About 1 year into Citation 24SA

[jutdean]

Hello RV'ers!

This is my first RV and it's been mixed emotions. First, me and my family LOVE using the RV! We are building a ton of great memories. The BAD is anything that Thor touched. Love the Mercedes diesel, love how it drives, can't believe how many things I've fixed in the first 7,000 miles. Thor should be ashamed of their quality control. I have so many pictures of things I've found that show that Thor employees just don't care...

With that said, I figure it's better to deal with all the headaches and upgrade what I have as I do love the floor plan and I'm not willing to move away from the Mercedes Sprinter chasis.

[petef]

been there done that agree. and agree. welcome to the club!

Originally Posted by jutdean

Hello RV'ers!

This is my first RV and it's been mixed emotions. First, me and my family LOVE using the RV! We are building a ton of great memories. The BAD is anything that Thor touched. Love the Mercedes diesel, love how it drives, can't believe how many things I've fixed in the first 7,000 miles. Thor should be ashamed of their quality control. I have so many pictures of things I've found that show that Thor employees just don't care...

With that said, I figure it's better to deal with all the headaches and upgrade what I have as I do love the floor plan and I'm not willing to move away from the Mercedes Sprinter chasis.

[sepesce]

Welcome to the forum . I'm Sorry to hear you have had so many problems with your coach!

[DTB]

Well, we just purchased a 2017 Citation Sprinter 24SS. We moved from a 2010 Winnebago Era because we needed the extra space, towing capacity, and ability to carry a bit more cargo. Like all motorhomes this one suffers from quality issues and we will have to make some changes etc. BUT, I really think Thor should be ashamed of the water bay (don't know what else to call it)
1. The "tube" in which one stores the sewer hose is NOT long enough or big enough around to accommodate a normal sewer hose. It is a useless waste of space.
2. The four position switch "normal" "winterize" "city" and "tank" (I presume tank means fill) is so poorly labeled that it was almost impossible to tell which position was which. The lettering is stamped in the white plastic, the switch is recessed into the compartment and I had to hold a small flashlight at an angle to read to positions. Well my label maker fixed that.
3. There is NO WAY to close the compartment door if the ANYTHING is attached, sewer, water, tank flush, or tv coax. I cut a 3.5 in hole in the floor to accommodate hoses and coax, repositioned the black tank flush so I can close the door.
Thor should be ashamed at this oversight. Personally, I'd want to fire the engineer who came up with this.

[jutdean]

Originally Posted by DTB

Well, we just purchased a 2017 Citation Sprinter 24SS. We moved from a 2010 Winnebago Era because we needed the extra space, towing capacity, and ability to carry a bit more cargo. Like all motorhomes this one suffers from quality issues and we will have to make some changes etc. BUT, I really think Thor should be ashamed of the water bay (don't know what else to call it)
1. The "tube" in which one stores the sewer hose is NOT long enough or big enough around to accommodate a normal sewer hose. It is a useless waste of space.
2. The four position switch "normal" "winterize" "city" and "tank" (I presume tank means fill) is so poorly labeled that it was almost impossible to tell which position was which. The lettering is stamped in the white plastic, the switch is recessed into the compartment and I had to hold a small flashlight at an angle to read to positions. Well my label maker fixed that.
3. There is NO WAY to close the compartment door if the ANYTHING is attached, sewer, water, tank flush, or tv coax. I cut a 3.5 in hole in the floor to accommodate hoses and coax, repositioned the black tank flush so I can close the door.
Thor should be ashamed at this oversight. Personally, I'd want to fire the engineer who came up with this.

Good point about the sewer line storage. It's obvious to me that Thor just puts things on as cheaply as possible so that their product passes the "show room inspection". Of course no one is going to actually pull the sewer line out and try to store it in that compartment, you just check to see that something is there.

That's a perfect example of countless things I've found on the Thor.

Some day I'll buy another RV (not a Thor) and will know so much more. The sales person is probably gonna hate me...

[FL-AR]

Originally Posted by DTB

Well, we just purchased a 2017 Citation Sprinter 24SS. We moved from a 2010 Winnebago Era because we needed the extra space, towing capacity, and ability to carry a bit more cargo. Like all motorhomes this one suffers from quality issues and we will have to make some changes etc. BUT, I really think Thor should be ashamed of the water bay (don't know what else to call it)
1. The "tube" in which one stores the sewer hose is NOT long enough or big enough around to accommodate a normal sewer hose. It is a useless waste of space.
2. The four position switch "normal" "winterize" "city" and "tank" (I presume tank means fill) is so poorly labeled that it was almost impossible to tell which position was which. The lettering is stamped in the white plastic, the switch is recessed into the compartment and I had to hold a small flashlight at an angle to read to positions. Well my label maker fixed that.
3. There is NO WAY to close the compartment door if the ANYTHING is attached, sewer, water, tank flush, or tv coax. I cut a 3.5 in hole in the floor to accommodate hoses and coax, repositioned the black tank flush so I can close the door.
Thor should be ashamed at this oversight. Personally, I'd want to fire the engineer who came up with this.

We bought a Siesta Sprinter 24SV last month. It is the same as the Citation. The first night we camped, we discovered the problem with the water bay.
The door wouldn't close with the hose attached. It rained a lot that night, so our bay filled up with water. There was no drain plug or hatch for the hose to go through. We intend to get a hatch in the compartment.

Overall we love the floorplan and the driveablity. Enjoying it!

We will be taking it in for some warranty work soon. The biggest issue we have had is with air leaks around the coach door. It seems warped and just doesn't fit tightly.

[KC8RXQ]

Looks like the cut-rate utility compartment transcended from the Synergy to the Citation model. I saw that one first thing and made the dealer install a utility cable hatch in the floor. It isn't pretty but it works. Also, check the curved windows over the cab as they have a tendency to leak. Next, check the slide seals (top and sides) to make sure there is no water passing through to the interior. Climb on the roof to make doubly and "triply" sure that the seams between the roof fabric and the front and rear seams are completely in tact and properly sealed. There are some other issues but these were the ones that worried me the most until they were fixed.

Ours is the 2016 Thor Synergy TT24 3.0L and I really like it for its maneuverability, its economy, and its usability for me and my wife.

Stay on top of inspections and maintenance and I really hope you get to enjoy your motorhome.

Ed L

[DTB]

I've never posted an image on this forum and since I've done some modifications to the water bay "compartment" I thought I'd start by trying to insert just an image of our new coach. If this works I'll then write another post and insert the pics explaining our modifications to the compartment itself.

[DTB]

The image below is our water bay ( compartment if you will ) This compartment door will NOT close when hooked up at a campground. There are three issues with it.
Issue one:
In the image below I've placed a 90 degree elbow on the black tank flush inlet. Without the elbow the hose would stick straight out not allowing the door to close. In addition to the elbow I've also added an anti siphon valve so fluids from the black tank cannot enter the hose itself. Moreover, the multi position switch (background center left) is labeled so poorly that I had to use my label maker to mark the positions more clearly i.e. Tank, City, Normal etc.

[DTB]

Issue number two:
There is NO access port in the bottom of the water bay. Well I fixed that. In the photo below I used a 3.5 in hole saw and a simple sewer connection to "create" an access port. Three things must be placed in this port, the "city" water hose, the flush hose, and the coax if using the campground television stations. Using this access port allows us to close the compartment door when fully hooked up at the camp ground. The cap for the access port is screwed in from the bottom. Two bolts are used to keep the port itself from falling out.

[KC8RXQ]

DTB,

How will you keep rodents and critters like that out of the compartment when you have hoses routed through the opening?

Ed L
2016 Thor Synergy TT24 3.0L

[DTB]

Issue number three:
When using a normal sewer hose the compartment door cannot be closed.
I first purchased a 45 degree clear elbow - and the door would still not close. Took the elbow back and purchased a 90 degree one. That works. Now, when hooked up at the campground we can close the compartment door. By-the-way, the photo also shows the underside of the access port which is used for hose and coax access.

[DTB]

Originally Posted by KC8RXQ

DTB,

How will you keep rodents and critters like that out of the compartment when you have hoses routed through the opening?

Ed L
2016 Thor Synergy TT24 3.0L

Ed, if I left things the way Thor designed them the compartment door would have been wide open anyway, allowing rodents and critters free access to the compartment itself. In this way at least I've limited the opening. I don't believe that I can fully stop them from gaining access to the compartment but at least I've limited it. In addition I've reached in and felt all of the compartment walls, ceiling and floor and there are no openings within the compartment itself which would allow a rodent to invade the coach. Insects maybe. We will just have to wait and see.

[JamieGeek]

Have you tried to swivel the black/grey tank outlet? On many of the other Thor models the black/grey tank discharge swivels.

[DTB]

Originally Posted by JamieGeek

Have you tried to swivel the black/grey tank outlet? On many of the other Thor models the black/grey tank discharge swivels.

I thought the same thing, so I tried to swivel it. It seems to be fixed in place. Nothing swivels.

[JamieGeek]

Originally Posted by DTB

I thought the same thing, so I tried to swivel it. It seems to be fixed in place. Nothing swivels.

It took 3 seasons for ours to loosen up enough for me to be able to move it.. I would occasionally try, since I knew it should given other Axis owner's experiences, I just wouldn't force it that hard. Then one day....it moved LOL

[DTB]

Crawled under the rear of the MH today to check a couple of things out. I do not believe that the black and grey water dump can pivot. Indeed, it seems to be fixed in place. Moreover, there is another dump valve (black) on the other side of the coach. I have no idea what that one is for but its right under the bathroom and seems to be connected to the black water tank. Must I pull that one as well when dumping the two tanks?
Picture one shows the area that seems to be fixed and non-pivoting

Photo number two show the second valve

[JamieGeek]

Yeah that doesn't look like it rotates at all.

[DTB]

Originally Posted by JamieGeek

Yeah that doesn't look like it rotates at all.

Why do you think there is another dump valve on the other side of the coach?

[JamieGeek]

Originally Posted by DTB

Why do you think there is another dump valve on the other side of the coach?

There are a few models with this "feature" with a lot of speculation as to why its there. From what I've read (ours doesn't have one) Thor puts the valve on when the waste tank is across the coach from the dump outlet. I think one of the hypothesis has been to keep that long run empty--especially during winter storage.