Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
 

Go Back   Thor Forums > Thor Community Forums > Introduce Yourself | Say Hello
Click Here to Login
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
 
Old 12-12-2020, 09:55 PM   #1
Junior Member
 
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
State: Missouri
Posts: 7
THOR #20979
Hopefully things will get better

My wife and I recently retired and looked forward to getting back into camping. Years ago we started with a tent, then a popup, then a trailer. Now my wife and I bought a Thor Freedom Elite 22FE Class C RV* We were sooo excited to take it on our first trip. Thankfully we only camped 3 miles from home. On that first trip we discovered the following problems.* The RV door won't close and catch unless you slam the door while lifting up on it.* The bottom kitchen drawer under the sink doesn't close unless you shove it with your foot. The sewer valves looked like one was open and one was closed.* We couldn't dump because we didn't know for sure everything was closed to start with. We ended up having two embarrassing spills before we figured* it out.* And now for the big things: The refrigerator won't run on propane.* It works on electric.* The circuit board was bad. Why wasn't this checked before the sale.* The kitchen sink and drain pipes have problems.* The pipe joints under the sink were loose and leaking.* The drain seal also leaked.* Now for the worse thing, the cab over bed area leaks on both sides. You can see the water dripping from the window. Now we face black mold growing in the RV and walls softening from the water draining down them.* All this and I need to mention that the tv is a cheap dumb tv that you can't cast your phone to, and the radio is hard to program, it was bad and had to be replaced. Even the labels on the shower taps were backwards.
Needless to say, we are very unhappy with both the attention to detail in the building of this RV and the condition it was sold to us in. Things were not checked out to see if they were in working order before the sale.* We were also charged over $700 !!! for a cursory run through of how everything was suppose to work.* When buying a new car the salesman does the same thing for free.* Now everything has been corrected but it really soured us on Thor and we have to hold our breath everytime we take it out wondering what will go wrong next.
*I am counting on this forum to help us through the rest of journey.

__________________
Rylan is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-12-2020, 10:20 PM   #2
Senior Member
 
ducksface's Avatar
 
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: 2018 24.1 AXISSIXxSIX
State: Arizona
Posts: 6,762
THOR #13932
Sell it.
No sense in worrying all of the time.
It will NEVER be worth more than it is now.

If you had found this site before you purchased you might have taken a wise old guys advice and camped in it on the dealer lot for a night or two before delivery.

A cursory delivery is not the sales departments fault and you should have the video you took during the delivery process to fall back on if you forgot something.

When you said you wouldn't pay the $700 what did they say in return?

All rv's have their problems.
I'm sorry you're having some, but any amount of research would have told you all about it.

We'll help here any way we can, but we can't put the past right to you or by you.

If you want to ask some questions we'll answer quickly and accurately.

Welcome to the site.

Sell the rv or take a deep breath and let us help you carry on.
__________________
Below is a link to most of my modifications either accomplished or pending.
https://www.thorforums.com/forums/f2...n-18996-3.html

Click on my pictures then click the pop-up for a full screen zoomable picture.
ducksface is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-12-2020, 10:21 PM   #3
Senior Member
 
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Freedom Traveller A27
State: North Carolina
Posts: 2,407
THOR #17765
Well first, welcome to the forum. We’ve all experienced similar problems. Hope you’re pretty handy with your hands and tools. The $700 PDI was a dealer ripoff. Assuming you bought new. Water intrusion happens. You’ll get good with a caulk gun. Yep, the first time I used the bathroom sink my feet got wet. Someone forgot to glue the pipes together. YouTube has been a good friend as well. Ever wonder how to keep your blinds up? A 149 dollar Roku stream bar took care of TV and sound problems. But WTH, if I wasn’t working on a motorhome what else would I be doing. Try putting a cover on that baby in a breeze. That was my project today. Kicked my butt. But, the beer at the end was well deserved. And wife and I are still speaking.

Welcome!
__________________
Jimbo56 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-12-2020, 10:27 PM   #4
Senior Member
 
ducksface's Avatar
 
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: 2018 24.1 AXISSIXxSIX
State: Arizona
Posts: 6,762
THOR #13932
Roku is our dear friend. Our rv came with firestick and the apple equivelant, we prefer roku.
I think the basic roku stick and the firestick are $15 today on amazon.
It makes a TV smart right now.
I wouldn't buy a smart TV ever again on purpose.
And
Casting was a pain for us. Lag and such.
A USB c to hdmi cable was about $6.
We now download movies to our phone at home for when we're travelling and instead of a cast and lag, we plug into the hdmi/c cable we left dangling from the TV.

If you have an old phone you're not using, dedicate to the rv for movies and Torque and iExit.
(I can't keep an old phone running long enough o accomplish this. I'll probably buy an android 10 burner phone.)
__________________
Below is a link to most of my modifications either accomplished or pending.
https://www.thorforums.com/forums/f2...n-18996-3.html

Click on my pictures then click the pop-up for a full screen zoomable picture.
ducksface is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-13-2020, 04:44 AM   #5
Senior Member
 
Elite Washington's Avatar
 
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
State: Washington
Posts: 1,112
THOR #6433
Sorry for the problems it sucks when you buy something and it doesn’t work. When I bought ours new I was disappointed but once everything was fixed wouldn’t change it. For the door latch you just need to adjust it. Two screws and it will move up or down easy fix. Sounds like you have the frig figured out so if you are under warranty they should fix that easy. For the piping under the sink it’s sucks that leaked on you but from my experience I tighten and check those each season. These things bounce down the road doesn’t take much to wiggle loose.

Now for the leak that sucks ours brand new had a leak that led to mold. Took several times to get it fixed which really sucked. If I had just done it myself it would had been fixed the first time. They are going to get leaks, get a mold treatment and a dehumidifier to get the moisture out. Hopefully it’s not in the walls but only time will tell on that.

Lots of experience on this site and we have all been through it just ask us lol questions
__________________
2017 Freedom Elite 30fe 2013 Wrangler Unlimited toad.
Elite Washington is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-13-2020, 06:18 AM   #6
Senior Member
 
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
State: North Carolina
Posts: 499
THOR #19102
Welcome. Like others have said, problems are a part of the experience.
__________________
Campnjoe is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-13-2020, 12:53 PM   #7
Senior Member
 
coachray's Avatar
 
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Quantum RQ29
State: Ohio
Posts: 1,296
THOR #13648
Welcome to the forum. It sucks that you had all those problems, but now that everything is fixed you can enjoy it now. If you ever decide to get a different unit, go to a different dealer for sure.
__________________
coachray is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-13-2020, 01:06 PM   #8
I Think We're Lost!
 
Bob Denman's Avatar
 
Brand: Still Looking
Model: Tiffin Wayfarer 24 BW
State: New York
Posts: 22,195
THOR #8860
We're glad that you found us... and sorry that your experience has started out on the wrong foot.
If this is a new rig: take it back to the dealer and DEMAND that they fix it.
Good luck!
__________________
Bob Denman is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-13-2020, 02:07 PM   #9
Senior Member
 
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Forest River Forester 235
State: Indiana
Posts: 4,883
THOR #6826
Things WILL get better! Repairs are part of the RV lifestyle but I’d expect you will get many years of good service from your new coach once you get the “new bugs” out of it. It certainly is disappointing that the manufacturers and dealers don’t do a better job but they don’t and there you are. The good news is that the items on your list are all easily fixed. Should be quick and easy under your warranty but - another fact of RV life - some dealers are better than others with warranty work. If yours is “difficult” you can take it to an independent RV repair shop that does warranty work (you can’t do this with cars but it’s common with RVs). Or better yet you can fix it yourself and in so doing learn lots about your machine.

The leak is scary but very common and generally easy to fix. They don’t tell you this when you buy them but you MUST inspect your roof and side walls closely several times a year. You should be on your roof in your hands and knees and on a ladder for the sides. Look for a smooth even, clearly visible, well bonded bead of sealant around every joint, seam, window, edge and penetration. I do this every 3 or 4 months because I learned the expensive lesson well with a past unit. It is somewhat unusual for me to not find something that needs to be addressed. Also don’t use silicone for sealing. Use RV specific self leveling lap sealant on the roof and urethane sealant on the sides. There is a learning curve to these things, but once you get the hang of it you’ll love it. Stay in touch here as these are terrific, helpful friendly people who will be glad to help and answer your questions . Good luck,
__________________
Pete'sMH is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-13-2020, 02:13 PM   #10
Senior Member
 
paulwadley's Avatar
 
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Miramar 37.1
State: California
Posts: 2,460
THOR #12698
Welcome to the forum. Hopefully things will get worked out to your expectations from the dealership. Keep calm but strong when talking the dealership. If there are some things you feel you can take care of, just do it and not leave it at the dealership for minor issues. Once things are done you can and will enjoy the new lifestyle on the road. If you come across an issue, just ask it on the forum. Someone will have an answer for you.

Paul
__________________
paulwadley is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-13-2020, 08:46 PM   #11
Senior Member
 
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Four Winds 26B
State: Ohio
Posts: 489
THOR #20900
I do hope you're able to start enjoying your new RV soon.

As someone who has owned three travel trailers, and is waiting on delivery of an RV, I can say that most of those things are relatively "normal" - having to tighten up plumbing, fix the odd drawer or door latch that is a little off ... All three of my trailers have had things like that. The current one came with a bad water pump. Rather than replace it under warranty I replaced it myself with a variable speed pump that's sooooo much quieter! In terms of the roof, the first thing I've done after getting a new trailer is buy a couple tubes of lap sealant, climb up onto the roof, and add sealant to anything that looks suspect or that is especially critical (like the front-cap and end-cap seams). I plan to do the same with my RV once it's delivered. Should one have to do these things? No, but it's the price of affordability.

Generally speaking, roof leaks are something that takes top priority. Letting a roof leak go for any amount of time can cause significant damage. I do hope you're able to get that one addressed adequately very quickly. (And of course, I've no idea if my approach would have prevented it.) That's probably my single biggest concern with any new trailer and now RV, that I'll miss something and not notice a leak quickly enough.

Generally, once these initial things have been dealt with, they're good for a long while and can be easily enjoyed.
__________________
2021 Thor Four Winds 26B on Chevy 4500
atreis is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-13-2020, 09:15 PM   #12
Senior Member
 
ducksface's Avatar
 
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: 2018 24.1 AXISSIXxSIX
State: Arizona
Posts: 6,762
THOR #13932
The current one came with a bad water pump. Rather than replace it under warranty I replaced it myself with a variable speed pump that's sooooo much quieter!

That is exactly the idea. Any chance to upgrade is a chance worth taking. $100- and no dealer wait. Perfect solution.

There's an old post where someone waited two months for an appointment to reinsert/tighten a screw on the valance at the foot of the overhead bed. They wouldn't drive the MotorHome and refused to even turn a screw.

We make our own happy.
Some people aren't happy unless they aren't happy.
You seem to prefer happy.
__________________
Below is a link to most of my modifications either accomplished or pending.
https://www.thorforums.com/forums/f2...n-18996-3.html

Click on my pictures then click the pop-up for a full screen zoomable picture.
ducksface is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-14-2020, 08:57 PM   #13
Member
 
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Gemini
State: Oregon
Posts: 30
THOR #21423
Sorry this happened We also had many issues when we purchased our new Thor and when we talked to the Thor rep he said if we were charged for a dealer check out we should be able to get that money back. Unfortunately for us we got a "free" dealer check out where they did nothing apparently. Hope now that your rig is fixed things go better!
__________________
PDX247 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-19-2020, 07:59 PM   #14
Senior Member
 
DogLovers's Avatar
 
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Thor Tuscany 36 MQ
State: Indiana
Posts: 936
THOR #6280
Welcome aboard. Unfortunately the RV industry is plagued by new rigs with construction issues. We have all had them. Yes it angers you that you spend so much money on something then drive away and it falls apart or has defective/poor workmanship issues. You can take it back with a list of problems to be repaired/corrected. That will mean you have to do without it until they fix everything. Not all dealers are created equal. Lots of stuff you can fix yourself if you don't want to leave your new rig with a dealer for a long time. Everything will be handled by you, your dealer or the manufacturer so don't get too upset.

The real problem is paying all that money to a dealer to "show you what you're buying for a lot of money." Sorry but that just seems criminal to me. I am looking for a gently used Class A Diesel Pusher and sent out an email to the dealer. Here is what I got back.

""On Sat, Dec 19, 2020 at 10:12 AM <canderson@mountcomfortrv.com> wrote:
Hi Bill, Thank you for your interest in our 2012 Phaeton. It is still available and I can offer you the sale price of $151,863 on this motor home and we charge $899 to prep it. A technician will spend approximately 2 days prepping and testing the motor home prior to you coming to pick it up. It will be clean, full of propane and all of the RV systems will work and be demonstrated to you. We will answer all of your questions and take you for a test drive and offer some driving tips if you like.

I did confirm this is a King size bed. What other questions can I answer for you?

Sincerely,

Chris Anderson
Mt Comfort RV
800-899-6676
Fax (317) 895-6761
Cell-(317)-910-556"""

Gee what a nice guy. For the low low price of $899 they will wash it, make sure nothing is falling off, show everything to me, take my money and send me packing with no warranty at all. I strongly recommend avoiding buying anything from Mount Comfort RV in Greenfield, Indiana. If they will chisel you just to sell it to you, imagine what else they did to the coach to make money off of it. No thanks creepy RV dealer.
__________________
Bill & Martha more than 46 years.
Traveling with Shih Tzu's Baily, Bella and Maltese Buster. Towing, Golf Cart, Harley or Polaris RZR. 3 of our darling Shih Tzu's passed away recently and I just can't take them off of here. RIP Baxter, Baili & sweet sweet Bella. Buster is our little rock.
DogLovers is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-19-2020, 08:50 PM   #15
Junior Member
 
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Challenger
State: New Jersey
Posts: 29
THOR #7108
Don’t let the little stuff get u down

All of us have had our issues. Some serious. Most just annoying, especially for what we’ve all paid. My in laws have had many Prevost rigs years ago - in excess of $1.5 mil and up and I cannot tell you how many times they spent a week or more getting things fixed at the dealers! Too many to count. The more stuff and features and electronics in em the more that can go wrong. Stay on it all, fix whatever u can yourself, slowly learn your rig inside and out and you will make many good memories with your wife and meet many nice people in your travels.
__________________
cinderella is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-19-2020, 09:20 PM   #16
Senior Member
 
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Forest River Forester 235
State: Indiana
Posts: 4,883
THOR #6826
Quote:
Originally Posted by DogLovers View Post
Welcome aboard. Unfortunately the RV industry is plagued by new rigs with construction issues. We have all had them. Yes it angers you that you spend so much money on something then drive away and it falls apart or has defective/poor workmanship issues. You can take it back with a list of problems to be repaired/corrected. That will mean you have to do without it until they fix everything. Not all dealers are created equal. Lots of stuff you can fix yourself if you don't want to leave your new rig with a dealer for a long time. Everything will be handled by you, your dealer or the manufacturer so don't get too upset.



The real problem is paying all that money to a dealer to "show you what you're buying for a lot of money." Sorry but that just seems criminal to me. I am looking for a gently used Class A Diesel Pusher and sent out an email to the dealer. Here is what I got back.



""On Sat, Dec 19, 2020 at 10:12 AM &lt;canderson@mountcomfortrv.com&gt; wrote:

Hi Bill, Thank you for your interest in our 2012 Phaeton. It is still available and I can offer you the sale price of $151,863 on this motor home and we charge $899 to prep it. A technician will spend approximately 2 days prepping and testing the motor home prior to you coming to pick it up. It will be clean, full of propane and all of the RV systems will work and be demonstrated to you. We will answer all of your questions and take you for a test drive and offer some driving tips if you like.



I did confirm this is a King size bed. What other questions can I answer for you?



Sincerely,



Chris Anderson

Mt Comfort RV

800-899-6676

Fax (317) 895-6761

Cell-(317)-910-556"""



Gee what a nice guy. For the low low price of $899 they will wash it, make sure nothing is falling off, show everything to me, take my money and send me packing with no warranty at all. I strongly recommend avoiding buying anything from Mount Comfort RV in Greenfield, Indiana. If they will chisel you just to sell it to you, imagine what else they did to the coach to make money off of it. No thanks creepy RV dealer.


X2 on the dealer. They had a new unit on the lot for over a year with a leak and mold smell that they promised to fix. I gave up “negotiating” with them and left. Returned with an advertised price on a better equipped specimen of the same model and year, also new, for $15,000 less, though it was 500 miles away. They still wouldn’t budge so I went and bought the cheaper one and had a fun trip doing it. They are entitled to their business model and they were very pleasant throughout but....sheesh!
__________________
Pete'sMH is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-19-2020, 10:04 PM   #17
Junior Member
 
Brand: Jayco
State: New Jersey
Posts: 21
THOR #19560
I traded in the brand new Thor and went a year back and twenty-two grand higher in price.It solved all my problems and I love the new coach. Good luck. It takes patience and planning, but all systems can be repaired. It's a shame that it's necessary with a brand new coach.
__________________
salzerj@comcast.net is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-20-2020, 12:28 AM   #18
Senior Member
 
Bill Johnson's Avatar
 
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Thor Ace 33.1
State: Illinois
Posts: 1,266
THOR #20274
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rylan View Post
My wife and I recently retired and looked forward to getting back into camping. Years ago we started with a tent, then a popup, then a trailer. Now my wife and I bought a Thor Freedom Elite 22FE Class C RV* We were sooo excited to take it on our first trip. Thankfully we only camped 3 miles from home. On that first trip we discovered the following problems.* The RV door won't close and catch unless you slam the door while lifting up on it.* The bottom kitchen drawer under the sink doesn't close unless you shove it with your foot. The sewer valves looked like one was open and one was closed.* We couldn't dump because we didn't know for sure everything was closed to start with. We ended up having two embarrassing spills before we figured* it out.* And now for the big things: The refrigerator won't run on propane.* It works on electric.* The circuit board was bad. Why wasn't this checked before the sale.* The kitchen sink and drain pipes have problems.* The pipe joints under the sink were loose and leaking.* The drain seal also leaked.* Now for the worse thing, the cab over bed area leaks on both sides. You can see the water dripping from the window. Now we face black mold growing in the RV and walls softening from the water draining down them.* All this and I need to mention that the tv is a cheap dumb tv that you can't cast your phone to, and the radio is hard to program, it was bad and had to be replaced. Even the labels on the shower taps were backwards.
Needless to say, we are very unhappy with both the attention to detail in the building of this RV and the condition it was sold to us in. Things were not checked out to see if they were in working order before the sale.* We were also charged over $700 !!! for a cursory run through of how everything was suppose to work.* When buying a new car the salesman does the same thing for free.* Now everything has been corrected but it really soured us on Thor and we have to hold our breath everytime we take it out wondering what will go wrong next.
*I am counting on this forum to help us through the rest of journey.
The door latch is adjustable in 5 minutes but the motorhome must be level first. You only have so many days to report roof leaks. We had a dumb tv in the Jayco we had and replaced it with a Samsung smart tv, they are cheep now. Our class c door was adjusted wrong when we go it so I adjusted it. You have a typical no quality control bild it as fast as you can RV. When you drive it on the highway you will find the steering is possessed and every semi that goes passed you makes the motorhome go all over the road and wanders all over the road. Read the reports here on this forum on how to fix it
__________________
Bill Johnson is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-20-2020, 04:35 PM   #19
Senior Member
 
Scubawise's Avatar
 
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Vegas 25.6
State: New Mexico
Posts: 5,100
THOR #20220
Ducksface thanks for the amazing advice..bought it. Casting was a pain for us. Lag and such.
A USB c to hdmi cable was about $6.
We now download movies to our phone at home for when we're travelling and instead of a cast and lag, we plug into the hdmi/c cable we left dangling from the TV.
__________________
LAS CRUCES 2020 Thor Vegas 25.6
Lora & George. Golden Retriever & Multi-Gen Australian labradoodle & new ALD in March. Happy Campers!! E Biking, Hiking, Tennis, Scuba,Fishing,Cross Country Skiing, Snowshoeing. Retired H.S. Principal, Sr. IT Engineer, Life & Health Insurance Agent
"Today is a Gift and Why it is called the Present"
Scubawise is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-20-2020, 04:47 PM   #20
Senior Member
 
ducksface's Avatar
 
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: 2018 24.1 AXISSIXxSIX
State: Arizona
Posts: 6,762
THOR #13932
Thanks for the thanks.
One of the worst fights of my life was plugging that hdmi cable into the back of a 24.1 bedroom TV.
__________________
Below is a link to most of my modifications either accomplished or pending.
https://www.thorforums.com/forums/f2...n-18996-3.html

Click on my pictures then click the pop-up for a full screen zoomable picture.
ducksface is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Thor Industries or any of its affiliates. This is an independent, unofficial site.




All times are GMT. The time now is 02:35 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Content Relevant URLs by vBSEO 3.6.0 PL2