Thor Hurricane 34E

[srobm]

Bought a Thor Hurricane 34E (2014) and I previously owned a 2010 Coachmen Freelander 30 QB. I can honestly say that the quality on the Coachmen Freelander was substantially better than the Hurricane. So far the kitchen taps have gone, shower taps have gone, dinette table post is defective, stereo's CD player will not work, shower leaked, one of the LED tail lights has burnt out LED's and back up light continually fills up with water. Also holes in the linoleum by the back bathroom toilet.
Dealer has been less than helpful as I noted this the first weekend in May, took 3 weeks to get it in and told they had to order in parts. Three weeks later the dealer has not ordered the parts yet. I went in and raised holy hell.
Definitely would not consider another Thor product based on the quality and the service from the dealership to date.

[Beacher]

I too own a recently new 2014 34E Hurricane, (took delivery November 2013). However, I had one heck of an extensive walk-through at delivery. I would NOT have accepted my coach had there been any noticeable defects.

Since delivery I have had some warranty issues: automatic retracting step broke, overhead bunk Shwintek drive system failure, rear bathroom fan motor replaced, awning drive motor replaced - Thor recall item.

But that's pretty much it. Everything else works fine through over twenty trips and many weeks literally fulltiming with two teenagers since last November.

That being said, the Hurricane is NOT a Prevost/Country Coach/or even a Winnebago. It's built to be VERY functional on a Ford F53 chassis,(even though Thor removes the Ford standard included 22" Alcoa wheels and replaces them with s19" steel for this price point). has a whole lot of included features, but it's not the epitome of motorhome design and build quality. That's why it's an "entry level" motorhome sold out the door for $90k, (that what I paid), and not over six digits!

Everything should be functionally good, and not defective. You should not have accepted a new coach with holes in the rear bathroom floor linoleum. And how in the world is a table post defective? Either it works, or it doesn't. Tighten the set screws on all of your faucet taps, (even Monaco owners MUST do this occasionally), replace your rear tailights so that they don't leak, and remove and replace the stereo yourself, (arrange for the dealer to order a replacement so that you can swap it out under warranty).

I previously backpack camped, and car camped with my son's Scout troop. And moved into the Thor 34E motorhome from a Fleetwood 2004 GTE Niagara PopUp for the past ten years. If you want to complain about build quality and service, visit a Popup owners forum!

[blw2]

Entry level or not, $90k for what this is, is a lot of money.
A person shouldn't have to rely on the PDI to QC basic stuff!

The odd thing here or there, sure.... but this is really nuts, & my issues have mostly been pretty minor so far.

I too did a very extensive walk through and caught a lot. I'm fairly handy and still, i didn't find everyhing until actually using the unit.

And having had a popup for the last 5-1/2 years untill a couple weeks ago, and being active at a popup forum for maybe 6years, I'll have to disagree that they are worse. Equal, maybe..... but since they are so much "less" in terms of size, features, and complexity, they can't possibly be worse.
for example....In my pup there were exactly 2 drawers that could have been improperly installed.... in my coach there are I guess more than a dozen.
there were no relays in my electrical system, no tanks or level indicators, no slides, no power awning, no oven, etc....
Systems are more complex
more bells and whistles mean more to go wrong..... BUT interesting enough, these wouldn't be Thors issues anyway for the most part since they are third party, and it seems that for the most part these 3rd party items aren't the casue for warranty issues..... It seems mostly bad house construction, lazy installations, and seemingly non-existant QC.

Honestly, i doubt if Thor is really any worse than most others though..... (but I wouldn't know about those you listed as high end - prevost, etc...)

[srobm]

Unfortunately in Canada these units list out at $131,000. I did not pay that but still it is pricey.
Unfortunately I took delivery of mine in late March/early April when it was cold out and could not try out the water system. As well, the rear tail light worked at first then burnt out right away.
Overall, not very happy with the quality of the unit. While I know that it is entry level, there should at least be some sort of quality control.
Also of note, when I took off the panel to get to the shower drain, there was a whole pile of garbage just thrown under there. That is unacceptable.
No wonder people try and buy offshore items. My last 2 Nissan's have never had a problem. They were both made in Japan and quality and fit and finish were excellent. Unfortunately the North American worker (I live in Canada - Alberta) does not care about how they do their job. That is why countries around the world will continue to prosper. They want to work and North American's have become lazy.

[Beacher]

Originally Posted by blw2

Honestly, i doubt if Thor is really any worse than most others though..... (but I wouldn't know about those you listed as high end - prevost, etc...)

Nah, Thor is no better or worse than any of the other manufacturers for motorhomes, travel trailers, or even PopUps. And the exact same issues happen around the world too. If you read British, Australian, and German forums with their caravans and mini-motorhomes you will see the exact same electrical, plumbing, sewage, and appliance issues.

The reality is that RV's are luxury items that most of the assembly workers making them in today's world cannot ever afford, (unlike Henry Ford's assembly line workers). If you find hidden trash, extra holes, spare fasteners, crooked router cuts, crooked outlets, loose plumbing or electrical fittings, it's usually due to low assembly worker morale and/or energy level and NOT Quality Control.

I was almost going to work, (as a management executive), at the Fleetwood travel trailer assembly plant in Riverside CA a few years ago, and toured the facility a few times. I experienced the varying level of worker enthusiasm on Monday morning vs Friday afternoon. at this facility and at other RV, (and auto, aerospace, food, electronics, and appliance), manufacturers. This is universal, as long as human beings are involved.

[blw2]

Originally Posted by Beacher

..... If you find hidden trash, extra holes, spare fasteners, crooked router cuts, crooked outlets, loose plumbing or electrical fittings, it's usually due to low assembly worker morale and/or energy level and NOT Quality Control......

You are correct.... bad morale, low energy level.... and I might add bad work ethic, low integretity, society's general degradion of family, and all sorts of other personal faults and troubles that carry into the workplace.....

But I have to disagree that it ultimately has everything to do with QC
.... True, maybe the QC group is suffering from bad work ethic and low energy and low morale....
but QC processes should cover elements such as integrity, competance, spirit, etc.... throughout the organization....
and then ultimately should catch mistakes that happen before they leave the door.
The things I have seen so far aren't even mistakes.... if one drawer slide out of dozens were misaligned and loosely installed, ok mistake..... but pretty much all of mine were....

[srobm]

You would think that they would want to pay their QC people well and have them happy. I believe the extra work on my unit will be in the $4,000 range. Even if they spent an extra $500 to $1,000 per unit, they have a net savings for the company.
The company that I work for has a base salary and then a bonus based on performance. I believe if they would institute something like this, it would definitely save them money in the long run. The other thing it does is that your co-workers are watching what you do as it also effects their bonuses so everyone works together.
One solution for the industry.

[Beacher]

Coincidentally, I am a Quality guru at an aerospace high tech U.S.A. manufacturing facility, (not RVs). However, as I mentioned before, I almost did go work in the RV industry about a decade ago.

The limiting factor to flawless QC, is the cost issue. In order to allow for RV manufacturing in the U.S.A., virtually all of the remaining RV manufacturers run their operation extremely lean. The practice is even called "Lean Manufacturing"!

As such, most, if not all of them have done away with dedicated separate in-process and final inspection personnel. Instead, they have trained each employee to be "empowered" and responsible for quality at all phases of production, and at their assembly step. Each worker has the authority to stop the production line if they identify a defect, to have it reworked and corrected before it gets to the next assembly step.

Ideally, each successive employee in a production line is additionally responsible for more and more items to "inspect", with multiple eyeballs seeing that things are in perfect order by the time the product is finished.

In reality, everyone is usually gung-ho on Monday morning, or right after their daily/weekly department meeting. Then, as the week goes on, they are thinking about their personal life, dinner plans, or the weekend, and not so much about anything other than the task at hand, and how fast they can get it done. So, towards the end of the week very few defects get reworked.

Chances are, if you get a lemon, it was assembled or made late in the week.

With every really good Quality system there are systems, procedures, and checks and balances to help overcome the reality of the human condition. These processes are in place to help eliminate the end-of-week syndrome at the manufacturer's factory.

But, as everyone has experienced, for RV's, it's ultimately left up to dealer to correct any last minute defects found before delivery to the purchasing customer. The better the dealership technicians are at performing "Dealer Preparation", the less problems the final customer will have.

Some RV dealerships simply focus on profits through sales volume, so they have really bad Prep technicians. Better dealerships focus on customer service and repeat sales, and they typically have very good Prep technicians.

[blw2]

Originally Posted by Beacher

Chances are, if you get a lemon, it was assembled or made late in the week.

For what it's worth, mine came off the line on a Tuesday..... so yeah, mybe the cabinets and most of the house were installed the previous Friday?

[FW28z]

The RV industry today reminds me of the auto industry in the '70s. Things will continue the way they are until a manufacturer starts building a better product (which might mean Made in China these days), then the domestic builders will either improve or go out of business.

But the North West Indiana RV/Mobile Home industry have been building shoddy stuff for 50 years. So nothing really new there.

There is a unique difference though between the RV and auto industries...the RV industry, like the Boat industry makes leisure goods which makes them susceptible to a bad economy.

The Boat industry has been going through a shakeup recently - since the economy downturn in '08. Many brands have gone out of business, and some have moved their operations to Mexico. While that does not mean the result is necessarily better boats, it's more or less the natural evolution of the industry.

Boats are typically more expensive than RVs, so it happened there first... whether or not it happens in the RV industry is yet to be seen.

So, if the RV industry follows the Boating industry, get ready for made in China or made in Mexico RVs.

[CQB4Me]

I recently took delivery of a 2015 Hurricane 34J. I was worried after reading all the bad reviews on quality, and ride, and slides, etc. Maybe I got a rare one, but mine has been great! Maybe they have done some tweaks from the 2014 to the 2015 (I have noticed some improvements during my research/ shopping). The ride is quiet, slides (so far) have worked good. I did a quick trip a few days ago, and tried everything out. All in all, I'm really impressed. I have a few stuff being worked on at the dealer (they have to restring a new HDMI cable from the bedroom to the living room), but nothing I would talk bad about the company for. Should it have been caught at QC? Sure, but no biggie. I have some family and friends who are rolling in brand new Winnebago's and they are having a fair amount of issues. Like I said, maybe I got a "good" one, or maybe they have fixed some stuff, but either way, fingers crossed that it continues to go alright. Its my first RV, so trying to keep good first impressions. Good luck

[srobm]

More on the saga.
The hardware on the kitchen drawer now will not lock and flops in and out when you drive. Going to put something on it to keep it from moving until it can be fixed.
Then I was putting out my bedroom slide and heard a crunch. Started looking around and at the very back where they run the water lines and the electrical there is a partial box to protect these items. They put a screw in it to hold but I guess you have to put it in a little bit further than the width of a finger nail. The box fell over and when putting out the slide, it caught the edge of the nite stand and took it partially off.
All I can say is that this is VERY POOR CRAFTMANSHIP. THOR will never get my business again.

[pedersen1951]

Any updates on Hurricane 34E 2015? Any members have comments on how they are holding up? I am considering getting one.

[Sappy]

Originally Posted by CQB4Me

I recently took delivery of a 2015 Hurricane 34J. I was worried after reading all the bad reviews on quality, and ride, and slides, etc. Maybe I got a rare one, but mine has been great! Maybe they have done some tweaks from the 2014 to the 2015 (I have noticed some improvements during my research/ shopping). The ride is quiet, slides (so far) have worked good. I did a quick trip a few days ago, and tried everything out. All in all, I'm really impressed. I have a few stuff being worked on at the dealer (they have to restring a new HDMI cable from the bedroom to the living room), but nothing I would talk bad about the company for. Should it have been caught at QC? Sure, but no biggie. I have some family and friends who are rolling in brand new Winnebago's and they are having a fair amount of issues. Like I said, maybe I got a "good" one, or maybe they have fixed some stuff, but either way, fingers crossed that it continues to go alright. Its my first RV, so trying to keep good first impressions. Good luck

Hubby & I are picking up a 2015 Thor Hurrican 34E next week. It seems like a great coach but I'm reading some bad and some good remarks. Keeping my fingers crossed this one is a good one. I am wondering where most people keep the kitchen waste basket ? A bit different setup then our last motorhome. Thanks in advance.

[Chateau_Nomad]

Originally Posted by Sappy

Hubby & I are picking up a 2015 Thor Hurrican 34E next week. It seems like a great coach but I'm reading some bad and some good remarks. Keeping my fingers crossed this one is a good one. I am wondering where most people keep the kitchen waste basket ? A bit different setup then our last motorhome. Thanks in advance.

Someone has had over 6 years to fix the broken stuff. For your sake, here's hoping they were dedicated, diligent - and knew what they were doing!