Community Forums

SissyBoyBob · 05-26-2015, 04:36 AM

2016 Thor Motor Coach ACE EVO29.2 <---- Click on to view

I know the furniture isn't leather, and assume the cabinets aren't solid wood, but if one takes care of it and especially services of the mechanics properly, would it last? Or is it so cheap the roof, slides, cabinets, trim, and all will start coming apart as soon as the new warranty wears out?

Anyone have any experience with new cheaper low end RVs.

04fxsts · 05-26-2015, 05:01 AM

We have a 2015 ACE 30.1 and although we just got it in January are very happy so far. We have had it out two weekends so far and found one minor problem that I fixed in five minutes. There was also a leak in the power steering pump which Ford took care of promptly. We know it is not a high end DP but for the money we consider it a good value. Jim.

Ramets · 05-26-2015, 05:33 AM

Remember, you get what you pay for. Corners have to be cut somewhere to come in at $77K. One of the first things I do when looking at new Rv's is pull out a drawer or two, and see how they're made. Are they plastic or wood/ How are they held together...staples? Are the drawer slides plastic or metal? If they've gone cheap there, where else have they?

DegoRed · 05-26-2015, 06:22 AM

Having previously owned a Thor, heres what you have. The motor & chasis are fine, you really wont have many problems there, but that is becuase Thor did not make them, and the Ford F53 is a pretty stable setup.

When we had our Thor, it was a full time job fixing stuff, and its never anything huge. Cabinet door fronts & drawer fronts just randomly fall off, little bit of glue and some effort and it was easy enough to fix. Drawer catches, drawer guides, etc. just randomly break or get stuck. Screws are constantly falling out of somewhere, we would have a jar where we would put all the screws, no idea where they would fall out of until something breaks. For example, table just fell off one day, that is because there was only 1 screw holding it and it finally fell out. Toilet broke several times, always the same thing, the ball to foot pedal plastic deal, was a $15 part that was fairly easy to fix, but once again, you are the repair guy. Shower never really worked well enough to use. Generator was always shutting off.

I would hear all the time here in this forum, all manufactures have problems, they all break. So I assumed that stuff was normal. Finally got tired and sold our Thor and bought a Fleetwood. Have not had to fix a single thing on our Fleetwood, never find random screws everywhere, all the drawers and cabinets work, nothing gets stuck, generator has never randomly quit, shower works awesome, we have zero complaints.

Can't say all low end MH's are bad, but can say anything manufactured by Thor is sure to be jacked up, and Thor customer service is pitiful, zero follow through or follow up, and they will always blame someone else for the problem. This is typical for Thor based on others that would comment on exact same problems. Its a company wide deal with Thor, their corporate policies are to mass produce and let dealers and custormers fix the problems. They have zero QC, none, just crank cheap products off the line, and hope there is no major problems.

Dont be fooled into thinking you are saving a buck with Thor, you will spend same buck fixing stuff later or upgrading stuff that you should not have to.

Good luck in your search, I know its tough weeding through it all.

FLman2 · 05-26-2015, 07:08 AM

I have to echo what DegoRed said. Had a Hurricane 32A, every time it was used something needed repaired, pins coming out of the hinges on the wardrobe doors, front smoke alarm not fastened to the ceiling correctly, every light fixture was full of saw dust, nothing major but all had to be dealt with. They brag about their 200 point QC on each new unit, not sure what they check. Owning one was an eye opener to say the least. Took a loss and got rid of it.

bronk · 05-26-2015, 08:56 AM

To be fair, I know that you will find MANY Thor owners who are happy with their purchase. Also, often times when problems occur, low-end or high-end purchase, it will be the manufacturer of the items installed by the builder, ie; generator, jacking system, etc. We have been very pleased with our 2011 Challenger and are looking forward to purchasing another Thor MH in the future.

Bronk

530ktm · 05-26-2015, 09:03 AM

The sad part is the fact that a lot of these ailments would not even come into play if the people assembling the units would just have a little pride in what they were doing and take some time to screw in a screw properly.

Wryly Blithe · 05-26-2015, 11:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 530ktm

The sad part is the fact that a lot of these ailments would not even come into play if the people assembling the units would just have a little pride in what they were doing and take some time to screw in a screw properly.

Pride in workmanship? Pride in a job well done? From this generation? Yeah, um... I don't think I'll be holding my breath

**TonyDi** · 05-26-2015, 01:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 530ktm

The sad part is the fact that a lot of these ailments would not even come into play if the people assembling the units would just have a little pride in what they were doing and take some time to screw in a screw properly.

There are many RV manufacturers where pride in workmanship is a mantra. That said there will always be someone on a line that is sloppy about their work. However if you have a cabinet made out of particle board with a laminate finish it really won't matter what kind of screw they used. It will eventually fail. that list goes on and on.

On the other hand, it may be wiser to look in the used market for a well made coach.

Good luck with your decision. Happy Trails!!!