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Old 01-05-2017, 02:19 PM   #1
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Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Thor Chateau 31w
State: New York
Posts: 16
THOR #3786
Exclamation 2016 Thor Chateau 31w -My Story

On 08/22/15, I bought a 2016 Thor Chateau 31W, at Camp World in Hamburg New York. While driving the RV home and engine light came on, I contacted Ford and gave them the engine code they told me it’s with the exhaust and to reset the code and monitor it to see if it comes back in the future.

My RV sat in my garage until February where I traveled through April where a total of 8,000 miles during the winter, and again the exhaust codes for the Ford truck resurfaced with a new one. On top of that, when my RV went between the speeds of 59 to 64 mph there was a very loud vibration coming from under the RV near the door in center of vehicle. Trust me very annoying for 8,000 miles. But this was the first RV/camper I ever own so I was learning.

In June and July, I built a barn to for my RV. In August, I went to Camp World in Hamburg, to get some warranty work done on the RV and spoke to them about the vibration which they said they were unaware of any issues from the manufacture. They did a ride along with me and told me to go to Ford for the drive train vibration issue and engine lights, and they will work on contacting Thor for Authorization of warranty work.

I made the next available appointment with the ford dealer, which was a few weeks later. The engine light issue was a sensor in the catalytic converter which was repaired. They thought vibration issue was from the rear differential and spent two months looking for the tools to borrow because it was too much money for them to purchase for that specific job. No other ford in 100 miles had tools. During this time, I contacted them numerous times to keep apprised of their situation to make sure their actively attempting to fix my vehicle. The repair center said they contacted Ford and got permission for a 3rd party truck company to repair the rear differential due to not have proper tools. This takes me to November (first available appointment for 3rd party shop) and the company replaced the spider gears in the rear differential.

Around November 10, 2016, I test drove my RV and still heard the vibration. Ford spent a couple of weeks researching my RV and determined it was the Drive shaft. He told me a company name Morryde who he had called where contracted by Thor to extend the chassis when it came from Ford plant. In fact, when he provided customer service with the VIN number, they had on file that they were previous called by Camp World for vibration on the drive train.

I contacted Camp World in Hamburg, and they had no knowledge of Morryde. They told me to call Thor and speak to a customer representative. I did and they provided a name and number to Morryde. I believe her name was Melissa and she looked up my VIN and immediately sent me parts, a fix, and authorization to cover the cost of the repair. As I was driving the RV to the truck shop, I got another engine light came on. (so when the drive train is fixed I have to go back to Ford)

The repair was made in December, which it only got rid of 60% of the vibration. I contacted my new point of contact at Morryde who is Jessica. Very nice lady and helpful. She and the truck shop are working on a way to fix the vibration issue as of December 18th, 2016. Jan. 3rd got call they claim it's fixed but a snow storm came in ; I cant test drive it. When The RV is fixed I have to go to Ford to get the engine light looked at again. Then I have to go back to Camp World and get my original warranty issues from August fixed, not including the self-leveling jacks won’t work (new issue).

During these past 5 months, I have not been able to go anywhere with my RV because the fear the vibration issue could have future serve effects on the RV body’s integrity and contents inside. I figure I have lost $3,275 for lack of use (payments, insurance, warranty) Not including the numerous trips, I have drove 40 miles there and 40 miles back to get the RV repaired with time and gas.

Look, I am very proud to own my very own Thor Chateau 31w. I love that RV it is perfect for me and the dogs. I sent an email to Thor a couple of weeks ago, but have not heard anything from them.

-Very frustrated owner-hope this might help someone

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Old 01-05-2017, 03:51 PM   #2
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Thanks for posting. Good info. I am a Hamburg CW customer. 2016 Freedom Elite 29. I am not impressed with their service. They sent me down the road with 5 grossly under inflated tires. They also fail to mention u need to get a front end alignment ASAP. etc. Vibrations can be tough to diagnose. Could be simple or a combination of parts. I have seen bad u joints and tire/rim on new vehicles .
What Ford truck dealer did u go to? Good luck. Keep us posted. Thanks again.
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Old 01-06-2017, 03:17 PM   #3
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What parts did MORryde send you that took 60% of the vibration away?
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Old 01-06-2017, 05:34 PM   #4
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My son is a master mechanic at a Ford truck dealer. He said that they have almost every tool available to rebuild any possible component of a truck. If they do not have a specific tool, they can loan it from either Snap-on or Matco. Loaning a toll costs, of course money. It might be that your Ford dealer was to cheap to pay the fee for loaning a tool. You might want to find another Ford shop!
I don't understand how the company who did the frame extension got involved with the vibration. The extend the tail end of the frame but do not extend the wheel base of the chassis. If the drive shaft is causing the vibrations, it is a Ford thing, and they should be working on it.
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Old 01-06-2017, 05:58 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hudsoner
I don't understand how the company who did the frame extension got involved with the vibration. The extend the tail end of the frame but do not extend the wheel base of the chassis. If the drive shaft is causing the vibrations, it is a Ford thing, and they should be working on it.
In some cases they do move the rear axle: On the Axis/Vegas units Mor-rhyde does extend the wheelbase of the original chassis. Our Axis has a wheelbase of 188" there is no E-350/E-450 stripped chassis available with that wheelbase (only 138 / 158 / 176 are available according to Ford 2017 Ford Stripped Chassis Commercial | Ford.com).
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Old 01-06-2017, 06:05 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JamieGeek View Post
In some cases they do move the rear axle: On the Axis/Vegas units Mor-rhyde does extend the wheelbase of the original chassis. Our Axis has a wheelbase of 188" there is no E-350/E-450 stripped chassis available with that wheelbase (only 138 / 158 / 176 are available according to Ford 2017 Ford Stripped Chassis Commercial | Ford.com).
I did not know that! That would mean that they have to extend the drive shaft and can introduce any possible kind of vibration (probably have to add even another central bearing to carry the longer shaft? That would be another source of possible vibrations). I know that my son and his fellow mechanics keep their fingers as far away from the drive shaft as possible, because they know how critical this thing can be!
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Old 01-07-2017, 02:24 AM   #7
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The heavy truck shop that did the alignment on my MH said they do alignments on many new MHs. They said that some new ones come in with rear axle placements and components many inches ( like 6) out of spec. He said quality control is non existent at some manufacturers. He told me this when I asked for an estimate. He said it depends. I asked on what? Happily only toe in on left side was a little off.
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Old 01-07-2017, 02:38 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JamieGeek View Post
In some cases they do move the rear axle: On the Axis/Vegas units Mor-rhyde does extend the wheelbase of the original chassis. Our Axis has a wheelbase of 188" there is no E-350/E-450 stripped chassis available with that wheelbase (only 138 / 158 / 176 are available according to Ford 2017 Ford Stripped Chassis Commercial | Ford.com).
Jamie, I often wondered what the warrantee is on that Mor-rhyde axel? Does that stay as part of the power train warrantee or does it end at a year with the manufacturer warrantee?
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Old 01-10-2017, 02:57 PM   #9
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It is stories like this that keep me from even looking at factory new units. It probably doesn't happen very often but when it does it can turn into a real nightmare sometimes dealing with these initial factory warranties.
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Old 01-10-2017, 03:44 PM   #10
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Thor 31w

Have you had any issues with your headlights or dash lights?
In sept 16 I purchased a 2017 31w, in October we took it to Florida while I was driving down the road the dash lights turned off for about 15 sec then turned back on, a couple minutes later they did it again, then the headlights turned off (to include all the marker lights on the coach)for 2 minutes then they came back on.
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Old 01-10-2017, 05:29 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hudsoner View Post
I did not know that! That would mean that they have to extend the drive shaft and can introduce any possible kind of vibration (probably have to add even another central bearing to carry the longer shaft? That would be another source of possible vibrations). I know that my son and his fellow mechanics keep their fingers as far away from the drive shaft as possible, because they know how critical this thing can be!
Someone posted an Axis/Vegas drawing a while back showing a chassis with original 158-inch wheelbase getting stretched 30 inches to end up at 188-inch wheelbase. Originally I expected they stretched a 176-inch chassis by 12 inches, but that's not the case.

In addition to lengthening the driveshaft, a lot of other things must have to get stretched also. Just a few that come to mind that I'm interested in checking out to see how well they are done.

Chassis frame rails
Exhaust pipe
Brake line to rear axle
Parking brake cable to rear axle
Fuel and vapor lines
Electrical to fuel pump and gauge transmitter
Electrical to all rear lights
Electrical to trailer connector
If they have ABS, that too.

While I'm sure MORryde usually does excellent work, everything else being equal, I would prefer the chassis not be modified by anyone after Ford assembles it; but that may only be possible with E-Series motorhomes up to 27-ft or so. Class Cs in the 30- to 32-ft length will need a wheelbase much longer than the 176-inches Ford offers.
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Old 01-10-2017, 06:53 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Joe-FL View Post
It is stories like this that keep me from even looking at factory new units. It probably doesn't happen very often but when it does it can turn into a real nightmare sometimes dealing with these initial factory warranties.
This was my reason when I bought my coach! And I had not any real problems with it ever!
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Old 01-10-2017, 07:04 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Chance View Post
Class Cs in the 30- to 32-ft length will need a wheelbase much longer than the 176-inches Ford offers.
It just makes me wonder, too. My unit has a 190" wheelbase and is 30.6' long. But Thor (or whoever did it) did not change anything to the Ford supplied chassis itself, they just added a frame extension to the end of the Ford supplied chassis. The extension was done OK, but I wanted to carry a motor scooter on the back and did not feel that the welds were done well enough for that purpose (the unit came with a 3500 lb hitch only). Because of this my son, a Ford mechanic and certified welder, redid the welds and welded extra gusset plates to the extension connection to beef this are up and we installed a heavy duty hitch in the back to be able to carry my scooter.
Considering that the relative simple extension, done to my coach was a little questionable, I would make sure that all the things, listed by you, are done well prior to taking such a motorhome onto the road.
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Old 01-15-2017, 01:19 PM   #14
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Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Thor Chateau 31w
State: New York
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THOR #3786
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark1 View Post
Have you had any issues with your headlights or dash lights?
In sept 16 I purchased a 2017 31w, in October we took it to Florida while I was driving down the road the dash lights turned off for about 15 sec then turned back on, a couple minutes later they did it again, then the headlights turned off (to include all the marker lights on the coach)for 2 minutes then they came back on.
No not with headlights, but keep and eye on your taillights for getting moisture in when it rains eventually can rot wall.
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Old 01-15-2017, 01:26 PM   #15
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West herr Ford, joe was my rep. he does handle his business-he's good. The problem is not every ford dealer has a lift or pit for the chateau's length.
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Old 01-15-2017, 01:29 PM   #16
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Model: Thor Chateau 31w
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THOR #3786
(2) ½”-13 x 3.5” FLANGE HEAD GRADE 8 BOLTS
(2) ½”-13 x 4” FLANGE HEAD GRADE 8 BOLTS
(4) ½”-13 FLANGEHEAD GRADE 8 LOCKNUTS
(1) 2” (TUBE) CARRIER BEARING SHIM (8.38” long)
(1) 3” (TUBE) CARRIER BEARING SHIM (offset holes-notch on driver side)
(7) ¼” (PLATE) CARRIER BEARING SHIM (most units NOT require any)
________________________________________
(4) 2.5 DEGREE AXLE SHIM SPACERS
(4) 5/8” X 4 X 12.25” U-BOLTS
(8) 5/8” U-BOLT BARREL NUT
(8) 5/8” HEAVY U-BOLT WASHER
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Old 01-15-2017, 01:42 PM   #17
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THOR #3786
Carrier Bearing Adjustment:

1. FRONT CARRIER: The mounting face of the carrier bearing should be 2.25” higher than the bottom of the OEM rail. Please disregard the reinforcement plate for this measurement). An alternate measurement is 2” between the top of the carrier mounting face and the top side of the bottom frame rail flange. There are a couple possible scenarios that may change the shim package required.
a. Measure up from the frame rail to the bottom of the carrier bearing crossmember. This measurement should be 4” (ID). See item (b) if this measurement is not correct. Add the 2” x 8.38” long tube carrier shims between the crossmember and the carrier bearing. Remove any shims that may be present. Secure with the 3.5” bolts and nuts.
a. If there is any other crossmember configuration, please shim as necessary to achieve the carrier mount 2” higher than the top of the bottom rail or contact Morryde Customer Service if you need assistance.
2. REAR CARRIER: Measure down from the bottom of the rear OEM carrier bracket. Add shims so that the mounting face of the carrier is 3” lower than the mounting face of the OEM bracket. Use the 3” x 3” notched tube spacer. Orient the 3” tube so the notch is on the DS and the top lines up with the OEM hanger. Spacer can be welded or bolted in place.

<<<<DS PS>>>>>





Tapered Axle Shim Adjustment:
• Block front wheels.
• Set park brake.
• Remove and discard OEM U-bolts, nuts, washers.
• Place jack under frame rail near rear axle and raise up the frame.
• Set jack stands under frame for safety.
• Slide 2.5 degree shim between the leaf spring and axle seat. The thicker end of the shim should be on the forward side of the axle. Be sure that the leaf spring centering pin is properly located into the axle seat and the U-Bolt tie plate.
• Remove jack stands and release jacks.
• Install new u-bolts/nuts/washers and torque appropriately
o Be sure that the U-Bolt legs are vertical and 90 degrees to the axle tube.
o U-Bolts must be tightened and torqued utilizing a cross pattern sequence.
o Referring to the figure below partially tighten 1, then 2, then 3, then 4.
o Utilizing the same sequence as listed in step 4 fully torque the U-Bolt Nuts. Refer to the given chart for the recommended final torque. A calibrated torque wrench should be used to achieve the final U-Bolt torque

• Jack up vehicle to remove jack stands and lower vehicle back down.
• Recheck torque after 500 miles.
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Old 02-24-2017, 04:25 AM   #18
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Model: Thor Chateau 31w
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Just and update received Rv back end of January, it appears the vibration noise is gone so far. In the meantime the self leveling jacks froze and won't go down. $150 dollars latter, there was corrosion on the wire connecting from hydraulics to the battery. The corrosion was near the battery side. Recently was prepping RV for trip and noticed on the the front right portion of the super slide towards driver-side. When the slide is extended there is a 1/4" gap about 5" long above the bottom seal. Which is bad because if the generator is running the fumes potentially can get into the RV (Carbon Monoxide). It never ends.
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