Community Forums

altabubbles · 05-14-2014, 08:28 AM

Sigh, I adore this unit, I really do, it's the main reason we bought her! We are not entirely 'new' to RV lifestyle; however, this is the first coach with such a large slide out. Hubby decided to surprise me with a quick trip to Disney. He pressed the button to bring the slide in (we've had it two weeks), and on it's way in it got stuck with the lower end part way in and the upper end not even in at all. Nothing sounded odd, it just happened within seconds. Went outside and not only is it on a weird angle, the front part and the back top parts of the slide out are at different angles. Has anyone heard of this one before? UGH!
Also, we cannot move it to bring it in with the slide out still out, so we called Thor Concierge and they informed us to call Good Sam. ONE guy came out, that's it! And he's literally having to 'saw' off parts of the edging to get to the panel behind. :(

cc8375 · 05-14-2014, 10:45 AM

Wifes Uncle had a Big Damon Intruder, Slide did a similar thing. The manual showed a way to disconnect the slide from the motor. We rounded up 6 or more guys in the Campground and pushed the slide in manually so they get drive home and get to a shop. I think the motor was in the bins below. It took a little shaking but once started it went in easy.

rssnape · 05-14-2014, 10:53 AM

From your photo it looks like the slide may have gone too far on the way out. And the top was off track on the way in. Maybe you could run the bottom out again and try to realign for another inward attempt?

GaryKD · 05-14-2014, 02:06 PM

Hi altabubbles,
Welcome to iRV2. The help you need is from another Thor owner. I asked the moderators to move this thread to the Thor Owners Forum. You need help from someone who knows how Thor slides work. There must be a way to disconnect the slide from the motor(s).

Mwoodofd · 05-17-2014, 08:00 AM

Did you find a solution, and what caused it. I would suspect that something stopped the bottom from moving, ( sometimes there are lots of extra stuff left in motor homes, like screws under the slide units) and the gears may have jumped a few notches on the tracks on the bottom making the top extend further. You could pop the motors out of the top, and push the slide in, and engage the motors to see if it will work properly. It is a good idea to learn how to do this if you get stuck.

The motors are on each side, are the top. There is one set screw on the outside of the coach on each side at the top that keep the motor in place. (will need a ladder) remove the screw, then go inside the coach, and look under the black weather strip material, and you will see the motor. Take a regular screw driver, and gently try to lift the motor to disengage on both sides. You will probably have to remove wood trim on the back side, and I had to also cut the ply board under the finished trim piece so I didn't have to remove everything under my sink. Once the motors are lifted, they can remain in the channel, disengaged, and you can push the slide back in fairly easy. (hopefully it is not off the tracks on the sides of the slide). Once in, reset the motors, and install the set screw to keep the slide locked if you are leaving. (use a slide lock if you have them for peace of mind while driving).

Try to look under your slide to see if there is any trash, screws, etc that you can flush or blow out. If the slide is on the tracks, and everything appears straight and level, you can try the motors again, and watch it close to see if it gets in a bind again. If it does, getting it back in is much easier once you go through this process. Happened to me in Colorado last year, and of course it was on our last stop and we were leaving early in the morning.

altabubbles · 05-19-2014, 09:30 AM

I appreciate everyone's responses. We actually had to rent an 800.00 tractor, add a tire to it, and 'crunch' the side into place! HORRIBLE, but necessary. THOR mentioned that they would repair the damages but it was so sad to see that this was the only way to get the slide pushed in at this angle. 5 guys couldn't push it in as the top was physically stuck and the guys couldn't stand up that tall and on ladders it would be precarious for sure!
We did find the motors, but they are actually jammed and had to be entirely removed. Once we get this to the shop; hopefully, they will see what caused the issue, but so far we believe they came off the upper rung tracks (not supposed to happen in these models). I've included the video for your viewing pleasure

alpha99 · 05-19-2014, 11:49 AM

Oh My Gosh! Another Thor slide problem?

rvbunz · 05-19-2014, 04:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by altabubbles

I appreciate everyone's responses. We actually had to rent an 800.00 tractor, add a tire to it, and 'crunch' the side into place! HORRIBLE, but necessary. THOR mentioned that they would repair the damages but it was so sad to see that this was the only way to get the slide pushed in at this angle. 5 guys couldn't push it in as the top was physically stuck and the guys couldn't stand up that tall and on ladders it would be precarious for sure!
We did find the motors, but they are actually jammed and had to be entirely removed. Once we get this to the shop; hopefully, they will see what caused the issue, but so far we believe they came off the upper rung tracks (not supposed to happen in these models). I've included the video for your viewing pleasure

Sorry to hear you had this problem. Thor will stand behind it. I haven't seen the LX model, but the brochure makes it look nice. Even thought about trading our 13 DT model in for one, but need to see one in person. Haven't been able to find one in my area. Well good luck at let us know what you find out about the cause.

cc8375 · 05-19-2014, 06:19 PM

WOW!!!....... thanks for the update, that was a First. Hoping all works out for best for you.

koda59 · 05-19-2014, 08:02 PM

I had the exact same problem with our bedroom slide. Ended up having to jump on the bottom inside the rv to get it to unjam. Took it to Camping World and they said the bolts had sheared. They said Thor did not use the correct strength bolts. Have not had anymore problems since it was repaired.

altabubbles · 07-16-2014, 09:49 AM

All,
It's now July 16th and we finally got our RV back in our hand son July 11th. It's been a ridiculous ride to say the least! I'm so saddened by THOR and their lack of 'lessons learned' initiative with our RV. I know I'm venting but I may possibly help out the next guy! Here's the updated:

1. Took it back to the place we purchased the RV and Service personnel worked tirelessly with THOR's recommendation to repair the damage on our slide out. THOR informed Service to add two rollers to the front end of slide out as it is too heavy and had them also place more metal bars bars underneath to give it more strength. Personally, I believe that this should be something done to ALL 37LX models due to what happened to us. THOR and Service Personnel agreed that the front end is just too heavy.

2. We had to pay the 1950.00 charge to 'push the darn slide back in', and THOR was to reimburse us. I only received 1600.00?? When I spoke to THOR, they said that they don't pay sales tax nor mileage calculated by the Good Sam RV repairman who came to fix the slide. I may state that I called THOR numerous times before calling Good Sam and NO ONE would come to us to help us with our slide out (not even other THOR RV sales/service personnel in the area), so THOR said to call Good Sam to get someone out. Once THOR saw the damage that this guy did, I was informed by THOR that I was wrong to get this guy to work on the RV???!! Seriously?! I followed all protocol, I called THOR, they called people, no one would come out, we called Good Sam, this guy was the only one to respond. ... sigh!

3. RV Sales Service guys are actually ONLY getting paid 1/4 of their time for this unit as THOR is actually arguing with them regarding payment and the amount of hours to put our unit back. I realize that THOR sells alot of products and they are all good products, this is why we chose them. But again, I wanted to share our findings to that if this happens to anyone, well, at least we shared our story.

4. We physically had to drive the RV 4.5 hours away as we called numerous places around Fort Lauderdale that sold THOR and were supposed to service warranty items. Not one of them would take us, and this is AFTER the snow birds left. Service personnel actually asked my husband 'why didn't you buy from us? you would be guaranteed service.'

5. Warranty items like the front shade is STILL not repaired. Was informed that it takes forever to get warranty parts. This to us is valid as we bought this RV in April, the shade was broken. They ordered the part in April and as of today, it is still not in :(

I know this will all work out it's just so slow, I guess I was looking for quicker resolution and well, from someone so large, just better overall customer support.

TK IV · 07-16-2014, 01:02 PM

Check out the Palazzo Discussion area. Lots of threads on slide problems and how to deal with them.

rvbunz · 07-16-2014, 01:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by altabubbles

All,
It's now July 16th and we finally got our RV back in our hand son July 11th. It's been a ridiculous ride to say the least! I'm so saddened by THOR and their lack of 'lessons learned' initiative with our RV. I know I'm venting but I may possibly help out the next guy! Here's the updated:

1. Took it back to the place we purchased the RV and Service personnel worked tirelessly with THOR's recommendation to repair the damage on our slide out. THOR informed Service to add two rollers to the front end of slide out as it is too heavy and had them also place more metal bars bars underneath to give it more strength. Personally, I believe that this should be something done to ALL 37LX models due to what happened to us. THOR and Service Personnel agreed that the front end is just too heavy.

2. We had to pay the 1950.00 charge to 'push the darn slide back in', and THOR was to reimburse us. I only received 1600.00?? When I spoke to THOR, they said that they don't pay sales tax nor mileage calculated by the Good Sam RV repairman who came to fix the slide. I may state that I called THOR numerous times before calling Good Sam and NO ONE would come to us to help us with our slide out (not even other THOR RV sales/service personnel in the area), so THOR said to call Good Sam to get someone out. Once THOR saw the damage that this guy did, I was informed by THOR that I was wrong to get this guy to work on the RV???!! Seriously?! I followed all protocol, I called THOR, they called people, no one would come out, we called Good Sam, this guy was the only one to respond. ... sigh!

3. RV Sales Service guys are actually ONLY getting paid 1/4 of their time for this unit as THOR is actually arguing with them regarding payment and the amount of hours to put our unit back. I realize that THOR sells alot of products and they are all good products, this is why we chose them. But again, I wanted to share our findings to that if this happens to anyone, well, at least we shared our story.

4. We physically had to drive the RV 4.5 hours away as we called numerous places around Fort Lauderdale that sold THOR and were supposed to service warranty items. Not one of them would take us, and this is AFTER the snow birds left. Service personnel actually asked my husband 'why didn't you buy from us? you would be guaranteed service.'

5. Warranty items like the front shade is STILL not repaired. Was informed that it takes forever to get warranty parts. This to us is valid as we bought this RV in April, the shade was broken. They ordered the part in April and as of today, it is still not in :(

I know this will all work out it's just so slow, I guess I was looking for quicker resolution and well, from someone so large, just better overall customer support.

Write a certified letter to Jeff Kime, CEO of Thor Motor Coach, and explain your issues and you should receiving receive a response.

streamcamper · 07-16-2014, 03:27 PM

Hello Altabubbles,

I am sorry you had such a significant problem with your slide, and sorry the process was not smoother, but am glad it was repaired and you can again enjoy your rv.

You had speculated in your earlier post what may have caused the problem, but was anyone able to determine what the root cause was for the failure?

Thanks.