2023 Thor Outlaw 38kb

[Jabond]

Hello everyone. Here’s my situation…..Been living on and off the road for years but just recently sold everything, home, belongings the lot and went full time with my wife, four kids and two dogs…..great Dane and a chocolate lab, squashed into the new 38kb.

Dealer story from hell as I’m sure many know all to well about. We had a private inspection a month before we set a delivery date, small things found as expected pre PDI, dealer explicitly reassured us all will be addressed prior to said date. Move family to hotel in Texes from Florida after house sold with all our “road” belongings, go to collect the rig and it’s in worse condition than when the inspection took place, nothing was done and they managed to scratch the counter tops, gouge the shower floor, scratch the cooker, installed the garage a/c unit so it has a 2”gap around it and leaks in the rain, the washer/dryer leaked all over the bedroom, the Coach was filthy inside and out, the generator had sealant caught up in the gas lines so quit running the first few hours……the drivers window leaks all down the inside……the list goes on and on. They wrote a bunch of “we owe you’s” and said to find a service department to have the replacement items sent to so they can be installed as I was done with them and didn’t want to be around them for another second before I lost my composure completely.

Being that we are full time this is now a real problem to get into a service department that will accommodate us. Our insurance covers us quite a bit for accommodations but then it’s a claim……not a great start. I can repair all of this and have got the essential repairs done, not the point when you pay 250k cash for a “luxury” Coach…..or am I delusional? We have campgrounds booked and paid for all up and down the east coast for the next 3 months before we head over the west coast.

Heading back to Florida from Virginia Beach in a week to register Rig and toad ………any one know of a good warranty service department in Florida?? I’ve had experience with a few and they are all about as useless and my Texes dealer! Anyway, feels good to let it out to fellow RV peoples! Stay safe everyone.

[EA37TS]

Why did you accept the coach with all the known issues?

All dealers are concerned with one thing only, the sale.

Hopefully Thor can assist.

[Jabond]

Thank you. Thor has been good, finding a service department seems really difficult, one that has a solid reputation anyway. We accepted the Coach only because of the cost of the hotel and a rental van we needed for a large family and pets was huge. A week before we left Florida to go and take delivery in Texes they said the Coach was all done……they had my hand behind my back unfortunately.

[Judge]

I highly recommend you contact Thor Warranty Customer Service directly (warrantysupport@tmcrv.com) and explain your situation and ask them to get you an appointment at the Thor Factory Service Center in Wakarusa.

Prior to COVID you could sleep in your coach at night while they worked on it during the day.... assuming it wasn't a major issue they were dealing with... in which case they did put people up in hotel.

They are typically booked out a couple months but in extreme circumstances... and when it is a new coach... they try to get you in as soon as possible. I only trust the Thor Service Center and never a dealer for my coaches if it is something I could not do myself.

They also work on nothing but Thor products... they know all of the weaknesses and short cuts manufacturing take. Their repairs are better than anything that comes off the factory floor. They also have direct access to parts.... if the parts are in stock.

Often they even catch things you might not.... and they fix them! They found a paint issue under my awning when it was being replaced that could only be seen up close on a ladder and they got into the body shop to be fixed.


You're in a touch spot but if you want it done right so you can move on with your new life..... head to Wakarusa, IN as soon as they can get you in.

[Jabond]

Thank you very much for the direction to the facility. That’s what I’ve been looking for as I’m filled with dread at the thought of another service departments run around and shoddy workmanship. I’ve been onto Thor about it, they said they will accommodate us in a resolution and to find an available service location, I will now tell them I found one and make the trip up. I rolled the dice with a new gas A class, the engine has performed very well, handles excellent and the layout is perfect. 1700 miles out the gate. We’re about to tow our new jeep so another stress test but I have been impressed with the Coach so far I must say. I’ve always had diesels rigs so this was really going against the grain for me. Time will only tell but the kids and wife are having the time of their lives so that’s a big win right?!

[onewayout]

Ugh, I know where you're coming from. I have a 2021 38KB and have had nothing but problems from day 1, too many to list. I typically fix most of them myself because of the inconvenience of dropping it at a dealer, it being down for weeks and then getting it back with nothing actually fixed.
Currently mine has been in the shop since March. Still there. The latest is for a problem that apparently has plagued these since 2009 ... the walls separate from the floor frame causing major issues with the dash board rattling apart as well as the entire front cap also separating from the walls/roof. Thor has been very difficult to deal with; the dealer is constantly jumping thru hoops to satisfy Thor's request for pics/vids, etc, only to satisfy the request and then they want more. Each time weeks go by. Thor Customer service has been worthless. They pass the buck or flat out don't reply.
I am beyond pissed with this whole process. I'm pissed at Thor's inaction and stall tactics, even though they know it's a known problem. Thor has gotten too big too fast to effectively manage their growth.
I purchased new a 2018 Thor Challenger 37TB prior to this and it had it's small issues but nothing like this.

Thor ... Never. Again.

Good luck with yours and enjoy life on the road.

[Judge]

Originally Posted by onewayout

Ugh, I know where you're coming from. I have a 2021 38KB and have had nothing but problems from day 1, too many to list. I typically fix most of them myself because of the inconvenience of dropping it at a dealer, it being down for weeks and then getting it back with nothing actually fixed.
Currently mine has been in the shop since March. Still there. The latest is for a problem that apparently has plagued these since 2009 ... the walls separate from the floor frame causing major issues with the dash board rattling apart as well as the entire front cap also separating from the walls/roof. Thor has been very difficult to deal with; the dealer is constantly jumping thru hoops to satisfy Thor's request for pics/vids, etc, only to satisfy the request and then they want more. Each time weeks go by. Thor Customer service has been worthless. They pass the buck or flat out don't reply.
I am beyond pissed with this whole process. I'm pissed at Thor's inaction and stall tactics, even though they know it's a known problem. Thor has gotten too big too fast to effectively manage their growth.
I purchased new a 2018 Thor Challenger 37TB prior to this and it had it's small issues but nothing like this.

Thor ... Never. Again.

Good luck with yours and enjoy life on the road.

Sounds just like the Thor Super C's. I would say 80% of them have an issue with the front cap attachment. They use screws that are too small instead of bolts and they don't use enough of them. They also don't use structural adhesive sealant around the seam. Between the chassis torquing and twisting from leveling and the cap bouncing from typical road conditions, the screws start to break or pull through in a few thousand miles.

It's a shame you pay that much and there is zero in terms of quality and workmanship.

[onewayout]

Originally Posted by onewayout

Ugh, I know where you're coming from. I have a 2021 38KB and have had nothing but problems from day 1, too many to list. I typically fix most of them myself because of the inconvenience of dropping it at a dealer, it being down for weeks and then getting it back with nothing actually fixed.
Currently mine has been in the shop since March. Still there. The latest is for a problem that apparently has plagued these since 2009 ... the walls separate from the floor frame causing major issues with the dash board rattling apart as well as the entire front cap also separating from the walls/roof. Thor has been very difficult to deal with; the dealer is constantly jumping thru hoops to satisfy Thor's request for pics/vids, etc, only to satisfy the request and then they want more. Each time weeks go by. Thor Customer service has been worthless. They pass the buck or flat out don't reply.
I am beyond pissed with this whole process. I'm pissed at Thor's inaction and stall tactics, even though they know it's a known problem. Thor has gotten too big too fast to effectively manage their growth.
I purchased new a 2018 Thor Challenger 37TB prior to this and it had it's small issues but nothing like this.

Thor ... Never. Again.

Good luck with yours and enjoy life on the road.

UPDATE:
After months of back and forth between my local dealer (Camping World) and Thor, Thor finally approved diagnostic time. They removed the belt line trim forward of both front wheels and discovered all the screws were either sheared or stripped.
It then took weeks to get authorization for repair. Camping World drilled all screw holes, installed larger diameter thru-bolts and also doubled up the number of bolts. After performing the repair, further authorization was needed to repair the front cap that was separating. That required paint work and resealing of the cap joint.

I just got the coach back from the shop two weeks ago. It went into the Shop in March. This is for a known problem that in my research dates back to 2009 in Class A Outlaws. Thor knows about this problem, however acts as if they don't when it comes time to make repairs on this. The crazy thing is they are still building them the same way without making changes to prevent this in the future. $10 worth of hardware and really no extra time on the assembly line would alleviate this, SMH.

My guess is this is occurring on many of these as well as other models, but the owners are unaware.
After these repairs, the coach drives and feels and sounds better than it ever has. Much tighter and quiet.

[RACarvalho]

Originally Posted by Jabond

.... I can repair all of this and have got the essential repairs done, not the point when you pay 250k cash for a “luxury” Coach…..or am I delusional? ....

I would fix whatever I can fix myself and have a good dealer fix what I can't.
A monkey is a monkey doesn't matter how expensive is the suit you dress it with.
If the dealer you are dealing with already demonstrated they do bad jobs, why try to make them fix what is wrong?
They probably will make the problem worst.

As for $250K being good money for not having to deal with a problem, I once witnessed a guy pay more than $1M in a brand new yacht and then spend the following 3 years in INTERNATIONAL litigation to have his boat fixed under warranty....