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Old 05-21-2018, 02:02 AM   #1
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Brand: Thor Motor Coach
State: Indiana
Posts: 29
THOR #11100
bad plumbing

You all are gonna love this!!! So I de-winterized the RV today (brand new 2018 THOR ACE 29.3). Just bought it in Feb and never took it anywhere yet. Filled the tank, reset the valves so the water heater is not bypassed, etc, etc. Opened all the faucets and turned on the pump to flush out the anti-freeze and ......... nothing!!! The water pump is not working. So I then hooked up to a land water supply and flushed all the lines. I opened the kitchen sink faucet and water gushed into the RV. To make a long story short, and a full day of investigation on my part, the drain into the grey tank was NEVER secured, really, Im not kidding. See the photo below. They never secured part of the drain and of course it separated and spilled water into the coach. I got it cleaned up. Still don't know whats wrong with the water pump. Tomorrow Im gonna try to figure out if its getting power (the light on the panel is lit) without voiding my warranty, although I pretty much have to cut the wites to get a meter on them. Havent tried the water heater yet, kinda afraid to turn it on.

Problem is that I FOOLISHLY bought this coach from the Indianapolis Camping World (please no "I told you so's") and my first experience with a warranty repair and chassis upgrade in their service department was an indescribable disaster, they really damaged my coach and it has taken me many days to fix it. I will never set foot in that place again. Thor service in Elkhart, Indiana comes highly recommended but there is a 3 month waiting list so my brand new coach is basically unusable for the better part of the first year I have owned it. First time coach for me and I am becoming very disheartened by the poor poor quality and the lack of interest on THOR's part toward making things right. I have a trip in June that I will likely have to cancel.

Ahhhh well, I am determined to make the best of this. Any words of wisdom would be appreciated.
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Old 05-21-2018, 02:16 AM   #2
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Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Hurticane 34J
State: Massachusetts
Posts: 36
THOR #1987
Welcome to the first year of hell of fixing Thor’s quality control. Don’t fret it does get better. Keep calling Thor’s customer service number. They do have some great people there who want to work with you and get you back on the road.

I bought mine from a great “sales” dealer, but the service department is absolutely horrible. Not a CW btw, just a family owned large local business. I will not use their service department and I communicated that to Thor. Thor customer service warranty department read me a list of their authorized service centers in my area. One of them is a local shop I know well. They don’t sell any units, just a service, parts, and accessories store. I can’t express how great they are. They fixed all my problems, they billed Thor, and Thor sent them a check just like any other dealer warranty service.

Give Thor a call explain your problems, your issues with the selling dealer and ask where else you can go. Don’t fret, it does get better. Enjoy your new rig.
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Old 05-21-2018, 04:58 AM   #3
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State: South Dakota
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THOR #3916
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Originally Posted by Woofwoof View Post
Welcome to the first year of hell of fixing Thor’s quality control. Don’t fret it does get better. Keep calling Thor’s customer service number. They do have some great people there who want to work with you and get you back on the road.

Give Thor a call explain your problems, your issues with the selling dealer and ask where else you can go.
ANNNND...
Get the E-Mail of the Customer service and send them all the pic's you can...so they can see what your coaches issues are.... over and over again if needed..
good luck
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Old 05-21-2018, 01:06 PM   #4
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Model: Vegas 24.1
State: Florida
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THOR #5313
Looks like it was never glued. Worst case use a rubber coupling with hose clamps. Makes a simple, easy and resilient fix. My shower drain loosened once, my weight flexes it. I tightened nut and put rubber coupling over assembly, 18 months no more issues.

These things all flex going down road. I check all easy to reach plumbing connectors quarterly, like sink strainer nuts etc.
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Old 05-21-2018, 01:19 PM   #5
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State: New York
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THOR #8860
Sorry to hear about the mess...
But things DO get better over time!
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Old 05-21-2018, 01:44 PM   #6
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What? A Camping World store selling junk to a new RVers? Never heard of such a thing. I am shocked beyond belief!!!! I'm sure you are another "one and done" customer of theirs now.
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Old 05-21-2018, 02:46 PM   #7
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State: Michigan
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THOR #11704
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Originally Posted by Joe-FL View Post
What? A Camping World store selling junk to a new RVers? Never heard of such a thing. I am shocked beyond belief!!!! I'm sure you are another "one and done" customer of theirs now.
Well it is also poor quality control at Thor. Like how does that leave the factory without systems tested? CW did not put the plumbing in. They should, however possibly stop selling brands with known continuous problems since clearly it affects their reputation. I had no idea that I was the one responsible to check systems for problems before I bought and to recognize the issues. Yes the generator ran but the batteries did not charge - how am I supposed to know this at purchase?? There is no incentive for the dealer to check systems since they would probably lose out on warranty work.
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Old 05-21-2018, 03:29 PM   #8
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State: Indiana
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THOR #11100
Chasingadream,
Yeah I know the drain is not a Camping World issue, its a THOR issue. However, you should see how CW installed my Sumo Springs, what a mess....... Doesn't even look like anyone read the installation directions. Safety-plus was also installed badly and never road tested. It pulled badly to the left, which can be normal after installation and just requires adjustments, which they never did although its clearly described in the installation instructions. Longer list of issues for me with CW service, see my previous post. CW Service Indianapolis....... NEVER again! I resolved most THOR coach issues myself but I may be stumped on the water pump not working. Gonna make an appointment with THOR Service in Indiana (2 hrs from my home) to resolve the remaining coach issues.
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Old 05-21-2018, 03:49 PM   #9
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Model: Axis 24.1
State: Florida
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First thing we did after picking up our axis was check all the plumbing fittings since we had been to this rodeo with another brand of TT. This is more common then one would think.
The p traps in both the bathroom and kitchen were loose and had a loose water line fitting on the hot water heater.
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Old 05-21-2018, 03:55 PM   #10
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Model: Hurricane 31S
State: Texas
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THOR #6411
[QUOTWell it is also poor quality control at Thor. Like how does that leave the factory without systems tested? CW did not put the plumbing in. They should, however possibly stop selling brands with known continuous problems since clearly it affects their reputation. I had no idea that I was the one responsible to check systems for problems before I bought and to recognize the issues. Yes the generator ran but the batteries did not charge - how am I supposed to know this at purchase?? There is no incentive for the dealer to check systems since they would probably lose out on warranty work.[/QUOTE]
Thor does use air to check for leaks in the water pressure lines, but as the coaches are stored outside waiting dealer pick-up, a full waste system check is not preformed. The water pump is not connected when the coaches leave the factory. All Thor dealers get a rep to stop by and check the salesmen out on how to show each specific coach. We met with the SE Thor rep at this years Florida rally. Each region also has a Thor maintenance tech that instruct the dealer techs on how to de-winterize the coach and check the waste system for leaks and performance and helps the dealers with major problems with which they are not familiar. This is part of the agreement between the dealer and Thor Motorcoach. At least that is what I was told on my tour of plant 750.


When I bought my coach, the dealer MHSRV requested we spend at least 24 hours living in the coach at the delivery barn. The delivery tech spent three hours with us the first evening explaining everything and showing me how to operate everything. The next morning the salesman and delivery tech showed up at our door a 9 am to answer questions, see if we had found any problems and give us a welcome package. I requested they go with us to a dump station to show me how the system worked; they agreed. That is when I found out the waste outlet swivels. With the coach, I got a 200 point delivery checklist (made by Thor) with the initials of which dealer tech had checked each item. 2.5 years and 23,000 miles later we are still happy with the coach. We have been back for warranty maintenance once - to have them show me where the fuse was located that powers dash 12 volt receptacles and change it out.
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Old 05-21-2018, 05:02 PM   #11
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THOR #8860
MHSRV does a really nice job of delivering their vehicles to the new owners.
We debated flying down to Texas to buy from them: I know wish that we had!
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Old 05-21-2018, 06:58 PM   #12
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State: Arizona
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I agree your plumbing issue was from Thor, but your dealer, whether CW or any other dealer, is supposed to check them out before being sold so this should been found long before you found it. They should also provided a walk thru with you at the time of sale showing/explaining all systems in the rv.
I guess what I'm trying to say that Thor started it, the dealer should've repaired it & you should've tried before ever signing papers on it.
When buying a rv, you should run everything on system it's designed to run, turn every knob, pull every handle, crawl over/under & if you don't know how it works have them show you, if they don't know how find someone that does, if it doesn't work DO NOT sign ANYTHING til everything is repaired/replaced to your satisfaction. If they can't fix it TODAY set a date to bring back to be repaired THAT day, not 3 weeks, not 6 weeks, but while you wait.
My recommendation to any 1st time rv buyer is to either hire an inspector to go with you before signing or at least a friend or relative that knows something about rvs, usually the salesmen don't know anymore than the newbie buying it.
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Old 05-21-2018, 07:07 PM   #13
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THOR #8860
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Originally Posted by Travelin' Texans View Post
...When buying a rv, you should run everything on system it's designed to run, turn every knob, pull every handle, crawl over/under & if you don't know how it works have them show you, if they don't know how find someone that does, if it doesn't work DO NOT sign ANYTHING til everything is repaired/replaced to your satisfaction. If they can't fix it TODAY set a date to bring back to be repaired THAT day, not 3 weeks, not 6 weeks, but while you wait.
My recommendation to any 1st time rv buyer is to either hire an inspector to go with you before signing or at least a friend or relative that knows something about rvs, usually the salesmen don't know anymore than the newbie buying it.
After having been burned : I wholeheartedly agree!
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Old 05-21-2018, 07:55 PM   #14
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Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Compass 24 TF, Mercedes
State: Washington
Posts: 26
THOR #11249
My 24ft Thor goes in next Saturday for the same water pump issue. Here's what I found with mine though... went back next to the bed and jumped on the floor and the pump comes on. Instant Hot water heater hose also leaks, table broke, coach door doesn't shut tight and black water valve leaks... not bad for first trip out.
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Old 07-01-2018, 08:27 PM   #15
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What? A Camping World store selling junk to a new RVers? Never heard of such a thing. I am shocked beyond belief!!!! I'm sure you are another "one and done" customer of theirs now.
Me too.
Harrisburg, PA CW does not service what they sell. First words out if maintenance person is, "that isn't covered under warranty" on brand new motor home.
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Old 07-01-2018, 10:02 PM   #16
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Model: Vegas 24.1
State: North Carolina
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THOR #11380
Did you check water strainer cap (located just aft of water pump)? If the system was not flushed prior to delivery you probably got all kinds of plastic bits in the filter.

Unscrew cap, clean screen and HAND TIGHTEN cap when you put it back on. (I also used a shopvac to clean up bits that did not adhere to the screen.)

Just experienced the problem plus having a cracked cap which the manufacturer sent me TWO FREE replacements to remedy the situation.
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Old 07-02-2018, 12:56 AM   #17
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THOR #6965
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Did you check water strainer cap (located just aft of water pump)? If the system was not flushed prior to delivery you probably got all kinds of plastic bits in the filter.

Unscrew cap, clean screen and HAND TIGHTEN cap when you put it back on. (I also used a shopvac to clean up bits that did not adhere to the screen.)

Just experienced the problem plus having a cracked cap which the manufacturer sent me TWO FREE replacements to remedy the situation.
Will do, thanks
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