2013 Thor Hurricane 31J

[Blossomrose]

Hello, I have a question about my hurricane. My husband and I bought this new 13 months ago. So far it has been in the shop seven times and for a total of about 21 weeks. We have had two problems with the jacks and found out that before we bought it, the dealer replaced one jack and that is the one we are currently having trouble with. Every time we take it to the shop, it takes 2 to 3 weeks to get it back. So we have had to cancel several camping trips and of the 4000 miles that is on the RV about 700 of them have been taking it back-and-forth to the dealer we bought it from. This is our first RV and we are very frustrated.

The biggest ongoing problem we have had with the RV is electrical issues. On the day we purchased the RV and brought it home, it started making a low voltage chirp and we have had low voltage issues for this entire year. We can drive the RV for 100 miles and turn it off for two minutes or less and it won't start back up again, not only that the air conditioning will stop working and the vehicle shakes and shutters. No one can figure out if it is a Thor problem or a Ford issue. The battery and alternator have been checked three different times and they are in good condition.

Part of the problem had to do with a recall dealing with the disconnect switch on the chassis battery. We found out about eight months later that the authorized dealer had put the wires on the wrong post during the recall fix. Ford put an entire new electrical computer in the RV back in February, but nothing seems to fix the low-voltage problem. Anyone else have a similar issue that could shed some light on what could be causing these problems?

[FW28z]

Do you know if the low voltage issue is due to the engine/alternator producing low voltage or if something is discharging the battery at too high a rate?

Typically there is an emergency start connection between the coach'es batteries and the engine battery. Anything from a bad coach battery to a faulty wiring job could potentially cause problems.

For example, if the emergency start connection were mis wired so that the coach batteries were always connected to the engine battery, and if one of the coach batteries were bad, it could discharge the engine battery and/or cause a low voltage condition.

To rule this out, make sure they check the coach batteries too.

I'd ask the dealer to disconnect the emergency start connection - at least temporarily - and see if that fixes things from the engine's perspective. By doing so, you should (and I say should with emphasis) be isolating the coach electrical system from the vehicle electrical system.

Once the systems are isolated, then you should be able to determine if the problem is with the engine or coach electrical systems. And that at least is a start.

Any competent dealer should be able to clamp a DC ammeter to the wiring and see if there are any unexpected currents. Afterall, these guys sometimes charge up to $130 an hour for service rates, so for that kind of coin, you should have the expectation they are competent enough to fix a problem.

Sounds though that they are just throwing parts at the problem. That can become expensive and time consuming, and you may never find the problem.

[Blossomrose]

Thank you for your quick response! I will share this with our Thor mechanic.

[Blossomrose]

An update, our Thor is still in the shop ( 23 weeks altogether but who's counting?) but we might be close to a solution. The bcc box was replaced so there is no longer a draw on the battery and they are waiting on a harness for the jacks. We are so tired of the problems that we are looking to trade it in. It is so much fun when it works but we have only spent 30 nights in it, put less than 4000 miles on it, and are very unsure if we will ever trust it again.

[dogmoon]

This is sad I wish you luck on your motorhome I just recently bought a 2011 Thor Hurricane and can't get the slide out. The dealer said just bring it in it's like a 60 mile round trip I hope the doesn't turn in to a regular thing.

[Blossomrose]

I hope not either! We did trade and the new dealer is only 7 miles away!