Rear roof vent installed sideways

[Ozzie322]

Hi to all. I thought I had fixed everything on my 2016 Thor ACE 17.1 when I went camping last week I discovered that the roof vent was put in to open side to side instead of the norm of front to Rear. Called dealer and made another appointment.
Ozzie

[pstandiford]

Must have been a Monday or Friday job.

[Ozzie322]

I never though that I would have so much trouble with a brand new motor home. I'm debating doing it myself. The dealer can't work on MH till October. I was planning to take a trip to Fla end of Sept.

[Metalman]

That is very strange. Though I had a motor home in the 90s and the vent on that one was installed sideways too.

[EA37TS]

Originally Posted by Ozzie322

I never though that I would have so much trouble with a brand new motor home. I'm debating doing it myself. The dealer can't work on MH till October. I was planning to take a trip to Fla end of Sept.

Ozzie,

If I remember from an earlier post you bought your coach from Camping World. Why don't you ask your dealer to hook you up with an appointment at a camping world in Florida? They might be able to get you in one day while travelling.

Just a thought and if my memory is wrong disregard about your dealer then disregard the thought.

[Ozzie322]

I have talked to another dealer that may be able to help me in mid September. Thanks for suggestion. Ozzie

[Metalman]

Originally Posted by Metalman

That is very strange. Though I had a motor home in the 90s and the vent on that one was installed sideways too.

I bought an almost new 2015 Thor Windsport 27K (manufactured in 2014). Got it used in Florida last November with just over 6,000 miles. They gave me a 30 day warrantee. After using it for a few day trips for almost 30 days there were items that needed attention: leaking shower enclosure, disconnected strap draw closer on inside step, heat/ac control not able to change fan speeds, and the leveler control panel turned on once while driving (which I later learned was due to a drop in hydraulic pressure). They fixed all of the problems but didn't investigate the leveler situation because it only happened once in 30 days. Later I found out that the left front leveler was leaking and am surprised that they didn't see the oil running down the jack cylinder. On the way to have the RV warranty work completed, I discovered that the windshield washer pump didn't work. I hadn't tried it until then but the 30 days were up. The dealer wouldn't fix it under warranty. I replaced it with a $40 pump. Problems like these are inexcusable for an almost new motor home, but unfortunately not uncommon. This is our fourth RV and our third motor home. They all had (have) issues and I feel that this one will always have a problems.

[Ozzie322]

I guess when I bought the brand new ACE 27.1 (2016) I thought I could not have any problems, why. Because it's brand new. Thor has a good advertising gimmick. But it's all a lie. There surpose to have a 200 point inspection of MH before they leave including a road test. And all the complaints I here should have never happen. Especially a fire in water heater compartment. Sounds scary.
Good luck to all. Keep posting your experiences because they'll help other fellow RVs.. Ozzie

[Metalman]

I watched a video about the Windstar 27K. The video was mostly promotional BS and didn't have any real meat to it.

After owning the motor home for nine months and traveling just over 6,000 miles I can list a few pros and cons.
Pros:

• Short wheelbase allows for tight maneuvers.
• Back end is nice and high off the ground and doesn't drag where most will.
• It pulls a 7' x 12' dual axel trailer loaded with tools, rocks (we are collectors), clothing, and a 900-pound motorcycle with ease.
• The bathroom is well designed.
• The microwave works very well
• Overall interior storage space is excellent.
• Outside storage is adequate
• The captain's chairs are very comfortable and big-man size
• The engine has plenty of power and is relatively quiet.
• The shore power plug on the motor home and power cord are excellent compared to the type that has to be stuffed into a compartment. Being able to neatly coil the cable is a big plus.
• The fuel access door in the rear is convenient, now that I understand how close I need to be to the pump, particularly when on the left side of the pump.
• The slide-out and electric awning work very well.
• The location of the potable water tank is good and it fills fast. It’s nice to be able to see the tank to confirm the amount of fill.
• The size of the potable water tank is adequate (but 20 gallons more would be better)
• The generator works very well and did not fail when we were using it to run the AC and microwave in extremely hot ambient air.
• So far the construction and components appear to be able to withstand the shaking and banging from rough roads around the big cities and in the Northeast.
• There is plenty of legroom in both the driver and passenger’s seats.
• Headroom is excellent throughout the RV
• The rear LED turn/brake/tail lights are very visible, though set at an odd angle.
• Nice location for the inside TVs.
• Easy access to the engine air filter and oil filter.
• The flip-up computer station in front of the passenger’s seat.
• The 12-volt and 5-volt outlets.
• The placement of most 120-volt receptacles
• The mirrored storage compartments under the front overhead bed.
• The kitchen layout, especially the pullout pantry and the closet across from the refrigerator.
• The inside is very attractively decorated.
• The rear outside storage compartment on the slide-out.
• Conveniently placed driver’s switches and controls
• The three outside rear-facing cameras.
• The intelligent utilization of all interior space.
• Floor material is easy to clean and sweep out

Cons:
• Fuel mileage is terrible.
• Very rough riding.
• Rattling and internal noise is very bad when going over rough roads, even at low speed.
• The bed is too short (I’m 6’-4” tall).
• The toilet is too high for normal people – fine for me.
• The dinette seating is a joke. It’s like a torture chamber.
• The square shaped “nook” table is useless from the driver’s seat.
• The front grill looks like it was taken from a farm tractor.
• Terrible reflections in the driver side windows at times, hiding the view or the left rear view mirror.
• The radio has very poor reception on the FM band.
• The touch screen doesn’t work very well. (Ordered a remote control and that pretty much solved the problem)
• No inverter
• The light on the radio next to the bed is too bright at night (and the radio is totally unnecessary for us)
• An outside television – not necessary for us
• An outside shower – not necessary for us
• We’d prefer storage cabinet instead of the gas oven.
• Black water holding tank is a bit small
• Gray water holding tank is too small (but they all are).
• The motor home feels somewhat unstable when large trucks pass or in crosswinds, and on some road surfaces, but after driving it for 6,000 miles it isn’t much of a problem any more. Perhaps the trailer helps to stabilize it.
• The engine oil drain plug is over the front axel making it difficult to get a drain pan under it and it also tends to allow the oil to run along the axel.
• The location of the engine oil fill tube makes adding oil difficult, especially when having to pour seven quarts into the engine. (Can’t pour from a five quart jug and can’t pour into a funnel)
• The flush-style awning windows don’t provide much ventilation.
• A leaking leveling jack around 6,000 miles
• The domestic water pump failed at less than 10,000 miles
• The windshield washer pump failed at less than 7,000 miles
• I talked to the dealer about having a spare tire/wheel and was told that the wheels for the front are a different size than the wheels for the rear of the motor home. That is ridiculous.

No motor home is going to be trouble-free initially or any time during it’s life, unless it’s parked and not used. Then it will simply deteriorate over time. However, one would think that when newly purchased (new or used) they’d be in perfect condition for at least the first 300 feet. I don’t believe that happens very often. Nevertheless we are happy with ours...at this time.

[Ozzie322]

I guess my list is not as long as yours. I got spoiled with my class "C" Tioga. Everything worked from start. Bought in 1998 and traded in 2015. Just had normal wear from use. I put a lot of improvements and updates also. We wanted a Class "A" for a long while. Each has it own pros and cons. We really like our ACE just not all the problems with it being brand new...

[Maverick]

Listing all the problems is a problem in itself! In this day and age purchasing a new car we demand that its perfect. The RV industries has to move in that direction also, or it will not survive. A foreign RV market will open up and teach us again how to do thing right, just as they did with the automotive market. Reading about the vent installed sideways and then being put off by the dealer in NOT acceptable. I personally would not put up with it. These RVs are not cheap... we purchased them to relax, not be put under undue stress. If something is wrong, demand they fix it. If they put you to the bottom of the list, they will do it again, again and again. You paid for perfection... DEMAND IT! ~~~~~~~~ I'll get off my Sunday School Soap Box now.

[Metalman]

We have owned RVs since the early 90s. There hasn't been a moment during that time when any one of them has been free from at least one problem. We went from a mid-80s class C to two Holiday Rambler class As, a pull behind toy hauler, and now the Windsport 27K.

I suppose problems are apt to occur as a result of the bumping and thrashing when moving down the road. But problems still develop when the RV is parked. With all of our RVs, I found design or material problems that contributed to failures. And it appears that in some cases all of them have been thrown together with little regard to perfection.

Case in point. The high pressure engine AC hose from the compressor to the front the 2000 Holiday Rambler Endeavor, diesel MH ran only a few inches above the turbo on the side of the engine. The intense heat from the turbo deteriorated the house and caused it to burst. Common sense would have dictated that the house be run away from the turbo or a heat shield be placed between them.

I often equate a motor home to the Space Shuttle in that there are so many systems that at any one time it is unlikely at all of the systems will be functioning 100 percent as they should. But with the Space Shuttle, there are backup systems that can be used.

The name of the game for the manufacturers is "profit", and until shoddy craftsmanship, shoddy quality control, and shoddy materials bites them in the butt, we can't expect anything to be much different.