Thank God it was not a DRV - Page 2

The Gritz Carlton · 09-06-2018, 12:22 PM

Ever been in a truck stop or large interstate convenience store when a Greyhound bus pulls in for a "break stop"? The bathrooms get destroyed and the coffee bar is left like a bomb went off. To feed 12 people just one meal would take more food than we pack in for a long weekend. There's not an RV made today that's designed to handle that much activity.

BradnKaren · 09-06-2018, 12:57 PM

Wow! I feel really bad for that family. That's a disgrace! Further proof that manufacturing issues are industry wide and not just a few.

I "vacationed" in a pop up once 8 months pregnant. She did it in a tent?!

I don't think 12 people is too many for that RV. Our first RV was 23ft motorhome and we had 3 kids and a large dog. Used it for 9 years. That 5er looks to be almost twice that size. I also don't think the number of people contributed to problems like propane leaks, sparks, unfastened waste tanks, etc.. Sounds like a crap build to me. A veteran RVer would have spotted a lot of that but I get the impression they are rookies.

With crappy production and RV sales still booming, RV pre-delivery inspections by a professional are becoming necessary. Also local and/or mobile repair. Both good business opportunities, I would think.

Bob Denman · 09-06-2018, 01:06 PM

It's really just a matter of determining what your tolerance for "Togetherness" is...

I might have to buy a 45 foot DP, so that the Missus and I don't exceed ours!

The Gritz Carlton · 09-06-2018, 01:14 PM

Camping is one thing....living full time and home-schooling 10 kids in an RV is another. Remember that feeling when you got back "home" from camping? If they're happy...great!! Kids don't have a choice.

BigTexasFamily · 09-07-2018, 08:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rynosback

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9xgILArGuc

Hey thanks for posting our video. Was wondering why the YouTube version was getting views. I'm going to reply to some of the comments in this thread as well.

thanks,
Big Texas Family

BigTexasFamily · 09-07-2018, 08:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by K0LCB

Wow! That’s too true to be funny

K0LCB de W5MIX. FB OM. TNX ES 73.
(that's ham radio morse code abbreviations for those confused)

73,
Big Texas Family

BigTexasFamily · 09-07-2018, 08:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JamieGeek

Wow those are quite impressive for their creativity.

You'd think a good PDI would have caught most of that stuff, however, since much of it was very blatant (I wonder if the dealer saw them coming a mile away and just sold them the crap unit sitting on the lot).

Hey Jamie. Great point. We bought "direct from the factory". That's The RV Factory way of doing business. In hindsight, we agree a PDI, especially 3rd party would have caught some of these issues.

thanks,
Big Texas Family

BigTexasFamily · 09-07-2018, 08:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rynosback

I was thinking the same thing. I would bet that they were WAY overloaded. Which could have caused a lot of there issues. But you never know.

All issues are a result by The RV Factory's poor craftsmanship and not by our use. We were only able to take ONE trip in our camper, when we first got it in September 2016. Since then it's been sitting in our yard. Spent a year trying to get The RV Factory (generic name, you might know them by their brands LUXE and Weekend Warrior) to fix it. At the year mark, with most major issues not fixed, we had enough, and told them it was time to buy it back.

Hope that helps...

Big Texas Family

BigTexasFamily · 09-07-2018, 08:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Gritz Carlton

I'm a happy camper...mine must have been made on Wednesday. Most people I know have had pretty good experience with Thor. We never hear the other side of the story...12 people in a camper trailer full time living is gross overload...in all aspects of the word!! Maybe all of them sleeping in the bathrooms and on top of the countertops and in the cabinets have contributed to part of their issues.

Hey Gritz. We don't full time. The 5th wheel has PLENTY of beds, bunks, etc.. one of the main reasons we bought it. It's actually quite spacious, even with all of us in it. However, as mentioned above, we only got to take one trip in it before we noticed all the major safety and structural issues it had (grease in the brake drums, two hacked frame trusses, water tanks extremely irresponsibly secured, bad pinbox), so it's been sitting ever since. The RV Factory did finally swap out the pinbox 4 months after we reported it.

thanks,
Big Texas Family

BigTexasFamily · 09-07-2018, 08:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BradnKaren

Wow! I feel really bad for that family. That's a disgrace! Further proof that manufacturing issues are industry wide and not just a few.

I "vacationed" in a pop up once 8 months pregnant. She did it in a tent?!

Yes, the wife is a trooper, and never complained about it. But when we were in Chattanooga last year, in the August summer heat, and I'm watching her at 8 months pregnant, tossing and turning in a tent, and we have a $100K 5th wheel that's dead in our driveway back at home, I decided we were done. No more waiting for their promises to fix it. At that point, The RV Factory was buying back the camper. We spent a year being patient and way too understanding with them. Now we are done. We told them all this privately at first and gave them a chance to take care of it in a quiet fashion, but they didn't want to do that. So now there's some entertaining videos that tell the story.

Hope that helps..

JamieGeek · 09-07-2018, 09:57 PM

Oh wow! Welcome to the site guys.

BigTexasFamily · 09-07-2018, 10:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JamieGeek

Oh wow! Welcome to the site guys.

Hey thanks for the welcome, Jamie. Hopefully I cleared up some of the questions folks had. Maybe we'll be looking at a Thor sometime. Are people here generally happy owning one?

JamieGeek · 09-07-2018, 10:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigTexasFamily

Hey thanks for the welcome, Jamie. Hopefully I cleared up some of the questions folks had. Maybe we'll be looking at a Thor sometime. Are people here generally happy owning one?

Um well ! LOL Those of us who had good dealer experiences are happy (Search the forums here there are a few "are you happy" threads with long discussions).

Thor does have its share of assembly problems (about the same or a little worse than the industry as a whole); something a good dealer can help you out with. There are a few Thor stories on here similar to yours but there isn't a lot.

Given your experience I fear for any RV salesperson you approach next ! LOL.

Here are a couple of those threads:
http://www.thorforums.com/forums/f4/...appy-1043.html
http://www.thorforums.com/forums/f17...here-7454.html

(You can get a general feel for Thor's quality just by browsing these forums around a bit.)

Bob Denman · 09-07-2018, 10:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JamieGeek

Oh wow! Welcome to the site guys.

Yes! I'm also happy to see that you've made your family: part of ours!

BigTexasFamily · 09-07-2018, 10:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JamieGeek

Given your experience I fear for any RV salesperson you approach next ! LOL.

Ha ha, right? Yep, you could say we learned a very big lesson with our purchase, and will be really careful if we ever make another.

As for the salesman, it could make for a good selling point:

"Did you know Big Texas Family has one of our campers?"

"Really?"

"Yep, and all the videos they've made have been great!"

"Where do I sign?"

BigTexasFamily · 09-07-2018, 10:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bob Denman

Yes! I'm also happy to see that you've made your family: part of ours!

Oh thanks, Bob. Very nice of you. Are you out camping anywhere right now? If not, any trips coming up?

Bob Denman · 09-07-2018, 10:58 PM

We're still working full-time...

But we've got Columbus Day Weekend booked!

Then our Outlaw gets put to bed for it's long Winter nap...

BigTexasFamily · 09-07-2018, 11:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bob Denman

We're still working full-time...

But we've got Columbus Day Weekend booked!

Then our Outlaw gets put to bed for it's long Winter nap...

Should be a nice time of the year to finish off your camping season. In what part of the country is the campground? And have you been RVing for a while?

Bob Denman · 09-07-2018, 11:15 PM

We're going to try out a Good Sam Park in Narvon, Pa.
(Lake in Woods Resort...)
We'll see how it all goes.

I've been around campers for only about 50 years now...

But my Missus is new to the game.
We had to let some of "Life" get past us; before buying this rig.
(Our Son is out on his own, and getting married... We're finally within five years of retiring

, and at least SOME of the bills are finally paid!)

BradnKaren · 09-07-2018, 11:33 PM

Welcome, BigTexasFamily!

I believe most RV manufacturers have quality issues. I belong to several camping groups and I see complaints about lots of different issues among various manufacturers. Yours however, seems to be pretty high on the piece of crap meter. I'm really sorry and I hope you have a lawyer or two involved.

That said, we LOVE our Thor and don't regret our purchase. Yep, we had our share of issues, mostly minor, to shake out but Thor took excellent care of us and our RV. We'd buy another Thor in a heartbeat. I think it helps that my husband is very handy, we have 20 years of motor home experience, and we're generally patient, reasonable people.

Good luck to you and your family, and if you do decide to buy another RV, be it a Thor or not, you will find a ton of helpful information here about the buying and warranty process that would apply to just about any manufacturer.

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