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Old 03-08-2015, 02:44 PM   #1
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Thor AV and QC guys must've been ...

Took delivery of the Challenger 37ND the beginning of February and haven't had much time in the coach due to weather. Now that the weather has broke I am starting to go through the systems one by one.

Last night I started on the AV system and I found something interesting. The coach is equipped with an HDMI splitter, a DVD player and three televisions. There is one television in the living area, one in the bedroom and one mounted outside.

Thor had wired the DVD player to an output on the HDMI splitter and 2 of the televisions to the 2 inputs on the splitter. Either the techs were drunk, blind or couldn't comprehend the words "input" and "output" clearly labeled on the splitter.

If it weren't for the fact I would have to pay for 150 miles worth of gas going back to the dealer I would take this coach back and let the dealer bill Thor for the warranty work.

Lesson learned - take a DVD to the PDI when you buy a new coach.

I wonder what Thor would do if a bunch of folks took their Thor coaches to the Hershey show for a site titled "Thor Quality on Display".

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Old 03-08-2015, 05:06 PM   #2
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They would need traffic control and a lot of extra parking!!!!
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Old 03-08-2015, 06:18 PM   #3
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Perhaps the AV installers at the plant are Amish - so they may not know the technical aspects of HDMI.
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Old 03-08-2015, 06:54 PM   #4
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We just picked up our Ace 29.3 last week. It is as expected, half done and nothing checked. I expect this every time I buy an RV so I don't get to bent out of shape but those who are first time buyers are most likely to get screwed.

I always pull down barriers to inspect all the plumbing joints as they are almost always loose. Same with drains, both leaked as expected. Wiring is a nightmare trying to figure out what they do with AV stuff and the Amish comment is pretty spot on probably.

I am methodically going though and correct/fixing stuff now.

Ps: this sloppy stuff is common with all RV manufacturers, they never clean up after themselves and you can usually open a hardware stuff with what they leave in them..........after you dig through the sawdust and chunks of crap. Up in the overhead cabinet there was a false panel hiding wires, I needed to access so I could hook up satellite dish, behind that panel they had a spot opened to run wires down the center of bathroom wall. Looks like they used a hatched to do most of it and then just broke the remaining off :-/
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Old 03-09-2015, 06:36 AM   #5
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Ps: this sloppy stuff is common with all RV manufacturers, they never clean up after themselves and you can usually open a hardware stuff with what they leave in them..........after you dig through the sawdust and chunks of crap.
30 seconds with a leaf blower before the coach leaves the plant would do wonders...

hey, that's how I clean my garage...
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Old 03-09-2015, 09:17 AM   #6
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30 seconds with a leaf blower before the coach leaves the plant would do wonders...

hey, that's how I clean my garage...
Lol, wouldn't that be the truth!
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Old 03-09-2015, 07:27 PM   #7
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I would be there at Hershey if you plan that!!
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Old 06-21-2015, 09:23 PM   #8
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dvd issue

<snip>

Lesson learned - take a DVD to the PDI when you buy a new coach.

I wonder what Thor would do if a bunch of folks took their Thor coaches to the Hershey show for a site titled "Thor Quality on Display".[/QUOTE]

Dave, sadly we did not do that either, and today while trying to get familiar with the coach, we discovered that while the Axxera head unit plays DVDs pretty well, we cannot get a signal to the other TVs, as we expected per our walk thru. Where did you locate the splitter?
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Old 06-21-2015, 11:06 PM   #9
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Originally Posted by ipagan54 View Post
<snip>

Lesson learned - take a DVD to the PDI when you buy a new coach.

I wonder what Thor would do if a bunch of folks took their Thor coaches to the Hershey show for a site titled "Thor Quality on Display".
Dave, sadly we did not do that either, and today while trying to get familiar with the coach, we discovered that while the Axxera head unit plays DVDs pretty well, we cannot get a signal to the other TVs, as we expected per our walk thru. Where did you locate the splitter?[/QUOTE]

In my coach the splitter is on a shelf right below the living area TV and sits right next to the DVD player.

I believe on the ACE they put them in one of the cabinets but I'm not sure.
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Old 06-22-2015, 01:57 AM   #10
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Hey Dave,
I feel your pain. Just pray that is all you find wrong with it.
I would love to be there in Hersey if you plan it. We would share our story and show the quality of work Thor does. Their interest is sales, not the customer.
Best of luck to you,
Ron
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Old 07-03-2015, 01:56 AM   #11
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This is disheartening and "so what" at the same time. We just transitioned/downsized into part time RVing after full timing in a Tiffin Phaeton for 5 years. It sounds like these comments were copied and pasted from the Tiffin owners forum.
Nonetheless, I got a lot of good info and help on that forum and look forward to the same on this forum!
I have always said I would not buy a new RV if I won the lotto tomorrow. I have been happy with price and condition after they are 2-3 years old. I would love to win the lottery so I could prove my point
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Old 07-03-2015, 02:44 AM   #12
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Welcome to the forum. Unfortunately within the RV industry as a whole unless you can drop a lottery prize on a one-off custom build there will be problems.

I rally with some folks and one of them bought a new Tiffin last October and he has had it back to Red Bay three times since the purchase. Each time he was there he had to wait with between 50 and 100 coaches for a spot in service.
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Old 07-05-2015, 06:42 PM   #13
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I've been pretty happy with mine, I did fix the leak at the awning wiring hole(it acted as a funnel for water to pour in on my wife); but I'll be going in for the crack in the windshield as well as the hot and cold water reversal.
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Old 07-06-2015, 12:50 AM   #14
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Years ago in another city and another time, we were an RV dealer. We inspected, installed, cleaned, sanitized, filled and operated everything. We tuned antennas for proper reception and usually had numerous warranty claims before a customer ever saw a coach. We believed that was a dealers responsibility and it often took a couple of days of shop time costing man hours of unreimbursed time to fill fuel, water, lpgas, and no claim could be made for any of that. With everything operational we could spend time with our customer explaining and operating everything for them. Our competitors believed it was their dealerships obligation to wash (maybe) the coach and deposit the customers check, but they could sell cheaper. Then, the customer did all of the checking and often brought the complaints and problems to us (we were closer and more convenient) for service that should have been done in prep prior to delivery. And, of course, they were to be charged nothing for a proper delivery checklist by us. Just something to think about.


Anyone who would buy a new MH after reading this thread must either like grief or be a damn good understanding of all the systems in one and be able to fix it themselves. I went to the Camping World in Golden Colorado last week to look at Thor Vegas, and i've never seen so many motorhomes waiting to be fixed in all my life. I'm going to think long and hard about this buying a new MH baloney.
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Old 07-06-2015, 01:00 AM   #15
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Originally Posted by EV2 View Post
Years ago in another city and another time, we were an RV dealer. We inspected, installed, cleaned, sanitized, filled and operated everything. We tuned antennas for proper reception and usually had numerous warranty claims before a customer ever saw a coach. We believed that was a dealers responsibility and it often took a couple of days of shop time costing man hours of unreimbursed time to fill fuel, water, lpgas, and no claim could be made for any of that. With everything operational we could spend time with our customer explaining and operating everything for them. Our competitors believed it was their dealerships obligation to wash (maybe) the coach and deposit the customers check, but they could sell cheaper. Then, the customer did all of the checking and often brought the complaints and problems to us (we were closer and more convenient) for service that should have been done in prep prior to delivery. And, of course, they were to be charged nothing for a proper delivery checklist by us. Just something to think about.

Or is the QC issue a situation where only a small percentage of new MHs have problems but a high percentage of the complaints happen on this forum.
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Old 07-06-2015, 02:08 AM   #16
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Teeitup 26
See my comment earlier about buying one 2-3 years old. Gently used ones are readily available! And, you avoid the task of being the manufacturers QC team.
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Old 07-06-2015, 02:11 AM   #17
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Teeitup 26
See my comment earlier about buying one 2-3 years old. Gently used ones are readily available! And, you avoid the task of being the manufacturers QC team.
Your point is well taken. But i might just buy a new car with high QC standards and rent a nice hotel room for a whole lot less
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Old 07-06-2015, 03:02 AM   #18
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Or is the QC issue a situation where only a small percentage of new MHs have problems but a high percentage of the complaints happen on this forum.
If I were a betting man I would put money on the fact that there are more Thor motorhomes on the roads then there are members of this forum.

One thing to keep in mind. Thor requires that a dealer perform a Pre Delivery Inspection on every motor home before it is delivered to the customer. My dealer provided me with 2 check lists of all components they inspected, to include the condition of the components and the name of the technician performing the inspection. Unfortunately the item I used to start this thread, the AV system, was not listed on their inspection sheets and I take partial blame because I failed to take a CD to the PDI.

My unit has had very few warranty issues and those I have had were either easy fixes by myself or handled in an expeditious manner by Thor Customer Service when I required parts.

This past weekend I located an RV and Marine sales center and although they are not a Thor Authorized Service Center they have a good track record of working with Thor for warranty repairs. There are options available if someone is willing to take the time and research the alternatives.
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Old 07-06-2015, 12:12 PM   #19
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Anyone who would buy a new MH after reading this thread must either like grief or be a damn good understanding of all the systems in one and be able to fix it themselves. I went to the Camping World in Golden Colorado last week to look at Thor Vegas, and i've never seen so many motorhomes waiting to be fixed in all my life. I'm going to think long and hard about this buying a new MH baloney.
I've been thinking the same exact thing. Buying "a lightly used one" with chassis still under warranty may indeed be a great way to avoid the hassles and aggravation described on these pages over and over again.

I wonder if the fast growth rate in RV industry following the 2008 crash has made the quality issues much worse. The fast growth rate may be causing problems obtaining enough skilled and experience labor, both at manufacturers and parts suppliers.
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Old 07-06-2015, 12:34 PM   #20
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....cut....

One thing to keep in mind. Thor requires that a dealer perform a Pre Delivery Inspection on every motor home before it is delivered to the customer. .....cut.....
I would think the primary inspection should be at the factory, with the secondary at dealer to find and fix any minor problems that either get away from factory or are incurred in transit.

Reading other threads while doing research it seems to me that you place a large portion of the responsibility for poor quality on the dealer instead of Thor. Is this requirement that shifts responsibility to correct build issues an industry standard? If so, I can see why new owners can get caught in the middle of what must be a contentious arrangement between Thor and dealers.
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