2017 Challenger 37LX needs major repairs

[BradnKaren]

Thanks for all the replies. We checked the plumbing for the washer hookups and didn't find any sign of a leak there. We're fairly certain it's the slide leaking since we have soft floor at both ends. Could be that trim piece mentioned above. Ours is somewhat loose.

We'll find out soon enough. It's going in to our friends RV service center here in FL on Feb 21st. He gave us a much better quote than the Thor factory and I trust him to do an excellent job. Will post updates later.

[BradnKaren]

First look at the damage, pics from the RV repair center. At least two major leaks. One is the plumbing for the washer. (Which we don't have in our RV) The other is from the rear bathroom. The only indication that anything was wrong was at first the flooring felt a little uneven, to lots of soft spots under the vinyl. Obviously this has been leaking for some time.

[ducksface]

Thanks for the follow up, so many people don't follow up that it's always a bit startling when someone does.

I only know them from horse stables and marine use, but:
There are thick hdpe panels available in up to 4x9ft panels which make excellent flooring material. 5/4" is as thick as I've seen. I think marine use is called seaform.
You Might as well have them do mop boards sealed to the floor whirl they have it all out.
My garage would hold a 4 inch deep pool if I wanted it to.

In my signature thread there's a post about me adding scuppers to the bathroom floor.

These very expensive hdpe, or Marine grade semi expensive flooring, would be my choice for a replacement underfloor.

Just some thoughts from a
Been there done that
Situation similar to yours.

[BradnKaren]

Originally Posted by ducksface

Thanks for the follow up, so many people don't follow up that it's always a bit startling when someone does.

I only know them from horse stables and marine use, but:
There are thick hdpe panels available in up to 4x9ft panels which make excellent flooring material. 5/4" is as thick as I've seen. I think marine use is called seaform.
You Might as well have them do mop boards sealed to the floor whirl they have it all out.
My garage would hold a 4 inch deep pool if I wanted it to.

In my signature thread there's a post about me adding scuppers to the bathroom floor.

These very expensive hdpe, or Marine grade semi expensive flooring, would be my choice for a replacement underfloor.

Just some thoughts from a
Been there done that
Situation similar to yours.

Thanks. I understand that followups are important for anyone to learn anything so I will continue to post updates.

The service center suggested we put in a claim under comprehensive with our insurance company. We'll see how that goes. I'm just so disgusted that we could have that much undetectable damage on a 6 figure, 3 year old RV. This is our 4th motor home in 20+ years, and the first brand new one. If I could have my money back and go back to our last one I'd do it in a heartbeat. And that's coming from someone who's always had nothing but good things to say about our RV and Thor in general.

[MJC62]

That is a shame. Hope they get the repair done quickly and you guys can put this behind you and get on with why we buy these pain in the rear money pits, enjoying life!
Mark

[BradnKaren]

Update: Insurance is paying for plumbing leaks that they say have been leaking since the day we drove it off the dealers lot. Two separate claims so I have to pay the deductible for both. 3rd area they say the slide seal leaked and it's a maintenance issue, so no insurance payout on that. Says we need to replace the seal, on a 3 YEAR OLD RV. So we have to pay for a new full wall slide seal and the cost to repair the damage out of pocket. No idea what the cost of that will be yet. Other two claims total almost $12k. For crap construction, that could have been prevented.

Pics of our Challenger the day we took it in for repairs last month, and then pics I got today from the repair center.

[Pete'sMH]

It’s a beautiful coach and I’m sure you’ll end up better than new. Glad you’re getting help with the bill! Hope it’s ready for summer fun.

[SteveW]

Looks great !!! Happy to see y’all are getting you LX straighten out. We also have a 37 LX 2018 year model. I have noticed a very small leak behind the drivers seat at the slide. Did your repairman indicate where the slide seal was leaking on your coach?
Thanks

[BradnKaren]

Originally Posted by Pete'sMH

It’s a beautiful coach and I’m sure you’ll end up better than new. Glad you’re getting help with the bill! Hope it’s ready for summer fun.

It will be better than new, for sure. And it'll have luxury vinyl plank flooring that is superior to the stock sheet vinyl, which I never liked anyway, so there's that. Target completion date is 4/10. Past the date we had hoped to move it to our summer spot, but I'll wait to have the job done right.

Originally Posted by SteveW

Looks great !!! Happy to see y’all are getting you LX straighten out. We also have a 37 LX 2018 year model. I have noticed a very small leak behind the drivers seat at the slide. Did your repairman indicate where the slide seal was leaking on your coach?
Thanks

I can't answer that at this time. If I find out I'll let you know. That said, a 3 year old slide seal shouldn't have leaked in the first place, IMO. Our last motor home was 15 years old when we sold it and no seal EVER leaked on that RV.

[THOR TEAM]

Hello BradnKaren! I’m happy to see that one of our Customer Support Specialists was able to reach you. Please do not hesitate to call or reach out in the future.

[BradnKaren]

Here's a couple pics we received last week of our RV from the repair center. Still don't know what the total financial damage is for our out of pocket. We should get that today.

It's supposed to be done today and we plan to pick it up tomorrow. I feel like a family member is about to be released from the hospital. lol I'm pretty excited to see it whole again!

[Judge]

Looks like they are doing a good job for you!

[Pete'sMH]

Well, at least it’s beautiful and because of “circumstances” you didn’t lose any camping time. Can’t wait to hear what the final cost will be.

[Dilley Dilley]

Originally Posted by BradnKaren

Husband and I are original owners. We bought it exactly 3 years ago, and have put 12,000 miles on it. I've been a big supporter of Thor and of our Challenger here. We do love a lot about our RV.

HOWEVER. In the last year soft spots have been popping up in the floor along the full wall slide. First noticed in the bedroom, initially it just felt like some uneven spots and only noticed when the throw rugs were not in place. We thought it might be due to some work we had done on the slide. Then late last last year I noticed it was VERY soft all around the drivers seat. Further inspection reveals we have many soft areas all along the full wall slide, nearly the length of the RV. We have never had any visible leak.

We took it in to have it looked at and get an estimate for repair by a good friend who owns an RV repair business. It appears there is a leak somewhere that has been soaking and damaging the OSB sub floor under the vinyl. To repair would require the full wall slide to be pulled, all the vinyl removed, leak found and repaired, and all the damaged OSB board replaced with plywood, and new vinyl installed. Estimate about $8,000. ON A THREE YEAR OLD RV.

We tried calling the Thor tech support number to ask about having it repaired at the factory at least 3 times in the last 2 months. Each time they say we have to talk to a service manager and the call is transferred. No one picks up so we leave a message about scheduling a trip to the factory. NO ONE has called us back.

Thor was good and prompt about handling all our warranty work the first year, but apparently after that they don't want to know you. For all the cheering I have done for Thor (and you can search my posts here over the last 3 years) I will be doubly vocal about the repairs and costs was are now facing on a 3 year old 6 figure RV and their zero communication with us currently.

All that said, has anyone else with a similar model or year had the same issue with soft sub floor with no outward visible leaks?? How did you repair, how much was the cost, and where was the leak?

Signed, no longer a happy Thor camper.

You may have already checked but if not, Have you checked all the PEX water line connections? Check where they are threaded onto sink faucets, shower faucets, toilets, water heater, cloths washer, etc. I've found that some of these connections can have loose connections that can result in slow leaks. These leaks can cause damage to the cabinets and underlayment of the floors. The leak we had on one of the water heater supply lines was able to flow underneath the laminate and along the wall from the water heater to the drivers side wheel well. We noticed the water dripping on the ground outside our coach. Initially we thought it was the normal condensation drainage that runs down the front cab from the roof. Upon further inspection we found that the water was running down the drivers side moulding that covers the seam between the side walls and the basement storage doors. I opened the interior access panel to the back of the water heater and thats where the leak was. Sorry for your unfortunate situation.
It looks like they found the leakage. Keep n eye on those PEX line threaded fittings everyone. They can leak slowly and cause a lot of damage.

[clovermanjeeps@att.net]

The spouse and I bought a slightly used (8500 miles) Thor FE22 in late 2019 and have enjoyed it on short trips and 3 weeks on the Gulf coast in March. While there, a neighbor who had a similar newer RV advised to check for rusted out screws which hold the bottom metal trim strip to the slide out face. Sure enough, the spouse used her fingernail to dislodge the screw tops of five of six screws that had rusted from the inside out. Took so little pressure that it didn't even chip her nail polish! This is on a one year old RV. While we like the RV and it pulls our Jeep nicely, I agree with many that the fit and finish (particularly inside) is cheap, flimsy, and third rate. Yep, we know. We get what we pay for...but....the Ford chassis and powertrain seem good.
Question. I dropped RV off today to have it checked. The tech was "dumbfounded". I'll go no further on that one. Can anybody advise me on what to expect? I'm thinking water instrusion that has impacted slide out floor.
Thanks and look forward to any ideas.
Thanks
Carl and Kim
Knoxville, TN

[Pete'sMH]

Originally Posted by clovermanjeeps@att.net

The spouse and I bought a slightly used (8500 miles) Thor FE22 in late 2019 and have enjoyed it on short trips and 3 weeks on the Gulf coast in March. While there, a neighbor who had a similar newer RV advised to check for rusted out screws which hold the bottom metal trim strip to the slide out face. Sure enough, the spouse used her fingernail to dislodge the screw tops of five of six screws that had rusted from the inside out. Took so little pressure that it didn't even chip her nail polish! This is on a one year old RV. While we like the RV and it pulls our Jeep nicely, I agree with many that the fit and finish (particularly inside) is cheap, flimsy, and third rate. Yep, we know. We get what we pay for...but....the Ford chassis and powertrain seem good.
Question. I dropped RV off today to have it checked. The tech was "dumbfounded". I'll go no further on that one. Can anybody advise me on what to expect? I'm thinking water instrusion that has impacted slide out floor.
Thanks and look forward to any ideas.
Thanks
Carl and Kim
Knoxville, TN

It’s a pretty basic coach but if you pay close attention to maintaining it - especially sealing against water leaks - it will give you many years of good service. I recommend you do a full exam 3 or 4 times a year. It usually takes me about an hour and a half and I nearly always find something that needs to be addressed. I go over the entire roof on my hands and knees looking for cracks or separation in the sealant. Check EVERY penetration in the roof and the sidewalls. Especially where the front and rear caps attach to the body and underneath the cab overhang. Use a ladder and check around each window, fixture and attachment. Check the taillights. And in between inspections pay attention to your senses. If you see water someplace it’s not supposed to be figure it out and put a stop to it. Look for bubbling in the wall covering (like hard pimples) especially below the windows. On a class C like yours check the fiberglass body immediately behind the cab (where it’s at a right angle to the side of the vehicle) near the bottom. Look for swelling or separation of the wood behind the fiberglass. Then use the correct RV specific product to repair issues. Self leveling lap sealant on the roof and polyurethane caulk on the sides. If you do find a sidewall separation it’s probably better to have a professional repair it but don’t put it off. It helps to be “handy”. If you’re not, still do the inspections so you can make sure your repair service does good work. If they don’t it’s usually not too hard to find another shop. I like independent shops that don’t sell RVs because their future depends on doing good, timely repairs. These things are pretty maintenance intensive because they’re built light and lead a hard life. But they’re also pretty simple. Good luck! Don’t forget to have fun!!

[clovermanjeeps@att.net]

Great guidance. I've duct taped, glued and patched lots of toys over the years and would be considered "conditionally handy." I did notice, prior to discovering the rusted screws, that that vinyl strip above the bottom metal piece had pulled away from the RV side. Could allow water to intrude. So, thanks again and will advise on outcome. Know I'll need for direction over time.
Regards,
Carl