Thor Forums

[wogden]

I had posted an earlier thread about some questions I had regarding the operation of some of the devices in our new Rv. Thanks to those for their input. I have been off the site for some time dealing with what one might say is a more pressing issue. I think we are at the end of this saga so I am reporting this information as a "heads up" for those that may face the same issues.
On our trip home from St. Louis we observed that the Rv was pulling to the right and there also seemed to be a slight vibration that was telelgraphing up the steering column. We took the unit into the Ford dealer in a distant town and had them inspect the Rv. They felt that the front wheel bearings were loose (?) and pulled them under warranty and repacked them, then reinstalled them per spec. Sent me on my way to drive it for a bit to ascertain if this fixed the issue.
Still pulled to the right and the vibration seemed to be getting worse. I pulled the front tires and switched them from side to side to see if it was a radial tire pull but to no avail. Still pulls to the right. Back to Ford.
This time they put it on the alignment rack and informed me that it was out of alignment and it would not be covered under warranty with Ford since the chassis was modified (stretched 11 inches). Paid them $130 for an alignment. Thor says they do not touch the alignment, only check the toe when it leaves the factory. Finger now points to Ford and Ford is not buying it so we ended up paying with no recourse. However, it is driving straight and no more pulling so we are pleased at that.
Now to the vibration.....Ford charged us $123 to determine that it appeared to be the drive line that was causing the vibration. Thor referred us to the company that stretches the frame and who extended the front shaft, Mor Ryde. They said it was a balance issue and to take the drive line to a drive line company which in our case is over 50 miles away. We removed the driveline and took it to this company who then balanced the entire assembly. The front shaft was way out of balance and when fitted together it caused the entire unit to vibrate. Reinstalled the drive line and we still had a slight vibration albeit much better than before. After measuring the driveline angles and referring to the Spicer web site tech writing I felt the front shaft was not at the proper angle with the rear end so I had to fab up a 1/4 inch spacer for the center bearing in the shop and installed that which I am happy to announce has fixed the problem. Thor has asked me to send my invoices for all of the work to Mor Ryde which I have. We are waiting patiently for reimbursement.
So if any of you new RV owners are faced with similar issues I hope this info will be helpful. It was at times like pulling teeth to get some answers regarding this issue all of which took over three weeks to resolve. Mor Ryde was IMHO very slow to respond.
We are now leaving for a 8000 mile trip out west. We have our fingers crossed that we do not find more issues as we go along.