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Old 05-02-2021, 04:24 AM   #1
LDK
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Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Aria 3901
State: Colorado
Posts: 141
THOR #13190
Thor Motorhome Quality Improved?

Hello. Have a 2019 Aria 3901. Bought new back in 2018. Am considering purchasing a 2021/22 Aria 3901 or 2021/22 Ventian 40R.

Does anyone have insights to quality improvement at the factory since the Thor mission changed over the last couple years to:
Thor Motor Coach Will Produce the Highest Quality Recreational Vehicles
NOBODY WILL BUILD THEM BETTER.

In addition, does anyone have insights into improvements made to the Aria/Venetian since the 2019 model?

Thank you all!

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Old 05-02-2021, 09:57 AM   #2
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Model: 2020 Magnitude SV34
State: Florida
Posts: 4,147
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I have a 2020 Magnitude that I purchased October 2019... a few months before the pandemic. It came off the line in May 2019. My impression is that quality was only marginally better than my previsous coach that was built in 2017... but that was also a factor of cost increasing by going from a Class C to a Super C.

Given the huge spike in demand in the RV industry caused by COVID and the difficulties finding labor because of all the free money the government keeps handing out, I personally think quality will be suffering with coaches built from mid-2020 to present.

New coaches are being sold before being recieved by the dealership. Then add in the the global chip shortage and a lack of chassis. That means Thor and other manufacturers will be building coaches as quickly as possible to get the out the door and that is a recipe for workmanship and quality control to suffer.

Just using common sense, the business current climate and past experience with coaches to form my opinion.
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Old 05-02-2021, 12:00 PM   #3
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Totally anecdotal, but mine, custom ordered in Oct and delivered in Feb, is quite good so far.
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Old 05-02-2021, 12:46 PM   #4
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Model: F E 24 HE
State: North Carolina
Posts: 21
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My wife and I bought our first RV in March it’s a Thour 24 HE on a E350 2021 I am very disappointed in the quality of the coach I spent weeks just reworking things in it to make it right the way I wanted or would have done it. I wish I never had bought it but it is what it is I will make it right myself.
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Old 05-02-2021, 01:16 PM   #5
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Coming up on 3yrs full-time still very satisfied with our 37fh.
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Old 05-02-2021, 02:31 PM   #6
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I would guess that a custom-ordered RV will have a bit more attention and care during the build process.
Only time can tell us if the new mission statement is actually a philosophy; or just a marketing tool.
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Old 05-02-2021, 03:09 PM   #7
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Originally Posted by Bob Denman View Post
I would guess that a custom-ordered RV will have a bit more attention and care during the build process.
Only time can tell us if the new mission statement is actually a philosophy; or just a marketing tool.
I've wondered if that's why mine seems to have so many fewer issues than many others, or if I just got lucky. Wondering about that makes me more inclined to custom order in the future too.
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Old 05-02-2021, 03:15 PM   #8
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2020 thor vegas purchased in sept 2020. Since winter was coming we went through everything. Had a long list of minor things and placed at dealer for 4 months .all fixed.
Just get all 1 year warranty stuff done
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Old 05-02-2021, 03:22 PM   #9
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It’s always been rather a crapshoot. I expect some workers are more skilled and/or committed than others and some of its just luck. There are lots of components and a failed product, like a fridge or an inverter isn’t necessarily Thor’s “fault” although it’s hard not to blame them when it happens to you. It’s simply a fact that if you buy an RV you’re going to have to fix things. Pretty much always. It really helps if you’re “handy” and enjoy learning and fixing stuff.
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Old 05-02-2021, 04:03 PM   #10
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Originally Posted by atreis View Post
I've wondered if that's why mine seems to have so many fewer issues than many others, or if I just got lucky. Wondering about that makes me more inclined to custom order in the future too.
We also custom-ordered our Tiffin, and it has been trouble-free (except for several tiny issues...).
We will never buy one off the lot.
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Old 05-02-2021, 04:32 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LDK View Post
Hello. Have a 2019 Aria 3901. Bought new back in 2018. Am considering purchasing a 2021/22 Aria 3901 or 2021/22 Ventian 40R.

Does anyone have insights to quality improvement at the factory since the Thor mission changed over the last couple years to:
Thor Motor Coach Will Produce the Highest Quality Recreational Vehicles
NOBODY WILL BUILD THEM BETTER.

In addition, does anyone have insights into improvements made to the Aria/Venetian since the 2019 model?

Thank you all!
Realize that each Thor MC plant is a separate entity just as Jayco and Tiffin are. All are under the Thor Industries holding company. All Thor MC REDs coaches are produced in plant 850 and are built to order, in place (no production line). So all comments into quality, appointments, and customer service will apply only to coaches built in that plant. Plant 850 turns out 4 to 7 coaches per week (gas and RED) while plant 750 turns out 8 to 16 per day.
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Old 05-02-2021, 09:55 PM   #12
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Originally Posted by Beau388 View Post
Realize that each Thor MC plant is a separate entity just as Jayco and Tiffin are. All are under the Thor Industries holding company. All Thor MC REDs coaches are produced in plant 850 and are built to order, in place (no production line). So all comments into quality, appointments, and customer service will apply only to coaches built in that plant. Plant 850 turns out 4 to 7 coaches per week (gas and RED) while plant 750 turns out 8 to 16 per day.
Are Four Winds Class C custom orders built in a separate plant from Four Winds Class C non-custom orders?
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Old 05-02-2021, 10:00 PM   #13
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I think the gas Challengers are also built in plant 850
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Old 05-03-2021, 01:12 AM   #14
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I think the gas Challengers are also built in plant 850
True, Miramar, Challenger and all Outlaws are made in plant 850, plus the REDs.
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Old 05-03-2021, 01:45 AM   #15
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Originally Posted by atreis View Post
Are Four Winds Class C custom orders built in a separate plant from Four Winds Class C non-custom orders?
All the Thor MC gas class Cs are made in plant 250 (I think, as that was true the last time I was in Elkhart). Thor Industries does not build spec RVs of any type. All coaches are dealer ordered and paid for completely before they leave the assembly delivery lot. If you have a dealer special order a custom coach for you, the dealer will usually pull a previously placed order of a similar coach and replace it with your order. If the Thor RV factory uses batch building, (most of the 17 plants do), you may have a long (6 month) wait if a model that is seldom ordered. If the factory is currently producing the model you want, it will be at the dealer in a couple week or less. For instance plant 750 produces: 5 Hurricane models, 5 Windsport models, 7 ACE models and 5 freedom Traveler models. The plant operates between 180 and 200 days a year and produces 1,600 to 2,000 class As per year (April thru January). Show models are produced late February and March and the production line is reconfigured.
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Old 05-03-2021, 02:43 AM   #16
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Thor MC doesn’t build custom coaches. They only build to their options and that’s what dealers can order.
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Old 05-03-2021, 11:34 AM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bob Denman View Post
I would guess that a custom-ordered RV will have a bit more attention and care during the build process.
Only time can tell us if the new mission statement is actually a philosophy; or just a marketing tool.
Thor doesn't build custom, one-off RV's. They build to standard and any options available that the customer or dealer is ordering.
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Old 05-03-2021, 12:07 PM   #18
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Model: Tiffin Wayfarer 24 BW
State: New York
Posts: 22,195
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Originally Posted by sportcoupe View Post
Thor doesn't build custom, one-off RV's. They build to standard and any options available that the customer or dealer is ordering.
Perhaps I should clarify...

We custom-ordered our rig based off of the available options and furnishings that Tiffin offers.
We did not buy one, "off the lot".
We ordered the Equalizer levelers, the 15K BTU A/C with a heat pump, The Entertainment system in place of the overhead bunk, an exterior TV, a GPS system, and the Truma hot water system.
As a rig being built to our specifications: Tiffin sent us pictures of it during the build process...
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Old 05-03-2021, 01:42 PM   #19
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Thor Build Quality?

I took delivery of my 2021 Sequence 20L on March 26, 2021. This unit is built on a Ram Promaster base and upfitted by Thor. I am a retired mechanical engineer and worked my way through high school and college as a carpenter so I have some relevant experience. What I have found so far is minor to middling quality and design issues on our unit. I have found a lot of screws either not tightened down or over driven so that they are stripped in the hole with no hold. Two of the upper cabinet doors have come loose and needed to be repaired (we have not even take a single trip yet). I found that the drivers side bed had a single screw partially driven in that was intended to hold up the back corner of the bed. That was the only support in that corner. It was already bending down and there has been no real weight put on it yet. The access hatch in the drivers side bed was missing two of four supports so it was literally hanging down into the compartment. The medicine cabinet holding magnet was fastened in on angle so it does not hold cabinet door. I have found a number of wires hanging down that I had to zip tie up to keep them secure (just sloppy). The after market swivel seats Thor installed would not rotate without a massive wrestling match. I ended up taking the seat apart and re-assembled it so that it now swivels easily. So all these things can be fixed by a handy owner, but I pity the owner who needs to take it into the dealer for each repair. Are these issue more or less than other manufacturers? I do not know as this is my first RV. I was forewarned about these kinds of things so I was prepared to handle them. Will have to see how this RV does once we start taking trips in it. My favorite comment by the "Finance Manager" at the dealership was " you know this is a house build with sticks that will start falling apart once you take it down the road. You really need to buy the extended warranty protection package!" He should be a salesman.
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Old 05-03-2021, 05:44 PM   #20
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Model: Four Winds 26B
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bob Denman View Post
We custom-ordered our rig based off of the available options and furnishings that Tiffin offers.
We did not buy one, "off the lot".
Same here. I ordered a specific set of options from the ones Thor makes available. It wasn't "custom" but a custom set of options. I took care of the leveling jacks myself as a separate purchase.

As for dealer order/replacing an existing order, the dealership I bought from is somewhat different. Almost all of their sales are ordered after the customer agrees to purchase, with the set of specific options the customer picked. They don't carry much inventory at all. Buying from them, one always has to wait for it to get built, but gets what's wanted rather than settling for what was available on the lot or already on order. I worked with some other dealers too just to see what the difference might be, and while those dealers were willing to modify an existing order, they were only willing to do that to a point. For instance, they wouldn't change the chassis from the Ford to the Chevy (a hard requirement for me due to the large difference in GVWR and OCCC).
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