Quality frustration

[Dragon70]

I've said many times and I'll say it again.... If your not a craftsman and somewhat of a mechanic you should not even consider buying a home that bounces down the road at 70mph. Not excusing Thor or any of the other manufacturers of poor workmanship but the fact is every one of these need constant maintenance of some sort. Luckily for me I have the knowledge and skills to be able to troubleshoot and fix most things. While it sometimes pisses me off when something doesn't work I also get a lot of satisfaction out of fixing stuff. This probably doesn't help your cause but you may want to think about going back to a trailer.

[tnedator]

Originally Posted by axis earl

It is not acceptable but they don't seem to want to change their production methods because we first time buyers learn the hard lessons.

First time, second time, third time. It's not only first time buyers buying units and it isn't just Thor.

My sister is heading down to Red Bay with their 2012 Tiffin Phaeton for another round of work, the last they've agreed to cover, of manufacturing defects being fixed.

The only thing about first time buyers that didn't spend time on Thor Forums, Airstream Forums, IRV2, etc., is they might not have gone into RV ownership with their eyes open, because it's industry wide and manufacturers aren't changing, because they are selling them as fast, or faster, then they can produce them.

[lazinskm]

I will tell you, everyone of these posts that I see about new ones makes me more grateful about my 2013 and takes off that edge to upgrade.....

[tnedator]

Originally Posted by ghof

I have told a dozen or so people not to buy a Thor and will continue to do so. I have put in at least 100 hours repairing this Miramar. I retired @$65 per hour that is a reasonable rate, but, we all know there is no reimbursement, however, it is not something most people acknowledge as a loss which it really is.

What brand do you recommend?

[Greg84]

Originally Posted by ghof

Greg84, the fact that we as owners have to repair basic quality control issues is inherently wrong! I can and have repaired a bunch of things. We are currently in Mesa Az and we have an appointment at Le Mesa rv. Four week wait and we don't know how long they will need to keep our HOME to fix the multitude of errors made during its manufacture. How is this in any way acceptable?

Uh...not sure where I said it is acceptable. I certainly don't think it is acceptable.

[ghof]

I did not mean to imply that sorry if I offended you

[ghof]

Originally Posted by Halibut214

I've said many times and I'll say it again.... If your not a craftsman and somewhat of a mechanic you should not even consider buying a home that bounces down the road at 70mph. Not excusing Thor or any of the other manufacturers of poor workmanship but the fact is every one of these need constant maintenance of some sort. Luckily for me I have the knowledge and skills to be able to troubleshoot and fix most things. While it sometimes pisses me off when something doesn't work I also get a lot of satisfaction out of fixing stuff. This probably doesn't help your cause but you may want to think about going back to a trailer.

You hit the nail on the head except for the very wealthy, and the warranty that is supposed to help. I'm still under the warranty and it ticks me off That I have to wait a month to have them attempt to do repairs and keep my home for an unspecified period. The warranty should extend an equal amount to the time it is out of service.

[ghof]

Originally Posted by tnedator

What brand do you recommend?

I only know my MH.

[Joe-FL]

Originally Posted by Springn Springers

Tuscany XTE 36 MQ

Is the Tuscany 36 a model they stopped making? Sounds like there have been a few issues with your coach the first year or so. I would probably consider an extended warranty that allows repairs at a variety of RV facilities to give you some flexibility. It can be discouraging and the more money for a higher priced RV you spend the more discouraging it gets.

[Miramar Owner]

Originally Posted by ghof

I have told a dozen or so people not to buy a Thor and will continue to do so. I have put in at least 100 hours repairing this Miramar. I retired @$65 per hour that is a reasonable rate, but, we all know there is no reimbursement, however, it is not something most people acknowledge as a loss which it really is.

Sorry to hear of you problems with your motorhome. We also own a Miramar (2016 34.4) and love it. Sure we've had some issues but all have been resolved and no more than you'd have if you built a new house. I think it is wrong to tell people not to buy Thor products. The problem is industry wide...not just one brand. Actually I think the problem is a generational thing with work ethic/pride being lost in recent years. The only way to resolve this is to have "one on one" supervision which isn't cost effective or to automate like the auto industry.

That is why the auto industry automated years ago. Now they make excellent vehicles even at the lower end of the price spectrum.

As long as RV's are stick built, like a house, quality will be an issue.

Check out Newell Coach in Oklahoma. They are an example of what can be done with quality control through constant supervision. They build one coach at a time and each phase is reviewed in the process. Labor costs are huge but it doesn't matter when you're building a coach customers are willing to pay $2,000,000 for.

Honestly it's kind of like shopping at a convenience store and complaining about prices or going to Walmart and complaining about waiting in line. It is their business model and has become exasperated by the work ethic of recent generation.

[jfreitas]

Originally Posted by ghof

You hit the nail on the head except for the very wealthy, and the warranty that is supposed to help. I'm still under the warranty and it ticks me off That I have to wait a month to have them attempt to do repairs and keep my home for an unspecified period. The warranty should extend an equal amount to the time it is out of service.

I have a 34J that has been in for service for 2 1/2 months. After escalating my situation with Thor about my service, they agreed to extend my warranty for the time it has been out of service. That was the focus of one of my complaints about duration of service. Seems like everyone cuts their own deal and Thor is willing to help with issues, you just have to ask the right questions and get to the right people at Thor.

I suggest being persistent but professional. If you don't think you are getting the service you deserve, use Google to find the names of the Founder of Thor, the President of Thor, the VP of Thor and start you own emails. That's what i did and advised i would be emailing daily until i got resolution. It was amazing to see how fast things started moving once the right email got to the right person

[tnedator]

Originally Posted by Miramar Owner

Honestly it's kind of like shopping at a convenience store and complaining about prices or going to Walmart and complaining about waiting in line. It is their business model and has become exasperated by the work ethic of recent generation.

I think the problem is that most people don't do any real research before buying and then are blindsided by the reality of the industry as a whole. If there first coach was a Forest River, then they will be angry at Forest River. In many cases, even if their first coach is a Tiffin, they are going to be angry at Tiffin (they are bad, but nowhere near as bad).

With few exceptions, Thor is a low end, budget coach and the quality of the coach as compared to mid tier coaches reflects the cheap price.

The problem is, that even with more expensive coaches, if you go to forums focused on their buyers, you see very similar complaints to what you read in this forum.

Personally, since I spent over a year researching, reading this forum, Forest River forums, Phoenix Cruise forums, IRV2, etc., I knew that if I moved forward and bought an RV, I would have manufacturing problems. It's the state of the industry, period.

By going into it with my eyes open, when the hot water wasn't working because an Atwood control board went out, I'm not pissed at Thor I just focused on getting it fixed. When the AC didn't work because Thor wired it wrong, I caught it in PDI, because I planned on two full days of PDI at the dealer and two more days in the general area of the dealer.

[ghof]

Looked last night at the price for a f63 chassis $28k retail. Seems to me there is enough room for quality control. So I believe it is fair to try to hit them in the wallet.

[tnedator]

Originally Posted by ghof

Looked last night at the price for a f63 chassis $28k retail. Seems to me there is enough room for quality control. So I believe it is fair to try to hit them in the wallet.

After they purchase the F53 chassis, they then send it to Moryde to stretch it. There's that cost.

Dealers have $15k or so profit (depending on selling price).

Add in the various components that are installed, and the amount of "room" they have won't be as much as you think.

With the exception of their top line or two of diesel pushers, Thor coaches are cheap. You are getting what you pay for. Same with Forest River and Winnebago is only a little better, and cost a little more.

20 minutes of research would make that clear.

[ghof]

No doubt about it!

[rottendan]

I'm afraid that all coaches are delivered in kit form. After about 3 years of use repair, replacements, upgrades and just plain fixes you may end up with something with driving.

[ghof]

Originally Posted by rottendan

i'm afraid that all coaches are delivered in kit form. After about 3 years of use repair, replacements, upgrades and just plain fixes you may end up with something with driving.

lol!!! Perfect!

[rottendan]

Edit above next to last word with should have been worth.
I'll not ever buy a new coach again. A 3 year old one should have the wiring fixed, loose grounds repaired, plumbing leaks fixed, vibrations in water lines tightened up, and leaking caulk seams caulked properly.
And when the drawer won't close and closet doors are crooked and driver seat is off center and crooked I will smile and remember that I saved $30,000

[gentilebrian]

I love the RV industry. When buying my RV NEW I was told to expect at least 10 issues in the first year but to make me feel better they said on the high end ones I would expect 30 to 40 issues in the first year.

What other business can you tell your customer that this expensive item will likely break in the next year 10 times and they still buy it.


Then they try to sell me a $15,000 warranty on a $60,000 RV. I'm handy and don't like to wait to get my stuff back. $15,000 buys a lot of replacement parts.

It made me feel a lot better about getting the bargain brand Freedom Elite.

[elevinsp1@aol.com]

Originally Posted by Springn Springers

Thank you for your kind words. We all know that at some point our motorhomes are going to need maintenance & repairs. I am sadly disappointed that I have to spend my money to fix their screw ups on a new coach. I have always had trailers & this is all new to me. [emoji4]

Go Tiffin