Thor Forums

[FW28z]

We bought used. This helps for two reasons. First, the previous owner will already go through the hassle of warranty issues, and the depreciation is significant in the first few years.

We bought our 2011 model last year (2013), when it was 2yr old for about 30~40% less than a new one. I don't know about you, but that is a significant depreciation hit I did not want to take.

It was owned by a Doctor and had 5,800 miles on it, and being a Doctor, it was probably not really used that much, as it still looked fairly new. Plus the Doctor put some upgrades in it, like $1,000 for a upgraded bed.

But the one issue is during the recession of 2008~2011 or wherever you want to put the dates, not as many RVs were sold - which results in not as many good late model used RVs are available. So it might be hard to find a good used late model RV. I know it took us quite awhile to find this one.

One thing you will have to contend with is build quality. You will find a lot of disappointed Thor owners. There are a few things that were annoying on my coach that were easily fixed, and a few more I have to work on. But you have to realize these are budget rigs, and they are not going to be perfect. And you will be putting wear-and-tear on them, so in the end, it's a lot more fancy than a tent.

I think the most serious issue I have had to date is leaking tail lights, which could have damaged the walls of the coach if not fixed.

Other issues are over-torqued screws. My furnace is literally held together with super-glue and caulking, as the morons at the factory over-tightened all of the screws and broke the plastic frame of the furnace. An idiot with a pneumatic drill/screwdriver can be a dangerous thing.

In summary, if you are a do-it-yourselfer, you will not have many issues you cannot fix. But if you are not as mechanically-inclined, or have the time, you might have issues.

I not saying this should be acceptable, and I am not letting Thor off the hook for shoddy practices, but they are not unique. We saw a travel trailer last spring (not a Thor brand) at a RV show that used a residential window air conditioner, and just mounted it through the wall. And, with a keen eye, any visit to a RV show and you can pick out shoddy work from most brands.

Many motorhomes and travel trailers are built in the Elkhart, Indiana area, which also makes those even more shoddy mobile homes. So I suppose it's in their genes.

Of course, you get what you pay for, and you can buy premium brands that are a lot more expensive, so it all depends on your expectations I guess.

Others though, depending on the model, may indeed have more serous issues. This seems to be more with Class As though, but it may just be my perception. Whether it is because more of the coach is built by the RV manufacturer, or a higher bad engineering content, I don't know.

I went with a Class C - as I figured the less the motorhome factory did the better, it is easier to get serviced by the local Ford dealership, and parts might be easier to find.

The one thing I continuously thought about when shopping for our RV is...

what would happen if I need to replace the windshield?

OK, what would happen if I needed to replace the windshield 10yrs from now?

I am sure I can find a Ford E450 windshield in 10yrs, but not perhaps a Class A windshield).

I am not saying a Class A is not in our future. But for our first coach, we went with a Class C, as I thought it would be more "beginner friendly". In the future, we might upgrade to a Class A, but I just cringe when thinking about a 36ft gasoline powered RV... fuel economy-wise.

I liked it because it has a sofa, and that was my minimum needs. The wife's minimum needs was a slide-out. I didn't care so much if it had a slide-out or not, but they do help with space, as well as resale.

However, the downside to a slideout is they can leak, and a lot of people have been having problems with them operating properly. I think though that most people having issues are with the larger slide outs. So if you keep it to smaller slide outs, you may not have as many issues.

As well, make sure the slide out has a topper. Most do these days, but if you are looking in the used department, you may find one without it. A topper is the small awning that is fixed to the top of the slide out, which helps prevent leaks, but more importantly, keeps debris that falls on the roof from being jammed into the seals when you retract it.

The only thing the wife does not like with our rig is there is not a pantry, and not as much storage as she would like. She wanted a 31F or 31L, but we could not find a used one, and I wanted something a bit lighter. But truth told, there is probably not a lot of difference in weight between mine and a 31L (although called a 28ft'er, my coach is actually 29'-11"). My coach is 11,599lbs, and maybe BLW2 can elaborate on his coach's weight.

I would also go with an E450 rather than E350, but of course, that depends on the size. For example, we originally looked at a 28A floorplan, which is more or less identical but without a slide out (although the orientation of the fridge, shower, and toilet is different). It is also a bit shorter, 29'-9". The coach is on a E350 rather than E450, while it is almost as heavy and large as my 28Z (which is on a E450 chassis).

The 28A is no longer available, but my point is go with the heaver duty (E450) chassis when you can.

I would avoid the 31W for the slide out reasons I mentioned. I just think that huge slide out is asking for trouble.