Is there any good news here?

[Ewok]

If we had nothing to complain about we would complain about that. Besides I like to complain and this is a good place as the wife gets tired of listening to me complain My Thor is a great ride and a lot of people in campgrounds say how good it looks

Originally Posted by axis earl

Sometimes, this just gets down to the typical American discussion of Ford vs. Mopar vs. Chevrolet. There are lemons among all of them. I just looked at the Leisure Travel forum and read several regarding engine problems with the Mercedes Sprinter. I don't like taking my vehicles in for engine problems no matter who made it, but taking it to a Mercedes dealer would just make me cringe. I happen to like a tried and true chassis such as the F53 and EX50 because of their time on the market. Now if those driving the alternative Mercedes sprinter are happy with their purchase, I am happy for them. If you want a sure thing, I guess you shouldn't buy anything, sit in your rocker and just watch TV.

[Bob Denman]

You've got that right!

[Pete'sMH]

Well but, that depends on if your TV is a Seiki.....

[Bob Denman]

I think that you misspelled it...
Shouldn't it be "Suckee"?

[tnedator]

Originally Posted by gmc

I think across multiple RV forums the INDUSTRY has a quality control problem... From entry level to most expensive....

Most customer service issues (not all certainly) are dealer related... I have seen multiple posts recently of people happy with direct Thor contact/help.

Also human nature, you will always see more posts about problems than the 'uneventful trip' where everything worked well.

Best of luck with whatever rig you buy
No matter the brand, a thorough PDI and a good dealer make a world of difference.

After spending a week at lazy days having issues fixed on their new Tiffin Phaeton, my brother in law will be heading to Tiffin factory within the week for a list currently sitting at about three dozen items.

[tnedator]

Originally Posted by Chance

Have you considered that some expectations may be so low that being "happy owner" and "poor quality" are no longer mutually exclusive?

I agree there is reporting bias, but that runs both ways. When someone questions a product, those who own it are likely to defend it because they take it personal, as if being called stupid for having purchased it. You see a lot of that here and in forums everywhere also.

Just saying reporting bias isn't one sided.

My Thor ACE cost roughly the same as my SUV and thirty thousand less than a much smaller Tiffin class C my father just bought.

My expectations and experience so far have been pretty well aligned and what I would expect from a cheap coach.

Most Thor branded coaches are on the low end of the entry level price range.

[Chance]

Originally Posted by JamieGeek

I don't think that is what he was saying at all.

I think it was more along the lines of: "I know quality is crap but if I can get the coach I'm getting working for me then I'm a happy customer/camper"
(e.g. you know the quality is crap (low expectations) and decide to live with it anyway (hence happy camper))--or you're expecting to find the gem in the pile of....

Not saying quality is crap, just that the logic being applied seems flawed to me.

Imagine 50% of RVs were built "perfect" and 50% were absolute "crap". We'd likely have 50% owners who were elated with their purchase, and 50% that were irate.

Statistically speaking, the fact that there were many happy owners wouldn't invalidate the many complaints. That was the point I was trying to make. Obviously it's not as simple as 50:50 split because quality issues usually follow a bell curve.

The difficulty for many prospective buyers is that they don't know if they will be one of the lucky buyers or not. It's a risk that may or may not work in their best interest. And like they say, everyone's tolerance for risk is different.

[bruno1950]

Originally Posted by tnedator

My Thor ACE cost roughly the same as my SUV and thirty thousand less than a much smaller Tiffin class C my father just bought.



My expectations and experience so far have been pretty well aligned and what I would expect from a cheap coach.



Most Thor branded coaches are on the low end of the entry level price range.

Same here. We have had outstanding luck with our ACE compared to the Forest River we owned. Like night and day.

[Bob Denman]

[QUOTE=Chance;99335]The difficulty for many prospective buyers is that they don't know if they will be one of the lucky buyers or not. It's a risk that may or may not work in their best interest. And like they say, everyone's tolerance for risk is different.[/QUOTE]

But if you imagine that you're at the $100,00 Crap Tables in Las Vegas: it DOES make it seem a bit more exciting!

[Muggs]

You can count us as happy. We have a 2016 vegas, it is sering us well for less than cost of new SUV.

We knew going in that it was not premium high dollar unit. That does not mean it is any less servicable. Only issues relate to running down road and hitting bumps. General clperiodic check out prevent escalation of issues. Drains in sink have propensity to loosen. The under shower did once and I used rubber coupling to eliminate issue altogether.

Ours is used 60% for towing 5500 lb racecar trailer.

40% for trips.

We just bought a second home and live in it while painting and cleaning.

We do know people with real horror stories with all brands and high buck units.

[Dragon70]

So let's debate who said what and what they really meant blah blah blah. Hate this forum for this very reason.
As for the OP and question at hand.... Count me as a happy owner. I had a few issues but as I've said in numerous other posts when you have an entire house bouncing down the road your going to have problems, some big, some small. As I've also said if your not mechanically inclined DO NOT buy a motorhome. The issues I had were minor and while it sometimes took a bit to figure out the problem I was nontheless able to figure it out and had some great times.

[Laco]

Yes there is good news, which is keeping all you read in perspective. Yes Thor could have better QA, but so could most other RV manufactures. We bought the Gemini about a year ago, and yes we have had some problems with it, some frustrating, but the selling dealer took care of the issues, and if they had problems getting Thor's ok for parts or authorizing the work, they kept it a secret from me, since what I saw all went pretty smoothly. My perspective, I bought a coach that cost a whole lot less then others out there, and I added a ton of accessories and equipment, costly, yes, but I wound up with a coach, that I customized to our liking, and still cost less than most others, but IMO is for us better equipped than any vanilla coach I saw on the market. Remember Thor builds a majority of the RV's out there, so they will have a higher volume of complaints etc, but as I said, its all perspective. I haven't done the research, but would bet that the percentage of complaints vs units sold, Thor receives, is percentage wise the same as most all other manufactures.

[Muggs]

X2 on being somewhat mechanical inclined. It does simplify a lot of issues. I had to replace convertor once when an electrician wired a 30 amp RV plug same as a dryer. Easy to troubleshoot, had part on way from Amazon verified findings with maker. Spent extra day in great spot waiting for drop ship. No real issue beyond extra day parked at great spot. Spent next 6 days travelling without any problem.

We often think maybe a little bigger would be nice. In retrospect, ease of use, manuverability and towing capacity shine with this unit. Even living in it at new place has been easy. We do not spend a lot of time inside Vegas where extra space would be noticed.

We either got lucky or the base unit very solid after 12,000 miles.

I would not hesitate to buy another Thor unit. We appreciate the overall value of this machine.

[schwartzees]

Add us to the group of happy THOR owners. We're on our 2nd coach from them, and look forward to many more miles and Smiles!! yes, there will be bumps in the road, but we'll get past them...

[Ewok]

Had that happen to my son's rv only it took out the bed,micro,converter and circuit board.

Originally Posted by Muggs

X2 on being somewhat mechanical inclined. It does simplify a lot of issues. I had to replace convertor once when an electrician wired a 30 amp RV plug same as a dryer. Easy to troubleshoot, had part on way from Amazon verified findings with maker. Spent extra day in great spot waiting for drop ship. No real issue beyond extra day parked at great spot. Spent next 6 days travelling without any problem.

We often think maybe a little bigger would be nice. In retrospect, ease of use, manuverability and towing capacity shine with this unit. Even living in it at new place has been easy. We do not spend a lot of time inside Vegas where extra space would be noticed.

We either got lucky or the base unit very solid after 12,000 miles.

I would not hesitate to buy another Thor unit. We appreciate the overall value of this machine.

[ThePowells]

We took delivery of ours March 5. It has been back to dealer twice. Once to fix a broken exterior light tab (1 hour), and second time to get LP tank refilled. Had a Hydro jack fitting starting to leak, sent LCI an email, got a call the next day and emailed the info that they needed and had a new hose 2-3 days later.
We have an appointment at the service center for mostly cosmetic issues. The only mechanical items are to (maybe) rearrange the power from the inerter to more outlets, find the restriction of the heat duct to bathroom, and fix the water line thumping under the floor (If I don't get bored and beat them to it). For all of the different parts from all the different vendors that were brought together under one roof and assembled, mine is 99.5% right.