Quality control

[Bob Denman]

But that's not the World we're living in now...
Hand something back: you're gone...
Insist on better quality materials: ditto
It's all about getting the product out the door as quickly and cheaply as possible.
And that's not just happening in the RV industry...

[Jusjay]

People might not want to hear this but “Quality” is nothing more than conformity to requirements. So if the building requirements are met. Then the quality standards are met! You can’t order a Yugo and expect a Land Rover quality...But if you order the Land Rover and get Yugo quality then you have a bitch.

[Lt Keefer]

If I hear another Thor sycophant mention PDI I think I'll explode. Most of the problems this guy is having would not be found during a PDI. Peeling wall paper and doors falling off take time. Thor knows this, dealers know this, long time RV owners know this. Some of us have come to accept this and just repair the failure. Some of us are newer but remember a day when the American consumer did not have to put up with such shoddy craftmanship. I firmly believe that since RVs are luxury purchases the government has no intention of stepping in and forcing the RV industry to produce a quality product. Joe Biden will never sign an executive order to help out the person that worked hard and became successful enough to have the disposable income to purchase a RV. The only way we can force the RV industry to improve it's quality level is stop buying from companies like Thor. We need to boycott dealers that sell them and we need to skip over the listings for used ones as well. When the bottom line has been effected enough, a management team will come on board to fix the issues and quality will be one of them.

[mcr1010]

If you have seen it here yet, we have a kind of standing joke or an attitude that may ease your pain a little; "when you buy a Thor or most any RV, you are getting a kit". Some finished a little more than others.
Better days ahead.

[eightyeightkeys]

Thor has a bad reputation for quality. Your research should have revealed that. RVInsider, other forums, even asking a few techs and/or repair shops. We were in a very large RV repair shop in CA where they repaired every RV known to man and I asked them which RV's are the best. There wasn't a best but they said to stay away from Thor !

Having said that, the Thor OMNI is looking like it's pretty much the perfect RV for our future, but, man, I am scared to death of Thor quality. I really am.

I sympathize totally with Robert though. I can also repair pretty much anything, but, why should we be expected to when it's brand new ? Instead of charging for a PDI, dealers should include a course on RV repair. Just skip the beginners course and go right to intermediate & advanced.

[Beau388]

Originally Posted by Lt Keefer

If I hear another Thor sycophant mention PDI I think I'll explode. Most of the problems this guy is having would not be found during a PDI. Peeling wall paper and doors falling off take time. Thor knows this, dealers know this, long time RV owners know this. Some of us have come to accept this and just repair the failure. Some of us are newer but remember a day when the American consumer did not have to put up with such shoddy craftmanship. I firmly believe that since RVs are luxury purchases the government has no intention of stepping in and forcing the RV industry to produce a quality product. Joe Biden will never sign an executive order to help out the person that worked hard and became successful enough to have the disposable income to purchase a RV. The only way we can force the RV industry to improve it's quality level is stop buying from companies like Thor. We need to boycott dealers that sell them and we need to skip over the listings for used ones as well. When the bottom line has been effected enough, a management team will come on board to fix the issues and quality will be one of them.

Prepare to explode. As I sit a reclining loveseat in my Hurricane, writing this reply in my coach is working especially well. We had to move out of the house because of no power for the last two days. The generator has worked perfectly as has the propane furnace. It has been below freezing for the last 55 hours (low of 9 degrees) and the weather service states we have two more freezing rain storms before it is back to 70 degrees, Monday. The coach has stayed at 70 degrees during the day and 65 at night.
This is not my first RV, as we have been wondering around North America since my first retirement in 1990. Before I bought the Hurricane, I drove up to Elkhart and spent a week going on factory tours. After I decided on a manufacture and model, I toured every dealer with in 200 miles of western Ky where I lived. Only the Jayco dealership (Youngbloods RV) had a decent reputation but not a Hurricane 31S. The owner of Youngbloods recommended MHSRV which was 646 miles southwest. One call later, I sent the a $1,000 deposit and loaded up the Jetta with everything from our old RVs. I was most impressed with the PDI, the salesman and the two PDI specialist. Happy to state the coach has only spent 3 hours total at a dealership since we purchased it. The modifications (reclining loveseat, 50 amp service and heat pump) were all done by me or Wagner's RV. Great coach and even though plant 750 no longer makes a 31s. Jayco does make s similar Precept so if I manage to destroy my 31S. I will be a NIRVC. with in the month looking to make a deal.

[Lt Keefer]

None of the things you mentioned that work perfectly were manufactured by Thor. You can put a pound of gold in a box made of shit as easy as you can any other box. Thor does use all the standard RV components and I have had no problems with them. I do have a problem with the quality of the box they put them in.

[Bob Denman]

Beau,
If you've to spend time in a "Texas Lifeboat": you might as well be comfortable...

[MJC62]

I started my working career as an auto mechanic (back before they became technicians) in a Chrysler / Plymouth dealership. Back in the days before computers took over the auto industry and a guy had to diagnose what was wrong with the car.
Part of our job was to "Dealer Prep" the new cars before they hit the floor or the lot for sale.
Early 70's the auto assembly quality standards were bad. Cars came in from different assembly plants in various stages of completion. The most expensive car that Chrysler built in those days was a boat of a car called a New Yorker. Anyone old enough to remember when that car was a 1/2 block long? That car came from the worst assembly plant in the whole of Chrysler corporation, Jefferson Missouri. Trim didn't fit, radios weren't wired, windows out of alignment, steering wheels upside down. Hell I even had one when the driver door was opened it fell off. This was the high dollar top of the line vehicle of the Chrysler line up. Chrysler knew the car was so bad they paid the dealer 8 book hours to prep each one. Many times that didn't cover the labor for the prep and the dealer ate the added hours for the mechanic and sometimes the body shop to make the car right.
Before the American auto industry was forced by cheaper, better built Japanese cars to tighten up production standards the selling dealer made the car right before you took it for a test drive.
What do RV dealers do? Nothing! Wait for the end user to find all the flaws in an inspection before they fix it. You are expected to be the QC for a 100 some thousand dollar vehicle! Many times in a vehicle that you are totally unfamiliar with. I have always thought that is a bullshit way to buy any kind of vehicle!
Smaller local dealers have more incentive to make a unit right before purchase or stand behind it. Your satisfaction is key to their survival in a cutthroat business.
Off my soap box now!

[16ACE27]

Originally Posted by MJC62

I started my working career as an auto mechanic (back before they became technicians) in a Chrysler / Plymouth dealership. Back in the days before computers took over the auto industry and a guy had to diagnose what was wrong with the car.
Part of our job was to "Dealer Prep" the new cars before they hit the floor or the lot for sale.
Early 70's the auto assembly quality standards were bad. Cars came in from different assembly plants in various stages of completion. The most expensive car that Chrysler built in those days was a boat of a car called a New Yorker. Anyone old enough to remember when that car was a 1/2 block long? That car came from the worst assembly plant in the whole of Chrysler corporation, Jefferson Missouri. Trim didn't fit, radios weren't wired, windows out of alignment, steering wheels upside down. Hell I even had one when the driver door was opened it fell off. This was the high dollar top of the line vehicle of the Chrysler line up. Chrysler knew the car was so bad they paid the dealer 8 book hours to prep each one. Many times that didn't cover the labor for the prep and the dealer ate the added hours for the mechanic and sometimes the body shop to make the car right.
Before the American auto industry was forced by cheaper, better built Japanese cars to tighten up production standards the selling dealer made the car right before you took it for a test drive.
What do RV dealers do? Nothing! Wait for the end user to find all the flaws in an inspection before they fix it. You are expected to be the QC for a 100 some thousand dollar vehicle! Many times in a vehicle that you are totally unfamiliar with. I have always thought that is a bullshit way to buy any kind of vehicle!
Smaller local dealers have more incentive to make a unit right before purchase or stand behind it. Your satisfaction is key to their survival in a cutthroat business.
Off my soap box now!

My first career was also as an auto mechanic and I could have wrote your post except I worked at a Saab dealership, but even those brand new Saabs had their problems we had to fix during dealer prep. You nailed all the points.

[wrapped]

I'm curious robertirvin,what industry you worked in. We are the same age and I too came up having pride in workmanship and work ethic, but don't remember being handed a poor component for my job and being able to hand it back and demand a high quality replacement or else I wouldn't do the job. This all sounds like revisionist history.

[robertirvine1]

I worked in the glazing industry. I worked in the service dept. I went to fix others sloppy work. Residential and high end commerical jobs. I also worked in quality control for one of the largest used car dealers in the country. I was the last person to view the auto for it was handed to the customer. So imagine with all the trolling I've had . You and the others must be with thor. So as my final reply its saddening that mediocre and bad quality is defended. After this post I will no longer respond to this thread. Thanks to all for reading.

[Ford1]

Robert, You hit the nail on the head with, " in the name of profit". I have been rempaging for years that since the 1970's the face of corporate America has been to JUST figure out how to make the money, then move on. The mom and pop attitude of build something ( products and a business model) that will be around for years and even worthy of being passed down to their children has been destroyed in our colleges by those who teach the 'get all you can now and don't consider tomorrow or what is left over'. That will be somebody else's problem.......later. Larger companies just buy out the smaller competitors that were built with pride as were their products. They use that smaller companies' triple A rating and quality brand name to leverage all of their net worth to zero, then proceed on to the next victim. In a way Thor and Forest River have been doing just that. Since the RV industry almost collapsed in 2008, look how many brands have been purchased by both companies. Add in the 'less competition' factor and then ask yourself why should they worry about quality?

[wrapped]

Wow 11 posts all about how bad thor is and we're the trolls. Im out too.

[Beau388]

Originally Posted by Lt Keefer

None of the things you mentioned that work perfectly were manufactured by Thor. You can put a pound of gold in a box made of shit as easy as you can any other box. Thor does use all the standard RV components and I have had no problems with them. I do have a problem with the quality of the box they put them in.

The slides all fit when I picked it up and still do. 14 drawers all fit and still work as designed (one latch broke). Nothing else has fallen off or broken. The ladder did get destroyed when Iron Horse tech tried to climb up to install the second air conditioner. They replaced it. No extra screws, no sawdust, no leaks. I have completely redone the wiring in order to convert to 50 amps with load management and a inverter upgrade to Xantrex Freedom Xi 1800. I found no wiring mistakes and was able to reuse 80% of the original wiring. The pluming is entirely stock except I added a check valve in the pump inlet to avoid replacing the pump's valve. As I said before I would buy another 31S in an instance if It were available or even the 34P (even though is has a much smaller kitchen) if it was available. Just turned over 40,000 miles as I went to look for gas and propane Wednesday. Engine heat, windshield wipers, defroster fans, lights all worked for the two hour trip as they have for the last 5 years. Drop by San Antonio and I will show you around the Air Force Village and you can tour Hurricane Hazel.

[ducksface]

No problems here.
A short in the 120v outlet in the slide was fixed fast and professionally.
They replaced a flare that fell off without our asking.
We bought it used, they warranted it as new.
Not a single other memorable problem.

I have a wonderful attitude when allowed.
It shows broadly and graciously and gets me smiles and miles in return.
Many of you drive my ability far far away...to drink.

The miserable that some people show as a daily confirmation....

[TLeenhouts]

I assume you guys have never met the quality control team at Thor.
Stevie Wonder, Ronnie Milsap, Ray Charles, Andrea Bocelli.

[macdaddy1111]

Originally Posted by TLeenhouts

I assume you guys have never met the quality control team at Thor.
Stevie Wonder, Ronnie Milsap, Ray Charles, Andrea Bocelli.

Would of loved to have met them this morning when bedroom slide in 2020 rig would not go in!

3 rv helpers and I rigged a come along to pull it in so we could get back to NC!

Back to the shop we go! Parts are waiting thank goodness! Ha

[tomsvegas]

We are in our 70's too and thought when we bought our Thor six years ago we were going to upgrade from a Nash travel trailer, which we had for 12 years with little to no trouble. But, we quickly discovered that new class A's from Thor are basically projects, which require a lot of attention from the owners. We have experienced all of the things previously discussed. I have concluded that Thor's business model is "low price, low quality, promote false information." Dealers are caught in the middle. I do believe that if you want a great quality RV, you have to buy at twice the price, and hope for the best from the manufacture.

[Cpd]

We are taking ours to Indiana in May. They are fixing our slide as its been a problem since day one.
We've had other problems and went the dealer and mobile route.
TBH I got a rey from Thor after letting out my feelings on here. Hope the same happens for you.