Thor Aria wet basement

[dpavlosky]

Originally Posted by Davene brown

We purchased our Aria 36 just a year ago & still have wet basement after 1 factory visit & 2 service garages. Going back to Indiana in mid April for one more try! Reading lots of comments here for possible fixed...has anyone found the cure for it? Obviously it is not the seals as ours have been replaced. We have gallons of water in basement after driving in rain. Mold is there and all basement floor have to be replaced. Help! I have the feeling we need to tell Thor how to fix this problem. What good (& healthy) is an RV with a wet basement?

Davene;
I know what you mean about the wet basements and the mold. Ours was so moldy and musty smelling before Thor took it to Elkhart that we could not stand the smell and everything we had stored in there was moldy from being wet all the time, even though I emptied all the storage bays 4 different times that it had gone to the dealer and to Thor to dry out all the contents. Wish you could see all the video's I have of all the water in the storage bays and the living room floor. Thor claims to have replaced all the plywood and vinyl in the bays, but what good did that do, they still leak. It's just a matter of time until the plywood rots and we get mold again. I don't think they know how to fix the problem.

[dpavlosky]

Originally Posted by Davene brown

Since Thor made these leaky RVs, I truly doubt they can repair them. We had the factory replace all the basement door seals from half inch to one inch width. They then put it through their spray garage where water comes at the RV in all directions & found no water in basement. We then drive it home in a hard rainstorm through puddles (3 times) and had to remove galloons of water. The basement particle board covered in vinyl only on top & bottom, not on edges, floors are soaked with moisture, so are soggy & great mold growing medium. I asked how Thor was going to fix it & warranty told me she could not tell me. I would have to talk to the tech when I got there! So I was more than happy to trade it in. I could only imagine how many more times we had to return to the factory. The front basement was so soggy we feared the floor would give way so it was totally unuseable.

Davene;
Thor said they also ran ours thru their rain bay three times and said it was like hurricane force wind and rain, well I drove thru nothing like that and still had leaking bays after they said they fixed the problem.

[MisterT]

I hear ya! and thor, though a 'test', does not use a 'road speed test' on a wet rainy road... THAT is the real problem.

water coming 'down' does not a problem make, it's the water coming UP from the road!


they'll have to design a better test, but, then again, they'd find a lot of extra WORK for them afterwards!

[Chesuncook 1]

Originally Posted by Davene brown

Since Thor made these leaky RVs, I truly doubt they can repair them. We had the factory replace all the basement door seals from half inch to one inch width. They then put it through their spray garage where water comes at the RV in all directions & found no water in basement. We then drive it home in a hard rainstorm through puddles (3 times) and had to remove galloons of water. The basement particle board covered in vinyl only on top & bottom, not on edges, floors are soaked with moisture, so are soggy & great mold growing medium. I asked how Thor was going to fix it & warranty told me she could not tell me. I would have to talk to the tech when I got there! So I was more than happy to trade it in. I could only imagine how many more times we had to return to the factory. The front basement was so soggy we feared the floor would give way so it was totally unuseable.

We bought our Aria 3901 in January 2017. It's our 3rd new DP and never have we had so much wrong with a motor home. I am so mad that I have never contacted Thor since the purchase because the call probably wouldn't end well. I have fixed most thing myself but am also struggling with wet bays. I too, thought it was the door gaskets as I could see light on the ground at night from the bay lights. We upgraded the gaskets but we still get as much water. I thought the next thing to try would be to silicone all the seams in every compartment. Someone here mentioned that they had done that and still had water. It would be a bandaid fix anyway as water would still get to the plywood and swell.

So, we too are thinking about trading out of it just to be done with Thor. It will cost a lot to get rid of it but enough is enough. Can you share what you traded for? We are looking at Tiffin and Newmarket because they are both family owned companies.

Thanks
Cbesuncook1, Scott

[Mousemate1]

Just like Thor does with all the holes they cut for wiring . You can spray foam all outside joints with closed cell foam to prevent any water intrusion.
As long as it is no exposed to the sun it won't deteriate.
They sell black colored
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MEH89XY...a-312738009817

hope this helps

[Davene brown]

We purchased an insignia entegra, made by jayco who is unfortunately owned by Thor now. Tiffin was $100,000 more than e
Insignia but they assured me jayco does it better!
We have dry basement & GFI that works. We are having problems with aquahot but hope to figure that out.
We put on 10,000 miles a year as we live in Vermont and go cross country for the winter months. I think most RVs are made to be driven to a campground and back.
Good luck. We we're fortunate that dealer took our Aria in trade in spite of us telling them all its faults. I feel bad for whoever buys it.

[Mccowboy]

I don't work for Thor and I don't own an Aria so take this post for what it's worth. At the Pomona show this past October I confronted the Thor factory reps, specifically Cory, about the leaking basements. I half expected to get the same response from him as I got with the sales crew at my local Thor dealer, meaning a blank stare and "I've never heard of that." However, the response was an immediate acknowledgment of the problem but with a twist I had not heard before. Cory told me that the problem was not the doors or the seals but rather, the way the basement walls and floors were constructed and mated together which allowed water being kicked up by the front tires to invade the basement. I was assured that Thor was on top of this and making appropriate changes which as a serious prospective buyer I was relieved to hear.

That was the first and only time that I have read or been told by anyone of a design problem other than the baggage doors and seals. As a matter of fact, I had a phone conversation with Adam Gudger a few weeks ago and he told me the 2019 units were going to be outfitted with newly designed doors and seals that would solve the problem once and for all. No mention of the walls and floors contributing to or causing the leaks.
So I wait and see what comes along in '19 before I write that check. For sure, if the problem persists I'm going to be looking at other manufacturers.
We really love that Aria, but.................

[dpavlosky]

Originally Posted by mousemate1

just like thor does with all the holes they cut for wiring . You can spray foam all outside joints with closed cell foam to prevent any water intrusion.
As long as it is no exposed to the sun it won't deteriate.
They sell black colored
https://www.amazon.com/dp/b01meh89xy...a-312738009817

hope this helps

thor definitely has a design problem. It's all their brands that are having water issues getting into the storage bays. When they had our unit at the factory for a month they said they fixed it and sprayed foam every where there was an opening. Didn't help still leaks. Their so called rain bay test is not like driving in the rain and i know it's water from the road because of all the grit and sand in the bays with the water. They build them but can't fix them, what's that tell you about them as a company.

[Chesuncook 1]

Originally Posted by Davene brown

We purchased an insignia entegra, made by jayco who is unfortunately owned by Thor now. Tiffin was $100,000 more than e
Insignia but they assured me jayco does it better!
We have dry basement & GFI that works. We are having problems with aquahot but hope to figure that out.
We put on 10,000 miles a year as we live in Vermont and go cross country for the winter months. I think most RVs are made to be driven to a campground and back.
Good luck. We we're fortunate that dealer took our Aria in trade in spite of us telling them all its faults. I feel bad for whoever buys it.

Congratulations! I hope everything works out great for you. I am not naive, I know all brands have trouble. Plus you have the ones built on Friday's. Like you, we just felt there was to many issues to deal with. We have our fingers crossed as we pickup a Allegro Bus on Monday. I also feel bad for whoever ends up with our Aria.

[Chesuncook 1]

Originally Posted by Mccowboy

I don't work for Thor and I don't own an Aria so take this post for what it's worth. At the Pomona show this past October I confronted the Thor factory reps, specifically Cory, about the leaking basements. I half expected to get the same response from him as I got with the sales crew at my local Thor dealer, meaning a blank stare and "I've never heard of that." However, the response was an immediate acknowledgment of the problem but with a twist I had not heard before. Cory told me that the problem was not the doors or the seals but rather, the way the basement walls and floors were constructed and mated together which allowed water being kicked up by the front tires to invade the basement. I was assured that Thor was on top of this and making appropriate changes which as a serious prospective buyer I was relieved to hear.

That was the first and only time that I have read or been told by anyone of a design problem other than the baggage doors and seals. As a matter of fact, I had a phone conversation with Adam Gudger a few weeks ago and he told me the 2019 units were going to be outfitted with newly designed doors and seals that would solve the problem once and for all. No mention of the walls and floors contributing to or causing the leaks.
So I wait and see what comes along in '19 before I write that check. For sure, if the problem persists I'm going to be looking at other manufacturers.
We really love that Aria, but.................

If I call Thor now or when they have a fix for the water in the basement, I am sure they say, to bad, your out of warranty!

[Polishilldav]

I have yet to drive through very wet conditions and have had no water in the basement.
I have done some looking and found to two things that I have "fixed":
Each door latch has shims behind the U bracket to have all of the doors close for a "smooth" finish. I removed shims from each door until I had a tight closing fit. The shims are various thickness and vary in number per door. I played with each door until I got the door seal making good contact with the surface.
There are two main box beams that run the length of the coach. These beams pass through the front wall of the basement Thor has put expanding foam around this area and on the inside of the front wall they have put some rubber flaps. I had gaps in the foam and could see how water could easily get in this area. I resealed the area with more foam. When that set up I went under the coach and trimmed the foam flush with the front wall and then put caulking over the entire surface. When that set, I got some of the water proof tape advertised on TV and covered the area around the beam. I am also going to do the same around the rear wall of basement where there beams pass through.
Hope this helps.

[Polishilldav]

I just posted a new thread on how I beefed up my doors seals.

[MisterT]

I'll have to look at that then, because I just went by my coach today, while at the outside storage with rain this week, and found at least a cup of water in my wet bay, dripping down from the door trim to the inside of the door and onto the floor. Dang!! it!

The only real option that I can think of is to mount some type of 'eyebrow' type cover, the type you see on cars above the window, to 'shield' the dripping of water onto the top of the door frame/trim. Ugh.

[Gowfster]

Here is response I got from dealer on the issue:
Finally I have an answer! 17.5 Aria's were made with thinner compartment doors and a different seal then the Aria's I have in stock or 19's. They did this because of water issue while on the road. So any unit made after September of 17' will have the new doors and seal. Hope this helps!