Bigfoot, welcome to the forum
Dealer - Whether you buy local or non-local is a personal decision. I have bought my last 2 rigs from local dealers and have not regretted doing so. The dealer from which I bought the Challenger is, IMO, outstanding. They have a separate service center to take care of owners during the first 90 days of ownership and then they transfer you over to the service department which again is a top notch operation.
RV Pad - When I was looking at the Challenger I took it on an extended test drive. Part of the test drive was to an empty parking lot where I maneuvered it around curbs, lights etc. I did this going forward and backing so I got a feel for how the coach rode and handled. Due to the 252 inch wheelbase I did widen my driveway. I also had gravel put in halfway from the road to the house to serve as my turn around point so I don't have to back in off the road.
http://www.thorforums.com/forums/f27...eway-1772.html
Thor Quality - other than a couple of issues I have not had any problems with my coach. My biggest issues were a missing bulb seal resulted in a slide motor coming unplugged during the shakedown cruise for which Thor reimbursed for a mobile tech and my Axxerra radio continuing to loose power. The radio issue appears to now be fixed after the second replacement and the last replacement was done by Thor after the warranty expired. My local dealer stepped up to the plate on this radio issue.
Thor Forums - View Single Post - Another trip comes to a close
Also, my prior Class C was a Forest River and I will tell you that I had more contact with Thor in the first 3 weeks of ownership than I had with Forest River in over three years. For the most part Thor has provided everything I have asked for to include plumbing, structural and electrical diagrams. These are things I never received from FR.
Bottom Line - we love the Challenger and we are happy with our decision to purchase local (80 miles from the house) and are happy with the dealer's service department.
Thor Forums
