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Old 04-12-2017, 02:53 PM   #1
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Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Four Winds 26B
State: Indiana
Posts: 387
THOR #6414
Buyers Remorse

Well purchasing this new motorhome may very well end up being the biggest mistake of our lives and hoping the stress doesn't kill me. While at the BMV it came to light that our new Four Winds 26B was built on an E350 chassis and not the E450 chassis advertised on Thor's website. I notified both the dealer and Thor. Thor had me send them an email to evaluate our case but was told the website was wrong and that this model is built on the E350 platform. The E450 and the GCVW of 22,000 was the single selling point that convinced us to make this purchase as we intend to tow our convertible on the trailer. The E350 platform has a GCVW of just 18,500 which pretty much makes the 8000 hitch worthless.

This goes along with the long list of things I've fixed myself and several major issue including the two major water leaks that need resolved before we take off for the summer in a few weeks. We spent our entire life working towards this moment and now feel completely devastated.

Regardless of the outcome we will recover.... in time!

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Old 04-12-2017, 03:03 PM   #2
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Wow! Sorry to hear this. Is your fender badged with the E450-Super Duty badge?
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Old 04-12-2017, 03:10 PM   #3
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That sucks our 2012 is on E350 and I see they are on E450s now. When did they change?
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Old 04-12-2017, 03:11 PM   #4
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Nope... It's an E350 for sure. I checked Thor's website and their literature and it all states E450 for this model. Guess we wait and see what happens next!
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Old 04-12-2017, 03:13 PM   #5
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In addition to checking the badging, check the Ford VIN:
http://www.fleet.ford.com/resources/...uide_Final.pdf

Positions 5-6 will either be E3 (350), or E4 (450).
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Old 04-12-2017, 03:27 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JamieGeek View Post
In addition to checking the badging, check the Ford VIN:
http://www.fleet.ford.com/resources/...uide_Final.pdf

Positions 5-6 will either be E3 (350), or E4 (450).
Yep... all checks out that it is an E350 with a V10. At least it came with the V10 which was our motor of choice.
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Old 04-12-2017, 03:28 PM   #7
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All of the online literature I found says E450 , no mention of a 350 anyplace that I saw.
I'd check the VIN as Jamie suggested.
I'm not big on lawyers and lawsuits but if you were led to believe you were buying one thing and got another you may have a case here.
Especially if you can't use it as intended.
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Old 04-12-2017, 03:31 PM   #8
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Looks like you were checking as I was typing and you have confirmed the VIN .
Pretty sure you still got the 6 speed transmission in your E350 package but are definitely missing the extra GVW that the 450 would have provided.
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Old 04-12-2017, 03:44 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by petew View Post
Looks like you were checking as I was typing and you have confirmed the VIN .
Pretty sure you still got the 6 speed transmission in your E350 package but are definitely missing the extra GVW that the 450 would have provided.
It definitely has plenty of get up and go with the V10 and the 6 speed auto for sure! I doubt I will hear back any time soon but I did save copies of the literature for future reference if need be!
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Old 04-12-2017, 03:52 PM   #10
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Looking at dealer internet sites, pictures of 26B all have E-450 badge on front fenders. It does seem strange that they would build one on an E-350, although anything is possible. As covered in another thread, they are also building some Axis/Vegas 24.1 floorplans on E-350, but at least they advertised that correctly on Thor site.
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Old 04-12-2017, 04:15 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by airforceret
At least it came with the V10 which was our motor of choice.
Well that is your only choice of engine in any gas Ford based Thor motorhome at the moment (exceptions would be SuperC's and the Transit chassis C's and B's).
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Old 04-13-2017, 01:12 AM   #12
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I wonder what the difference is. I would check on parts for the E350 and E450. What year did you get? I heard the change had something to do with a new EPA law but cant be sure.
When I bought mine it was a 2017 and when I did the inspection when it arrived the chassis was a 2016. I called around to 3 ford dealers to confirm the VIN showing it had the 6 speed trans because the early 2016s only had the 5 speed.

My 2011 F250 I was comparing to a F350 and everything is the same with the exception of the springs and I think the sway bar which is why for a bumper tow there is no difference between the 2. Everything else is the same. It wouldn't surprise me if the e350 to e450 was the same deal. Might just need to swap a few parts to make it a 450. The load capacity doesn't matter much. the sway bars everyone upgrades anyway even on the 450. brakes are probably the same, maybe the rear axle is a different gear ratio but that can be changed. Worth looking into and if there is only a few things maybe a few $1,000 you can make it better then the stock 450.


Also with the 8,000lb towing it still only will hold 500lbs of weight on the hitch so you are still limited. I do however tow my 7,000lb boat with absolutely no issues at 70mph.
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Old 04-13-2017, 01:29 AM   #13
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Model: Four Winds 26B
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Posts: 387
THOR #6414
I've read about the sway bar upgrades, shocks, and such but the only upgrade I'd likely make is to add Airlift 5000 bags with onboard air and dual controls/gauges. I've ran that on all my trucks with slide in campers, and even with my Cougar 5th wheel. They are amazing at managing sway and bounce on rough roads.

As for the 500 lb tongue weight I've got weight distribution setup on my car hauler for when I hauled it behind the truck with the Lance slide in.
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Old 04-13-2017, 01:50 AM   #14
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Model: Four Winds 22E
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You probably already know this but you cant use a weight dist. hitch on a Class C. I would be gathering all the advertising info including print outs of the web page and demanding that Thor make this right. They are not allowed to advertise one thing and sell another without telling you. I am sure you will get resistance. Even if you make all the upgrades the VIN will still be an E350 and any overload condition could get you in real trouble if you had any mishap.
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