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Old 01-22-2020, 02:56 PM   #1
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Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Challenger 37LX
State: Florida
Posts: 315
THOR #6310
Angry 2017 Challenger 37LX needs major repairs

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.

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Old 01-22-2020, 03:24 PM   #2
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Model: A.C.E. 27.2
State: Indiana
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THOR #14698
I have no answers for you and truly feel your pain. It is horse pucky that you get zero response from Thor. In the 3 years you have owned the coach there has never been any visible signs of water intrusion from outside or signs of plumbing leaks? The first symptoms are the OSB sub floor rotting? That is weird that nothing showed up til the floor was compromised. I am very interested to see what caused all the water damage. Keep us posted. Perhaps someone with your model has some insight. Mark
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Old 01-22-2020, 03:33 PM   #3
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Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Challenger 37LX
State: Florida
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THOR #6310
Quote:
Originally Posted by MJC62 View Post
... In the 3 years you have owned the coach there has never been any visible signs of water intrusion from outside or signs of plumbing leaks? The first symptoms are the OSB sub floor rotting?.... Mark
Nope, not a drop of water anywhere. No dampness detectable even now, and not even a musty odor. Nothing to indicate a leak.

We truly do love our RV. We use it a lot, including this past weekend. Camped for 3 nights with our adult daughter and family. 4 adults, 2 kids, and 3 dogs, 2 of which are large. Plenty of room for all to be comfortable. I'll admit I hold my breath when extending or retracting that slide. I'm afraid the floor will not be able to support it well enough.
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Old 01-22-2020, 04:03 PM   #4
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Model: Challenger LX
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Sorry to hear about this. We also have a 2017 Challenger LX. So far, we have not had any problems like you describe. Were you able to determine where the water was getting into your coach? Good luck in getting this resolved.
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Old 01-22-2020, 05:38 PM   #5
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THOR #13932
You said:
'leak somewhere'
The repair guy hasn't found the leak and yet he has given you a price to repair?
When he did the roof inspection what did he write on the 3stimate sheet?

What does your vehicle insurance say?
What does your homeowners insurance say?
What does the xtended warranty company say?

Calling Thor about an unfound leak would be pretty premature.
We don't know if rodents ate the seal off of your black tank vent....
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Old 01-22-2020, 06:07 PM   #6
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THOR #14698
I see you are from Florida and this a total long shot but is it possible the damage is from excessive humidity? After typing it out it that idea looks even less plausible than when the thought popped into my head. If it were that humid to damage the floor the interior would most likely be moldy.
Another long shot, a bad batch of OSB? Not the proper mix of resin to wax in the manufacture. After a 35 year career in the building trades your problem floor has me intrigued. Hopefully some one on here will have an answer for you.
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Old 01-22-2020, 09:14 PM   #7
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Model: Challenger 37LX
State: Florida
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THOR #6310
Quote:
Originally Posted by ducksface View Post
You said:
'leak somewhere'
The repair guy hasn't found the leak and yet he has given you a price to repair?
When he did the roof inspection what did he write on the 3stimate sheet?

What does your vehicle insurance say?
What does your homeowners insurance say?
What does the xtended warranty company say?

Calling Thor about an unfound leak would be pretty premature.
We don't know if rodents ate the seal off of your black tank vent....
Yes, the repair guy is a friend, and the owner of a very reputable repair facility. Surely you're aware that leaks can be small and insidious, and not detectable until things begin to be taken apart. He says likely a leak somewhere, and his quote is to do all the work I mentioned. Nothing was found to be wrong with the roof upon initial inspection.

What in the world does our vehicle insurance, or even more confusing, homeowners insurance have to do with this?? We do not do extended warranties.

We contacted Thor to make an appointment about repairing the soft floor. Do we have to have located a leak before we request a factory visit for the floor repair? Are you saying they haven't called us back because we haven't found a leak?

We do not nor have we ever had a rodent problem in any of the 4 motor homes we have owned in the last 20+ years. We use it regularly and store it in our driveway when not in use.

Quote:
Originally Posted by MJC62 View Post
I see you are from Florida and this a total long shot but is it possible the damage is from excessive humidity? After typing it out it that idea looks even less plausible than when the thought popped into my head. If it were that humid to damage the floor the interior would most likely be moldy.
Another long shot, a bad batch of OSB? Not the proper mix of resin to wax in the manufacture. After a 35 year career in the building trades your problem floor has me intrigued. Hopefully some one on here will have an answer for you.
Definitely not humidity. We did consider that the OSB is breaking down prematurely. That won't become evident until they start tearing it apart, I'm sure. We are not large people and don't usually have more than myself and my husband, plus the dogs, in it so I don't think it's that.
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Old 01-23-2020, 10:16 AM   #8
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If the roof looks to not be the cause and there are no obvious issues with slide seals, etc., I would also be looking at plumbing and even the residential fridge.

A minor plumbing related leak that is not readily visible and left unchecked could cause this kind of damage over time.

My 2020 Magnitude had a couple plumbing leaks I have already addressed. One was the water line to the ice maker in the residential fridge. Another was a flexible drain from the kitchen sink to the grey tank. The other was a small leak when the sink was full of water (the drain mount was not tight enough).

Those are just some examples but there are plenty of other places like under the shower floor pan or behind the shower walls or leaking fittings behind a wall.

Before pulling the slide and getting into major work, I would be trying to disassemble what I could in the area where you think the leak is originating from and look for "internal" water leaks.
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Old 01-29-2020, 12:01 AM   #9
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THOR #6310
Definitely a leak somewhere. Removed the driver seat and pulled back some of the vinyl. Obviously it's been getting wet for a very long time. Probably the length of time we've owned it. Finally talked to the Thor factory. It'll take a week and a half. The guy actually had the audacity to say to my husband that "when you spend that much on an RV what's $10K" Seriously?! We shouldn't have to spend ANYTHING near that on a 3 year old RV!

The source of the leak as yet to be identified. There is no water damage at all to the adjacent wall, that window has never leaked, and we have never seen water in the RV on the floor anywhere.
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Old 01-29-2020, 01:48 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BradnKaren View Post
Definitely a leak somewhere. Removed the driver seat and pulled back some of the vinyl. Obviously it's been getting wet for a very long time. Probably the length of time we've owned it. Finally talked to the Thor factory. It'll take a week and a half. The guy actually had the audacity to say to my husband that "when you spend that much on an RV what's $10K" Seriously?! We shouldn't have to spend ANYTHING near that on a 3 year old RV!

The source of the leak as yet to be identified. There is no water damage at all to the adjacent wall, that window has never leaked, and we have never seen water in the RV on the floor anywhere.

It may be a wheel well leak. Plant 850 is usually good at sealing up that area to keep water infiltration at bay. It doesn't take much of a space to let many gallons of water thrown up by a tire wet the wood from the bottom.
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Old 01-29-2020, 02:48 AM   #11
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THOR #14698
That damage in the pics is all along the floor of the full wall slide? If I were chasing this I would put the slide out and crawl under the coach at night with all the lights in the MH on and look for light escaping along the bottom of slide. That much damage if water is coming from outside there has to be something visible.

Something else to consider, I notice on the floorplan of that model there is an optional stackable washer dryer in the slide, does yours have that option? If it doesn't the plumbing supply should still be prepped for the washer. Hot and cold water line valves or capped pipe should be in the closet. That would seem to be the only plumbing lines on the slide side of the coach to check and the closet is close to the bedroom where you originally noticed the soft floor. All the other plumbing should be on the curb side of the coach. Just throwing things out there to consider.
Good luck with the search keep us posted. Mark
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Old 01-29-2020, 10:33 PM   #12
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Model: Challenger 37LX
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THOR #6310
Quote:
Originally Posted by Beau388 View Post
It may be a wheel well leak. Plant 850 is usually good at sealing up that area to keep water infiltration at bay. It doesn't take much of a space to let many gallons of water thrown up by a tire wet the wood from the bottom.
I wish that's all it was. We have soft floor all the way to the back of the RV.

Quote:
Originally Posted by MJC62 View Post
That damage in the pics is all along the floor of the full wall slide? If I were chasing this I would put the slide out and crawl under the coach at night with all the lights in the MH on and look for light escaping along the bottom of slide. That much damage if water is coming from outside there has to be something visible.

Something else to consider, I notice on the floorplan of that model there is an optional stackable washer dryer in the slide, does yours have that option? If it doesn't the plumbing supply should still be prepped for the washer. Hot and cold water line valves or capped pipe should be in the closet. That would seem to be the only plumbing lines on the slide side of the coach to check and the closet is close to the bedroom where you originally noticed the soft floor. All the other plumbing should be on the curb side of the coach. Just throwing things out there to consider.
Good luck with the search keep us posted. Mark
We only pulled back the floor in the drivers seat area and to the front edge of the slide. The worst of the water damaged OSB is nearest the slide. In that area it extends out to where you see my husband standing in the first pic. We have not pulled the vinyl back in any other area. We have a 3 day camping trip coming up Valentine's Day weekend and didn't want to start tearing into it too far just yet. After that it'll go in for repairs.

It is supposed to be plumbed for a washer and dryer. We will probably look at that area this weekend. It's all behind the wall of that cabinet and I have it full of stuff.
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Old 02-01-2020, 08:24 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BradnKaren View Post
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.
I don’t have that model. I have a 2016 Vegas. So many things are wrong with it. The workmanship is ridiculous. I’ll never be able to buy another Motor Home at my age, so I’m stuck with this piece of crap for the duration of my camping life. I WISH I HAD NEVER HEARD OF THOR!
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Old 02-02-2020, 02:00 AM   #14
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Brand: Still Looking
State: Michigan
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THOR #16035
Driver and Passenger window leaks.

I own a 2015 Challenger 37 GT. I had a couple issues with the driver and passenger windows. I had problem with the weep channels that was only apparent after I discovered a soaked camping digest below the window. Never saw any water on the floor. It turns out the weep channel was 75% blocked by poorly placed gasket and/or sealant during the window assembly. I had to open up the channel with a hack saw blade to the width of weep hole machined in the window frame to get it to drain properly. A small amount of silt would block the channel and water would down the sidewall to the floor.

I also noticed Thor cut oversized holes in the wall for the driver and passenger side windows that the frame trim doesn't cover. Considering all the trouble you are having I am going check around the exterior of window to make sure it is completely sealed. I would suggest you do the same. I can see water running between the outside and inside walls to the floor if it isn't sealed properly.
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Old 02-02-2020, 03:17 AM   #15
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I had the same problem. The weatherstripping at the bottom of the slide loosens up imperceptibly and, over time, eater seeps in. I was lucky in that only a section of the floor was rotted. The factory did a good job. Showed me how the metal strip comes off and how the screws holding the strip rusted and loosened up. It hurts to spend the big bucks (5000 for me) but the tech showed me how to run a bead of clear call along the top of the metal outside strip to keep it happening again. If I can find it, I will post a direct number for you. You may have to wait weeks to get in, but it is worth it.
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Old 02-02-2020, 03:37 PM   #16
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Soft floor

We had the same problem on our Serrano. The cause, a cracked catch tray under the large slide. Discovered one year after warranty expired. According to technician, had been leaking since it was built. Good luck!
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Old 02-02-2020, 09:32 PM   #17
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Model: Palazzo 33.2
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THOR #8078
Are you sure about the window not leaking? If the window leaks it may be going down between the outside and inside walls under the window next to the driver's seat. The window has a small drain slit that can get clogged up. If so the window gutter will overflow and water will leak either on the wall next to it or in the interior of the wall. Mine went on the inside of the wall so we were able to see it and blow out the drain hole before we had damage.
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Old 02-05-2020, 11:06 PM   #18
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THOR #12124
We also have a 37LX, I am curious if your repairman indicated where the leak may be on your coach.? If no, please let me know what y’all find out. You may e-mail me at quickclaude68@gmail.com.
Thanks
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Old 02-05-2020, 11:38 PM   #19
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We also have a 37LX, I am curious if your repairman indicated where the leak may be on your coach.? If no, please let me know what y’all find out. You may e-mail me at quickclaude68@gmail.com.
Thanks
Or you can get notified about new entries in this thread and read what may be posted here. Very few people in forums will directly email an answer to your question, they will post it here in the forum so everybody can benefit from a response.
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Old 02-06-2020, 12:54 AM   #20
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THOR #4359
Check your bathroom sink and shower drains. On my rv Thor never had a slip joint on the shower or sink to allow flex. So when everything would flex the joint would separate and would leak. The water one time ran to the Other end of the rv and out the opposite side.
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