2018 Challenger. Front Passenger Wall Seperated from floor.

Stirul · 03-07-2020, 01:04 AM

We have 17K miles on our 2018 Thor Challenger 37TB and on our last trip my wife noticed that the passenger side front fender was cracking on the left rear corner. Upon further inspection I found that the wall had pulled away from the floor and that the wall was resting on (cracking) the fender. I did some google research and found that this was an issue on some older Thors. Has anyone else experienced or fixed this issue? My main concern with tackling this myself is not damaging the paint and if the wall has lowered enough to contact the fender how do I lift it back into the original position?

ducksface · 03-07-2020, 01:28 AM

18,000 miles on a 2018 means there's a fair chance Thor will take responsibility if this is something misbuilt.

Call them.
You Might be surprised.

They do all kinds of kind things for people kind in kind.

Others will complain of Thor's phone number being too long.

**EA37TS** · 03-07-2020, 01:52 AM

Are you still covered by the structural warranty?

Stirul · 03-09-2020, 03:54 PM

I called and support said I was out of warranty. I feel like this is structural and part of the the wall/floor.

Laco · 03-09-2020, 05:09 PM

It would seem to be a structural issue. Would your dealer be willing to contact Thor on your behalf? Dealers, especially high volume dealers do swing a heavier weight then consumers. Contact the Service manager at your dealership, if you can get him or her to go to bat for you with Thor, seems that would be your best chance. There is always a P.R. perspective that can be useful to play.

ducksface · 03-09-2020, 05:29 PM

I'm going to hold off on any advice until I see a picture.
From the description I can't decide if this is just a gelcoat crack in a side cover/flare(but I am definitely leaning in this direction).

Did you send Thor pictures or are they operating on the same description as had been supplied here?

Stirul · 03-16-2020, 05:14 PM

Damage to the fender caused by the wall and floor separation. I am trying to get an appointment at a local dealership.

bknox · 03-21-2020, 07:08 PM

Our 2012 had the same problem, could see the road through the floor if there was a headwind. Thor basically said too bad. Fixed one side and then the other broke loose. I was always worried that my dog's paw would slip down there. Fix Auto fixed both sides $875 each...

I kind of thought it was a safety issue, but I guess unless someone gets hurt and sues ...

RV4Life · 03-21-2020, 08:13 PM

Thor will most likely not honor anything out of the warranty period. Personal experience. They are good as long as it is within the warranty period. After that Thor and the Dealers who sell Thor will not have anything to do with you after that unless you fork out hard cash. This is the dealers residual income. Thor will offer some ridiculous remedy which will leave you asking, do they think I am stupid? They will stroke you of course, because they you will be coming back sometime in the future to buy another one or get out of a Thor into something better built. I sincerely hope you find resolve to your issue. Meanwhile if you are stuck with it I would recommend finding a privately owed RV repair service outside of a dealer so you know it will be properly repaired and not a bandaid put on it. I wish you all the best in finding resolve and peace. I have been RVing for over 15 years now, Thor and the dealer has been my worst experience ever.

Druff · 03-22-2020, 12:13 AM

Forest River has had this problem for years. If you look up Georgetown RV sidewall separation you will find tons of how-to fix them. Mostly you just remove the trim, jack up the wall and put in a lot more screws and put the trim back on. It still seems weird to me that all these MHs are just walls screwed to the sides of the floor.

The Doghouse · 03-22-2020, 04:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stirul

We have 17K miles on our 2018 Thor Challenger 37TB and on our last trip my wife noticed that the passenger side front fender was cracking on the left rear corner. Upon further inspection I found that the wall had pulled away from the floor and that the wall was resting on (cracking) the fender. I did some google research and found that this was an issue on some older Thors. Has anyone else experienced or fixed this issue? My main concern with tackling this myself is not damaging the paint and if the wall has lowered enough to contact the fender how do I lift it back into the original position?

We, too, had a 2018 Thor. We did not have that particular problem, but we had sooo many others. When Camping World attempted to fix them, they only made matters worse. Not to mention being without it for months at a time. Don’t expect much help from Thor either. Our solution? We got rid of the damn thing and purchased a Nexus from General RV!! We’re now happy campers!

Lvmatador · 03-23-2020, 12:26 AM

This happened on both walls on our 2014 Thor Challenger 37GT. Once it starts they start pulling further and further back as you drive. Ours was wide enough to see the carpet through the floor. Also the carpet would get wet as we drove down the road when it rained.

Called Thor several times and finally they paid some of the bill, I think eight hours of repair work. The work consisted of attaching the side walls, repairing the cracks in the fiber glass, and painting. You will have to take it to an authorized repair location.

Mdthor2014 · 03-25-2020, 06:34 PM

Contact Thor my 2014 did the same thing on both sides and it was out of warranty they did a good faith warranty. It is best to take it to the factory repair center they fixed mine in a few days . The tech that worked on mine said that the screws holding the sides to the floor broke from being tightened to much and that there were not the required amount of screws installed when it was built. The dealer had to take pictures and send to Thor Service representative before it was approved. Dealer told me it might take them a month or two to fix it , glad it took it to Indiana.

Stirul · 05-16-2020, 11:14 PM

The Pandemic and closure of everything slowed things down, but I am now working with MHSRV to get the repairs performed under the structural warranty.

Here are a few pictures of the separation and the damage it caused to the fender.

bigben · 06-09-2020, 02:02 AM

Wow - just had this show up on our coach. Didn't realize how prevalent an issue. So I contacted Thor today and got the word that I need to pull the trim and have 3" long screws installed to pull the whole thing back together. Again WOW. This has gotta be a large safety issue - I mean the coach is literally coming apart at the seams.

Stirul · 08-28-2020, 09:20 PM

I have continued to get the run around on the repair of my wall and floor separation on my Thor Challenger 37TB. Not having the RV for the entire summer has been disappointing. However I have been able to get comments and commitments in writing and may get a lawyer if I don't make any progress.

ducksface · 08-28-2020, 10:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stirul

I have continued to get the run around on the repair of my wall and floor separation on my Thor Challenger 37TB. Not having the RV for the entire summer has been disappointing. However I have been able to get comments and commitments in writing and may get a lawyer if I don't make any progress.

Thanks very much for the follow up response.
So many here won't even respond within the thread. Raised by cats or something

.

It really is nice you followed up.
Best of luck.

Have you had a layperson type handyman look at this?
I am of course going solely off of pictures and while it's frightful, I'm not sure it's dire.
Paint is a pros job, but I bet someone who's had to cure challenges before would have that fixed four different ways in just a couple of hours.
Then you go to paint.

Stirul · 03-15-2021, 09:20 PM

Just wanted to post an update to this thread. The RV is still at the dealership and still not repaired. I am on my fourth Thor support contact. I am now at over one year trying to get this repaired and it has been at the dealership for almost Ten Months. I am still making payments, paying for insurance, but have not been able to use my RV this entire time.

T Forbrook · 03-26-2021, 04:28 PM

How did they Fix the problem?

HarryS · 03-28-2021, 03:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stirul

Just wanted to post an update to this thread. The RV is still at the dealership and still not repaired. I am on my fourth Thor support contact. I am now at over one year trying to get this repaired and it has been at the dealership for almost Ten Months. I am still making payments, paying for insurance, but have not been able to use my RV this entire time.

With that kind of time invested, I'd take it directly to Thor.

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