Vinyl Woes!

[Wonderdog]

Our 2017 Axis 25.2 sofa, passenger and driver chairs show much deterioration after only 3 years. I emailed Thor with no response yet to see if the vendors have a longer warranty period than Thor does on the unit. It has not had rough treatment at all. There are no kids, pets or endangered wild animals secretly kept. I'm very disappointed in the quality. The pictures don't show the smaller cracked and flaking areas. There is no way I can trade this on a new RV without taking a huge loss. Anyone else had this problem? Any suggestions?
Enlarging the pics shows them properly. I don't know why they post cattywompus.

[ducksface]

Easily 300 posts about this on this forum.
In a nutshell:
The entire industry including household furniture got a big ol' bad batch.
Many many rv from that year and 2016 along with many to most home furniture is doing this.

There is no recourse for you at all UNLESS you bought the extended warranty on the interior.
Commonly poopoo'd by those who won't pay for it, heaven sent for those who did.

I'm going to guess a new couch is going to be the same price, or less, than upholstery will be.
Now is the perfect time for that dual recliner upgrade.

And

That's barely a hit on a trade in.
$500 bucks is top dollar for them to pay for fixing that.
$1,000 buys them recliners they can charge $2,000 for as an upgrade.

[Wonderdog]

Ouch! But thank you for the info. I feel better about trade in whether I fix it or not.

[Wonderdog]

Followup: Thor contacted me and requested my VIN. We shall see what is decided. My past dealings with them have been in my favor. I have never felt they were trying to not deal fairly.

[Wonderdog]

Nice email received from Thor today concerning the vinyl deterioration. It was polite but basically said

"SORRY BUBBA, YOU'RE ON YOUR OWN!"

Well, I did paraphrase but you get the idea. I've been reading up on this problem and it is everywhere, but you probably knew that. Guess I'm late to the party again.
Has anyone used Covercraft seat covers on their captain's chairs? Any others? We're going to buy seat covers for them but cover the jackknife sofa ourselves. This will be a redecorating opportunity that should set us apart from the crowd.

[ducksface]

It is an opportunity and that's a good way to look at it.

[bknox]

So, it looks like nothing's changed. Our 2012 Hurricane, which we bought used, had the same problem. We've reupholstered the Couch, most of the driver and passenger chairs, and the dinette "pillows". Oh, and by the way, never mind the interior, we've had to have the house reattached to the chassis on both sides from the front of the coach to the door, and under the slide...if you ever have this problem, Fix-Auto is the place to go.

Thor's take on all of this is too bad! Not under warranty, not our problem, even if the whole thing collapses on you. Safety problem? Who cares!

[ducksface]

[QUOTE=bknox;227796]
Thor's take on all of this is too bad! Not under warranty, not our problem, even if the whole thing collapses on you. Safety problem? Who cares![/QUOTE




Tell us what you drive other than a Thor.
Tell us what they would do after warranty.

[RVGeek]

Yep, I paid to "upgrade" my dinette to this faux leather. Big mistake. Mine looked like yours. I next bought the same fabric online and had the seat bottoms recovered. Mistake #2. I paid about $5/yd, retail. (Surprised?) Apparently, Thor uses this inferior product on drivers/passengers seats, too, where there much more wear.

Finally, I had an upholstery shop recover the the entire dinette with substantial material for just under $1k. (The first smart thing I did with this problem.)

I don't think Thor is alone in using cheap fabric, but with labor being the major component, why not use more substantial material? Who knows; they might acquire repeat customers. Too simple an idea, I suspect.

[frankgtx]

Finyl = Fake vinyl. Thor will not replace/fix. About $1700 to reupholster dual recliner with good quality vinyl and $1300 for cabin bucket seats. Replacing recliners is around $1000. $20 for a pair of decent bucket seat covers at Walmart.

[Johnny1943]

My 2016 is doing the same thing. And it is just plain embarrassing. To me, it’s still new. I have found many, many defects in the products and workmanship of my Thor Moore Home. Two examples...1. The Chrome coating has come off the side mirrors. 2). The wallpaper or whatever it is in the “motor room” looks like it was applied over large grain sand.

Same experience anyone?

I’m not a happy Camper with this Thor RV.

[ducksface]

Originally Posted by Johnny1943

My 2016 is doing the same thing. And it is just plain embarrassing. To me, it’s still new. I have found many, many defects in the products and workmanship of my Thor Moore Home. Two examples...1. The Chrome coating has come off the side mirrors. 2). The wallpaper or whatever it is in the “motor room” looks like it was applied over large grain sand.

Same experience anyone?

I’m not a happy Camper with this Thor RV.

Why haven't you sold it?
Make yourself happy.

Personally I'd paint the mirrors whatever color I thought was right at the time and check that off my angry list.

It's a spray paint fix at worst.
But
We'd really like a picture so we can help....
Look up:
Plasti-Dip spray.

Chrome is a higher line item on some motorhomes.
There's an awful lot of painted mirror heads out in rv land....

You'll have to explain 'motor room'. My 24.1 doesn't have anything I can even equate except the doghouse cover and it's gelcoat.

Pictures and we'll help fix it.

[Johnny1943]

“Motor Room” is a fancy name I’ve heard for where the driver and passenger sit.

[Johnny1943]

I will try to take pix Tomorrow of the things I mentioned and post them if I can figure out how.

[richardehrhart]

My 2016 ACE 30.1 had te same problem. We tried vinyl repair kits but that only compounded the problem. For about $160 we reupholstered the entire dinette and 3 window valances. It looks great and feels great(no more sticking to the vinyl with sweaty legs). See Pics.

[Golfbum18]

Originally Posted by Wonderdog

Nice email received from Thor today concerning the vinyl deterioration. It was polite but basically said

"SORRY BUBBA, YOU'RE ON YOUR OWN!"

Well, I did paraphrase but you get the idea. I've been reading up on this problem and it is everywhere, but you probably knew that. Guess I'm late to the party again.
Has anyone used Covercraft seat covers on their captain's chairs? Any others? We're going to buy seat covers for them but cover the jackknife sofa ourselves. This will be a redecorating opportunity that should set us apart from the crowd.

Let us know if you find a good company that does the capt. car seat covers...we're looking too.

[Johnny1943]

I will probably try the silver color. Thanks for the tip. I’d never heard of it.

[Laco]

I wonder if you contacted the furniture manufacturer, they might be more inclined to at least help. Years ago, on a Ford I still own, when it was about five years old, the signal mirrors reflective material de-laminated. I bypassed Ford, contacted the vendor that sold them to Ford, and they promptly replaced both mirrors at no cost to me. Years later, they are still good. If you identify the furniture manufacturer, it certainly might be worth the time to contact them.

[Mr Sunshine]

Originally Posted by richardehrhart

My 2016 ACE 30.1 had te same problem. We tried vinyl repair kits but that only compounded the problem. For about $160 we reupholstered the entire dinette and 3 window valances. It looks great and feels great(no more sticking to the vinyl with sweaty legs). See Pics.

Nice job. Thanks for sharing the pictures.

Our 2016 Vegas has the same pleather problem. Can't replace the couch with recliners on a 25.2 because of the water tank that lies below that couch. So it is time to reupholster, couch and front seats.

[Johnny1943]

I will definitely look into this. Thanks.