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Old 09-08-2019, 07:22 PM   #1
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Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: 2013 31L
State: Florida
Posts: 2,181
THOR #908
quality vs price point

diregarding the major appliances and components, do the higher end RV's built by Thor use better materials?

Things like the stove, AC, water heater, toilet, and so on are pretty much the same across all brands because they are sourced from the same vendors.

I'm wondering about the other stuff.... the upholstery, cabinets, and so on.

I was cleaning the pad form my overhead bunk yesterday, and was noticing just how cheap the underside backing material is. The top upholstery fabric, like the dinette cushions and so on seem to be reasonably ok material, but the vinyl they used on the back couldn't be much chintzier if they'd used saran wrap!
Not a surprise given all the sorry quality things I've seen and fixed over these years..

& of course the vinyl used on the sofa and other upholstery is flaking horribly.
and the cabinetry is some kind of cheaper fake sticker on paperboard
etc...
prob all of the lower end stuff by Thor and others are very similar

so I got to wondering about the mid level and higher end gas and diesel ones such as Tuscanny...and/or other brands such as the better Tiffins, better Winnebagos, the American Traditions, and Monacos, etc.... do they use the same sorry stuff?
...and I'm not talking about the ultra high end custom prevost based stuff...I know that's a different game...

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Old 09-08-2019, 07:55 PM   #2
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Brand: Still Looking
Model: Tiffin Wayfarer 24 BW
State: New York
Posts: 22,195
THOR #8860
We always hope to get a decent product for our hard-earned cash...
It just seems to be a bit of a "hit or miss" proposition!
We were being shown a $215,000 class A rig, and the build quality only seemed to be marginally better...
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Old 09-08-2019, 08:35 PM   #3
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Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Hurricane 31S
State: Texas
Posts: 4,157
THOR #6411
Thor MC division of Thor Industries maintains 5 different factories producing gas and diesel coaches. The Jayco division of Thor Industries produces a complete line of gas and diesel coaches including the Seneca super C and Entegra. Each factory operates independently designing, manufacturing and marketing their coaches. Yes there are major differences in the types of materials used in the coaches. For instance Entegra uses Spartan chassis while Thor MC uses Freightliner. Most of the gasoline coaches use the LCI in-wall system while the higher end Thor diesels use a in-floor slide. Porcelain tile floors in the Diesels with the Aqua hot system and vinyl flooring in the cheaper Diesels.
Having toured 6 of the Thor factories in including the ones in Middlebury, IN and Jackson center, OH, I can definitely state the the more expensive coaches use different manufacturing techniques and different materials. Whether a Formica counter top is better than 1" of granite is a matter of opinion, but the granite is definitely more expensive. Is a Garrard patio awning better than a CofC Latitude, not for the difference in price, NIMHO.

I have a little 31 ft gas coach (my third coach, first Thor MC) that fills all my expectation of what an RV should be. That said I don't dry camp and only spend about 80 nights a year in it, so what you value in a coach will be probably different than mine.
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