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Old 05-16-2014, 01:57 PM   #1
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RV = Ruined Vacation

About to begin my second journey in our 2014 Palazzo. First one ended up including an extended stay in the frozen tundra of Northern Indiana in order to get some of the "bugs" worked out of our motorhome (warranty work at Elkhart).

After some time off from traveling we are getting ready to head out west. In getting the RV ready to go we discovered that the big slide no longer works. After hanging out in this forum I knew it was only a matter of time. Luckily it was a problem getting it out rather than getting it in.

We live quite a distance from the closest Thor warranty authorized dealer so for us warranty work can be expensive. Right now we are staying in our crippled motorhome 200 miles from home trying to decide if we want to drive it back while we wait for parts (a 400 mile round trip) or just continue to hang out here. Either way we need to be on the road out west soon.

I've let Thor know about our time problems and I think they are going to work with us to get the parts out here quicker. I just hope the slide repair goes well. I don't want to add my story to the other horror stories.

Which brings me to the tidbit I used as a title. Somebody shared that little gem with me (RV = Ruined Vacation) and I was wondering if anybody else on here ever heard that one and how true it has proven to be in your adventures. I still can't believe my slide broke, of all the rotten luck.
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Old 05-16-2014, 02:25 PM   #2
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Hang in there. This stuff happens. Slide are so awesome because of the space they provide, but at the same time they are a weak link since so much can go wrong with them and then you are stuck. Ours are working flawlessly, but I know sooner or later I'm going to have to deal with them. Good luck.
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Old 05-16-2014, 02:42 PM   #3
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There are many things that can ruin a vacation, The biggest is not taking the advice of the BOY SCOUTS (Be Prepared).. For example.. First night in a very nice State Park we woke up and found we'd lost our breakfast.. Would have been nice if we could have ate it first but Breakfast was gone, along with lunch and dinner.. Some 2-legged beasts and come through the campground and hit several campsites.. I hope they got what they deserved (Several days in the pokey). but alas, Never got called to testify. Thankfully I had the funds to visit the local A&P for replacement food.

On my slides.. I've learned how to replace shear pins and do other maintenance.. in fact this puppy used to eat shear pins for lunch till I found out what I was doing wrong and bought longer grade 8 bolts and some washers. now it works well.

So, let's say you decide to just go to a hotel instead of driving your own room about.. Ok you are 200 miles from home and the transmission goes.. Or the Radiator, or ______.. Same position you are in now but more expensive hotel.

One of these days I'm going to fix that blasted slide so it does not eat bolts.. But that said.. I've sure slowed it down.. Where I used to buy a dozen every six months, I am now down to every few years.
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Old 05-16-2014, 02:47 PM   #4
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We can honestly say, that although we have had a tremendous number of issues with our RV since we bought it, we've yet to have anything happen that stopped us from taking any trips. For that, we consider ourselves pretty lucky.
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Old 05-16-2014, 02:50 PM   #5
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I believe the appropriate term for RV is 'Repair Vehicle'. They all seem to need frequent and, sometimes, expensive repairs.
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Old 05-16-2014, 03:04 PM   #6
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If one is considering the purchase of a MH and is not mechanically inclined but mechanically declined learning about the ins and outs of MH's should be the first thing on the list. As I always told my first year students, "Even if you never again turn another wrench after you leave my program you should be at least familiar enough with the mechanical aspects of cars to ask the right questions so you don't get ripped off. "

Not a day goes by that I don't pick up another bit of information from these forums to make be a better informed MH owner. One aspect of MH's. They are a lot like owning a home. We have all had to perform repairs on our homes and many times we didn't know what to do so we just dove in and did it.

I believe most on these forums are either retired or close to it. I know we are all busy but studying about how these beasts operate should be on the list a lot of the time. I'm still learning and I stopped teaching car repair 8 years ago.

I believe there are MH repair video's somewhere out in the vapors but i don't know where they are.

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Old 05-16-2014, 03:35 PM   #7
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Agree TeJay. If you are not mechanically inclined you are going to get stuck and spend a lot. I think most people buy these things and because they are so expensive they expect them to be perfect. After all, you don't buy a 100k plus Luxury car and have the doors not open, or have the roof leak, etc. However, that is common with RVs. To be honest, I think it's harder than maintaining a home. You not only have to maintain the house side, but also the frame/engine side. It could be overwhelming to some folk.
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Old 05-16-2014, 04:20 PM   #8
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Did you call Thor and ask them to authorize a service center or mobile tech in your area? Some manufacturers are very good a realizing you can't just pick up and drive 400 miles to get to one of there preferred centers.
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Old 05-16-2014, 04:52 PM   #9
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I've never heard that expression and am lucky enough to have never had a mechanical failure disrupt our travel plans to any great degree.

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Old 05-16-2014, 05:01 PM   #10
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A slide on our new Challenger jammed 2 days out and 400 miles from the dealer. I called Thor Tech Support at 8pm MST and the technician I spoke to talked me through checking a couple of things then offered to dispatch a mobile technician the next morning. In the end we elected to drive to the closest dealer, about 100 miles. Thor called ahead to the dealer, preauthorised the warranty repair and made sure we had a priority appointment at the service shop. It turned out the problem was nothing more than a screw that had backed out and jammed the mechanism. Altogether I was very happy with the experience.
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Old 05-16-2014, 05:02 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RickO View Post
I've never heard that expression and am lucky enough to have never had a mechanical failure disrupt our travel plans to any great degree.

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Old 05-16-2014, 05:09 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bdickson View Post
A slide on our new Challenger jammed 2 days out and 400 miles from the dealer. I called Thor Tech Support at 8pm MST and the technician I spoke to talked me through checking a couple of things then offered to dispatch a mobile technician the next morning. In the end we elected to drive to the closest dealer, about 100 miles. Thor called ahead to the dealer, preauthorised the warranty repair and made sure we had a priority appointment at the service shop. It turned out the problem was nothing more than a screw that had backed out and jammed the mechanism. Altogether I was very happy with the experience.
That's great to hear. I hope Forrest River does the same when we need a life line.
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Old 05-16-2014, 06:01 PM   #13
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We've been working with Thor to hopefully expedite matters. Problem is that we need parts and the last time we were waiting for parts to this location it took well over a month. Not sure why it took so long last time but it wasn't a big deal for us because we weren't going anywhere. This time it is a big deal so I've been calling and emailing Thor and visiting, calling Camping World trying to get things done as quickly as possible.

I've been working on my education to fix things myself and have done a few things on my own but when it requires parts or it's something I'm not yet comfortable with then warranty to the rescue.

To those who have never had any troubles, get out of this thread , bad enough I have to put up with these problems and now I have to know that not everybody is plagued with problems . Why not just rub salt in my wound. (by the way, I'm just kidding, you can stay )
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Old 05-16-2014, 06:44 PM   #14
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When we bought our "new" to us motorhome I told a friend about it. His reply was I had one once, I could lay in bed at night and hear things go wrong with it. This will be our second summer with it and thus far the only thing that has slowed us down was the power valve in the carb. Just got the new kit today to prevent it blowing out again.
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