Front cap and other Omni deficiency fixes

[chunker21]

I decided to finally make permanent fixes to the faulty thor factory design and installation deficiencies to the Omni. I'll try to keep it simple in how I did it.

Front cap; got a new one and eliminated the heavy front window and also insulated the entire cap. Results is it won't fall off and isn't a drafty leaky part.

A/C and heating ducting; eliminated the disintegrating styrofoam box pieces and the floor sub space that was used at the factory and ran foil lined dedicated ducting to all vents and registers. Result is heated or cooled air actually arrives at the registers and doesn't leak into the attic and sub floor spacing.

Tankless water heater; Replaced with a reliable and useful Suburban 10g electric and propane TANK type. Results is better heated water, hot water at reduced flow, more efficient, ability to have hot water and not waste propane while hooked up, can turn off to lather up and turn flow on without getting blasted with cold when turning back on.

Replaced wiring to BIM; Self explanatory and now have properly wired BIM for proper charging.

Put in new and larger shower; mainly a XG32 problem since the other models have larger showers. Results I can turn around and new shower isn't flimsy and leaky. Floor is also supported like a good shower should be.

Upgraded A/C units; put in 2 15K heat pumps to replace undersized 13.5K units. Results is substantially better cooling and heating and combined with the ducting replacement has improved creature comforts a bunch. No more styrofoam or sawdust "showers".

Replaced front bumper with chrome steel bumper; now have actual fog lights that work, is ethically far more pleasing, and actually fits the front of the coach better. Results eliminated the ugly plastic thing on the from that thor installs.

Propane line routing; Rerouted the propane lines so that they don't go through springs and get cut. Results is a much safer configuration that I don't have to worry about catching fire or exploding.

Replaced leveling system; Installed the Equalizer system which isn't violent and levels the coach better than the junky "ultra level". Actually has ability to manually retract jacks in pairs if you overshoot some. Results is you don't have to brace yourself or be sitting when leveling and the front cap won't break off.

I hired out some of the work, did some myself and there were a number of other improvements made that I'll remember later. Bottom line is when I went to reregister it at DMV they said that so many new parts from other better manufacturers were used that I had to retitle and reregister it as a Renegade Valencia 35MB.

I want to thank kwplot and others who detailed how they did their fixes. While I'm sure their work is superb, mine takes into consideration all the unknowns that could and likely will happen based on sorry and lacking factory quality. To each their own. I'll post a picture of my improvements later.

[chunker21]

Here's some pics that show obvious improvements. Some substantial ones can't be seen but are there.

[kwplot34]

That's quite the upgrade Chunker and very nice looking. I am sure you will be much happier with that rig, I know I would be much happier with that rv. We have discussed about trading ours off and getting a different Super C and it will not be made by Thor, this is the last Thor product I will ever own. Will see what next spring brings.

[chunker21]

Originally Posted by kwplot34

That's quite the upgrade Chunker and very nice looking. I am sure you will be much happier with that rig, I know I would be much happier with that rv. We have discussed about trading ours off and getting a different Super C and it will not be made by Thor, this is the last Thor product I will ever own. Will see what next spring brings.

Thanks I'm using it right now at our NW FL bayou property and things going well. For me I was already researching a replacement but when the limited recall came out about the propane line routing and Thor's response to it, that was the last straw. I didn't make the switch $$ pain free but peace of mind is invaluable. The biggest issue is figuring out where to put stuff but that's an issue with any "new to you" RV.

Reference pricing, the MSRP for a Valencia isn't much different for the MSRP for the Omni/Magnitude. Shocking isn't it. I guess one difference is availability. Thor pumps them out and Renegade's volume is much lower. I rolled around for a while under on my creeper with a good flashlight, and the care and organization evident on the underside with wiring and plumbing is striking.

Each person has their own tolerance for incompetence and shoddy workmanship and mine was exceeded. Good luck with yours and I hope your cap fix, and other repairs are permanent and the structure it's attached to doesn't collapse.

[Gmthrust]

Nice looking rig! Glad you are happy with it. I hope this doesn’t mean you will stop posting here. Please keep us up to date on your journeys and any issues that pop up.

[chunker21]

Originally Posted by Gmthrust

Nice looking rig! Glad you are happy with it. I hope this doesn’t mean you will stop posting here. Please keep us up to date on your journeys and any issues that pop up.

Thanks, no much to the chagrin of some, I'll stick around. Many RV issues cross over to al brands. Obviously I won't be finding anymore unfortunate surprises in a thor product. I spent a few nights in the new one this week and everything went well. It was nice to take a shower in a bigger shower and have decent hot water. Had to run the air conditioner this morning because low 70s and 100% humidity. Not so much to cool but to get the water out of the inside air. The sleeper sofa in the Valencia isn't much more comfortable than the crappy "incliner" that thor put in the XG32. But I pulled my Recpro recliners I put in the Omni so they will go in the Valencia. All's well.

[kwplot34]

Originally Posted by chunker21

Thanks I'm using it right now at our NW FL bayou property and things going well. For me I was already researching a replacement but when the limited recall came out about the propane line routing and Thor's response to it, that was the last straw. I didn't make the switch $$ pain free but peace of mind is invaluable. The biggest issue is figuring out where to put stuff but that's an issue with any "new to you" RV.

Reference pricing, the MSRP for a Valencia isn't much different for the MSRP for the Omni/Magnitude. Shocking isn't it. I guess one difference is availability. Thor pumps them out and Renegade's volume is much lower. I rolled around for a while under on my creeper with a good flashlight, and the care and organization evident on the underside with wiring and plumbing is striking.

Each person has their own tolerance for incompetence and shoddy workmanship and mine was exceeded. Good luck with yours and I hope your cap fix, and other repairs are permanent and the structure it's attached to doesn't collapse.

My tolerance for incompetence and shoddy workmanship is about 99% full. We may look next year, not sure yet we will see how it goes next year.
I got a reply back from Thor on my screw through the propane line a week ago and they said thanks for bringing it to their attention and they will bring it to the attention of the workers and if I need anything else let them know. I said yeah you could reimburse me for my time and parts purchased for fixing it.
Well yesterday I got a reply to that email and they said " Sorry you are outside your normal 1 year warranty" LOL, really.
I'm not sure but that was a pretty DICK move on Thor's part.
I can say without a doubt this is the last Thor product I will ever purchase.
I believe Thor is by far the WORST coach builder out there and their customer service just plain sucks, especially after that last email from them.

[Lamokadave]

Best of luck with the new rig Chunker.
Try not to laugh too hard while continuing to monitor this forum

[chunker21]

Originally Posted by Lamokadave

Best of luck with the new rig Chunker.
Try not to laugh too hard while continuing to monitor this forum

Thank you, it will be entertaining and frustrating at times. I sometimes want to shake people and say "wake up you fool", "can't you see what's happening" but everyone is free to make their own mistakes and I freely admit that despite my strong previous reservations about thor, I bought one. In the education of life, I have my doctorate. I do find it confusing and amusing that some people will defend thor. A lot of people will defend their bad decisions to the end.

I don't expect the Renegade product to be perfect but I expect it to be far superior to anything thor produces. Anecdotally anyone can find horrid examples of a product and poor customer servicing, but with thor the examples are endless. When I had my first interactions with Thor CS I initially sort of felt sorry for them. Thinking they were trying as hard as they could to please the customer and fix the issues. I truly feel they are just a willing pawn in the poor product putting things off till that magic "one year" so they can do what they did to kwplot on the screw through the propane line, screw him twice.

I have 2 major issues I've already discovered with the Renegade Valencia I got. There is no broom closet and no space to hide the kitchen trash can. I think I'll file a complaint with the MTSB on that.

[kwplot34]

Originally Posted by chunker21

Thank you, it will be entertaining and frustrating at times. I sometimes want to shake people and say "wake up you fool", "can't you see what's happening" but everyone is free to make their own mistakes and I freely admit that despite my strong previous reservations about thor, I bought one. In the education of life, I have my doctorate. I do find it confusing and amusing that some people will defend thor. A lot of people will defend their bad decisions to the end.

I don't expect the Renegade product to be perfect but I expect it to be far superior to anything thor produces. Anecdotally anyone can find horrid examples of a product and poor customer servicing, but with thor the examples are endless. When I had my first interactions with Thor CS I initially sort of felt sorry for them. Thinking they were trying as hard as they could to please the customer and fix the issues. I truly feel they are just a willing pawn in the poor product putting things off till that magic "one year" so they can do what they did to kwplot on the screw through the propane line, screw him twice.

I have 2 major issues I've already discovered with the Renegade Valencia I got. There is no broom closet and no space to hide the kitchen trash can. I think I'll file a complaint with the MTSB on that.

I will trade you my major issues for your 2 major issues the more you keep posting about your new rig keeps moving me closer to selling mine and getting the Nexus or a Valencia. The RV show is here in a couple of weeks, thinking I need to go to it. Never thought 1 year after purchasing a new RV that I would be shopping again.

[dkoldman]

Originally Posted by chunker21

Here's some pics that show obvious improvements. Some substantial ones can't be seen but are there.

What are the dimensions to the right of that 10g water heater? If you have or know of someone with good cabinetry skills you could cut the shelf and make a perfect opening for a trash can.

[chunker21]

Originally Posted by dkoldman

What are the dimensions to the right of that 10g water heater? If you have or know of someone with good cabinetry skills you could cut the shelf and make a perfect opening for a trash can.

I'm heading down there today and I'll measure but it's pretty tight under there. The shape of the available space is broken up a bit. Besides my GF has put plates and pots and pans there and if I start moving stuff I'll be in trouble.

[elbenson]

That looks a lot like the improvements I made from the 2022 RS-36 I purchased earlier this year. I removed 1/2 of the full wall slide and removed all plumbing and gas lines to avoid constant electrical and hot water failures. In addition replaced the ultra reliable Schwintech system with a gear driven slide. I also was able to eliminate the Thor special gas line routing through the suspension.

I wish I had only know about these improvements prior to my purchase.

Eric

[chunker21]

Originally Posted by elbenson

That looks a lot like the improvements I made from the 2022 RS-36 I purchased earlier this year. I removed 1/2 of the full wall slide and removed all plumbing and gas lines to avoid constant electrical and hot water failures. In addition replaced the ultra reliable Schwintech system with a gear driven slide. I also was able to eliminate the Thor special gas line routing through the suspension.

I wish I had only know about these improvements prior to my purchase.

Eric

I agree, uncanny isn't it. We can also traverse from the cab to the rear without doing gymnastic contortions. I've discovered so many other advantages to my overhaul but will refrain from gloating, er I mean informing.

Eric what did your "transformation" end up as, 38BB?

[elbenson]

Yes with 4 kids the 38bb is the ideal layout for us. You are right. I did not think the ford cab to living area was a big deal until I drove the Renegade. It was a GameChanger to just turn around and walk to the back. Also the bunks in the renegade are 4” longer which is also great as everyone in my family is over 6’.

Eric.

[chunker21]

Originally Posted by elbenson

Yes with 4 kids the 38bb is the ideal layout for us. You are right. I did not think the ford cab to living area was a big deal until I drove the Renegade. It was a GameChanger to just turn around and walk to the back. Also the bunks in the renegade are 4” longer which is also great as everyone in my family is over 6’.

Eric.

My 35MB is 2' longer than the XG32 but the house part 4-5' longer due to the shorter nose of the Freightliner S2RV cab. I will say the Ford cab is far more sophisticated than the FL cab. But the house we have is far better. Way far better as you know.