My First Year in a Thor 29M

[jandj.rving@gmail.com]

My First Year in a New Thor Windsport

I am a newly retired former executive with manufacturing companies. Since 1985 all the companies that I have worked for have been high quality ISO9001 manufacturers. The products have included diesel engines, seamless rolled rings for airplane engines and missiles, and printed circuit board materials for extreme environments like outer space. My positions have included Cost Accounting Supervisor, Financial Controller, Operations Manager, Plant Manager and General Manager. So, I know what good quality looks like and how some defects are created.

I ordered my 2020 Thor Windsport Class A Model 29M at a RV Show in October, 2019 after comparing the Thor, Jayco and Winnebago products. All three 29-foot models are similar in design. I would say that my wife and I liked the design a little better on the Thor. My brother was also looking with me because he is considering a RV when he retires.

Since receipt of the motorhome, I have had many problems and I will recap them below:
1. The dual recliners were defective when the coach arrived. The right-hand recliner would not lock in the down position and the left-hand recliner would not lock in the up position. I noted these upon receipt and the dealer ordered a new replacement that arrived in about ten weeks. The new unit does not lock in the up position. Unbelievably, Thor Customer Service says that they are not designed to lock in the up position. Yeah, right. Whoever heard of recliners that don’t keep the legs up when you recline. But I guess Thor has lowered the bar on what it considers acceptable.
2. The monitor that shows GPS, radio stations, cameras, Bluetooth etc was extremely dim and unreadable in daylight. The dealer ordered a new replacement that arrived in about six weeks. This unit has the same problem but if you hit it right, it will brighten up. I found after experimenting that you can take the monitor brightness out of automatic mode and force it into daylight mode. Apparently, the sensor that tells whether it’s day or night might be missing or broken. This should have been caught at the factory.
3. One of the walls in the RV separated from the backing twice. It seems to be held together with four staples and nothing else. I repaired it with contact cement the first time it separated, and the dealer added some staples when it separated at a different place.
4. One of the cabinet doors wouldn’t stay shut. Upon examination, the operator had put the locking mechanisms in the wrong place. A word from one manufacturing guy to another, use templates for drilling or use fixtures and automatic drills and you won’t have this problem.
5. The floor in the shower felt “spongy” when we stepped on it. The floor would bend down with each step. The dealer added some supports under the floor that improved this somewhat. The dealer said that it was good that I noticed it, because they have had customers come in with broken pipes because of this.
6. We had a serious lack of comfort for a few days when the house batteries would only charge by running the engine. It wouldn’t charge from shore power or the generator. The temperature at night was near freezing and we were not happy campers. Once the batteries are discharged at night, nothing works, including the furnace. Thor wasn’t able to walk me through a fix by phone so I took it to a Thor authorized repair shop in Texas. They were amazing. They found the fault quickly. The converter power plug had loosened from the power outlet. On this Thor model, the converter and most electronics are under the bed and somewhat difficult to access. My recommendation to Thor is that the converter should be hard-wired and not plugged in. We’re in a moving house and plugs come loose.
7. Twice now, the full-wall slide has failed to open because the controller wires have come loose. They are in the same bay where you store the heavy power cable. A movement of the cable can cause the wires to become unplugged. I fabricated a plastic container from the dollar store along with some duct tape to protect the controller wires from the heavy cable. Thor should do the same or find another solution.
8. The metal support for the closet rod has no chance of supporting the clothes in the closet, even if they are only half full. The plywood is just two thin and bumping down the road guarantees that the support will fail. I built a simple frame that goes below the closet rod to support the clothes.
9. The bed above the cab didn’t have the holes drilled all the way through so the metal pins that are supposed to keep the bed from falling wouldn’t fit. Our bed started falling on one side and Thor Customer Support was able to walk me though several minutes of disengaging one side of a control unit and move the bed and repeat with the other side to at least get the bed level again. The Texas repair shop was able to drill the holes through and place the pins in correctly. This should never have left the factory with this defect. It is probably on a quality control list that the operators are ignoring.
10. The design of the furnace ducting is ridiculous. There are two vents right next to the furnace that goes into the bedroom. For the living room, there is one full-size vent that is 10 feet from the furnace and another smaller vent that is near the furnace. There is no heat sensor in the bedroom so the bedroom can be 15 degrees hotter than the living room. So, if you are looking to get 70 degrees in the living room, you’ll have to live with 85 degrees in the bedroom. I suspected that there might be a clog in the ducting but the dealer and the repair shop both checked and found nothing. It’s just an example of Thor not engineering the motor coach correctly. There are plenty of possible solutions like adjustable vents, a heat sensor in the bedroom etc.
11. The fans above the driver and passenger seats only work when the engine is running. They should also be designed to work from the house battery.
12. The power outlet on the outside of the motor home is incorrectly placed. If the cover is in the up position and you close the slide, like in high winds, it breaks the cover. Thor should lower the outlet or at least have the cover open from the side instead of the top.
13. The Winegard ConnecT broke within two months. It quit receiving 4G phone signals. Winegard’s customer service was extremely poor and it took three months to get a replacement.
14. The Sony DVD player broke within six months and had to be replaced.
15. I couldn’t open the hood on the RV to check the oil. The factory failed to tighten the lock so that it didn’t spin when you put the key in. They also didn’t lubricate the fittings so that it would open easily. I talked to another Thor customer who ordered his identical RV on the same day as us. He also has this problem.

My opinion is that Thor has very poor quality out of the plant. The dealers and repair shops are having to support customers much more than they should have to. The quality should be built in and not applied after the owner finds a problem.

Remember my brother that was looking at motor homes with me? I told him to buy a Winnebago. Not that I know what Winnebago’s quality is, but I do know what Thor’s quality is.

[DavidEM]

That is an interesting story, but I don't see Thor, Winnebago or anyone stepping up their quality.

Most of the expensive things you mentioned were third party supplied components and Thor just refers you to them for replacement. No cost to Thor. The other cable, connector and cabinetry type fixes are annoying, but probably doesn't cost that much in warranty repair.

Thor's comment that the recliner is what it is, is interesting. Many RV builders do the same thing when asked. Look up the front seat turning issue for another example.

Thor is big and smart enough to figure out that their warranty repair costs are less than the cost of doing it right the first time. Therefore it won't change. It probably takes repeat sale losses to add up to some real money. I suspect that most first time Thor buyers don't buy a second time. Hard to put a value on that when the industry can sell all they can make right now.

David

[markboomer]

Read your list of issues with your Thor 29M and I am sure we could add at lease a dozen additional issues to the list, although I only experienced a few of the ones you listed. I worked in the auto industry for 40 years the quality level of RVs would put them out of business in the real world. We have fixed most of the big issues and will sell our RV in a few years and probably just hotel it beyond.

[Pete'sMH]

RVs are what they are. If you don’t find owning one to be an enjoyable or recreational experience perhaps you should look into some other form of recreation. Sure it would be wonderful if they were better designed, better made, got better mileage and cost less. But they don’t. I hate to be cynical about it but it’s the simple reality. Mine almost always is broken too but I enjoy it and the lifestyle just the same.

[71_340]

Originally Posted by jandj.rving@gmail.com

My First Year in a New Thor Windsport....................

Your post put a smile on my face.....welcome to the RV world.

Based on your work history I have two things to say:
1. You are to detail oriented.
2. It is your fault for not doing any research prior to plunging into the RV adventure. Any RV forum would have told you what to expect.

I spent 33 years in the Army maintenance field, half of that as a maintenance Warrant Officer and I am also detail oriented. Unless it is a big ticket item I just fix things myself, learn about my RV and other than that I just enjoy RVing.......It's not for everybody.

[waynetaylor55]

Originally Posted by 71_340

Your post put a smile on my face.....welcome to the RV world.

Based on your work history I have two things to say:
1. You are to detail oriented.
2. It is your fault for not doing any research prior to plunging into the RV adventure. Any RV forum would have told you what to expect.

I spent 33 years in the Army maintenance field, half of that as a maintenance Warrant Officer and I am also detail oriented. Unless it is a big ticket item I just fix things myself, learn about my RV and other than that I just enjoy RVing.......It's not for everybody.

I'm not a maintenance gut, but I am detailed oriented. My home is full of "mods" and although we just bought our first MH, it is already full of "mods". First thing I bought for it was its own tool set followed by a box full of fuses. It's fun reading what others have done for convenience or necessity or crisis.

[71_340]

I t sounded to me as if the OP was frustrated with his RV experience, especially since he bought a new RV.

I just take things with a grain if salt and fix what the factory missed. Wait until you take drawers out or remove access panels. You'll find a lot of saw dust, screws and Lord knows what. I disassembled what I could and cleaned everything out.
I know it's OCD but I feel better knowing everything is clean. I am on my second Thor, my first RV was a Winnebago which wasn't any better. We just have entry level motorhomes. A Tiffin might be better, who knows?