up info

Noob question 17 a for today
Chassis build date is June 2017
Thor build August 2017
But it is sold as a 2018?!
When I talked to the Ford plant, they indicated model year 2018 typically doesn't start on the commercial vehicles till April March 2018 off the line in order to utilise previous parts inventory in builds especially if model hasn't changed
So why RV calling these 2018?
It sure makes insurance /bank etc shopping difficult
Is it a 17? 18?!

[Mustang46555]

Model year is determined by the coach manufacture's model year not chassis year. Our 2018 Quantum has a 2017 chassis but it is still considered and titled as a 2018.

[mountainsam]

Originally Posted by Summerwind

It sure makes insurance /bank etc shopping difficult
Is it a 17? 18?!

Depends on the state you live in. Mine was built April 2016, delivered to the dealer April 2016, sold to me in March 2017. The State of California registered it as a 2017. If I order parts for the chassis I would order as a 2016. Others have had opposite experiences. It is not unusual for a chassis to be built the year proceeding the house.

[DocMike]

Summerwind,
The answer is yes...it is a 2018 model on a 2017 chassis.
We purchased our 2016 Vegas on 30May2015. My insurance company said it is what is on the title (2016) is that matters and that is what they based the insurance on. BUT, when dealing with chassis issues the VIN calls it a 2015 and that is what the Ford parts manager wants to know.
Just so happens, some of the "later" 2016 Vegas models started having the 6-speed transmission because they were on a 2016 chassis and that is what the chassis came with.
I think the same guy that names the RV's designed the Model dating system. We have a Vegas 24.1, but it is 25'6" long...not sure where the 24.1 came from (maybe there are 24 earlier plans in the trash can somewhere)?
I wish for you to enjoy whichever unit you choose.

Doc

[Bob Denman]

We bought our Outlaw 29H in September, 2017.
The Ford chassis is a 2017; yet the Coach part is a 2018....
All of the paperwork and licensing says 2018. :

[BradnKaren]

We have a 2017 Thor Challenger built on a 2016 Ford chassis and the motor home was assembled by Thor in 2016. We purchased it Jan 2017. Our title says it's a 2017, and our insurance company insures it as a 2017.

It is very common for the chassis to have a different year then the completed motor home. Our last motor home, a Fleetwood, was the same. It is also true that when buying parts for the Ford chassis part, you buy for the year of the chassis.

[Summerwind]

Seems like a way (I'm trying to figure this out) that they separate me from more of my money lol
But I guess I would prefer if u market it as an 18 the chassis match
Thanks for the stories and varieties of state handling
PS one place told me couldn't handle ext warranty bc it is a commercial vehicle (via ford chassis vin)
But that's a different topic

[Beau388]

Originally Posted by Summerwind

Thanks straight away to all who have been so helpful to the info sponge here soaking up info

Noob question 17 a for today
Chassis build date is June 2017
Thor build August 2017
But it is sold as a 2018?!
When I talked to the Ford plant, they indicated model year 2018 typically doesn't start on the commercial vehicles till April March 2018 off the line in order to utilise previous parts inventory in builds especially if model hasn't changed
So why RV calling these 2018?
It sure makes insurance /bank etc shopping difficult
Is it a 17? 18?!

The F-53 chassis is built in Detroit by Detroit Chassis. Generally Detroit Chassis model change over is July. The Ford Truck plant in Louisville changeover is late July to early September. All Thor plants are independently managed and model change over varies. The only one I am reasonably sure of is plant 750 which changes over after the Easter Vacation (figure early May). The reason it varies is the number of dealer orders and the supply line for that line. I.E. the ACE coaches are little changed for 2019 but there is a major electrical change of the Windsport and Hurricane (Firefly).

[Summerwind]

Originally Posted by Beau388

The F-53 chassis is built in Detroit by Detroit Chassis. Generally Detroit Chassis model change over is July. The Ford Truck plant in Louisville changeover is late July to early September. All Thor plants are independently managed and model change over varies. The only one I am reasonably sure of is plant 750 which changes over after the Easter Vacation (figure early May). The reason it varies is the number of dealer orders and the supply line for that line. I.E. the ACE coaches are little changed for 2019 but there is a major electrical change of the Windsport and Hurricane (Firefly).

Excellent
Good to know
Thanks Beau

[JamieGeek]

Originally Posted by Beau388

The F-53 chassis is built in Detroit by Detroit Chassis. Generally Detroit Chassis model change over is July. The Ford Truck plant in Louisville changeover is late July to early September. All Thor plants are independently managed and model change over varies. The only one I am reasonably sure of is plant 750 which changes over after the Easter Vacation (figure early May). The reason it varies is the number of dealer orders and the supply line for that line. I.E. the ACE coaches are little changed for 2019 but there is a major electrical change of the Windsport and Hurricane (Firefly).

Except that Summerwind was looking at Axis/Vegas units which are built on the E-Series chassis (also at the Detroit Chassis plant, however).

[Summerwind]

Originally Posted by JamieGeek

Except that Summerwind was looking at Axis/Vegas units which are built on the E-Series chassis (also at the Detroit Chassis plant, however).

Thanks to JamieGeek for the accuracy
I missed that as I was unfamiliar with the f53
Good catch!

[gauthig]

Think of it this way. The Ford F53 is just a part. Sometimes they have parts in inventory that are a year old when making the final unit. My previous unit (hurricane) had a Ford F53 that was the same year as the coach. My Challenger has a one year earlier Ford than the coach itself.

This is no different than the toilet which could even be made a year earlier.

It all has to do with the model year of final coach build. The key is the term Model Year, not build year. Many cars are built and sold in October, but have a model Year of the next year.

[The Gritz Carlton]

The chassis is built and labelled an "incomplete vehicle" by all motor vehicle standards. It's not considered a completed vehicle until some type of end-user body is installed and total vehicle is then certified as a "complete vehicle". If it's a service type body such as van or wrecker, the chassis date prevails. Only if the conversion is into a motorhome (as this is a total conversion from original purpose) is the build date considered the actual date of the motorhome. As stated here, for parts and service on the vehicle side, the chassis date is what you go by. For licensing, re-sell and insurance, the completed vehicle date prevails.

[TurnerFam]

yep, and the reality is that manufacturers of RVs can label the unit any 'year model' they like, it's up to them... but the confusion is that serial/vin #s start with the chassis manufacturer, not the RV factory, so using the 'base' chassis, which may be one or two 'actual' years 'behind' the final RV model year creates the issue. If you had to use serial numbers from all the other products used in an RV build, you'd have even more to add to the list, since tires, fridges, microwaves, inverters, and the like were all built 'somewhere' else and may have sat for a while in a warehouse, or shipped from overseas, etc.

in late 2017, the Chassis factory builds a new 2018 model chassis
in mid-2018, the RV factory builds a new 2019 model RV on this 2018 chassis

The dealer is now selling a 2019 model RV, on a 2018 model chassis(which was built in 2017).... fun!


add to this the fact that it seems that factories make the 'new model year' earlier and earlier each year, just adding more confusion to when your new 'year model' vehicle was actually built. If they could only label something in the actual year it was built, it would make more sense, but that's not how it works : /

[The Gritz Carlton]

The VIN on my Chateau was a complete different VIN than the number on the Ford chassis. The girl at the tag office (who didn't even smile when I wrote the $10K check) tried to register it as a 2017. After calling the hotline for RVIA and the title clerk with the dealership she reluctantly went with 2018 year model. She insisted she was right but quickly agreed she had no idea. Typical tax office drama. I told her was just confused by all the unprofessional family pictures, crap and drama she had hanging all over her office.

[Summerwind]

Thanks all!
Does seem a little incorrect , dare I say bait/switchable marketing. At the very least I believe coach box and chassis need to match
oh my
10k tax
Glad to know I'm not in the only place that is inhabited by uninformed people aka @?)*
Now I'm informed
Thanks forumites

[Laco]

Common in the RV industry, they will buy chassis, which sometimes will sit in a field until its turn comes on the assembly line. I currently have what is registered as a 2017, which is built on a 2016 chassis.

[Bob Denman]

Originally Posted by The Gritz Carlton

The chassis is built and labelled an "incomplete vehicle" by all motor vehicle standards. It's not considered a completed vehicle until some type of end-user body is installed and total vehicle is then certified as a "complete vehicle". If it's a service type body such as van or wrecker, the chassis date prevails. Only if the conversion is into a motorhome (as this is a total conversion from original purpose) is the build date considered the actual date of the motorhome. As stated here, for parts and service on the vehicle side, the chassis date is what you go by. For licensing, re-sell and insurance, the completed vehicle date prevails.

Amen...
This is about the bestest description that I've seen of this confusion...

[Summerwind]

Crazy No?!
So how are they considering the 2018 I'm looking at
Chassis July 7 2017
Coach date 12-15-17

How is this an '18?
other than what everyone has said Thor et al
Cutoff of the factory dating?
In this case seems very misleading advert

[Bob Denman]

2018...