2023 sequence, crazy question?

[Sparks701]

Picking my new rv up in a couple days and after reading a lot on this forum I’m getting a bit concerned. Is owning a thor built rv a never ending battle with things going wrong? I’m an electrician and am pretty handy but I’m starting to worry I’ll be fixing more than camping? Is this a normal experience or is this just a good place to bounce off ideas on an occasional problem? Thanks in advance for the advice.
1 more thing! I opted out of the $10,000 extended 5 year warranty. Should I reconsider?

[robertj1961]

Congratulations on your purchase!

I would recommend you to take your time when you pick up your van with the RV technician because "support" after you drive it away will most likely not be that great. Make sure EVERYTHING works as it should prior to leaving the seller lot. Appointments for repair can sometimes be out almost a month if you have a problem. There is also most likely a recall of the portable gas valve. Not a major deal but you should be aware and your selling dealer should be familiar with that if you ask. It is good you are an electrician as most issues on mine have been electrical with many of the problems due to converting a van designed for AGM to a Lithium system.

I agree totally on passing on the dealer offered extended warranty and $10000 is incredibly "insane". If they are selling that I would be very careful at what other dealer "add ons" may be on the final purchase price. Be very careful when you sign the paperwork with their finance guy. The dealer who offered my extended warranty started at $5000 and then quickly dropped the price to $2500 for the same coverage. Even that is not a good idea on these IMO. If you were buying a "Class A", maybe but that could be debated for or against.

Overall, we have been happy with our purchase and believe you will like it and is a great travel vehicle! There will be problems when you purchase new but most likely nothing you can't repair yourself. Thor's quality is not great but for the money it is a very good machine IMO.

[Sparks701]

Thanks Robert, trying to get a list of things people have found wrong and what to look for during the walk through. The warranty went for $12k to $10k after I said no. I figure for that price I should be able to fix almost anything on the rv myself.

[robertj1961]

Totally agree!
I am not sure exactly the configuration of the Sequence you are purchasing, but you might want to be aware of some of the issues with the Lithium systems if you intend on using it in cold weather. The 200a/h setup on mine has the batteries located outside under the van in front of the rear axels. This is not a good location IMO and difficult to access. The 400a/h system has the batteries located inside which is much better. I would recommend checking out this post:

https://www.thorforums.com/forums/f4...old-33225.html

[paulwadley]

Use your cell phone and video the final with the dealership. This will help you later in case you have any questions how something works. Try out everything yourself while standing with the dealer/tech(slides/generator/water systems...). Have them show you how to override a slide in the event something goes wrong and you need to get it back into place in order to drive the coach. Ask lots of questions before driving off.

Paul

[Sparks701]

Originally Posted by robertj1961

Totally agree!
I am not sure exactly the configuration of the Sequence you are purchasing, but you might want to be aware of some of the issues with the Lithium systems if you intend on using it in cold weather. The 200a/h setup on mine has the batteries located outside under the van in front of the rear axels. This is not a good location IMO and difficult to access. The 400a/h system has the batteries located inside which is much better. I would recommend checking out this post:

https://www.thorforums.com/forums/f4...old-33225.html

I have the same as you. 2-100ah lithium batteries. I live in Illinois so I do need to aware of the cold.

[Sparks701]

Originally Posted by paulwadley

Use your cell phone and video the final with the dealership. This will help you later in case you have any questions how something works. Try out everything yourself while standing with the dealer/tech(slides/generator/water systems...). Have them show you how to override a slide in the event something goes wrong and you need to get it back into place in order to drive the coach. Ask lots of questions before driving off.

Paul

Thanks Paul. Video is exactly what I have planned on doing.

[robertj1961]

The work around for cold weather appears to be just leave it plugged in all the time. That being said, 30 amp plug would be highly recommended. You can plug in to a 110 with adapter but I have had occasional problems with this.

Plugging in has worked for one user who is located in Wisconsin (RonRM). He is very knowledgeable about this system with the UHG (under hood generator) and you will see some of his posts on the link I provided in the earlier post. He is very "electrically" knowledgeable as I am not.

You are wise to research all of this prior to purchase which is not what I did.

Overall however I think you will be happy with your purchase and we have definitely gotten a lot of use out of ours. We have had it about 7 months and already about 18000 miles with very few problems with the Ram chassis.

[The Gritz Carlton]

Seems today, most of the issues are fit and finish with things falling apart on the construction side of things. If all appliances work and there are no water leaks in the plumbing, slides work smoothly multiple times...and you can fix things...just make sure the "pre-pay" inspection is very thorough. A new trend with dealers, in light of all the issues people are having, is requiring paperwork (at which time you own it) to be completed prior to them doing their own required by manufacturer PDI, prior to you being able to do a thorough test of everything. We just traded the Super C for a Melbourne Prestige and this is what they tried to do. Two other dealers said the same thing. I forced a connection to power and water and spent 2 hours going over everything...and beat them at this game. It's your money and you will own it with little to no service support once you drive off the lot.

[robertj1961]

Forgot to mention this, and it is important. If you are looking at a 2022, confirm the modification for the UHG (under hood generator) was done correctly. Some of the 2022's and perhaps early 2023 models had a problem with the serpentine belt being routed too close to a radiator hose resulting in it slicing into it. Thor modified this later but did release some that had this issue. There are pictures in the link provided so you know what you are looking for.

The link for more information on this is:

https://www.thorforums.com/forums/f4...ose-31760.html

[Sparks701]

I did read the post on the belt issue. I have that on my list of things to look at. I am buying a 2023 build on a 22 chassis so I will definitely be looking for that issue.

[MJC62]

Welcome aboard and congrats on your new rig. You have gotten good advice on the Pre-Inspection Delivery process. Don't sign on the dotted line till you are satisfied all systems work as advertised. (Please don't fall for the "well go ahead and take it home we can get it back in when the part/s come in"!)
As far as the quality of your new rig the components that make up the coach are pretty much the same over all the different manufacturers. As stated, mostly it is the fit and finish that are the major differences. We have owned several different manufacturers rigs over the years and our experience has been our Thor ACE is no better or worse than the other coaches we have owned.
One other thought. If you are seriously considering an extended warranty, there are different routes you can take other than getting it through the dealer. Good Sam and several other companies offer extended service plans.
Happy camping & good luck with your coach!
Mark

[Sparks701]

Originally Posted by MJC62

Welcome aboard and congrats on your new rig. You have gotten good advice on the Pre-Inspection Delivery process. Don't sign on the dotted line till you are satisfied all systems work as advertised. (Please don't fall for the "well go ahead and take it home we can get it back in when the part/s come in"!)
As far as the quality of your new rig the components that make up the coach are pretty much the same over all the different manufacturers. As stated, mostly it is the fit and finish that are the major differences. We have owned several different manufacturers rigs over the years and our experience has been our Thor ACE is no better or worse than the other coaches we have owned.
One other thought. If you are seriously considering an extended warranty, there are different routes you can take other than getting it through the dealer. Good Sam and several other companies offer extended service plans.
Happy camping & good luck with your coach!
Mark

Good to know about the extended warranty. Pretty much the same as a car. I will start looking into that. I guess no real hurry. I have the factory warranty for the time being. Thanks

[RonRM]

Congrats on the new rig.

I wouldn't say owning a Thor is a never ending battle...I'd say owning any boat, ATV or recreational vehicle is about the same. You play, they break now and again or at a minimum need maintenance; simple as that. The fun totally outweighs all that.

Fixing the rig yourself is the best. A bit of common sense, these forums and some tools...you should be good to go.

Enjoy...

[Pete'sMH]

Originally Posted by RonRM

Congrats on the new rig.

I wouldn't say owning a Thor is a never ending battle...I'd say owning any boat, ATV or recreational vehicle is about the same. You play, they break now and again or at a minimum need maintenance; simple as that. The fun totally outweighs all that.

Fixing the rig yourself is the best. A bit of common sense, these forums and some tools...you should be good to go.

Enjoy...

The only good thing is that an airplane is worse!

[The Gritz Carlton]

Originally Posted by RonRM

Congrats on the new rig.

I wouldn't say owning a Thor is a never ending battle...I'd say owning any boat, ATV or recreational vehicle is about the same. You play, they break now and again or at a minimum need maintenance; simple as that. The fun totally outweighs all that.

Fixing the rig yourself is the best. A bit of common sense, these forums and some tools...you should be good to go.

Enjoy...

I put boats in a totally different category. The NMMA is all over quality and build standards. I've have very few issues with the last 3 I've owned. My most recent Robalo has had zero issues.

[Cbudurka]

We have had trouble with our solar power - not charging. Our walk-through was a joke… the tech literally said “we don’t sell many - read the book” ugh
Anyway other than figuring out what generator will work (also spending thousands on …still says “insufficient shore power” … once we figure out the solar and Pierre situation we will love it lol

[Cbudurka]

[QUOTE=Cbudurka;372741]We have had trouble with our solar power - not charging. Our walk-through was a joke… the tech literally said “we don’t sell many - read the book” ugh
Anyway other than figuring out what generator will work (also spending thousands on …still says “insufficient shore power” … once we figure out the solar and Pierre situation we will love it lol

[dkoldman]

Originally Posted by Sparks701

Picking my new rv up in a couple days and after reading a lot on this forum I’m getting a bit concerned. Is owning a thor built rv a never ending battle with things going wrong? I’m an electrician and am pretty handy but I’m starting to worry I’ll be fixing more than camping? Is this a normal experience or is this just a good place to bounce off ideas on an occasional problem? Thanks in advance for the advice.
1 more thing! I opted out of the $10,000 extended 5 year warranty. Should I reconsider?

No, If someone can prove that you need a $10,000 ESP; then the only thing I would reconsider is the RV purchase itself.

Save the money, and use it for your own repairs. And if you do, don't mix your maintenance cost or otherwise Thor Warranty and OEM equipment warranty with what may actually be covered with the Extended warranty.

I am going on 4 years and I may have had 1 hr of labor ($125) that a ESP may have paid for? I doubt it; but if they did, how much would they have charged me just for ESP warranty claim?

[Sparks701]

Originally Posted by dkoldman

No, If someone can prove that you need a $10,000 ESP; then the only thing I would reconsider is the RV purchase itself.

Save the money, and use it for your own repairs. And if you do, don't mix your maintenance cost or otherwise Thor Warranty and OEM equipment warranty with what may actually be covered with the Extended warranty.

I am going on 4 years and I may have had 1 hr of labor ($125) that a ESP may have paid for? I doubt it; but if they did, how much would they have charged me just for ESP warranty claim?

Pretty much my thoughts too. Thanks