Community Forums

wogden · 09-05-2013, 12:43 PM

Anyone with a new Thor coach might want to check their mud flaps. Mine on our new 24C Chateau have burned up on the rear tires. NO restraints installed so the wind pushes them onto the tires until they vanish. Could this be a fire hazard next to the propane tank?

swampdog2 · 09-07-2013, 05:02 AM

I just bought a 2014 24c and had to redesign half the stuff on it ,and that is something i will look at today ,only put 500 miles so far.wonder if I made a mistake here.

wogden · 09-08-2013, 05:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by swampdog

I just bought a 2014 24c and had to redesign half the stuff on it ,and that is something i will look at today ,only put 500 miles so far.wonder if I made a mistake here.

I saw your post over on the Chassis section regarding your "trip home" with the new rig. Don't know if you have followed that thread or not but I can tell you that I am not impressed with the QC at Thor. It has been a couple of weeks of great aggravation trying to get things fixed on ours regarding the vibration issue to name one!
Apparently, Mor Ryde stretches these frames for Thor and it appears that they just add a longer front jack shaft to the drive line and may not have the entire unit rebalanced. My drive line company found the front shaft out of balance and even after balancing it then had to balance the entire unit as it should have been done originally. Perhaps that is why the MorRyde engineer told me he was 99.9 % sure that it was a balance issue with the drive line!
However, even after rebalancing and replacing the worn out center bearing (after 2600 miles) we still had a vibration. I added a 1/4 inch spacer to the center bearing and it has fixed the problem.Now I am trying to see how I am to be reimbursed for these repair fees that are near $500. And that does not include the front end alignment fees to correct the off center steering and that pull to the right.
Other issues you may wish to look at might be the underside of the coach. I have spent an hour under the RV just tying up loose cables that are flopping in the wind or hanging to low approaching the scrub line area. My water pipes hammer terribly when using the internal water pump. Have tried to silence them but it appears they are rattling under the bed so I will now have to remove the bed platform to get at them as they turn the corner to the shower.
Overall, we are still happy with the unit and the quality of the construction as compared to the FR unit we drove for 6 years with a GM drive train. Still have some adjustments to go through with the Ford V10 and the performance therein. Perhaps it is a learning curve, I hope.

Nick 222 · 12-22-2013, 11:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wogden

Anyone with a new Thor coach might want to check their mud flaps. Mine on our new 24C Chateau have burned up on the rear tires. NO restraints installed so the wind pushes them onto the tires until they vanish. Could this be a fire hazard next to the propane tank?

Your picture is essentially identical to how mine looks, after driving the rig only 3,000 miles (bought it in September). I don't know about the fire hazard. And I don't understand why they put the mud flaps in front (!) of the rear tires. I'm contacting Thor to get the mud flaps fixed on warranty. What they've done is idiotic!

Oh, and while I'm at it: how was the quality assurance on your bathroom door? The hinge on mine goes from about ⅜" from the edge at the top to about ⅝" at the bottom. As a result, the bathroom door keeps swinging open while I'm driving and then bangs back and forth until I stop and close it again -- only to start the game over again the next time I hit a bump. I've put on some velcro to hold the door open, but this another warranty item soon to be fixed -- at their expense!

HURRICANEBOB · 12-22-2013, 03:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wogden

anyone with a new thor coach might want to check their mud flaps. Mine on our new 24c chateau have burned up on the rear tires. No restraints installed so the wind pushes them onto the tires until they vanish. Could this be a fire hazard next to the propane tank?

exactly like mine, [moderator edit]

OutAround · 12-22-2013, 11:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wogden

Anyone with a new Thor coach might want to check their mud flaps. Mine on our new 24C Chateau have burned up on the rear tires. NO restraints installed so the wind pushes them onto the tires until they vanish. Could this be a fire hazard next to the propane tank?

Not a fire hazard. Propane tanks are darn near bulletproof. They are safer than a gas tank. No worries about fire...not even close.

CampDaven · 12-23-2013, 12:05 PM

Mud flaps are a chassis issue, not directly a Thor issue. Perhaps bring it to the attention of Thor so they can alert the chassis supplier.

Nick 222 · 12-23-2013, 02:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CampDaven

Mud flaps are a chassis issue, not directly a Thor issue. Perhaps bring it to the attention of Thor so they can alert the chassis supplier.

That sounds reasonable for mud flaps behind the rear tires, but the ones "chewed up" are in front of the rear tires and are attached, not to the chassis, but to the motorhome. Therefore, I expect Thor did it - and mounted them with only about 1" clearance from the tires!

wogden · 12-24-2013, 04:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nick 222

Your picture is essentially identical to how mine looks, after driving the rig only 3,000 miles (bought it in September). I don't know about the fire hazard. And I don't understand why they put the mud flaps in front (!) of the rear tires. I'm contacting Thor to get the mud flaps fixed on warranty. What they've done is idiotic!

Oh, and while I'm at it: how was the quality assurance on your bathroom door? The hinge on mine goes from about ⅜" from the edge at the top to about ⅝" at the bottom. As a result, the bathroom door keeps swinging open while I'm driving and then bangs back and forth until I stop and close it again -- only to start the game over again the next time I hit a bump. I've put on some velcro to hold the door open, but this another warranty item soon to be fixed -- at their expense!

Well, I wondered if anyone else had a bathroom door issue. Ours pops open on occasion as well. The gap is really large between the door and the frame at the latch and the latch is only catching by about a 1/8 inch. Just plain old QC issues at the factory in my opinion.

wogden · 12-24-2013, 04:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CampDaven

Mud flaps are a chassis issue, not directly a Thor issue. Perhaps bring it to the attention of Thor so they can alert the chassis supplier.

For the record a pic and explanation was sent on to Thor immediately to alert them of this and my only response was "just take it to a dealer for repair". They did not seem to be greatly concerned.

The local dealer here is over 50 miles away and it takes months to get an apt so I bought NAPA mud flaps and cut them to size, installed same with light restraint chains to keep them in position. End of problem.

mahotz · 01-12-2014, 07:40 AM

Hey wogden, I was wondering if you had any luck removing the bed platform to get access to the rattling water pipes? I have the same issue in my rig, a Citation 24SA which I suspect has a similar build just on a different chassis. I put flex lines between the pump and the PEX which helped, but I haven't been able to figure out how to lift the bed platform, so any tips you or anyone can share would be awesome!

I also had the same issue with the mud flaps in front of the rear tires, and I ended up just taking them off. And I too must agree that the QC at Thor is terrible! I've fixed so many things that were done sloppily or just plain wrong at the factory I've lost count!

Another thing to check is the wire for your backup camera. I was driving down the road a few weeks ago and heard a crazy racket, and lost the camera picture. Pulled over and crawled under to see the wire must have been sagging, and eventually dropped into the drive shaft and a big piece was chewed out of it. Fortunately, Thor had stuffed a bunch of extra wire under the dash, so I was able to pull enough slack thru and splice it together, and then I tied it up well away from the driveshaft.

wogden · 01-13-2014, 03:56 AM

Mahotz, I spent nearly two hours under my new coach retying and fixing issues with cables etc that were just poorly draped around and thru thngs underneath. It would have been a disaster to let them hang there looking for a way to snag on something for sure. My camera was installed at the dealer and the cable is out of the way and was one of the ones I checked myself when I got home with the rig.
My rear corner bed has a split platform. The right side of which is screwed to the deck. 6 screws and it will come right off exposing the tank and the hoses to the rear and front and to the bathroom. Good thing I looked in there as there was a 2 inch hole wide open to the bottom of the coach and the outside weather.
I am scheduled to take the RV down to the dealer tomorrow to get all the things looked at that have plagued this RV since I have owned it. Had to wait 2 1/2 months to get an appt. there which caused us to cancel our trip to FL this winter. Just adds to the frustration with this new RV!
Have you had any vibration issues with the drive train as a result of the frame being stretched and the drive shaft being altered?
Walt

mahotz · 01-13-2014, 08:57 AM

Hey wogden, thanks for the info!

I haven't noticed any vibration in the drive train. I was just reading the manufacturer specs for the unfinished Sprinter chassis they use as the platform for the Citation. The wheelbase measurement on the mfgr spec sheet is the same as listed in the Thor specs for my model. So that makes me think the frame was the right length from the factory, and didn't have to be stretched. Counting my lucky stars on that one, as the nightmare you went thru with yours does not sound fun!

I'll have to take another look at my bed platform, especially now that I know you found a huge hole to the outside under yours! I didn't see any screws holding it when I originally looked, although it was only a quick glance. Given all the stuff under there that will need attention/repair one day, I can't believe they wouldn't provide some way to get access.

Good luck with your dealer appointment. Hope they're able to get everything fixed up for you!

collinsmo · 05-23-2014, 06:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wogden

Anyone with a new Thor coach might want to check their mud flaps. Mine on our new 24C Chateau have burned up on the rear tires. NO restraints installed so the wind pushes them onto the tires until they vanish. Could this be a fire hazard next to the propane tank?

My flap looks exactly like yours. Drove over 6000 miles with no problem with flap. However, when Michelin recalled our tires and dealer put on replacement tires, after approx 400 miles of driving, the flap was chewed up just like your pic shows. Dealer insists his tire replacement work had nothing to do with the flap but our inside rear tire was toally flat with large hole in interior side wall after 800 miles and had to pay for a replacement tire from Michelin!