Quality frustration

[Springn Springers]

I am so angry & frustated this morning I am in tears. Called Thor tech support to tell them about the "temp sensor error". They had no clue what that is & then proceeded to piss me off by being more concerned about telling me I was out of warranty by 2 months & 1 week & they couldn't help me! Now while I understand very well how warranties work, I also feel that when you buy a high end item there is also a certain level of customer service extended when the issues are constant & have all been manufacturing issues. I didn't by a toaster, I bought something that costs as much as a house & something fails every time we take it out.

In addition, I got home last night, was tired, so made sure the gas was on, house battery etc for the fridge, made sure it was running, went into my house ate something & went to bed. Went out this morning to a warm fridge. I was told user error. I don't know, could of been but the suggestion that I was dumb enough to have turned off the batteries in the battery compartment after telling them the above is just plain insulting!

I think I got a lemon.

[Bob Denman]

I'm sorry to hear about your troubles with the rig...
But if you're two Months out of warranty: what has gone wrong during the time that your warranty was still good?

[Springn Springers]

Several things have not worked correctly. The biggest one being a front slide breaking the first day out on a 10 day trip with my husband, grandson, 3 dogs & 2 cats. Everything has been fixed for us as they happen. But something on the coach shouldn't fail every time we go out in new coach.

[brucev]

So sorry to hear of your frustrations. I wish I had something magic to say, but I don't, accept that you are not alone. I am starting to resign myself to the fact that most Thor products, at least mine is a lemon by design. The term "made in America" no longer means to me what it used to.
Use the forum to vent your frustrations and pick up a few tricks along the way to make things better. I believe the coach can and will get better but it is going to take time and money and if I keep up with it maybe one day I will have a trip without something going wrong.
It took the diagnoses of lung cancer for me to fully realize what is important and I am not going to let those at Thor making the decisions to build and sell junk in the name of making an “affordable” product or “entry level” as my dealer put it ruin what time I have left. At this point, all is good and I am grateful to God for each and very additional day however many there may be.
In short, try not to let the frustrations with Thor ruin your day.
Safe travels and God Bless!

[Springn Springers]

Thank you for your kind words. We all know that at some point our motorhomes are going to need maintenance & repairs. I am sadly disappointed that I have to spend my money to fix their screw ups on a new coach. I have always had trailers & this is all new to me. 😊

[Springn Springers]

Originally Posted by brucev

So sorry to hear of your frustrations. I wish I had something magic to say, but I don't, accept that you are not alone. I am starting to resign myself to the fact that most Thor products, at least mine is a lemon by design. The term "made in America" no longer means to me what it used to.
Use the forum to vent your frustrations and pick up a few tricks along the way to make things better. I believe the coach can and will get better but it is going to take time and money and if I keep up with it maybe one day I will have a trip without something going wrong.
It took the diagnoses of lung cancer for me to fully realize what is important and I am not going to let those at Thor making the decisions to build and sell junk in the name of making an “affordable” product or “entry level” as my dealer put it ruin what time I have left. At this point, all is good and I am grateful to God for each and very additional day however many there may be.
In short, try not to let the frustrations with Thor ruin your day.
Safe travels and God Bless!

Thank you for your kind words. We all know that at some point our motorhomes are going to need maintenance & repairs. I am sadly disappointed that I have to spend my money to fix their screw ups on a new coach. I have always had trailers & this is all new to me. 😊

[hudson0231]

What model coach do you have? Sorry about all your trouble with it, we've had no trouble with our Vegas.

[ghof]

Thor products are crappy, the Ford chassis saved my bacon. I firmly believe that Thor hires the rejects from fast hamburger joints.

[Springn Springers]

Originally Posted by hudson0231

What model coach do you have? Sorry about all your trouble with it, we've had no trouble with our Vegas.

Tuscany XTE 36 MQ

[Springn Springers]

Originally Posted by ghof

Thor products are crappy, the Ford chassis saved my bacon. I firmly believe that Thor hires the rejects from fast hamburger joints.

We have a freightliner chassis. We tried to really shop carefully before choosing Thor and although I love the size, layout, etc I am stressed over the poor workmanship for the size of the investment.

[ghof]

I am a craftsman retired, a resonably good mechanic and when I look around I see poor workmanship everywhere. 2017 Miramar 34.2.

[Greg84]

Sorry to hear about your issues. I also have a 36MQ for almost 3 yrs now...we love it. Yeah, we had some issues also; replaced the inverter, 2 ACs, idiots at the dealership backed into a wall and destroyed the ladder...never told me (always inspect your rig when picking it up ), and other electrical issues. And a bunch of small issues, but they have all been resolved. Took about 18 months to resolve everything. I purchased the extended warranty, lot of discussion on this pros/cons, but I'm glad I did, it has paid for itself.

Originally Posted by Springn Springers

Called Thor tech support to tell them about the "temp sensor error".

Was this an engine light warning or off the Magnum control unit reading from the inverter?

If the reading is on the Magnum, it might indicate a problem with invertor or the batteries. But I could find nothing on this error either in the Freightliner nor the Magnum manuals. For GP check your batteries, not just visually, but the measure the specific gravity of the battery acid. I was having all sorts of electrical issues last year that I couldn't figure out. Turns out one of my batteries (the one in the back of course!) developed a small crack in the casing. and the acid was low, totally messing up the other 3. I ended up replacing all 4 of the house batteries at about 24 months.

Originally Posted by Springn Springers

...so made sure the gas was on, house battery etc for the fridge, made sure it was running, went into my house ate something & went to bed. Went out this morning to a warm fridge.

Was the RV hooked up to external power or where you running off the inverter? Was AGS programmed to turn on the generator when the batteries dipped to a certain level?

When you say "made sure the gas was on" do you mean you had the propane heater set to turn on? In my experience I don't think the inverter alone power both the furnace the refrigerator overnight, especially if it was cold. Wonder if the power draw contributed to the "Temp Sensor Error"?

I'm probably wrong in my suppositions above, but thought I'd toss it out there.

Let us know how it turns out.

[Mr Sunshine]

Sorry you are having troubles. I have to wonder if your dealer dropped the ball in initially prepping and fixing your coach. It is crazy that the factory sends out coaches that must be finished by the dealer, but that seems to be the norm with motor homes. Are you seeing repeated problems or new ones?

The only specific you mentioned was the refrigerator. Are you sure that it had started before you left it overnight? You can listen to the panel outside and hear the burner, or you hear it clicking as it tries to start. After some RVs sit awhile, starting a burner to get the gas flowing helps the refrigerator get started. Once it starts, you can turn the burner off. Try this next time.

The good thing about being out of warranty is now you are free to go to a tech or shop of your choice, not just a Thor dealer. Find someone that will give you the service you deserve.

[Springn Springers]

Originally Posted by Greg84

Sorry to hear about your issues. I also have a 36MQ for almost 3 yrs now...we love it. Yeah, we had some issues also; replaced the inverter, 2 ACs, idiots at the dealership backed into a wall and destroyed the ladder...never told me (always inspect your rig when picking it up ), and other electrical issues. And a bunch of small issues, but they have all been resolved. Took about 18 months to resolve everything. I purchased the extended warranty, lot of discussion on this pros/cons, but I'm glad I did, it has paid for itself.




Was this an engine light warning or off the Magnum control unit reading from the inverter?

If the reading is on the Magnum, it might indicate a problem with invertor or the batteries. But I could find nothing on this error either in the Freightliner nor the Magnum manuals. For GP check your batteries, not just visually, but the measure the specific gravity of the battery acid. I was having all sorts of electrical issues last year that I couldn't figure out. Turns out one of my batteries (the one in the back of course!) developed a small crack in the casing. and the acid was low, totally messing up the other 3. I ended up replacing all 4 of the house batteries at about 24 months.




Was the RV hooked up to external power or where you running off the inverter? Was AGS programmed to turn on the generator when the batteries dipped to a certain level?

When you say "made sure the gas was on" do you mean you had the propane heater set to turn on? In my experience I don't think the inverter alone power both the furnace the refrigerator overnight, especially if it was cold. Wonder if the power draw contributed to the "Temp Sensor Error"?

I'm probably wrong in my suppositions above, but thought I'd toss it out there.

Let us know how it turns out.

Other issues like inverter, broken slide etc have been dealt with & I am happy with the repairs so except for my concern about quantity of issues & quality of workmanship they are in the past.

I think I have got the fridge situation worked out.

The temp sensor error has to do with the interior temp of the coach & setting temperature controls for the furnace/a.c..

This weekend I was plugged into electric.

I was raised tent camping & as an adult have had trailers. My last one was 23', new & quite nice but I only used the shower once, the water heater only a couple of times, heated a kettle of water for coffee & used the rest to wash dishes. But I was also able to do most care & maintenance myself. I can't seem to do anything myself so far on the motorhome.

So this last weekend, I didn't use the tv or hot water heater. I ran the front functioning heat at night but because I was in a horse arena all day turned it off completely during the day.

I still have minimalist tendencies but this is the compromise with my city boy husband. [emoji15] [emoji1]

[Greg84]

Originally Posted by Springn Springers

Other issues like inverter, broken slide etc have been dealt with & I am happy with the repairs so except for my concern about quantity of issues & quality of workmanship they are in the past.

I think I have got the fridge situation worked out.

The temp sensor error has to do with the interior temp of the coach & setting temperature controls for the furnace/a.c..

This weekend I was plugged into electric.

I was raised tent camping & as an adult have had trailers. My last one was 23', new & quite nice but I only used the shower once, the water heater only a couple of times, heated a kettle of water for coffee & used the rest to wash dishes. But I was also able to do most care & maintenance myself. I can't seem to do anything myself so far on the motorhome.

So this last weekend, I didn't use the tv or hot water heater. I ran the front functioning heat at night but because I was in a horse arena all day turned it off completely during the day.

I still have minimalist tendencies but this is the compromise with my city boy husband. [emoji15] [emoji1]

Yeah, the quality of workmanship is definitely something to question. We are currently building a house and are having the same issue. No one appears to take pride in their work and the work is sloppy and unprofessional. It’s not just the RV world.

Glad to hear you have figured things out.

My wife and I are both retired Marines. I’m all about tent camping, but my wife said she did enough of that in the Marine Corps and wants the luxury of the RV now. It’s grown on me and I’m I’m starting to come around to her way of thinking.

[tnedator]

The sad thing is that in researching RVs for myself, and in recent weeks for my father (class B/C) and sister (replacement for her 2012 Tiffin DP), the conclusion I've come to is that there are very few makers that are actually putting out quality coaches.

Newmar seems to have a pretty good reputation still. Not without problems, but pretty good. Some of the small class C's like LTV and Coach House have good reps, but LTV and fellow Canadian company Pleasureway have appeared to have more issues in recent years.

Tiffin is not producing coaches much more trouble free than Thor, they just stand behind them much better (they will typically fix clear manufacturing defects well out of warranty).

I went cheap with my Thor ACE, because I wasn't sure if we would like RV'ng, but since I think we are going to love it, I'm already looking for my upgrade to move to in the next year or two, which would be a DP and at the moment, the only DPs in the 35-40' range that I think more likely than not will be well built seems to be Newmar.

I don't know if it has to do with the massive consolidation after the '08 crash; the massive increase in demand; or, a bit of both. Regardless, these days, it doesn't matter if you spend 80k or 380k, there is a very good chance you are going to be dealing with manufacturing and QC issues.

[southladon]

Originally Posted by tnedator

The sad thing is that in researching RVs for myself, and in recent weeks for my father (class B/C) and sister (replacement for her 2012 Tiffin DP), the conclusion I've come to is that there are very few makers that are actually putting out quality coaches.

Newmar seems to have a pretty good reputation still. Not without problems, but pretty good. Some of the small class C's like LTV and Coach House have good reps, but LTV and fellow Canadian company Pleasureway have appeared to have more issues in recent years.

Tiffin is not producing coaches much more trouble free than Thor, they just stand behind them much better (they will typically fix clear manufacturing defects well out of warranty).

I went cheap with my Thor ACE, because I wasn't sure if we would like RV'ng, but since I think we are going to love it, I'm already looking for my upgrade to move to in the next year or two, which would be a DP and at the moment, the only DPs in the 35-40' range that I think more likely than not will be well built seems to be Newmar.

I don't know if it has to do with the massive consolidation after the '08 crash; the massive increase in demand; or, a bit of both. Regardless, these days, it doesn't matter if you spend 80k or 380k, there is a very good chance you are going to be dealing with manufacturing and QC issues.

I couldn’t agree more. The dealer we purchased our Windsport from was pretty honest about expectations. The day we picked up our motor home, they had a $350k Tuscany next to ours being prepped, and they were busy installing replacement parts and fixing the door. They said “Doesn’t matter the price, even the expensive units have similar issues. It’s seems to be a norm for dealers to have to do extensive prep and repair before delivery to the customer. They come from the factory that way. Having worked in industry the past 30+ years where quality of product is very much proven it’s worth, I can’t imagine how an industry survives on such a business model. Seems it would be much more profitable to make it better the first time around rather than deal with such warranty expense, and poor image/reputation. This was our first Motorhome purchase. The prior 20 years, we have owned travel trailers. They have quality issues also, but not nearly as many. We have had very good luck with Sunnybrook and Forrest River.
All in all, we have very much enjoyed our Windsport. I do not regret the decision to purchase. For the most part everything works pretty well. We do 10-15 outings a year. We have had issues. All have been fixed under warranty or extended warranty.. our dealer told us: it takes a while to get past initial quality issues. I’m still waiting for that time. Maybe someday.. We’ve been pretty much trouble free the past year, and last week, then leveling system gave out. I’d buy better quality if it was an option. But apparently it’s not, and we luv getting out there with family. So for now, it’s a given that you need a 7 year extended warranty, stuff will break. With all the crappy quality, Thor was still the only one that had the options we really liked for a price we could afford. But a good extended warranty is a must. Best of Luck!!!

[ghof]

Originally Posted by ghof

I am a craftsman retired, a resonably good mechanic and when I look around I see poor workmanship everywhere. 2017 Miramar 34.2.

Greg84, the fact that we as owners have to repair basic quality control issues is inherently wrong! I can and have repaired a bunch of things. We are currently in Mesa Az and we have an appointment at Le Mesa rv. Four week wait and we don't know how long they will need to keep our HOME to fix the multitude of errors made during its manufacture. How is this in any way acceptable?

[axis earl]

Originally Posted by ghof

Greg84, the fact that we as owners have to repair basic quality control issues is inherently wrong! I can and have repaired a bunch of things. We are currently in Mesa Az and we have an appointment at Le Mesa rv. Four week wait and we don't know how long they will need to keep our HOME to fix the multitude of errors made during its manufacture. How is this in any way acceptable?

It is not acceptable but they don't seem to want to change their production methods because we first time buyers learn the hard lessons.

[ghof]

I have told a dozen or so people not to buy a Thor and will continue to do so. I have put in at least 100 hours repairing this Miramar. I retired @$65 per hour that is a reasonable rate, but, we all know there is no reimbursement, however, it is not something most people acknowledge as a loss which it really is.