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Old 09-08-2014, 09:58 PM   #1
Junior Member
 
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
State: Washington
Posts: 1
THOR #1099
Exclamation New Challenger 37LX - The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly

We just purchased our first Motor Coach a month ago. On the test drive, several of the cabinet doors on the inside were not working correctly due to a cylinder thing that kept snapping the hinge. The window wipers were also not working. We joked with our salesman that maybe that was a sign...

We traded in a 26 foot Maxim boat, a Jayco Designer 35 ft. 5th Wheel, and our beloved Silverado Crew Cab Diesel truck. Our plan is to use the Motor Home when we retire in about 10 years and start paying on it now.

We were so excited to bring it home. On the walk-through there were several issues that we felt should have been fixed before we got there. The cabinet doors still weren't fixed. The shade on the window above the sink was all bent and loose & needed to be replaced. A couple of outside cargo doors were not closing correctly. The floor creaked on the inside real bad. Also, the floor was wet under the big slide and my husband was worried it was a leak. The service center said it was just from the guys that washed it before we got there, but 3 hours later it was still leaking. My husband insisted they remove the cabinet door in there to see where the leak was coming from. There was a loose fitting that they had to fix. The ladder going to the roof had a stripped screw on it so they put that down to fix also. There was gouge in the woodwork on the trim at the bottom of the big slide. Even sawdust under it. They said they would order us a new trim board. We also noticed a few little gouges in the flooring not super noticeable that looked like they had been glued down. Looked like a woman in heels had punctured the floor. We feel that maybe you would buy a used RV or in about 10 years you would have that issue, but not in a brand new motor home. We have asked for that to be fixed even if they have to replace the floor. They put velcro on the dinette cushions but it didn't match up to the velcro on the seat it was supposed to stick to. We are going to fix that ourselves. They said they will fix all of these things when we bring it in to be winterized, but I guess we'll see. We were starting to get more and more disappointed and disillusioned but we had already bought it.

The walk-through that was supposed to be about 3 hours lasted six hours due to all the problems. We did finally get it home. We wanted to sit outside in it and test everything as we were taking it camping to a friend's over Labor Day the following weekend. Turned out the inverter wasn't working when we tried to go from gas to battery. Since we would be dry camping, this was very important. We ended up having to drive it back to the dealership the next day so they could work on it.....again. There was a bad diod on the gas heater thing? Something like that they also had to replace.

They had it for a few more days and then my husband brought it home again. Everytime he tried to switch the battery on it blew a fuse. We had to call them again and they sent over a service tech to work on it. Turns out the Board was shorting itself out. They replaced the board and finally, everything worked as it should.

It performed beautifully while out dry camping. The battery lasted about 9 hours on the fridge and that was okay. We just ran the generator in the morning and throughout the day until it was time to go to bed.

My husband is thrilled with the Ford engine since he is a Chevy guy all his life. We couldn't afford a diesel pusher and that is what he is used to driving but it handles so well. Even pulling our car. We are very pleased with that. We love the full sized fridge and ice maker.

All in all, we are pleased with it, except for the quality workmanship. Maybe we are just comparing it to our Jayco 5th Wheel in which the craftmanship on the cupboards and wood throughout was so nice. You can tell how cheaply put together things are in this coach. There are staples and uneven doors, scrapes, and peeling wood in the bottom corners, etc. That is disappointing and we wonder what it will look like in 10 years?

If we had to do it over again? We would have bought another new truck and a new 5th wheel, but too late now. I can't say this was a pleasant experience; quite the opposite. Lots of sleepless nights and arguments and stress in the past month.

Are all Motor Coaches like this? Were we expecting to much out of a brand new one?

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Old 10-03-2014, 06:43 PM   #2
Member
 
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Challenger 37GT
State: Louisiana
Posts: 31
THOR #625
We have a 2015 Challenger 37GT since May of this year.......It has been a source of a lot of stress and headaches......I am so disappointed with the rig's quality control.... I am totally shocked they would release it from the plant with so many problems. And after we took delivery it has been back at the dealership for the third time now and that is where it sits as we speak. And that is six to eight weeks at a time being without it......Lots of small problems, few big problems.....biggest being leak under the shower....The dealership is also not doing their job checking the rigs over before you sign on the dotted line....and I take responsibility for not catching more than we did.....I did my research on Thor Coaches and THOUGHT we made a good choice.. I can tell you that if I knew what I know now, I would have chosen a different Manufacturer........Not a Happy Camper!!!!
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Reba & Dave Moser
Prairieville, Louisiana
2015 Thor Challenger 37GT
Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler
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Old 10-16-2014, 11:55 PM   #3
Senior Member
 
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Miramar 33.5
State: Washington
Posts: 217
THOR #578
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lillyrose View Post
We just purchased our first Motor Coach a month ago. On the test drive, several of the cabinet doors on the inside were not working correctly due to a cylinder thing that kept snapping the hinge. The window wipers were also not working. We joked with our salesman that maybe that was a sign...

We traded in a 26 foot Maxim boat, a Jayco Designer 35 ft. 5th Wheel, and our beloved Silverado Crew Cab Diesel truck. Our plan is to use the Motor Home when we retire in about 10 years and start paying on it now.

We were so excited to bring it home. On the walk-through there were several issues that we felt should have been fixed before we got there. The cabinet doors still weren't fixed. The shade on the window above the sink was all bent and loose & needed to be replaced. A couple of outside cargo doors were not closing correctly. The floor creaked on the inside real bad. Also, the floor was wet under the big slide and my husband was worried it was a leak. The service center said it was just from the guys that washed it before we got there, but 3 hours later it was still leaking. My husband insisted they remove the cabinet door in there to see where the leak was coming from. There was a loose fitting that they had to fix. The ladder going to the roof had a stripped screw on it so they put that down to fix also. There was gouge in the woodwork on the trim at the bottom of the big slide. Even sawdust under it. They said they would order us a new trim board. We also noticed a few little gouges in the flooring not super noticeable that looked like they had been glued down. Looked like a woman in heels had punctured the floor. We feel that maybe you would buy a used RV or in about 10 years you would have that issue, but not in a brand new motor home. We have asked for that to be fixed even if they have to replace the floor. They put velcro on the dinette cushions but it didn't match up to the velcro on the seat it was supposed to stick to. We are going to fix that ourselves. They said they will fix all of these things when we bring it in to be winterized, but I guess we'll see. We were starting to get more and more disappointed and disillusioned but we had already bought it.

The walk-through that was supposed to be about 3 hours lasted six hours due to all the problems. We did finally get it home. We wanted to sit outside in it and test everything as we were taking it camping to a friend's over Labor Day the following weekend. Turned out the inverter wasn't working when we tried to go from gas to battery. Since we would be dry camping, this was very important. We ended up having to drive it back to the dealership the next day so they could work on it.....again. There was a bad diod on the gas heater thing? Something like that they also had to replace.

They had it for a few more days and then my husband brought it home again. Everytime he tried to switch the battery on it blew a fuse. We had to call them again and they sent over a service tech to work on it. Turns out the Board was shorting itself out. They replaced the board and finally, everything worked as it should.

It performed beautifully while out dry camping. The battery lasted about 9 hours on the fridge and that was okay. We just ran the generator in the morning and throughout the day until it was time to go to bed.

My husband is thrilled with the Ford engine since he is a Chevy guy all his life. We couldn't afford a diesel pusher and that is what he is used to driving but it handles so well. Even pulling our car. We are very pleased with that. We love the full sized fridge and ice maker.

All in all, we are pleased with it, except for the quality workmanship. Maybe we are just comparing it to our Jayco 5th Wheel in which the craftmanship on the cupboards and wood throughout was so nice. You can tell how cheaply put together things are in this coach. There are staples and uneven doors, scrapes, and peeling wood in the bottom corners, etc. That is disappointing and we wonder what it will look like in 10 years?

If we had to do it over again? We would have bought another new truck and a new 5th wheel, but too late now. I can't say this was a pleasant experience; quite the opposite. Lots of sleepless nights and arguments and stress in the past month.

Are all Motor Coaches like this? Were we expecting to much out of a brand new one?
Lillyrose,

I'm sorry to hear about your experience with Thor, your story sounds all too familiar, your delivery experience sounds a lot like ours and unfortunately a lot of other consumers! Not sure if you've searched the other threads here, but I'll paste a few below. This has unfortunately left such a sour taste in my mouth, I will never purchase another Thor product!!!

I make it a point to warn others about the poor QC and workmanship from Thor! I think in their quest to be the biggest, I can only assume to capture as much of the market as possible, it seems they've lost sight of the most important thing, making a quality product!!!! I imagine as they flood the market with these sub-standard units, word will spread, reputable dealers will stop carrying their products and sales will drop, I think only then will they start to address the issues!!

We were very excited about the floor plans and design concepts. Unfortunately their execution is lacking!!


http://www.thorforums.com/forums/f17...-care-824.html

http://www.thorforums.com/forums/f3/...e-33g-843.html

http://www.thorforums.com/forums/f17...pairs-778.html


http://www.thorforums.com/forums/f17...4-2-a-408.html

The best advise I can give is to get a note pad, pen a camera and start documenting everything! Take it back to the dealer with that list, make a copy of it. Each time you retrieve your unit from the dealer, ask for a copy of the work order and keep a paper trail of documentation.

This is what I've started doing, trying to document everything, I have a sinking feeling that once my warranty runs out in Feb, Thor will shrug their shoulders and say sorry, warranties up, we can't help you!

Good luck!!!
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Old 11-18-2014, 03:17 AM   #4
Junior Member
 
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Challenger 37KT
State: Arizona
Posts: 7
THOR #1313
Quote:
Originally Posted by MRS JARHEAD View Post
We have a 2015 Challenger 37GT since May of this year.......It has been a source of a lot of stress and headaches......I am so disappointed with the rig's quality control.... I am totally shocked they would release it from the plant with so many problems. And after we took delivery it has been back at the dealership for the third time now and that is where it sits as we speak. And that is six to eight weeks at a time being without it......Lots of small problems, few big problems.....biggest being leak under the shower....The dealership is also not doing their job checking the rigs over before you sign on the dotted line....and I take responsibility for not catching more than we did.....I did my research on Thor Coaches and THOUGHT we made a good choice.. I can tell you that if I knew what I know now, I would have chosen a different Manufacturer........Not a Happy Camper!!!!

We had a similar experience with our 2015 Challenger 37KT that we bought July 1st of this year. I had a list of 40 items from the inside and the outside of the coach to be looked at. I understand these leave the factory and have about 2,000 miles on them (when they arrive at the dealers in AZ). I equate this process similar to that of buying a home, there are always items that need to be repaired when you do your walkthrough. Thor sells their motorhomes through dealers and expects the dealers to prep these for sale, just like Ford or Chevy does with their cars. I put more of the blame on the dealers that are just trying to roll these through as quickly as they can. If they don't fix everything and the customer accepts it that way, they save money. I called everything to the dealer's attention, then I got the line that they had to get approval from Thor to make the repairs. We got to use our RV three times between July 1 and the end of October, and the rest of the time our RV spent at the dealership trying to get all the repairs made. It isn't help that there was a major rainstorm in Phoenix during this time and their shop was flooded, but my point is if the repairs would have been made timely, it wouldn't have been there at that point in time.

All in all, I am very happy with our motorhome, issues will occur that will have to be noted during the walkthrough, and I am most frustrated with the RV dealer.
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