Thor Magnitude SV34 problems problems problems

[Bethhen]

We just took delivery of our New 2022 Thor Magnitude SV34. We are beyond disappointed in the workmanship on this rig. We have a long list of problems already. Back up camera not working, Awing pulled out on the passenger top corner on the first day we extended it out, exposed wiring sticking out under the table, solar system not working, kitchen sink leaking under cabinet, glue on the ceiling, entrance door flashing is crooked, bottom doors don't close correctly. On demand hot water system not working correctly not even sure why they would put this on a rig that only has a small water tank. TV in the bed room only runs on shore power not sure why they would do that either when the other 2 work on battery. We spent a ton of time watching videos on this rig as it had the towing power we needed to pull our horse trailer and was advertised as a boon docking rig. This is NOT a boon docking rig we didn't expect that we would have to run our generator so much we have been horse camping for over 20 years and this is our 5th rig as of right now we are super sad that we made the switch. We are now going to have to loose camping time to find a location to take care of the "warranty" work that needs to be done. So very disappointed in Thor and the lack of pride that was not taken in the assembly of this rig.

[EA37TS]

First, welcome to the forum.

From your list it looks like a number of these items should have been found easily during the PDI. Why. did you accept delivery of the coach is doors were crooked, wires hanging out, hot water not working etc...

The lack of a good PDI does not excuse poor workmanship but you did accept delivery of the rig.

[Bethhen]

When we took delivery of the rig we had 3 major items that they could not fix at General RV in the limited time we had for pick up we had a 4 hour travel time to get to the location and yes General RV should of found and fixed all of the items prior to our arrival however that did not happen either. We agreed we would bring it to our local RV dealer to have the warranty done on those items. It wasn't until we got home and had our first outing in the rig that we found all of the other items. This 100 percent falls on Thor for lack of quality workmanship before sending it on its way.

[EA37TS]

Originally Posted by Bethhen

When we took delivery of the rig we had 3 major items that they could not fix at General RV in the limited time we had for pick up we had a 4 hour travel time to get to the location and yes General RV should of found and fixed all of the items prior to our arrival however that did not happen either. We agreed we would bring it to our local RV dealer to have the warranty done on those items. It wasn't until we got home and had our first outing in the rig that we found all of the other items. This 100 percent falls on Thor for lack of quality workmanship before sending it on its way.

Is the local dealer another General location? If not did you contact them to determine if they will perform warranty work on a unit they did not sell? RV dealers are not required to perform warranty work on units they did not sell.

As a note, we walked away from General in Richmond twice because they didn’t have our rig ready for delivery and we would not accept it. The second time we let them know they had one final attempt and they got it right.

Sorry, but accepting a unit with problems is not 100 percent the fault of the manufacturer. Nothing prevented you from walking away.

Good luck.

[Bethhen]

Yes Camping World said they would assist.

[Bob Denman]

Welcome to the Forum, and I hope they can put things right for you soon!

[kwplot34]

I purchased the XG32 last year and most of our camping is Boon Docking, have boon docked with it 3 times now with no issues. What issues are you having while trying to boon dock?

[Judge]

I have a 2020 SV34 and am generally happy with it.... even though I have had my fair share of issues. Fortunately I can take care of most issues and Thor Customer Service and the Service Center in Wakarusa has been great dealing with the rest!

So some of your complaints are valid quality and workmanship issues.... which are not surprising........ unfortunately. But some of your other complaints are a lack of due diliegence on your part.

You can have your dealer do the repairs but I recommend you work with Thor Warranty Service to book an appoiintement at the Thor Factory Service Center in Wakarusa. They will do a far better job fixing issues better than when it left the assembly line and they will look for problems you have not even found and fix those as well. Quality has always been lacking but with COVID it has gotten worse because of off the charts demand and bringing in any warm bodies they can find to build these coaches. The dealers aren't much better. The guys in Wakarusa will do a very good job with your issues.

If you planned on primarily boondocking with a Magnitude / Omni, then you did not do your homework. I have never seen any Thor documentation that the Magnitude / Omni was designed to primarily be a boondocking rig. They tout that the 4x4 gives you more ability to go where other coaches can't but there is nothing saying it has been built for boondocking as its primary function.

The SV34 only comes with two batteries.... and not the best batteries money can buy. It does have room for two more (which I have added in my coach). The 2020's only came prepped for solar so I installed two Renogy 160W flexible panels and they do a fine job with the stock solar controller and the four batteries.

The 2021 / 2022's are coming with a 100W panel installed. That is ok for keeping the two batteries topped off but not for lengthy boondocking. You need 4 batteries and at least 200W of solar if you don't want to run the generator often.

I love the tankless water heater! I've had two coaches with them and they are great. I don't boon dock so of I want to take a 20-minute shower, I can. But if you boondock primarily and trying to conserve water, it is probably the wrong choice for you.

You should have looked at the Nexus Ghost 36DS with a 10 gallon hot water tank and 85 gallons of fresh water. Or a Dynamax Force HD and the Truma Tankless and 100 gallons of fresh water and 50 gallon black / grey tanks.

The Xantrex Freedom X 2000 Inverter on the 2020 SV34 is wired to the following:

- Residential Fridge
- Outdoor Fridge
- Outdoor TV
- Cab-Over TV
- Outlet next to bed (CPAP Machine)
- Cabinet over Dinnette (DVD Player on 2020's)

Because of the two fridges wired to the Inverter, they did not add the third TV in the bedroom. You can pull the fridge, tap into the outlet and then wire the bedroom TV outlet to the Inverter circuit that way. That is one of the mods I have not done yet........ or you can run an extension over to the CPAP outlet next to the bed.

While it is a 2000W Inverter, that is all the two stock batteries are going to be able to handle. They won't be able to run the microwave for any length of time or the induction cooktop had Thor wired them to the Inverter circuit.

Beyond that, Thor rarely wires any of their coaches so the Inverter can run all AC circuits in the coach. They also do not provide a high-end Lithium battery option..... unless you have the dealer setup the coach for Lithium and pay extra for the batteries, a LI-BIM and a better Converter.

[ducksface]

There 8s necar any 3xcuse 5o hurth to retrieve a $100,000 purchase of any sort .
Thetr usbt a culture inbthe world that says to trust a vehicle salesperson with a $1, let alobr $+00,000.

Yup,
Left as it was typed.
Looks nonsensical, sounds nonsensical.

It's too late for the op and I wish her luck.
We should prepare her for the 3 month dealer lot sit while being repaired.

But
Did you find this forum before your purchase?
Now that you're here, spend a few hours reading about how to operate the water heater and how many batteries to add and how to get the other tv to work by simply adding a very small inverter of its own.

Make it yours, not what some mid level talent CAD drawer had to place there due to budget constraints.

DEEP BREATH
YOU'RE AN OWNER.
nothing can change that except to sell it.
Judge has offered you lots of tricks and fixes. Do them. Be happy.

Take cookies with you to the service department initial appointment.
You have ZERO recourse except to be pleasant .
Online research says to look up
Karen.
Dont be one when you get to the cw.
(They said they'd help...some if us find that a tad bit doubtful. You didn't buy it there and they have plenty of problems of their own. Just a heads up so you'll not be surprised. I hope its different than some of us expect)

Just some prep, nothing else.

[Gmthrust]

Originally Posted by ducksface

There 8s necar any 3xcuse 5o hurth to retrieve a $100,000 purchase of any sort .
Thetr usbt a culture inbthe world that says to trust a vehicle salesperson with a $1, let alobr $+00,000.

Yup,
Left as it was typed.
Looks nonsensical, sounds nonsensical.

It's too late for the op and I wish her luck.
We should prepare her for the 3 month dealer lot sit while being repaired.

But
Did you find this forum before your purchase?
Now that you're here, spend a few hours reading about how to operate the water heater and how many batteries to add and how to get the other tv to work by simply adding a very small inverter of its own.

Make it yours, not what some mid level talent CAD drawer had to place there due to budget constraints.

DEEP BREATH
YOU'RE AN OWNER.
nothing can change that except to sell it.
Judge has offered you lots of tricks and fixes. Do them. Be happy.

Take cookies with you to the service department initial appointment.
You have ZERO recourse except to be pleasant .
Online research says to look up
Karen.
Dont be one when you get to the cw.
(They said they'd help...some if us find that a tad bit doubtful. You didn't buy it there and they have plenty of problems of their own. Just a heads up so you'll not be surprised. I hope its different than some of us expect)

Just some prep, nothing else.

Insert Bob’s “what he said” meme here! Welcome!

[DW821]

We had many of the same issues when wet purchased our Thor last year. Something they don’t tell you is that they will pay for warranty work to be done anywhere. You have to send in an estimate of what needs to be done and they will authorize it and even send parts. You will have to pay for the repairs up front but they will reimburse you. We have had good luck doing things, as the dealership isn’t near us and they make it difficult to get a service appointment and then they keep the coach for weeks. We found a repairman locally that is very knowledgeable, fair, and easy to work with. Call Thor’s customer service and they will give you details on how to do this.

QUOTE=Bethhen;296136]We just took delivery of our New 2022 Thor Magnitude SV34. We are beyond disappointed in the workmanship on this rig. We have a long list of problems already. Back up camera not working, Awing pulled out on the passenger top corner on the first day we extended it out, exposed wiring sticking out under the table, solar system not working, kitchen sink leaking under cabinet, glue on the ceiling, entrance door flashing is crooked, bottom doors don't close correctly. On demand hot water system not working correctly not even sure why they would put this on a rig that only has a small water tank. TV in the bed room only runs on shore power not sure why they would do that either when the other 2 work on battery. We spent a ton of time watching videos on this rig as it had the towing power we needed to pull our horse trailer and was advertised as a boon docking rig. This is NOT a boon docking rig we didn't expect that we would have to run our generator so much we have been horse camping for over 20 years and this is our 5th rig as of right now we are super sad that we made the switch. We are now going to have to loose camping time to find a location to take care of the "warranty" work that needs to be done. So very disappointed in Thor and the lack of pride that was not taken in the assembly of this rig.[/QUOTE]

[Garyl]

I have. 2019 Thor Aria 3901. The first 6 months it was in and out of Camping World for warranty work. Thor has no quality oversight! Good quality cabinets and other materials but lousy craftsmanship!

[boggsy64]

EA37TS. Not sure why you think all of the burden is on the buyer to do a full PDI? Why not expect a manufacturer to deliver a good product? I am in manufacturing and sell to the biggest diaper manufacturers in the world and they expect and we deliver top quality all the time, all the time, 24/7.
We need a quality system at these manufacturers if we as consumers don't demand it we will never get it. Proctor and Gamble will not tolerate it and we know it. We have quality systems in place for every possible aspect or our products. Seems the RV manufacturers just throw out product and expect US to find the problems as we use them. I thought about applying to some of these guys to upgrade their systems and processes but if they have no intent of making good quality it is not the fault of a jubilant buyer buying a beautiful (on the outside coach) only to find a myriad of problems.
The burden must be on the manufacturer. Do you expect to come home with an item in a box and find out it is crap?

[Bob Denman]

A thorough PDI costs you nothing but time...
...and it may allow a prospective buyer too see when the time comes to pull the plug on a deal.
Assume nothing, and verify everything!

[EA37TS]

Originally Posted by boggsy64

...
We need a quality system at these manufacturers if we as consumers don't demand it we will never get it. ...
The burden must be on the manufacturer. Do you expect to come home with an item in a box and find out it is crap?

Exactly and the way to demand a good quality system is to conduct a good PDI and walk away if the coach is not ready for delivery. If folks don't do a good PDI they are part of the problem. Everyone has signed a piece of paper saying they inspected the coach and they read and understand the warranty.

The burden will not be on the manufacturer as long as folks do not engage in due diligence and drive off the dealer's lot after accepting a substandard POS. As long as people buy crap the manufacturer will deliver crap.

[ducksface]

So many do not want to take an iota of responsibility. They'll check a bucket of chicken for the right parts and drive back 10 miles to complain of a missing wing, but they won't check a $150,000 purchase for functionality.
As long as those types of folks exist what's the incentive for low-line rv builders to do a Damn thing except fix what's found? If average warranty work is averaged to $500 per unit...do you think they're going to give up $500 per unit on the ones that don't need work by doubling their qc department size?
If you're going to say you'd have paid $1,000 more to not have had a problem...you could have paid that in inspection time, pre-purchase, and had all things fixed(and maybe grinding the dealer down on price to his bottom dollar gets you bottom dollar inspection)

Not a single culture in the galaxy says to take delivery of any vehicle of any sort...blind.
And yet....


Our chronics here are exactly the cause of the cause.

Rvchecklist is an app. Has been for years. If you didn't use it on pdi, what are we supposed to say?

Get some pride. Tell the dealer you won't take delivery until all requests are met and all issues resolved.

[Judge]

Originally Posted by boggsy64

EA37TS. Not sure why you think all of the burden is on the buyer to do a full PDI? Why not expect a manufacturer to deliver a good product? I am in manufacturing and sell to the biggest diaper manufacturers in the world and they expect and we deliver top quality all the time, all the time, 24/7.
We need a quality system at these manufacturers if we as consumers don't demand it we will never get it. Proctor and Gamble will not tolerate it and we know it. We have quality systems in place for every possible aspect or our products. Seems the RV manufacturers just throw out product and expect US to find the problems as we use them. I thought about applying to some of these guys to upgrade their systems and processes but if they have no intent of making good quality it is not the fault of a jubilant buyer buying a beautiful (on the outside coach) only to find a myriad of problems.
The burden must be on the manufacturer. Do you expect to come home with an item in a box and find out it is crap?

Your assessment is not unreasonable..... and I personally agree with what you are saying.

We as owners are to blame for the RV Industry not holding themselves to higher standards of quality and workmanship.

While some of us will do exptensive PDI's because we know there is a high likelyhood a few, if not many, problems will be uncovered..... and some of us will even walkaway from a deal.... the bulk of the consumers want their RV and they want it now. So even when we walk away from a coach because of a bad PDI the dealer is not worried because they will have no issue selling it to some other unsuspecting consumer.

Many newbies who have not done research on the industry have no clue that buying an RV is not like buying a car, a house, a boat or other big ticket item. They just expect that if you pay $60K or $600K, you are going to get something that works as designed and expected based on similar purchases. You sign the paperwork, take the keys and drive off into the sunset.

It is not much different than the airline industry. People want / need to get where they are going so we just accept lousy customer service. We may try another airline but in reality we are just moving the chairs around the same table.

Until we collectively refuse to purchase RV's or we demand that prices better match quality and workmanship before we do sign on the dotted line nothing will ever change.

The challenge is that many owners have just accepted that this is the way it is so the PDI catches as much as you can. A good PDI will only find a limited number of issues anyway...... so after the PDI issues are addressed you then use the coach as much as you can in the first few months to find as many problems as you can so they get fixed under warranty.... and then you move on and enjoy the coach and fix things yourself as they come up.

Now with the flood of newbies into the RV lifestyle and demand far exceeding supply more than at any other time, there is not going to be any incentive to improve quality and workmanship... which will likely only get worse as they try to crank out as many units as possible.

As they say...... it is what it is........ unfortunately.

[Bob Denman]

Do they need to build our RVs with a keener eye for qual9ty? YES!
Are you willing to py for it?
Are you willing to perform a PDI that is thorough, and walk away if issues are found?

If you're not: you're not serious about this issue.

[Judge]

Originally Posted by Bob Denman

Do they need to build our RVs with a keener eye for qual9ty? YES!
Are you willing to py for it?

I think the MSRP's are high enough that the quality should be there... especially when you look at the typical discounts pre-COVID.

In any case, my time dealing with issues is worth something too so I would be willing to pay 5% more out of pocket for better quality, workmanship and materials IF it meant the PDI uncovers next to nothing and you might only need one or two things fixed under warranty on average.

Two trips to Wakarusa and one trip to the dealer chewed up my time and money in diesel and tolls just to use the warranty to fix items that came up after the PDI….. that doesn’t include all the time I spent fixing things when Thor sent me parts several times.

[Bob Denman]

I agree...
(Our PDI took 4 1/2 hours...)