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Old 09-13-2018, 03:18 PM   #1
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Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Chatea 31E
State: Maryland
Posts: 453
THOR #5837
One year with a Chateau 31E

We have owned our 2018 Chateau 31E for one year now. It is loaded with pretty much all the extra options, including:
- 2 house batteries
- A/C upgraded to 15,000 BTU
- Leatherette captains chairs, dinette, and sofa
- Power driver's seat
- Remote adjustable side mirrors


We have used it a lot, including a 5500 mile trip around the country this summer. There have been a lot of small issues and few big ones, but overall I'd say it's been okay and it is very nice and luxurious for a class C.



·

Here are the issues and how they were corrected:

· Expanding foam crumbled in left side stowage compartment
o Applied new expanding foam and painted black
· Trim at front of slide was loose when new
o Glued/sealed with silicone adhesive
· Bottom of drawers popped out in kitchen and bedroom
o Fixed drawers with glue and staples
· Hinges ripped out for stowage under bed
o Installed new screws
· Mud flaps in front of rear tires – supports ripped out.
o Used zip ties to secure flaps
o Installed new screws and covered with gorilla tape
· Water leaking inside from under slide
o Tightened fitting on water heater
· Compartment doors over sofa come open while driving
o Installed magnetic latches
· Weatherstripping in stowage compartment by entry door came out, leaving gaps to outside.
o Re-installed weatherstripping and sealed with gorilla tape
o Gorilla tape came off, so sealed it with Flex Seal
· Auto leveling jacks failed with a “low voltage” error
o Repaired by fixing battery grounds
· Metal bar came off front right window blind
o Blind replaced under warranty
· Kitchen window blind would not stay closed
o Blind replaced under warranty
· Generator wiring conduit melted on generator exhaust pipe
o Wrapped housing with friction tape and secured to frame using zip ties as temporary fix
- Housing later replaced during generator repair

· Generator cranked but would not start (70 hours on generator)

o Had ignition coil and control module replaced under warranty
· Track for bedroom sliding door ripped out of overhead
o Secured with new screws and additional screws
· Trim over front of dinette bench lifted
o Glued down with Titebond


Upgrades I did:

· Installed shampoo/soap dispenser in shower
· Replaced shower nozzle with Oxygenics nozzle
· Added ventilated memory foam mattress topper to overhead bunk
· Installed cabinet door magnetic latches in cabinets over sofa
· Built cover for stove to provide more counter space
· Installed Hellwig front and rear swaybars
· Installed Saf-T-Plus steering controller
· Replaced Axxera radio with Pioneer AVIC-8200NEX Nav/DVD/CD receiver
· Sealed inside taillight openings using spray-on rubber coating (Rustoleum equivalent to clear Flex Seal)


There are still a couple of items that are not yet resolved:
- Wing walls at front of coach delaminated (scheduled to be repaired next week)
- A couple of side marker lights no longer working (may get those replaced next week)


The handling improvements (swaybars and Saf-T-Plus) were well worth it, making it a lot more enjoyable to drive.
The stereo upgrade was also well worth it. The factory Axxera stereo annoyed the heck out of me.


I have a few future upgrades I'd like to do:
- Install an inverter and maybe solar.
- Upgrade shocks to Bilstein HD shocks.
- Install sound deadening around cab.


We've had some great family trips and made some good memories in this beast, and we are looking forward to many more.

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Old 09-13-2018, 03:23 PM   #2
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Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Chatea 31E
State: Maryland
Posts: 453
THOR #5837
Some photos
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Old 09-13-2018, 05:28 PM   #3
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Model: 2017 Axis 25.4
State: Arkansas
Posts: 2,669
THOR #12231
Sounds like you have it under control. Thanks for the update. Sound like Gorilla tape its the cure for almost everything.

I wonder it it helps with the nagging wife? LOL. I bet Bob chimes in on this one. LOL.
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Old 09-13-2018, 08:58 PM   #4
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Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Chateau 31E
State: Ohio
Posts: 13
THOR #12951
Nice report. Just got a Chateau 31E and trying to get a few issues resolved. My main one now is the refrigerator gets a check light on AC and looses all 12volt. Dometic is trying to insinuate it's a coach problem.

One upgrade was replacing the Coleman thermostat with a Coleman digital, well worth $50 on Amazon!
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Old 09-20-2018, 01:04 PM   #5
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Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Chatea 31E
State: Maryland
Posts: 453
THOR #5837
Latest update:


I had been trying to schedule the warranty repair to the de-laminated wing walls for a long time, and finally dropped it off at the shop this week. They then discovered that Thor had sent them 2 driver's side parts instead of one for each side, so the repair didn't get done.


We had also detected some propane smell intermittently during recent trips, so the shop did a leak check and found that there was a leak at the regulator.


During the last trip the rear bedroom window shade/valance fell off, and the rear support for the kitchen drawers collapsed. I re-attached the valance using larger screws. The design and construction of the kitchen drawer supports are poor. They just hang from a piece of plywood under the stove. They are attached at the top using essentially staples -- no glue or screws. At the bottom there is about a 1.75" gap from the floor. Kitchen drawers are likely to have pots & pans, coffee maker, toaster, etc., so there will be some weight in them. This design and construction just isn't sufficient to hold the weight. I don't know why they didn't just extend the wood to the floor to adequately support the weight. I added wood under the bottom so the support frame is held up from below, and I also securely screwed in the supports at the top. I also re-aligned the drawer slide hardware so they close evenly (the left side of the drawers used to stick out when closed).


There seems to be something to repair after every trip.
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Old 09-20-2018, 02:47 PM   #6
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Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Axis 24.4
State: Michigan
Posts: 9,837
THOR #1150
Quote:
Originally Posted by jabrabu View Post
...

There seems to be something to repair after every trip.
That usually stops after a year or two but the modding never ends !
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Old 09-20-2018, 03:00 PM   #7
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Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Chatea 31E
State: Maryland
Posts: 453
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JamieGeek View Post
That usually stops after a year or two but the modding never ends !

I hope it stops at some point. At least my list of things to fix is getting shorter.


My biggest concern now is that the slide-out seems to momentarily stick about halfway when extending or retracting, and has completely stopped a couple of times while retracting. I've always been able to get it to fully extend and retract, but it is worrisome. I haven't figured out what the problem is.
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Old 08-13-2019, 09:55 AM   #8
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Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Chateau 31E
State: Indiana
Posts: 121
THOR #7936
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I bought my 2016 31E in June of 2017 and it's been a work in progress ever since. Here's my mess of fun: http://www.thorforums.com/forums/f17...ions-7829.html

I'm going to look into the sway bars and steering to see if it makes towing my Jeep any better.

I really like the bathroom and floor layout.

mac '31e always making it better' gyvr
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