stress crack

[RTG]

After a week of numerous phone calls and getting the run around from thor i finally got them to let me get a 2nd estimate . I took the camper to a rv collision repair shop and they diagnosed it as a stress crack . The cost of repair is $4300. i'll be submitting this estimate next week to thor and we will see what they say .

[RTG]

after many many phone calls thor stepped up and fixed the crack. still dont know what caused it .

[bevedfelker]

RTG -- I would think that if it's a stress crack that means that something about how it was assembled was putting too much stress on than section of fiberglass. Then driving down the road could put additional stress on that section as the body moved, bounced and flexed. Something about what they did while assembling it (over torqued fasteners, something misaligned, two surfaces forced together too tightly, etc.

I had a stress crack in the windshield on my Vegas. The crack developed after having driven about 5000 miles. I went to the dealer for something and when I came out we noticed the windshield had cracked. It was right at driver eye level. Started at the a-pillar under the rubber seal. The crack extended from the a-pillar about 5 inches, took a right angle turn downward and extended another 10 inches. Thor agreed it was a stress crack and sent the dealer a new windshield to change under warranty. The dealer told me it looked like the clips on the driver's side of the windshield were much tighter than those in the same area on the passenger side. Misalignment like that will put stress on a structural assembly and if its glass or fiberglass there is a high likelihood that the only way the surface will relieve the stress is to crack. That is why stop drilling fiberglass is so important. It stops the crack from growing.

[Metalman]

Every time I look at the massive windshield on our Windsport I wonder how it can remain in one piece considering the chassis twisting, changes in temperature, vibrations, and air pressure differential. Fingers crossed.

[Beacher]

Originally Posted by RTG

......
we have barely put 1000 miles on the camper and i am very unhappy with Thor and their customer service.

Wow! Didn't you get the Thor concierge service?

On our maiden voyage we drove directly to Fort Wilderness the morning we took delivery. The evening after returning from a day at the Magic Kingdom I stepped up and "BANG", the bolt sheared off my step and bounced off the Disney asphalt at my site, (gee, this sounds just like the current recall).

I immediately called the Thor concierge service and they actually tried to find dealerships that could help me in Florida. They gave me eight dealership numbers between Florida and California where I could stop on my travel home. They offered to send the replacement part, (an entire step assembly), ahead and then just have a service department install it. Thor tried to help.

I called the service departments that were not out of our way. Then unhappily found out that they would only do the work when they could get us into the shop, on their schedule, even if Thor overnighted the parts. I didn't feel like waiting a few days and extending our trip, I had to get back to work!

I ended up just tying up the steps for the trip home with a VERY spendy set of Coughlin bungy cords purchased at the Disney Trading Post at the Fort Wilderness campground.

On the trip home across the country, the same Thor guy called me asking if I still wanted the parts shipped to a dealership. He ultimately shipped the parts to the dealership closest to my home, (the now closed due to bankruptcy McMahon's RV in Westminster, CA). The new steps were installed in one day with all of my other warranty punch list items.

And, I only had purchased a bargain basement, (I purchased it at a CW in Georgia for under $75k, when it was listed at $128k here in CA), Hurricane 34E from across the country, not even a fancy Challenger or Palazzo. I'm kinda surprised to hear that you received such bad service.