Thor Forums

[Moondoggie]

I just got back from a trip to the Florida Panhandle and I feel like I've been beaten with a stick. Eleven months ago I traded in my little Navion for a Thor ACE 29.4 thinking I'd avoid repair issues, at least for the first year or so. However, I've had more trouble with this RV in eleven months than I had with the Navion in eight years. Here's what happened on this trip.

1) After filling up with Propane before I left my hometown, somewhere along the way I developed a propane leak. I lost just over a half tank of propane before I tightened the nut where I was losing the fuel. More on that later...

2) During a LIGHT rain with very little wind my awning collapsed. One of the braces pulled out of the exterior wall. The vinyl ripped right down the middle and one of the support bars broke in half while the other bent to a point that it could not be repaired. I discovered that the awning was held in place by eight sheet metal screws that had been screwed into the fiberglass walls with no backing (I compare it to installing a stairway railing to a wall by driving screws into the sheet rock but missing the studs.) OK, I realize you aren't supposed to have an awning up in the rain, but this rain was so light that everyone in the park had left their awnings up. A quick drive through the park revealed that of the 51 awnings that were still extended, mine was the only one damaged.

3) During the trip home my back-up camera began malfunctioning. Whenever we hit a bump it would flicker and often it would go off completely. I discovered if I hit the dash right below the monitor like Fonzie it would come back on. Unlike Fonzie, however, my fix was not permanent. When I hit the next bump it would flicker again and go off.

4) As I approached Northern Arkansas the temperature dropped drastically. When I reached my house just before midnight on New Years Eve I turned the furnace up to 75 hoping that keeping the RV at that temperature would keep the pump and pipes from freezing. The plan might have worked except that because I had lost so much propane (see problem 1) I ran out during the night and our propane dealer is closed for New Years day. In anticipation of running out, I brought in two space heaters as back-up but I guess they couldn't keep up enough to save the pipes. I've drained the fresh water tanks, the water heater, and both waste tanks, but the pump won't even hum. I should mention that I had hoped not to have to winterize because I'll be taking my wife in for eye surgery on Wednesday and we planned to stay in the RV during her recovery).

OK, so where do I start.

1) The propane leak appears to be fixed now, and I'm hoping to slip away from work tomorrow to get by the propane dealer for a refill.

2) The awning is not salvageable and even though I bought every warranty known to man, it appears that the warranty won't cover the damage. They say they only cover manufacture defect and could only discover if that was the case if I could have gotten the destroyed awning to a Camping World for an assessment. But because my son and I had already taken the awning down, it was impossible for them to determine if it was a manufacture defect or not. We did take photos and I passed them along to the Panama City Camping Word, but they tell me that my chances are doubtful at best.

3) I'm hoping I can pull the Axxera radio/monitor and that I'll be able to find a simple short that will be easy to fix. But does anyone know if this type of unit just pulls out using slide tools on the side (like we used to do with a car radio?) Or will I have to disassemble the entire dash?

4) Finally, I take full responsibility for the freezing mess. Despite my plan to use the RV later this week, I obviously should have winterized before I left Florida. Having said that, what are the chances now I'll get out of this without having to replace a pump and do a lot of pipe repair. I've got space heaters in the RV now and a heat lamp directed on the pump. It's 11 degrees tonight and should only reach 24 degrees tomorrow.

Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.
HC in North Central Arklansas.