Thor Motorhome

[Miramar Mike]

Originally Posted by wayneroe

Purchased our new 2017 Thor ACE 30.3 in mid-July and have had minor issues, but only been out on two trips. The first was a two-nighter close to home and then a two week trip of about 1400 miles. On the short two night functional shake down trip, the privacy window inside the main entry door window fell off and the San-T-Flush system flooded the bedroom and bathroom. Also, one of the screens above the sofa was loose and when I tried to put it back, noticed it did not have any mounting hardware on one end. Went to the dealer the day after I got back and was told the privacy window was installed backward (pebbled side adhered to the main window frame). They cleaned all the adhesive off the frame, put new adhesive on it and reinstalled it properly. They said they would repair the San-T-Flush system when I brought the unit in for its 45 day follow-up since it would probably require cutting into the wall to get to a faulty valve and replacing it.



When we took it in for the 45-day appointment (scheduled by them when we took delivery on the unit), they asked when I had a trip scheduled and I told them a week and a half later. They said they would call when it was ready for pick-up. I wondered why the date for my trip was important, since I already had an appointment for that day, made by them, to start work on any issues I had. That was my first mistaken assumption about RV ownership. Appointments, as it turns out, aren't really appointments to have work done, but just to get your unit on their lot. Three days before we were planning to leave on our two week trip, since I hadn't heard anything from them, I called to check the status. They told me it hadn't been put in the queue yet to be assigned to a technician and asked when I needed it. I told them that they asked that same question when I dropped it off and was told I had a trip planned in a week and a half. He said he would get someone on it and call me when it was ready. The next morning they called and said it was fixed. I picked it up, brought it home, and the wife and I started loading it up getting ready to leave the next day for our two week journey. As my wife was working inside the MH with the main door open and the screen door closed, I opened the screen and started to climb into the motor home and the window that was "properly" reinstalled a month earlier fell out and shattered in the driveway. I called them to get it recorded in their system and told them I would call when we got back from our trip to get it fixed again.



Finished our trip and the San-T-Flush did work well on the trip, but the cameras quit working. Got home on Saturday, September 16, called the dealer on Monday, the 18th, and told them I was back and wanted to bring the MH in to get the window repaired and that my cameras had quit working. They told me they would have to order the window and made an appointment for me to bring it in 10 days later, the 28th. I got there at 8:30 on the 28th and they asked when I needed it back and I said, "Noon." They laughed and said, "Good luck. When's your next trip." I asked why that was important since I had an appointment to get it fixed that day. She informed me they do not make appointments to do work, only to get your unit on the lot and in the queue. I asked why not let me keep it at home and they can call me when they are ready to do the work. She said we don't know what work you need until we get it on the lot and into the queue. I told her they knew what work I needed the day I called for the appointment and that I thought the only reason the appointment was scheduled for ten days later was so they would have the part and be ready to replace it (about a ten minute job, by the way) and to check out the cameras (which was probably a loose wire in the switching unit in the dash). She told me the RV service business did not work that way, and, oh, by the way, no part had been ordered for my MH because they didn't know it needed a part ordered. I told her it was one of her people who scheduled the appointment and told me they would have to order the part.



She supposedly ordered the part that day (the 28th) and said they would call when it was finished. Yesterday, October 5, I called to check the status. They said they were still waiting for the part to come in and had not been able to duplicate the camera issue. The guy on the phone told me he would check on the status of the part and send me an e-mail informing me when they expect it to be delivered. I am still waiting for that e-mail.



Bottom line, although I have had minor issues, most things work exactly as advertised so far, so we are happy with our ACE. We are not happy with the service from our dealer, although I am figuring out quickly it is probably as good as any other dealer's service system. The whole industry seems to be providing shoddy service and no one cares (except the MH owner). Even the salesman, who was one of the nicest guys I have ever met (and a nephew of the owner), immediate turned us over to the finance guy once we said, "We'll take it," and hasn't seemed anxious to see or talk with us since. I saw him once in the parts department and he tried to ignore until I walked up and spoke to him. Then, he reluctantly said hello and then rushed away. Last week, when I dropped it off to get it worked on, I waited in the showroom area for my wife to come pick me up and he had to walk past me several times. He never made eye contact or tried to acknowledge me until I spoke to him finally. It is obvious to me they know once they get you in the unit, you are probably not going to be happy with the quality of service you are going to be getting and don't want the buyers to come complain to them -

their job with you was complete when you said, "Yes." I spent a little more money than I would have by going elsewhere to buy, but thought it was better to buy close to home where I could get it serviced. I should have driven the 800 miles and gotten a better deal - the service sucks anyway. Next time I will.

Wayneroe -
I’m convinced we bought from the same dealership and salesman. Ha ha! Our experience has been exactly the same as yours verbatim! We used our unit once, it then took 6 weeks to get it back into the dealership for shakedown repairs, they’ve had it for 6 weeks. I’m afraid to call, they probably haven’t touched it. And the salesman acts like he’s never met us. I laughed when I read your post.

[wayneroe]

Originally Posted by wayneroe

halfprice, I wouldn't call my dealer "bad." It's just that they have bought into what I would call an unacceptable system. Their reasoning for the appointment system working like it does is because so many just drive in and say they have a problem and need it fixed right then. My take is they should be placed after all those who had scheduled that time. The term "appointment" is meaningless. From now on, my plan when I have an issue is to just drop in, tell them we were heading out on a camping trip with RV Park reservations, the thing broke down, and I need it fixed right then. That seems to be the only way to get it done in a timely way. Since their appointment system is just to get on their lot, why not keep the lot empty, except for those drop-ins, and call me when they are ready to do the work. Then, I can drive over and they can start work on it. With their current system, when I make an appointment, they have no idea how long it is going to sit there before they even assign it to a technician. If anyone can give a logical explanation for that kind of system I will listen.

As a follow-up. I called the dealer Thursday, October 5, to find out the status on the repair on my MH. I was told the window which was supposed to be ordered on September 18th to be ready to install on the 28th, was actually ordered on the 28th, the day I brought it in for my repair "appointment." There was no status on the ordered part yet, but they would contact Thor and find out the status and e-mail me. The other problem I had, inoperative cameras could not be duplicated.

I called again Saturday, the 7th to check the status since I had not gotten an e-mail yet. The lady I talked with had no awareness of my Thursday phone call or any promised status update by e-mail. While I waited, she went into Thor's system and said the window was scheduled to be shipped on the 8th (Sunday?). I called again today, the 9th and nothing had changed, so I called Thor and found out they had ordered the part from the manufacturer and it was due to them on Friday, October 13. They will then get it ready to ship, but it might take awhile because the shippers all have a shortage of drivers, but hopefully it will be shipped sometime the week of October 16th and should take a couple of days to reach the dealer. I called the dealer back and told them all this and they told me I should start calling back on the 18th because there is a good possibility that once the part comes in to the parts department, they might not notify the service department that it is in. I am in total awe of this phenomenally professional, efficient, timely system of customer service (I know it is difficult to "hear" sarcasm in the typed word). It is unbelievable to me that this level of incompetence/indifference is tolerated by RV customers - I thought the VA was the most messed up system in this country - they can't hold a candle to the RV business. By the way, the Customer Care rep at Thor told me there is nothing they can do, the entire RV system is controlled/run by the dealers.

That is all. I will get off my soapbox now and deal with this at the dealer level.

[bigben]

Wayne & Jo - I feel your pain. After a small instance of what you have related above I figured out that you MUST be your own best advocate. I've posted this in other threads and sites so I am just going to copy and paste. I was a motor officer in a mech unit while serving in the US Army for more years than I care to think about and it is the process I used in there. It is sorta like Ronald Reagan said "trust but verify". Here is what I recommend:

"You must be your own best advocate with Consumer Service Reps. Start that process trying to understand what is wrong - note this not always what is broken - and then what needs to be done to repair. If you've got a local service center that can do the work, give them a call AND THEN CALL THOR CSR. If you cannot find someone that can do the work, GIVE THOR CSR A CALL. Most times they can help find someone to do the repair. Don't stop there. Find out from service exactly what it is, that is going to be repaired and ask the question about status of parts. Then call Thor CSRs to confirm the status of the repair to make sure the service center and Thor agree. Repair information like - when will parts be shipped, received, installed and finished. If you cannot get fairly specific info, chances are your repair is what the tech industry use to call "Vapor" - not really there.

Lots of horror stories on on-line forums of folks that leave their coach at repair for days, weeks, months only to not get repair done.

The process above is what we used and Thor always came through for us on everything from leveling system overall to blown out window."

Hope this helps.

[jfreitas]

Originally Posted by wayneroe

As a follow-up. I called the dealer Thursday, October 5, to find out the status on the repair on my MH. I was told the window which was supposed to be ordered on September 18th to be ready to install on the 28th, was actually ordered on the 28th, the day I brought it in for my repair "appointment." There was no status on the ordered part yet, but they would contact Thor and find out the status and e-mail me. The other problem I had, inoperative cameras could not be duplicated.

I called again Saturday, the 7th to check the status since I had not gotten an e-mail yet. The lady I talked with had no awareness of my Thursday phone call or any promised status update by e-mail. While I waited, she went into Thor's system and said the window was scheduled to be shipped on the 8th (Sunday?). I called again today, the 9th and nothing had changed, so I called Thor and found out they had ordered the part from the manufacturer and it was due to them on Friday, October 13. They will then get it ready to ship, but it might take awhile because the shippers all have a shortage of drivers, but hopefully it will be shipped sometime the week of October 16th and should take a couple of days to reach the dealer. I called the dealer back and told them all this and they told me I should start calling back on the 18th because there is a good possibility that once the part comes in to the parts department, they might not notify the service department that it is in. I am in total awe of this phenomenally professional, efficient, timely system of customer service (I know it is difficult to "hear" sarcasm in the typed word). It is unbelievable to me that this level of incompetence/indifference is tolerated by RV customers - I thought the VA was the most messed up system in this country - they can't hold a candle to the RV business. By the way, the Customer Care rep at Thor told me there is nothing they can do, the entire RV system is controlled/run by the dealers.

That is all. I will get off my soapbox now and deal with this at the dealer level.

I have a very similar issue. Coach was used for 1 week after purchase and has been in for 2 month for service since. I started by calling every week for an update. After 60 days, i call dealer EVERY day. I also called Thor to be sure parts are ordered when the dealer says they have been ordered. I think Thor and dealers work together to run out the clock on customers warranties with all the delays

[Dbadger777]

Our Axis is our second Thor motor coach. Our first was a Fourwinds. One year and 16,000 trouble free miles. I have noticed that you don't see a lot of Fourwind's owners with issues on this site.
The problems with our Axis have been that it was, JUST NOT PUT TOGETHER WELL! Thor need to do a major intervention on that Axis assembly line.

[wayneroe]

Originally Posted by bigben

Wayne & Jo - I feel your pain. After a small instance of what you have related above I figured out that you MUST be your own best advocate. I've posted this in other threads and sites so I am just going to copy and paste. I was a motor officer in a mech unit while serving in the US Army for more years than I care to think about and it is the process I used in there. It is sorta like Ronald Reagan said "trust but verify". Here is what I recommend:

"You must be your own best advocate with Consumer Service Reps. Start that process trying to understand what is wrong - note this not always what is broken - and then what needs to be done to repair. If you've got a local service center that can do the work, give them a call AND THEN CALL THOR CSR. If you cannot find someone that can do the work, GIVE THOR CSR A CALL. Most times they can help find someone to do the repair. Don't stop there. Find out from service exactly what it is, that is going to be repaired and ask the question about status of parts. Then call Thor CSRs to confirm the status of the repair to make sure the service center and Thor agree. Repair information like - when will parts be shipped, received, installed and finished. If you cannot get fairly specific info, chances are your repair is what the tech industry use to call "Vapor" - not really there.

Lots of horror stories on on-line forums of folks that leave their coach at repair for days, weeks, months only to not get repair done.

The process above is what we used and Thor always came through for us on everything from leveling system overall to blown out window."

Hope this helps.

Good advice, bigben. It was interesting that when I spoke with the Thor rep he told me they do not stock the part I need (the smaller pane of privacy glass that fits inside the window in the main entry door), so when they have one ordered, they, in turn order it from the manufacturer, who also does not stock them. Once the manufacturer gets the order, they manufacture the part (by this time, you have already exhausted about 1 1/2 weeks). Then, after the part is manufactured, they ship it to Thor. Once Thor receives into their system, they prepare it for shipment to the dealer, then schedule the shipment. It takes 1-2 weeks once they get the part for it to arrive at the dealer location. They said all these times are only estimates because there is a severe shortage of drivers so it is difficult to find a shipper - they can't use UPS because it is glass; this affects each leg of the shipment. Then, the dealer service rep told me I better start calling them because there is a good chance the parts department won't inform them when they have received it. I asked the Thor rep why the manufacturer can't ship it directly to the dealer; the response: "It just isn't done that way." I don't understand that. I order things from all over the country on-line and telephonically and have it shipped directly to the end user. Of course, I am not in the RV business. 😁

[Tacouser]

I agree with Mirimar Mike. I am in the electrical service bus. If my company treated customers like Thor does I would not have a job.
I have a new 2017 class c bought new in April. It has spent 8 weeks either at Thor or the dealer for repair. And not once have I heard "I sorry".

[Brakeman48]

While I was not pleased with the Campers World I bought it from I have found our 2016 Thor Hurricane 35 C to be built very well. Had a few minor problems such as a bad inverter and a bad plumbing valve which the local (90 miles away) not CW dealer gratiously took care of in one day under warranty. 6000 miles later we are still trouble free and very pleased with Thir and their EXCELLENT customer service people.

[wayneroe]

Originally Posted by Brakeman48

While I was not pleased with the Campers World I bought it from I have found our 2016 Thor Hurricane 35 C to be built very well. Had a few minor problems such as a bad inverter and a bad plumbing valve which the local (90 miles away) not CW dealer gratiously took care of in one day under warranty. 6000 miles later we are still trouble free and very pleased with Thir and their EXCELLENT customer service people.

Brakeman, glad to hear you have had a good experience. Hopefully, I will too once I get these issues fixed. The issues are not serious problems, just getting them fixed has been a royal pain in the neck. I casually mentioned to the Thor rep that if the Asians or the Europeans ever decided to start building RVs for export to the U.S. market, it wouldn't be long before the American RV business was looking to the taxpayers for a bailout. I'm not sure that comment was well-received.

[Wonderdog]

Originally Posted by wayneroe

I casually mentioned to the Thor rep that if the Asians or the Europeans ever decided to start building RVs for export to the U.S. market, it wouldn't be long before the American RV business was looking to the taxpayers for a bailout. I'm not sure that comment was well-received.

History repeating itself. Back in the day, W Edwards Deming, the Father of Quality, approached Ford Motor Company with his theories on quality control. Ford arrogantly dismissed him so he went to Japan. Japanese auto companies embraced his theories, put them into practice and the rest is history.
Instead of being leaders, American companies adopted practices of quality control simply to survive after falling so far behind. American RV manufacturers are selling RVs as fast as they can produce them and retiring baby boomers are snapping them up. Euro models have begun to seep into the market. The next 5-7 years should be most interesting. Learn from history or repeat it.

[wayneroe]

Originally Posted by wayneroe

As a follow-up. I called the dealer Thursday, October 5, to find out the status on the repair on my MH. I was told the window which was supposed to be ordered on September 18th to be ready to install on the 28th, was actually ordered on the 28th, the day I brought it in for my repair "appointment." There was no status on the ordered part yet, but they would contact Thor and find out the status and e-mail me. The other problem I had, inoperative cameras could not be duplicated.

I called again Saturday, the 7th to check the status since I had not gotten an e-mail yet. The lady I talked with had no awareness of my Thursday phone call or any promised status update by e-mail. While I waited, she went into Thor's system and said the window was scheduled to be shipped on the 8th (Sunday?). I called again today, the 9th and nothing had changed, so I called Thor and found out they had ordered the part from the manufacturer and it was due to them on Friday, October 13. They will then get it ready to ship, but it might take awhile because the shippers all have a shortage of drivers, but hopefully it will be shipped sometime the week of October 16th and should take a couple of days to reach the dealer. I called the dealer back and told them all this and they told me I should start calling back on the 18th because there is a good possibility that once the part comes in to the parts department, they might not notify the service department that it is in. I am in total awe of this phenomenally professional, efficient, timely system of customer service (I know it is difficult to "hear" sarcasm in the typed word). It is unbelievable to me that this level of incompetence/indifference is tolerated by RV customers - I thought the VA was the most messed up system in this country - they can't hold a candle to the RV business. By the way, the Customer Care rep at Thor told me there is nothing they can do, the entire RV system is controlled/run by the dealers.

That is all. I will get off my soapbox now and deal with this at the dealer level.

Hopefully, this is my final installment on this circus act. I went to the dealership on October 10th and had a long discussion with the owner. He told how distressed the entire industry is because of unprecedented demand, lack of quality technicians to fill the RV service job requirements, and admitted lack of foresight by dealers and manufacturers. He said they really are working the issues, but the fix will be long-term, there is no short-term solution. I then went back to the service department and they said they had no updated status on my window and could not duplicate the problem with my cameras. I told them, fine, that I would take the unit home and they could call me when the window came in. I reminded them that Thor had told me the part would be shipped to them the week of the 16th. As I left the parking lot in my MH, the cameras all failed. I turned around, drove back in, left it running, and went inside to get a service tech to look and verify that there was a problem and they could fix it when I brought it back for the window replacement.

On October 16th, I called Thor and asked the status on the shipment of my window (it is important to know that everytime I spoke with anyone at the dealer or Thor, I asked about "the window for my motorhome."). The Thor rep told me it had been shipped and was scheduled for delivery by close of business on October 17th. He also gave me the UPS tracking number. I checked the UPS website and confirmed it was scheduled for delivery on the 17th.

I checked the UPS website again at 5:00PM on the 17th and it told me the package had been delivered to the dealer's dock at 4:17PM. At 5:30, my phone rang and the caller ID said it was my dealer. I answered and it was the parts guy and he told me the plugs I had ordered for the storage bay drains had come in. I said OK and that I would pick them up when I came in to get the window replaced. Then, I asked him if the service knew yet that my window had arrived. He didn't know what I was talking about, but checked my account on his computer and found that the window had arrived on the 13th. I hung up, called service and asked what was going on. The lady on the phone didn't know what parts had come in. She checked the computer and said, "Oh yes. It arrived on the 13th." I asked why Thor told me it hadn't been shipped yet on the 13th and that it had been subsequently shipped for arrival on the 17th and the tracking number Thor had given me confirmed that. I asked her if I could bring it in the next day and get the window replaced. She said I could drop it off the next day, they were too busy to take any "waiters." I asked if I could speak to "Laura" who runs the service scheduling. She was not at work. I called again the next morning, got Laura on the phone and she agreed to let me bring it in that afternoon and get it fixed while I waited. I also reminded her the cameras needed fixing, she said OK.

Bottom line: I brought the motorhome in that afternoon, Oct 18th. They replaced the window and found a loose wire underneath the dash for the cameras. It took them about an hour to fix it. As it turns out, each time I called Thor and asked about my window order, they were checking the status of the drain hole plugs. The window had been shipped according to the original schedule in the computer two weeks earlier and had arrived almost a week earlier, but nobody at the dealership tied the window to my workorder, so if I hadn't followed up and kept checking, I would still be waiting and the window would been in their shop and no one would have known what it was for. The only reason they got it all tied together was because I kept calling. When I complained in my sit down with the dealer that people with appointments get put at the back of the line so they can satisfy drop-in "emergencies," he told me it is a fact that the squeaky wheel gets the grease.

Once they started work, it was done quickly and, as far as I can tell, correctly. Again, I don't think my dealer is bad, they are just in an industry that is behind the eight ball and using poor business practices, industry wide, to try to catch up. It is not a pretty picture.

I still love my ACE - these were not major issues, just a real pain to get them fixed and took a grand total of about 3-4 hours to fix everything we have needed since we bought the unit in July. Hopefully, the wife and I are going to have a nice few days in a close by campground next week, then a long trip to Southern California and New Mexico to visit kids, starting the day after Thanksgiving.

[Bob Denman]

Back to the O.P. for a moment...

Did I miss the post with the description of what's wrong with your motorhome?
(With everybody else posting long stories: I might have missed it.)

[Tupelo Kid]

If you are upset at Thor and feel that you will simply purchase a different brand motorhome, give this a little thought. Thor has grown a lot. Purchased up most of their competition and pretty much own all of the other brand motorhomes, pull behinds, 5th wheels etc... Info listed from Wikipedia.

So far, most of the issues with our ACE is being taken care of. SLOW but....

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(through acquisition of Airstream)
Founder
Wade Thompson and Peter Orthwein
Headquarters
Elkhart, Indiana, United States
Key people
Wade Thompson (co-founder and CEO)
Peter Busch Orthwein (co-founder and chairman)
Revenue
$3.53 billion USD (2014)[1]
Operating income

Net income
$179 million USD (2014)
Number of employees
9400
Subsidiaries
See subsidiaries below
Website
www.thorindustries.com
Thor Industries, Inc. is an American manufacturer of recreational vehicles.

Contents *[hide]*
1
History
2
Subsidiaries
2.1
Former subsidiaries
3
References
4
External links

History[edit]
Thor Industries, Inc. was founded on August 29, 1980, when Wade F. B. Thompson and Peter Busch Orthwein acquired Airstream. The name "Thor" combined the first two letters of each entrepreneur's name. Despite its image, Airstream had not fared well during the economic downturn of the late-1970s. By focusing on improving quality while reducing costs, Airstream returned to profitability in its first year under the new Thor management.
In 1982, Thor purchased the Canadian company, General Coach, which manufactures travel trailers and motorhomes. Also part of this acquisition was Thor America, which manufactures Citation and Chateau travel trailers and fifth wheels.
In 1984, Thor became a public company and in 1986 was listed on the New York Stock Exchange. That same year, Forbes magazine ranked Thor sixth out of the "200 best small companies in America."[2]
In 1991, Thor acquired Dutchmen, a brand of fifth wheel and conventional travel trailers. Four Winds International, manufacturer of class A and C motorhomes, was acquired in 1992. Komfort, a maker of fifth-wheel and conventional travel trailers, and Skamper, a builder of folding camping trailers, became members of the Thor family in 1995.
1996 saw the start up of Thor California and the introduction of the Tahoe and Wanderer brands of trailers and fifth wheels. These products became instant hits among the recreational vehicle (RV) community and the fastest-growing brands on the market.[citation needed]
With the acquisition of Keystone RV in 2001, Damon RV in 2003, and CrossRoads RV in 2004, Thor Industries became the largest RV manufacturer.[3]
In September 2010, Thor Industries' subsidiaries Damon Motor Coach and Four Winds International merged to form Thor Motor Coach. THOR Motor Coach has become the top retail selling motorhome manufacturer in North America.[4] Thor Motor Coach produces several brands of Diesel Pushers, Class A, Class B Plus, Class C Motorhomes that are distributed in the Italy, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, India, Japan, Canada, and the United States.
Thor announced its acquisition of Heartland Recreational Vehicles, LLC, a privately held RV manufacturer based in Elkhart, Indiana, for $100 million in cash and 4,300,000 shares of Thor Industries, Inc. common stock, subject to adjustment on September 17, 2010. The acquisition, Thor’s first major purchase since 2005 and just two weeks after its 30th anniversary, was rumored for several days.
In May 2013, Thor sold its ambulance manufacturing company, SJC Industries, to Allied Specialty Vehicles, including the McCoy Miller and Marque brands.[5] In August 2013, Thor announced the sale of its bus businesses to ASV as well.[6] Until that time, Thor had been the largest mid-size bus manufacturer, having acquired ElDorado Motor Corp., National Coach, Champion Bus, Heartland and Goshen Coach companies between 1988 and 2012.[7]
In July 2016, Thor purchased Jayco, Inc for $576 million.[8]
Like several other firms in the industry, Thor offers employee incentives based on productivity, with reductions in bonuses based on warranty work. Thor encourages employees to be actively involved in community programs and Thor executives serve on the boards of numerous civic organizations.[citation needed]
Subsidiaries[edit]
Recreation vehicles
Airstream
Bison Coach
Breckenridge
CrossRoads RV
Cruiser RV
Dutchmen RV
DRV
Entegra
Heartland RV
Jayco, Inc
Keystone RV
KZ RV
Livin Lite RV
Redwood RV
Thor Motor Coach (combined Four Winds International and Damon Motor Coach)

[RV Pirate]

I just find it incredible that less than 5% of the employees at the dealership or the factory actually go camping. I've worked in several sporting goods and boating retail stores in the past and it seems like well over 1/2 of the people working there are "into" whatever they are selling. No wonder why there are so many problems, they just don't get it and don't care to get it... If I built houses or did remodels in my construction business like they build these RV's , I would have been run out of town long ago. Imagine spending over $100K to remodel your home and have a leak in your new kitchen that you had to fix yourself, or having to troubleshoot your own electrical problem in your new home. Amazing what we "tolerate" from these manufacturers and dealers.. Just remember if it needs 2 screws to hold it, they will use 1 screw.

[Bob Denman]

There are sometimes some very good reasons why folks don't like to mix business and pleasure.

If you like to hunt: do you want to be working; or hunting?
The same thing with camping. You've got to be in the store; when you'd rather be by the campfires.
I don't blame them for not camping: business and pleasure rarely mix well...

[bigben]

Wayne - your results reinforce again that you gotta be your own best advocate. Understand, question, track, follow up. Thor CSR have always been helpful in our efforts to follow this process.

We're glad you got your stuff fixed. Enjoy the journey Zoomie.

[wayneroe]

Originally Posted by Bob Denman

Back to the O.P. for a moment...

Did I miss the post with the description of what's wrong with your motorhome?
(With everybody else posting long stories: I might have missed it.)

Bob, my original post here was not so much about what was wrong with my motorhome, but what it takes to get it fixed when anything is wrong; the appointment (???) process at the dealership's service department, parts ordered (or maybe not), miscommunication between Thor and the dealership, and the initial quality/workmanship of the unit. Most of my issues were not major issues, easily fixed and all could have been fixed in a couple of hours. My motorhome has about 2500 miles on it, most between home and the dealership to get minor things fixed. Like someone else mentioned, I do not purchase a house to become a carpenter, plumber, electrician, mechanic. Why should I have to do so to enjoy my motorhome, which costs roughly the equivalent of a second house? My complaint is not with my particular RV. It is with the industry that makes excuses and shrugs off their poor business model and business practices with the "that's just the way this industry is" attitude. Until RV owners start to make it a big issue, there is no need for the industry to improve it practices.

[RV Pirate]

Originally Posted by Bob Denman

There are sometimes some very good reasons why folks don't like to mix business and pleasure.

If you like to hunt: do you want to be working; or hunting?
The same thing with camping. You've got to be in the store; when you'd rather be by the campfires.
I don't blame them for not camping: business and pleasure rarely mix well...

How so???
If you work at something you love, your passion, you will never "work" a day in your life. If the employees at the factory and dealerships actually used the products they build, sell and service , maybe they'd be more connected to their jobs and we'd see a lot less "nobody gives a crap" stories.

Among my careers, I was the hunting and fishing dept. manager for Dick's Sporting Goods for a while. Everybody in my dept. hunted, fished, camped , etc. I was also a guide for saltwater fishing when I wasn't working at the store.. Same for the shoe dept. there, manager ran marathons, most everyone there was into running.. Bike dept. same thing, some serious biking dudes in that dept. when I was there... If you can't be out hunting, fishing or boating, etc., working in that field where you are surrounded by what you love is the next best thing.

I was also an assistant store manager for West Marine back in my retail days, again running fishing charters on the side as well. The only employees who were not into boating ,fishing, or owned a boat were a few of the part time cashiers, mostly high school girls.

Seems to be a MAJOR disconnect in the RV industry.

[wayneroe]

Originally Posted by Tupelo Kid

If you are upset at Thor and feel that you will simply purchase a different brand motorhome, give this a little thought. Thor has grown a lot. Purchased up most of their competition and pretty much own all of the other brand motorhomes, pull behinds, 5th wheels etc... Info listed from Wikipedia.

So far, most of the issues with our ACE is being taken care of. SLOW but....

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(through acquisition of Airstream)
Founder
Wade Thompson and Peter Orthwein
Headquarters
Elkhart, Indiana, United States
Key people
Wade Thompson (co-founder and CEO)
Peter Busch Orthwein (co-founder and chairman)
Revenue
$3.53 billion USD (2014)[1]
Operating income

Net income
$179 million USD (2014)
Number of employees
9400
Subsidiaries
See subsidiaries below
Website
www.thorindustries.com
Thor Industries, Inc. is an American manufacturer of recreational vehicles.

Contents *[hide]*
1
History
2
Subsidiaries
2.1
Former subsidiaries
3
References
4
External links

History[edit]
Thor Industries, Inc. was founded on August 29, 1980, when Wade F. B. Thompson and Peter Busch Orthwein acquired Airstream. The name "Thor" combined the first two letters of each entrepreneur's name. Despite its image, Airstream had not fared well during the economic downturn of the late-1970s. By focusing on improving quality while reducing costs, Airstream returned to profitability in its first year under the new Thor management.
In 1982, Thor purchased the Canadian company, General Coach, which manufactures travel trailers and motorhomes. Also part of this acquisition was Thor America, which manufactures Citation and Chateau travel trailers and fifth wheels.
In 1984, Thor became a public company and in 1986 was listed on the New York Stock Exchange. That same year, Forbes magazine ranked Thor sixth out of the "200 best small companies in America."[2]
In 1991, Thor acquired Dutchmen, a brand of fifth wheel and conventional travel trailers. Four Winds International, manufacturer of class A and C motorhomes, was acquired in 1992. Komfort, a maker of fifth-wheel and conventional travel trailers, and Skamper, a builder of folding camping trailers, became members of the Thor family in 1995.
1996 saw the start up of Thor California and the introduction of the Tahoe and Wanderer brands of trailers and fifth wheels. These products became instant hits among the recreational vehicle (RV) community and the fastest-growing brands on the market.[citation needed]
With the acquisition of Keystone RV in 2001, Damon RV in 2003, and CrossRoads RV in 2004, Thor Industries became the largest RV manufacturer.[3]
In September 2010, Thor Industries' subsidiaries Damon Motor Coach and Four Winds International merged to form Thor Motor Coach. THOR Motor Coach has become the top retail selling motorhome manufacturer in North America.[4] Thor Motor Coach produces several brands of Diesel Pushers, Class A, Class B Plus, Class C Motorhomes that are distributed in the Italy, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, India, Japan, Canada, and the United States.
Thor announced its acquisition of Heartland Recreational Vehicles, LLC, a privately held RV manufacturer based in Elkhart, Indiana, for $100 million in cash and 4,300,000 shares of Thor Industries, Inc. common stock, subject to adjustment on September 17, 2010. The acquisition, Thor’s first major purchase since 2005 and just two weeks after its 30th anniversary, was rumored for several days.
In May 2013, Thor sold its ambulance manufacturing company, SJC Industries, to Allied Specialty Vehicles, including the McCoy Miller and Marque brands.[5] In August 2013, Thor announced the sale of its bus businesses to ASV as well.[6] Until that time, Thor had been the largest mid-size bus manufacturer, having acquired ElDorado Motor Corp., National Coach, Champion Bus, Heartland and Goshen Coach companies between 1988 and 2012.[7]
In July 2016, Thor purchased Jayco, Inc for $576 million.[8]
Like several other firms in the industry, Thor offers employee incentives based on productivity, with reductions in bonuses based on warranty work. Thor encourages employees to be actively involved in community programs and Thor executives serve on the boards of numerous civic organizations.[citation needed]
Subsidiaries[edit]
Recreation vehicles
Airstream
Bison Coach
Breckenridge
CrossRoads RV
Cruiser RV
Dutchmen RV
DRV
Entegra
Heartland RV
Jayco, Inc
Keystone RV
KZ RV
Livin Lite RV
Redwood RV
Thor Motor Coach (combined Four Winds International and Damon Motor Coach)

Tupelo, my comments are not about Thor specifically or my particular motorhome, but the entire industry. See my response to Bob Denman for a more complete explanation of what I see as the major issues.

[Bob Denman]

RVP... (If I can call you that!)
I'll respectfully disagree: the job seems to end up getting in the way of the fun...

But I'm glad that it worked out for you!