Thor's Customer Assistance

[Jirka]

I think that, like Thor's webpage, and the automation on their phone system, their Customer Assistance is 'hit and miss'

I got excellent customer assistance when I called in June to ask for assistance on the Fender skirt that came off while we were traveling in Texas. I explained to the customer assistance rep that the trim was there one day, and gone the next. I was surprised when he said the words "flew off" . . . OMG, it 'flew off'? Not just fell off - flew off? Scary, but what else could have happened to it? It certainly was not just lying on the ground. At first, he suggested we take the RV to the dealer to get it fixed. I asked since it is 85 miles to the dealer, is this a part that we could install ourselves? He said, "I hate it when the customer wants to do body work." Anyway, he asked for pictures of what it looked like now, and a picture of the other side that was still intact. He would let me know if he could send a replacement, or if we would need to go to the dealer. I emailed the pictures requested and a few days later he emailed me that he had placed the order and that it would be shipped shortly. We received and installed it - looks like new. In addition to the screws that were left behind when it 'flew off' (plus a couple more) we used clear silicone adhesive caulk. Here's hoping it stays on this time.

Today (8/23/17), I called Thor Customer Assistance to finally get answers to several questions I have had since we got the RV in March. It was a waste of 20 minutes.

I gave him (different person this time) my name and told him I was an owner of a 2017 Vegas and asked what information he needed to start, he asked "What's going on?" I told him I had a list of questions . . . so I guess this information applies to all 2017 Vegas (?)

When I asked if the backup camera has a microphone, His answer was immediate – “No, the RV is wired for Video ONLY. The radio is not compatible” (with audio, I guess) I asked what could I do to remedy this, is there a construction or wiring plan that I could reference to change the camera/radio? He said he would only have a drawing of the connections of at each end . . . BIG pause . . . I told him let's move on to the next thing on the list, we may need to come back to this.

The next thing on the list was the hole in the storage bin under the slide with the bed. What, if anything, is to go there? It looks like it was drilled in the side of the bin for a purpose, complete with a grommet. That is when he asked for the last eight digits of my VIN. . . Pause . . . he said, "It does not look like anything is to go there." I asked if he could send me a plug for the hole. He said he would have nothing to send me. OK, since nothing is to go there, we used steel wool (held by the grommet) to plug the hole. DONE

#3 . . . inside the RV there is a big hose & wire exposed under the passenger side dashboard - are we missing a panel? “No, no panel there, just zip tie the wires and the ducting up to get them out of the way.” Well, DUH. The wires are not really HANGING down or anything, it’s just unfinished.

On to #4 . . . while we were traveling in Texas, we had a lot of rain and the dinette window leaks. He asked and I described it in more detail: the rain hitting the window outside came inside, the wall under the window and the pillows on the dinette seat were wet. Yes, we had water in the track in the window. We implemented a temporary fix by applying caulk to the outside, upper part of the window between the glass and the side of the RV. I asked if there a better, more permanent solution? He said if the caulking is working that is all that is needed, no more permanent fix. "And remember sealants must be checked at least yearly."

#5 . . . The Solenoid/Battery Disconnect for the house batteries failed. We replaced it and would like to be reimbursed. By the way, this is the 2nd one. The dealer replaced the original soon after we took delivery. He said we should take the failed solenoid to the selling dealer (or other authorized dealer if they are willing to do it) so the part can be tested and get authorization to replace it. I pressed for a better solution; the selling dealer is 85 miles away. He asked me to wait a moment, and when he came back, he said to send the failed part & the invoice for the new part to them at 505 Ward St. Wakarusa, IN 46573 Attn: Warranty (use VIN # for identification) He advised me taking it to the dealer may be faster; it could be an 8-week turn around if we send it directly to them and they would need to go through the process before they authorize reimbursement.

I asked again if there aren't drawings/plans that I could use to change the camera/radio - he said there is no PDF of the construction of the RV - interesting I didn't actually ask for a "PDF" though, of course, that is what I want.

I don't know if we will pay to ship the old part to MAYBE get reimbursed . . . And I don't know if I've given up on getting construction plans, but I've emailed twice with no results. What is the magic, I wonder?

[Mickey3267]

Lol [emoji38] By any chance did you purchase an extended warranty? Sounds like you'll be needing one !

[16ACE27]

As I recall, the Axerra radio does indeed have an audio input for the camera, but the camera wiring does not have the wire for it. The camera may have audio, but the wiring Thor uses is video/power only.

[Beau388]

My closest Thor Motor Coach dealer is 140 mile south from my previous location but a Jayco dealer was 21 miles away. When my battery charging solenoid failed after 8 months, I e-mailed Thor MC for advice. The Thor answer, "take it to the Jayco dealer have then trouble-shoot, send a report with estimated hours to fix and dealer's hourly rate and if approved, I send you a replacement solenoid." I paid for 1.5 hours of trouble shooting (@$90/hr). I e-mailed the info to Thor MC. Five days later the new solenoid arrived in a a self-addressed UPS label. I took the coach back in to the very good Jayco dealer (Youngblood's RV in Mayfield, KY) and had the new solenoid installed (30 minutes labor). I boxed up the bad solenoid and shipped it off the Thor MC with the second bill which I had paid. A month later a check from Thor MC arrived for $180. The total cost to me was five hours of my time and 6 gallons of gas.

[Bob Denman]

As far as audio: why not just pick up a couple of cheap walkie-talkies?
Wouldn't they work okay?

[Jirka]

RE: extended warranties . . . my first reaction was, “if the original (one-year) warranty doesn’t work, why would an extended warranty work any better?” When we got our previous RV (our first ever) we got the extended warranty. Soon after our purchase, I looked at the terms of the extended warranty and concluded it would have been near impossible to implement it. Thankfully, we never had to test my theory; we had that RV nine years. When we bought our Vegas, we adamantly refused to purchase the extended warranty even though the “finance guy” kept coming back and his final offer was “a ridiculously low price.” LOL We know we can put that money to better use for something else. We are pretty self-sufficient people and we like being “Do-It-Yourselfers” being self-insured is one of those things we do. I hope that if you chose to purchase an extended warranty you find value in it.

Nonetheless, we want to get full value; when the warranty should cover an item we generally pursue that route. So we will be sending the battery disconnect in to try and get reimbursed.

On that note, I thought I would share where we found the solenoid/battery disconnect on our 25.3 since I had not seen that defined in any of the posts I researched here. It is behind the control panel (see pictures attached)

The posts I did find here re: the solenoid/battery disconnect were very helpful. Using the multi-meter, we tested the use/store switch first; it was fine. When we found the solenoid, we tested the fuse and finally the solenoid itself. If I had looked more closely at the paperwork from the dealer in April our search for the solenoid would have been easier. It clearly states they, “Unscrewed distribution panel, took off nuts holding live wires, unscrewed the failed disconnect silinoid where it’s mounted. Installed new disconnect silinoid and tested for proper function.”

It took some brain power to figure out exactly what it was we were looking for . . . I knew what it looked like, and knew to look for Intellitec, but what is the correct part number? Where do I get it? Maybe I can save a few steps for others.

We got the Intellitec Battery Disconnect Relay 01-00055-000 from Pacific RV Parts PRVParts.com for a reasonable price. I did not realize they are so close to us; we had the part the next day. Part of my education on solenoids included:
1) This forum “What Charges the House & Chassis Batteries When” and “Battery disconnect solenoid”
2) A YouTube video “What is a latching relay in an RV battery?”
3) PPLmotorhomes website (they also sell the part)
4) Amazon question/answer section (they also sell the part), and
5) The Intellitec website – downloaded the service manual

RE: the audio for the camera . . . not a do or die issue but I wanted to explore the possibilities. We do have FRS radios, but have never used them much. Maybe we will start. :-/

[gnach]

Thanks for the excellent, detailed post. The photos are great. I'm scratching my head over the "took off nuts holding live wires". That must be off the 'sillinoid', right? Anyway, it looks like you pulled the breaker (distribution) panel to get access.

Since this is the second relay failure, have you contacted Intellitec for reimbursement? Did they have a bad mfg run or did you get the only two defective parts.

Regarding your fix of the window leak, his response sounds ominous. Since caulking (sealants) aren't covered under warranty, do we end up with coaches covered in silicone band-aids?

[Jirka]

Originally Posted by gnach

I'm scratching my head over the "took off nuts holding live wires". That must be off the 'sillinoid', right?

Yes, off the solenoid. Those were the “selling dealer” service tech’s words . . . we were scratching our heads too. :-/

Yes, the solenoid is behind the breaker (distribution) panel.

As I understand it, we are supposed to take the RV back to the “selling dealer” to have them fix any problems. The dealer then sends failed part(s) to Thor and Thor sends the part(s) to the manufacturer for reimbursement.

We are trying to skip the step with the “selling dealer,” doing the work ourselves and sending the part directly to Thor. By the way, the address given to me initially did not work. The post office said it was “not on the list.” I found an address on Ward St with a different number on Thor’s website so I used that one. Still, the part was returned to me undeliverable. I called Thor back and was told to send the part to a PO Box in Elkhart. I know that someone picked the part up; we’re just waiting to see if they will send reimbursement. Of course, there is the question were they defective parts, or is something else causing the parts to fail? Time will tell.

We agree, we should not have to live with silicone band-aids. There should be another answer and that probably means another call to Thor.