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Old 09-24-2014, 05:07 PM   #1
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THOR #1127
Angry Alignment

We purchased a 2015 ACE 29.2 in June of this year. Odometer read 516 miles (I assume that was delivery). We drove (more like herding cats than driving) home and have made 1 trip. Wondered all over the road. Mileage was 960 miles today. I took it to have the alignment checked today. Toe in was out enough to put considerable wear on the inside of both front tires. Toe in was corrected and it was a pleasure to drive home. It is truly a shame to pay this amount of money and have a motor home with this few miles on it and have to have the alignment done. Sorry for the rant.
F53 owners- Get your alignment checked before you have to buy front tires!

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Old 09-24-2014, 06:46 PM   #2
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Had the same issue with my 2014 ACE 29.2 that I purchased in February. Thor reimbursed me for the alignment. The problem is not the chassis itself, it's the way Thor builds the MH on the chassis.
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Old 09-24-2014, 06:54 PM   #3
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Who was your contact at Thor for reimbursement?
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Old 09-24-2014, 07:29 PM   #4
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Our Axis (E350) had a very large warning sticker right next to the drivers seat saying that the motorhome must be aligned after loading up the unit. During PDI the dealership also stressed the need to have the alignment done prior to any long distance driving.
The dealership basically stated that the factory does not do any alignment on the chassis during manufacture--its up to the owner to perform that task.
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Old 09-24-2014, 08:47 PM   #5
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The F53 has a single I- Beam front axle, a solid tie rod between the front wheels and unless you severely over loaded the axle there should be no effect on the toe-in setting. This toe-in issue is on a near empty condition- no passengers, 1/2 tank of fuel, empty holding tanks etc.

I did read the caution next to the drivers seat and yes it is a basic CYA statement from THOR.

I am of the old school , I think if you plunk down your cash for a vehicle that stickers in excess of a $100,000, you should be able to get in it and drive it, not wrestle with it, at least for a few thousand miles.
Sorry again for the rant.
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Old 09-24-2014, 10:01 PM   #6
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Which is why I qualified my reply with E-350 (The shop that aligned it had me bring it back after 100+ miles to ensure that the alignment didn't change).
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Old 09-26-2014, 09:22 AM   #7
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Originally Posted by lrover View Post
Who was your contact at Thor for reimbursement?
Scott Harris
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Old 09-26-2014, 09:32 AM   #8
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Originally Posted by lrover View Post
The F53 has a single I- Beam front axle, a solid tie rod between the front wheels and unless you severely over loaded the axle there should be no effect on the toe-in setting. This toe-in issue is on a near empty condition- no passengers, 1/2 tank of fuel, empty holding tanks etc.

I did read the caution next to the drivers seat and yes it is a basic CYA statement from THOR.

I am of the old school , I think if you plunk down your cash for a vehicle that stickers in excess of a $100,000, you should be able to get in it and drive it, not wrestle with it, at least for a few thousand miles.
Sorry again for the rant.

Good point. My ACE had 1000 miles on it when I picked it up brand new. Drove it empty from Alabama to New Orleans then home to Northeast Ohio where I had the alignment checked after complaining to Thor. The tech that did the alignment said, "Dude, you're lucky to be alive."
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Old 09-26-2014, 01:13 PM   #9
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Allow me to join in here for a little bit. Back in the days when I was gainfully employed, selling Dodge Cab and Chassis. After I put a body on these after they were in use for a two week period, I would bring them back in and take them to a heavy duty truck place and have them realigned. I found that the settings would change after we put a load on them. It took about two weeks of driving for that unit to settle in. Now do not get me wrong the boys in the shop did a wonderful job on the normal cars and trucks, They were just not prepared equipment wise or training wise to handle the heavy duty Trucks. The Motor homes you are buying come off of these heavy duty frames. depending on your layout the weight of your options and lay out will change the front end settings.
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Old 09-26-2014, 02:42 PM   #10
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Since some dealers charge up to $1,000 for new RV prep, it is unconscionable that the dealer does not take care of this prior to delivery.

I cannot see that customer loading should vary the alignment much, as otherwise, you would have the same situation with a pickup truck (have to align it every time you haul something the pickup bed).

But, I could be wrong...
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Old 09-26-2014, 03:06 PM   #11
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You are missing the point. It is not the end consumer who changing this it is the coach manufacture with adding of the weight of the unit, and how it is configured, and what options are involved.
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Old 09-26-2014, 05:42 PM   #12
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Agreed that it seems to me that the added weight for customer stuff is negligible when compared to the frame extensions and house that Thor puts on.
I would argue that the "right thing to do" would be to align it at the Thor factory when it comes off the line as part of their pre shipment routine.

Should the end customer then re-check the alignment soon after buying, well maybe..... but it really should be darn close to make this not normally necessary.
And if it is.... then I would argue that Thor should devise some sort of sandbag routine to simulate a load of groceries and a couple people before they do their alignment! It really shouldn't be that hard.

So what would it add.... maybe $25 (their cost) to their bottom line price. Averaged in, the customer wouldn't even notice it!.... ten they could deduct the $2 they pay to print up and apply that stupid CYA sticker....
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Old 11-02-2022, 12:15 AM   #13
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Manufacture doesn't align cars some of which can cost nearly as much as a motorhome! Why on earth are you surprised they don't do motorhomes either?
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Old 11-02-2022, 12:39 AM   #14
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Manufacture doesn't align cars some of which can cost nearly as much as a motorhome! Why on earth are you surprised they don't do motorhomes either?
Where do you have a reference for that information. I've worked as a mechanic at several dealerships. When cars came off the truck they had to go through a receipt inspection and detail before they went on the lot. Depending on the dealer we were paid X hours to go through the receipt inspection which included checking air pressures and alignment as well as a test drive. They were rarely out of spec on the alignment.

So unless the bean counters have changed that procedure the cars are aligned at the factory and checked at the dealer.
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Old 11-02-2022, 01:14 AM   #15
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Originally Posted by 16ACE27 View Post
Where do you have a reference for that information. I've worked as a mechanic at several dealerships. When cars came off the truck they had to go through a receipt inspection and detail before they went on the lot. Depending on the dealer we were paid X hours to go through the receipt inspection which included checking air pressures and alignment as well as a test drive. They were rarely out of spec on the alignment.

So unless the bean counters have changed that procedure the cars are aligned at the factory and checked at the dealer.
As a former Chrysler/Plymouth auto mechanic I concur with this statement. Every vehicle that came off the transport truck went through "Dealer Prep" which included an alignment check before it hit the showroom
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Old 11-02-2022, 12:31 PM   #16
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Dealer prep is good provided the dealer is good. In recent years I have been dealing with a "Good" dealer. However, I have enough dealings with dealers who "forget" to do the dealer prep over the last 50 years that IMHO the "good" dealers are somewhat rare. With that said, the changes in the auto industry over the last 15 years has no doubt reduced the number of "Bad" dealers. Still old habit dies hard so, I will have the alignment checked on any newly purchased vehicles.
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Old 11-02-2022, 01:15 PM   #17
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Originally Posted by Dan-sr@perra-us.net View Post
Dealer prep is good provided the dealer is good. In recent years I have been dealing with a "Good" dealer. However, I have enough dealings with dealers who "forget" to do the dealer prep over the last 50 years that IMHO the "good" dealers are somewhat rare. With that said, the changes in the auto industry over the last 15 years has no doubt reduced the number of "Bad" dealers. Still old habit dies hard so, I will have the alignment checked on any newly purchased vehicles.
Permission granted to do that.
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Old 01-07-2023, 11:19 PM   #18
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Update on My new to me in 2022 2018 Thor ACE 30.3. I took it into a local Truck / RV facility to have the Alignment checked. Mind you the ACE only had a little over 3900 miles. When the shop put it on the rack to check they found excessive play in the kingpins. Worn Kingpin bushings. It turns out the bushings were not adequately lubed at the factory, and apparently dealer prep did not cover it for the original owner either. So, lesson learned get the steering gear checked before signing the closing papers. Even on a low milage unit lack of proper prep and maintenance could create an untimely early maintenance problem. Now that I got the kingpin bushings fixed the ACE is much easier to keep in the lane,
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Old 01-07-2023, 11:50 PM   #19
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Originally Posted by Dan-sr@perra-us.net View Post
Update on My new to me in 2022 2018 Thor ACE 30.3. I took it into a local Truck / RV facility to have the Alignment checked. Mind you the ACE only had a little over 3900 miles. When the shop put it on the rack to check they found excessive play in the kingpins. Worn Kingpin bushings. It turns out the bushings were not adequately lubed at the factory, and apparently dealer prep did not cover it for the original owner either. So, lesson learned get the steering gear checked before signing the closing papers. Even on a low milage unit lack of proper prep and maintenance could create an untimely early maintenance problem. Now that I got the kingpin bushings fixed the ACE is much easier to keep in the lane,
Didn't you tell us this story a month ago?

https://www.thorforums.com/forums/f3...tml#post369022
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Old 01-08-2023, 03:25 AM   #20
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RV dealers like Camping World rarely do dealer prep. They leave that up to the new owner.
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