Thor Magnitude SV34 - Roof Separation

[JenF]

We have a 2022 Thor Magnitude SV34 and first noticed that the cabinets above our bed were falling down. We took the coach to a local RV Repair Shop and it was discovered that there is separation between the framing of the ceiling/roof and the side wall on the inner passenger side of the coach. The repair shop reached out to Thor with this information along with photos and the response was to strip the seal on the roof and replace it. This was surprising since you can clearly see that the roof is separating when you look at it inside the coach and it is not visible on the outside (the 2 yearly roof inspections passed with flying colors). The RV Repair recommended we take it to the dealer we purchased the coach from and they agreed that the roof is separating from the coach. We spoke with the service department yesterday and they have reached out to Thor and now Thor is saying we must have driven it too rough over railroad tracks, etc. to make this issue occur and it is not covered under the structural warranty. Our next step is to agree to the dealer to start “opening” the camper roof off (costing thousands) to prove that it is a structural issue to Thor without having any support that it will eventually be a covered repair. We have had other large problems with the coach (roller under the slide being installed upside down, tearing the floor, etc.) and are finally at the point where I am wondering what our next steps should be. The coach has been laid up for over 3 months with no end in sight. Has anyone ever encountered this issue before? My husband and I have owned various campers for a span of over 30 years, and never have encountered such poor workmanship and support from a manufacturer.

 

[ducksface]

Without pictures we can't know(as thor does from the submitted pictures) if thor's diagnosis of being airborne a few times(railroad tracks, et al) is correct or if the screws used at the factory missed their mark and they are incorrect.

If thor denies the revised claim( they already have denied it once) after opening things up to take a look;
There isn't a reason in the entire world to be at a dealership for this repair. The radiator guy who yesterday was the battery changing guy will tomorrow be working on our roof problem.

If the claim is denied(I'm all but certain it will be)find a competent carpenter to do the work.

Even if the claim is approved it's pretty 'iffy' having the dealer Do the work. I'd be there daily taking pictures of the progress after reading up EXTENSIVELY on this type of repair. To steel yourself for the dealership antics I'm going to suggest almost any YouTube video by BadChad so you can learn how little time a fabrication or repair will take. His videos are real-time and while you won't exactly agree with this; they are 100% related to the type of stuff that needs done to fix hour rv. You'll need an education so you can tell 'radiator guy' why he's doing it wrong.

A good idea, and one I'm sure you've considered is to trade it in at the dealer you purchased it from. If they're so sure of their abilities to repair, then the trade in discount for the existing damage should be minimal.
Can you tell yourself you'll be happy with this rv after everything it's put you through?

Expense to open it up for a re-examkination of fault...
You're going to have to pay it.

And

We don't know if you bought it new or used....
List the other maladies you've had and we'll tell you if they're normal or specific to your rv.

 

[16ACE27]

We have a 2022 Thor Magnitude SV34 and first noticed that the cabinets above our bed were falling down. We took the coach to a local RV Repair Shop and it was discovered that there is separation between the framing of the ceiling/roof and the side wall on the inner passenger side of the coach. The repair shop reached out to Thor with this information along with photos and the response was to strip the seal on the roof and replace it. This was surprising since you can clearly see that the roof is separating when you look at it inside the coach and it is not visible on the outside (the 2 yearly roof inspections passed with flying colors). The RV Repair recommended we take it to the dealer we purchased the coach from and they agreed that the roof is separating from the coach. We spoke with the service department yesterday and they have reached out to Thor and now Thor is saying we must have driven it too rough over railroad tracks, etc. to make this issue occur and it is not covered under the structural warranty. Our next step is to agree to the dealer to start “opening” the camper roof off (costing thousands) to prove that it is a structural issue to Thor without having any support that it will eventually be a covered repair. We have had other large problems with the coach (roller under the slide being installed upside down, tearing the floor, etc.) and are finally at the point where I am wondering what our next steps should be. The coach has been laid up for over 3 months with no end in sight. Has anyone ever encountered this issue before? My husband and I have owned various campers for a span of over 30 years, and never have encountered such poor workmanship and support from a manufacturer.

Unfortunately, this is a known issue with these RVs. Spend some time here searching for threads about cab separation. I believe Judge has a good thread regarding his efforts to resolve this defect. Good luck with your repair.

 

[JenF]

Thanks everyone. It is not the cab separating but the passenger side of the coach up to the cabinets over the dinette. Thought about posting some pictures but may do so so people have some insight if they are having the same issue. We will see once the dealer opens it up and will post updates as we go.

 

[newbie Dr. Dave]

Also had Thor issues

While I haven't had an issue (to my knowledge) with roof separation, I have had many (as in about 50) issues with my RV, which I purchased new 3 years ago. Thor was generally not helpful in making sure that the poor workmanship and broken parts (with the exception of the first 2 out of 3 times my main slide broke) were properly fixed by the dealership (actually my original dealer sold the shop and the new folks didn't want to have anything to do with the issues left untouched by the old shop.

So, after trying to get an attorney to help me fight the many warranty repairs, and after the RV sat in the shop for 17 months (without the engine even being turned on), the shop dumped the RV in my lap and said they were not going to repair anything. In fact, they told me to never return.

The last repair of my main slide was warranted by the shop for only 3 months, and 13 months had already passed when I picked up the vehicle, so they told me there was no further warranty. [I had already noticed that the seals were cracking.]

How do I know they never ran the engine? It's because when I took the vehicle on the road (with less than 20K miles total over 3 years), the serpentine belt tore apart where it had rotted out from disuse (per the Freightliner manager.)

I, for one, will never purchase another Thor product; I've learned my lesson.

 

[Judge64]

Thanks everyone. It is not the cab separating but the passenger side of the coach up to the cabinets over the dinette. Thought about posting some pictures but may do so so people have some insight if they are having the same issue. We will see once the dealer opens it up and will post updates as we go.

Sorry to hear about your problem..... while that never happened to my SV34, I'm also not surprised. I have been following a guy on Facebook tearing apart a 2021 Omni RB36 he calls the "Badger" and he is rebuilding it to fix all of Thor's deficiencies. The pictures he has posted are.... lets say..... shocking.


What I can tell you is the roof structure was made of minimal materials in my 2020 SV34. When I was installing Starlink a few years ago I was drilling a hole in the roof to run the Dish cable to the cabinet above the entry steps where I was putting the Router. I had to use a small hole saw to make the hole large enough to pass the connector through it and into the cabinet.

To my surprise the wood used on the roof was nothing more than the 1/8" crappy paneling Thor used on the interior walls. It wasn't plywood or any type of treated wood. It was just thin paneling and block styrofoam attached to the aluminum structure. I suspected as much because when I crawled around on the roof you could feel it flexing when you were between the roof trusses.

So I can easily see how you have this problem even though I never did. Although after talking it to Alaska in 2023 and putting 13,000 hard miles on, it was why I wanted to trade it in and move on after putting 40,000 miles on it and knowing how it was really constructed.


If you plan to keep the coach, you might want to consider taking it to NorthTrail RV in Fort Myers, FL. They are my local dealer and actually fairly good. They offer a Lifetime Spray-On Roof that will never require maintenance again. They will likely need to rebuild your roof structure.... but they have a full collision center so they have the means to do it.

I personally would not put that kind of money into a Thor product but if you plan to keep the coach and want it done right, I would go that route.

https://www.northtrailrv.com/services/roof/#form-anchor-roof



We downsized to a Dynamax Isata 3 24FWSFX earlier this year and I can attest that the quality of its construction is far superior to Thor. I have watched the videos of how they make their RV's.

We have decided that downsizing is working out to be harder than we thought it would be so we are going to sell the Isata 3 now after ordering a Renegade Verona LE Super C. The Renegade construction is even another level above Dynamax.

However, if you like the SV34 floorplan like we did, Dynamax may be introducing the Isata 6 Super C on the Ford F-600 Chassis. I just got a look at their first pre-production build. I looked at the Dynamax Isata 5 about 5 or 6 years ago before buying the SV34 but I am not a Dodge / RAM fan. I went with Thor because of the F-550 Chassis. Dynamax is on the fence about switching from Dodge to the Ford chassis because of all the ridiculous laws in states like California. As it stands today the F-660 can't be sold as a new vehicle in CA in 2026 so it creates a challenge for RV manufacturers.

If I were in your shoes, I would try to get the roof repaired as best you can for the least amount of money..... then cut your loses with the SV34 and wait for the Dynamax Isata 6 or look at the Renegade Veracruz. They are far superior builds in this Super C size.

Assuming Thor has not scared you away from RV life.



Also.... it may be worth submitting a Safety Report with the NHTSA... but it probably won't help you in your current positon. Structural issues can lead to safety concerns on the road. Thor has tried to say the front cap separation was merely a cosmetic issue, which is not the case (I saw a video of someone pushing up on the front cap and lifting it an inch or two off the cab roof after most of the small screws sheared off or stripped out).

I encourage anyone with front cap, roof or other structural issues to file Safety Reports with the NHTSA. It is the only way to get the manufacturers to take ownership and be held accountable.

https://www.nhtsa.gov/report-a-safety-problem#index


I don't recommend going the attorney route. That is an option some have taken and a few have had success. But it will be a long and expensive battle. If you eventually win, then it won't cost you anything other than time and effort. If you lose, fixing the roof and cutting your loses would have been cheaper.... and faster.

If you do have the dealer tear it apart, make sure they take dozens of detailed pictures and document every step of the proiess and their findings. Then you would have some ammunition if you decide to lawyer up.

Finally..... 8-months after I bought my SV34 Thor announced their new 1-6-12 Warranty Program that is a 6-year lamination warranty and 12-year structural warranty, along with the 1-year limited warranty. That is nothing more than Marketing speak that Thor doesn't stand behind.

Nothing changed between the 2020 and 2021 model years in terms of build quality and workmanship to support this new Warranty Program.

I was fortunate to purchase my 2020 SV34 for $153K at a $218K MSRP before COVID. People who bought in the COVID era saw the MSRP go up to $289K without any improvements in build quality and workmanship and they had the privilege of paying over $100K more than I paid because of supply and demand... and they got the same crappy build quality for the higher price. But they did get the shiny new warranty that wasn't worth the price of the paper it was printed on.