Crushed the ladder

[Vbates]

Originally Posted by donmacd

Well I did it, backed into an overhang and broke the ladder. Thor wants $190 plus $200 shipping and crating.
Has anybody used and installed an after market ladder. My guess is that the Thor ladder is not outdoes made for the 2015 Hurricane 31s

While our Vegas was in for a repair job one of the employees drove a dump truck into the back of our vehicle. They used a aftermarket which is better then the original one we had. I wouldn't even get into the rest of the damage that was done, fixed now.

[Bob Denman]

Originally Posted by The Gritz Carlton

Just curious...I own a lot of ladders at home and buy nothing but Werner as they are well mad and rated for weight capacity limits. I've looked through all the literature that came with my coach and find nothing that states a weight limit for the ladder. Sounds like a good case for my lawyer..."Dewey, Cheatham & Howe".

http://www.thorforums.com/forums/att...1&d=1531150615

[donmacd]

Thanks for all the input. Still not sure what I will do, but checking specs, the after market is about 1/2 inch narrower and and about 10 inches shorter than the OEM. The original ladder is NLA but the new replacement will match to the standoff’s on the MH. Probably end up going that way 😖

[Rocky49]

I have a Thor Freedom Elite 23H. It was a 2014 and the same ladders are still being used through 2018. My ladder was damaged by a marshal who did not look up! and merrilty backed me into an overhead sign in Washington Sate. I tried a number of universal ladders. None fit properly. Bit the bullet called Thor got the part number. I live in Canada and have previously ordered from Total Value RV in Indiana. Can't recommend them on shipping internationally. I went to a Thor dealer about 30 miles away. They showed me the shipping invoice for another ladder. Estimate $300 for shipping and $159 for a new ladder. They also showed me a damaged ladder they had shipped from Thor. I knew shipping was going to be a pain after I saw that one. They had another ladder on order, it also arrived damaged. My ladder then arrived damaged. I looked at all 3 damaged ladders to see if there were enough bits we could use to repair mine. Not that lucky. Finally got an undamaged ladder last week. It identical but the middle standoffs had to be drilled by me. The ladder did not come with new mounting screws. You probably need 32 #8 by 1 inch.

My ladder was screwed down to the roof and it took me 2 hours to peal off the old Dicor and remove the old ladder, and 1 hour to install the new one.

I am an old guy at 70 and I only used hand tools, scraper, Robertson #2 bit screw driver and 1/4 bit in a 3/8 inch corded drill.


Given the hassles of shipping damaged goods back and forth to Thor, this is one time I am glad I gave the dealer the money. The other option is to pre-order the ladder and pick it up at the factory. Given the flimsy packaging and the flimsy ladder other options may result in disappointment.


Rocky

[dmac]

Rocky,

When you ordered it from the dealer did you have to pay for shipping?

[Vbates]

Originally Posted by dmac

Rocky,

When you ordered it from the dealer did you have to pay for shipping?

We didn't do the ordering. The company that caused the damage did the ordering, I'm pretty sure they had to pay for shipping. It took forever to arrive.

[donmacd]

The end result is, I had a local RV dealer/ service center replace the ladder. They ordered the ladder from Thor,$135, shipping, $200, labor , $95. They examined the roof and patched some cracking decor. Total with tax $465.
My selling dealer wanted $750. I now have a new go to service center and 35 miles closer to home.
I had them install it because I figure if I break it, I bought it, if they break it, they bought it. Also the generic ladders are not the same dimensions as the OEM ladder.
Thanks for everyone’s input

[ProsperTrail]

the supports at the bottom of my RV ladder (hurricane 34J) broke off and there is no replacement parts from Thor. Only the whole ladders and they want $700 for it.
the back of the huricanne is uneven, but I'm still going to go with an after market. can't be any worst quality than the original

[HunterLa]

Yep! The same thing just happened to our ladder-- the bottom brackets broke off. I am disappointed to hear that it costs that much to repair (I am assuming that since the Hurricane and Windsport are so alike, the ladders are, as well). We bought ours from a dealer that was 4 hours away (mistake of buying at an RV show in PA)... dreading this repair.

[Calman]

I've backed the Vegas into a protruding roof eave overhang twice. Was fortunate because:
1. I bent only top rung and frame
2. It did puncture the skin of Vegas only the area around the top twice bolt-on pipes.
3. Have buddy who does auto body and painting at home shop.
4. Only cost me $175.00 each time.

It's good to have friends who can fix things for you without charging an arm and a leg.

Learned my lesson. Now have a 200 pound granite "log" in the driveway that limits my backing distance

[brucev]

Originally Posted by ProsperTrail

the supports at the bottom of my RV ladder (hurricane 34J) broke off and there is no replacement parts from Thor. Only the whole ladders and they want $700 for it.
the back of the huricanne is uneven, but I'm still going to go with an after market. can't be any worst quality than the original

You can buy the supports on Amazon. I bought the unpainted, cut them to length and ready to install for $20 each. They also have them in black for $9 more. We came up with a way to add support brackets and will post pics after it is all installed. The coach is in having Kelderman front suspension installed. Here is a link to the supports.


https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Good luck

[brucev]

Here is a pic of the parts ready to install. The bottom one is the additional support I plan to try. It will be attached to the stock bracket and to the side of the RV. Will post more pics when I am done.

[lwmcguire]

Originally Posted by The Gritz Carlton

Just curious...I own a lot of ladders at home and buy nothing but Werner as they are well mad and rated for weight capacity limits. I've looked through all the literature that came with my coach and find nothing that states a weight limit for the ladder. Sounds like a good case for my lawyer..."Dewey, Cheatham & Howe".

Tuscany had a decal stating 250 pounds max on the bottom flange

Actually have several Werner ladders as well, all fiberglass

[brucev]

For those that may want to tackle adding extra support. This what I did. I will post Amazon links to the parts if anyone is interested. Sorry the oicks are sideways.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1


https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[GVP-The Boxcar Children]

Originally Posted by The Gritz Carlton

Just curious...I own a lot of ladders at home and buy nothing but Werner as they are well mad and rated for weight capacity limits. I've looked through all the literature that came with my coach and find nothing that states a weight limit for the ladder. Sounds like a good case for my lawyer..."DDewey, Cheatham & Howe".

Freakin' awesome, Gritz!
GVP