Deteriorating Leather seats

[bonabob]

The only way this can be resolved in the customers favor (remember when the customer was always right) is for us to band together.....whether some of us are having this problem or not because someday one of us will have an issue with this irresponsible company, and go on a writing campaign to every RV forum, every RV publication and the RV associations that this manufacturer belongs. If enough speak out and we embarrass Thor, and begin to hurt them in the pocketbook, maybe they will come to their senses and do the right thing. I began by writing to the Highways publication, (Good Sam) Motor Home magazine, and other forums. I have a suspicion that the Good Sam or Motor Home magazine people will not support us because they are connected to Camping World who now sells a lot of Thor products. So lets embarrass Camping World. If enough people know what is going on, Thor will stop it for the sake of their own bottom line. Let us use this forum to keep us all advised what we are doing to take this movement forward.

[mavric65]

Well after 4 years of use and i said in a earlier post i had no problems with my seats well i just got back from this weekend trip and noticed they are starting to peel well this sucks i will wait as long as possible then have them recovered this time with material not fake or real leather

[bonabob]

Ok, Good Sam Club's Action Line is sending our complaints about this situation to Thor. Maybe if all of us get together and each of us write our experiences with Action Line, we may get better results. The truth and the power of many can really make a difference.
Contact Stacey Allen email: IS6392_49927@is.instantservice.com That is the Good Sam Club Action Line. Let her know your experience and how Thor does not stand behind its products, but merely hides behind its warranty.
We can do this.
Bob

[stevieptcb]

I have sent an email to Stacey. Let's hope this will get some action.

[billyb]

i was just wondering if this is only happening in damon units.

[bonabob]

I heard from others with Mandalay's and other units in the Damon Family that were manufactured in 2007 - 2009 using what they called Faux Leather, having the same problem. Flexsteel uses Ultra Leather which turns out to be a pretty good product. Damon wanted to save some money and did not use Flexsteel's material and supplied their own, thus the Faux Leather. After the defect was discovered, Damon/Thor went back to the material supplied by Flexsteel, Ultra leather and the problem stopped. However they just let all of us with the defective material out in the cold and seem to be getting away with it until now. The main theme behind this is not just the problem with the material, but how a company addresses its customers when a known defect created by them is discovered. What if we learn down the road their are defects in our appliances, or slideouts or other things that are not addressed by the safety laws which they must comply. Are they going to sweep that too under the carpet or are they going to be a stand up company and correct their mistakes. It doesn't look like the later. Therefore anyone considering purchasing anything from the Thor family should look at this forum and see what their future may become.

[bonabob]

I just received a letter from Thor. They apologize for any inconvenience, however because I am out of warranty, there is nothing they can do. What a surprise. It looks like this motor home company can get away with murder because by law, they are legally in their right to deny. However, they are morally bankrupt and the word will get out and may cause them to become financially bankrupt. For those of us who experienced this problem, do not take it on the chin. Get the word out so anyone considering purchasing anything form this morally bankrupt company becomes aware of what might happen to them. I am convinced that Damon was aware of the problem, but continued to sell units with this defective material, hoping to win by warranty expiration. That is why they sent me the exact same defective material. I will continue to write in every forum, every magazine and answer anyone who has questions about the integrity of Thor. Companies like this give corporate America a black eye, however it is good to know there are many corporations building RV's right here in the USA that are reputable and care more about their reputation than the bottom line. Unfortunately, Thor is not one of them.

[Jon Mopar]

I have long said that if you buy a new motorhome, buy it because you love it...not because of the warranty. Motorhome warranties make us car guys laugh.....they're kind of joke. It does suck spending big bucks and getting these problems though, but this is a fairly easy fix luckily if you have an upholstery shop near by

[gasser 38]

I just sent her an email as well

[bonabob]

Ok, it looks like Damon/Thor has the upper hand. Just think about it. If Damon did not supply its own material, none of us would be having this problem. Just read these posts and see what the rep from Ultra Leather said. They heard their product was under scrutiny and immediately posted and were willing to stand behind their product. Unlike Damon, who comes under scrutiny and chooses to hide. I know that some get real emotional with their rigs. Damon counts on that so they avoid criticism. Nobody wants to regret their purchase after spending $100,000.00 to $200,000.00. They just want to get it fixed and back on the road. Most problems all of us experienced are fixable and expected with so many accessories incorporated in our motorhomes. However, when we run into a problem that was caused by the manufacturer and they are unwilling to correct it and we have no other recourse except correct the problem with our own resources, we must call them out on it. Damon/Thor caused the problem by supplying an inferior material which caused Flexsteel, the maker of the furniture to not stand behind it. Technically Damon/Thor may have won, but morally, they are corrupt. No matter how much we are emotionally connected to our rigs, we must call Damon/Thor out on this and encourage them to correct it. If I knew that Damon/Thor acted like this before I purchased my rig, I would not have let myself get emotionally involved with it and I think most owners feel this way. Unfortunately the damage was done later and we are stuck with a really bad situation. Most of us will recover with new good quality material at our own expense, but it is our responsibility to make all future buyers of Damon/Thor products aware of their corporate bad behavior. Good luck to all who experienced this situation. I covered my seats with Camping World seat covers and the couches are covered with sofa pads. That great look that attracted us to these rigs is long gone and I will not forget how a corporation like Damon/Thor got away with it. When it is time to sell or trade in my rig, I'll have the skins that Damon/Thor provided installed, however because they are made of the same defective material, chances are that they will deteriorate while in storage. I'll just toss it up as a lesson learned and buyer beware.

[Pablo77]

Add me to the list of unhappy owners. I'm having the same problem as others. It would be great if Thor would step to the plate and help us dissatisfied customers.

Pablo
'08 Presidio 42B

[G.G.]

We are having the same problem with our two captain chairs. We rarely sit on the sofa, so for now, it looks okay. We've only had our coach since March of this year. The seats were fine until just recently. Once they started to deteriorate, it seemed like they went into warp speed. One day fine...the next day awful and getting worse. I'm not going to hold my breath for anything to be done, but be sure Thor isn't even on the long list when we decide to change rigs.

[bonabob]

I stopped at an RV dealer in Nakomis, Fl, RV World. They had a new 2011 Coachmen diesel pusher with bunk beds that was similar to our Damon. I was impressed with the layout, but kind of liked our Damon 376 with bunks more. The first thing I noticed was the leather captain chairs and leather couches. I got into a discussion with the salesman about the leather material used on this coach and never mentioned anything about my Damon coach. He explained how most coaches do not use conventional leather, but use bonded or some other synthetic type leather which is proving to be better than the old style conventional leather. He said that it lasts longer, no cracking and keeps it looking new for a very long time. The Coachmen we were in has ultra leather, he explained, which has proven to be of high quality and good service.....Before I could get the words out, he said, stay away from the Damon/Thor products because they used a faux leather that is not even close to the new leathers most other coach manufacturers are using and that faux leather begins peeling off in a short period of time.
Wow, the word is out to all the sales people about Damon/Thor rotting leather fabric. The only way Damon/Thor will resolve our problem is by embarrassment. I will be sending a note to Thor and let them know that most salespeople at RV dealerships are very well aware of their rotting leather and steering people away from their products.
If we all do it, maybe something will give, but I think it will take a spot on the national level to get them to respond in a positive way.

[JLE Seminole]

We have a 2007 Damon Tuscany. In March our chairs started to deteriorate. Didn't use the coach for a couple of months and took it out this last week. Sat down on the captain's chair and the material (on both chairs) just started falling off - looks like a dog with mange. In the span of a couple of hours of sitting in the chairs this trip dozens and dozens of spots on the chair came off - virtually all of the material on the arms where your hips / legs might rub against the side of the chair. These chairs haven't been sat in for 25 hours total since we bought the coach. This is TERRIBLE performance and I am very disappointed!


JLE - Seminole, FL
2007 Damon Tuscany - 4076