Community Forums

Agaveguy · 05-08-2016, 07:22 PM

Hello all, I wanted to share my ownership experience for our Tuscany 40EX after the first year of ownership. I DID NOT buy the rv new, it had 15k on the odometer when we took delivery of it, I have contacted Thor and they told me only a few warranty claims had been made on the unit, nothing major anyways.

I'm not bashing my dealer here at all, just offering a glimpse of what I have experienced with my RV.

What has gone wrong:

The selling dealer had failed to change both of the fuel filters during service, causing a severe loss of power on our first trip with it. Freightliner changed the filters for us for FREE and installed an updated calibration for the transmission ecu.

The rear ac will reach the target temp much too soon. The dealer replaced the entire ac unit but the issue is still there. It needs the temp sensor relocated. I can do that when time allows.

The dealer broke a floor tile by accident. After replacing the tile, they used the wrong color grout. I have fixed this myself just recently, I used sanded latex caulking after digging the wrong color out of the joint. It looks good.

I complained about the rear electric toilet operation and how it didn't flush as good as the front toilet so they replaced the water pump thinking it had low pressure, the new pump failed as soon as I got the rv home. They sent a tech to the house and replaced with another new one which got the water working but the toilet still does not flush right.

The outside tv had a line through the screen, the dealer replaced it with a different brand saying the 32" Sony was not available anymore?? The tech buggered up the paint and nice seal around the frame when he replaced it. The dealer body shop did a so-so job at fixing it, now caulking is squeezing out of the bottom of the frame. No big deal really if cleaned up. Oh and the external speakers for the outside tv were not hooked back up, the tech said the different brand they used did not have any provision to use them.

I could probably solve this dilemma myself when I get around to it.

There was a bad whistling noise from the cowl area at highway speeds. I determined it was air rushing through the hood opening. I solved the problem with some foam tape and a little ingenuity.

The left latch for the hood opening barely grabbed the edge when locked. I TIG welded a small piece of metal to the latch to act as an extension. It works wonderfully now.

The independent chairs for the dinette have some upholstery that is coming loose and the finish on the wooden frames is not very durable.

The dealer installed 4 new 6v coach batteries when I took delivery 1 year ago. They will not maintain anything above 12v for more than an hour or running the inverter for the refrigerator.

The kitchen slide is finicky at times although it has always closed. I am not sure if mine has the high ratio motors or not.

The floor under the refrigerator has fatigued a bit and allowed the front of the frige to fall down an inch or so. A Thor engineer said it needs a roller underneath and is really easy to put one in once the frige is out.

The washing machine has a kink in the hot water supply hose. I will have to fix this myself. I will not allow a dealer tech to remove the unit for access. I am scared he would do more harm than good.

So now that we have used it a good amount, here is what we don't like about it:

360/800 is borderline for a 40' DP if you are towing 5k.

The kitchen does not have enough cabinet space, and is not layed out very well.

4 6v coach batteries are not enough to run a residential refrigerator for any length of time without the voltage dropping off.

The Minimax satellite does not work well at all when moving.

The Jensen radio and speakers are absolutely terrible, the rear camera is marginally so-so. The B+W Sony on our older Itasca was worlds better.

The shower enclosure door does not open and close well, it seems to be installed with a little tweek in the frame.

A few squeeks and rattles here and there

Registration is $3500

What we do like:

The full body paint finish is very good.

The full wall slide opens it up really big.

The big TV in front of the couch is nice.

The king size bed.

The storage underneath is massive.

It drives very nice and is quiet. Bad roads do give you a jarring ride though.

Overall we are happy with it. Some of the bugs that have presented themselves are not the fault of THOR at all. I have been tinkering with it now and then doing little repairs. Just like any RV owner would need to do. Sometimes it is just easier to make repairs yourself than to take it back to the dealer.

I have an extended warranty that covers a good portion of the rig, I'm sure in the next 4 years I will get my monies worth out of it. haha

I look at what is on the market once in a while and from what I have seen there has not been a better rv for sale than what we bought, for the money.

So with all that said, I want to present this thought: I know the Thor Tuscany line is not necessarily the finest on the road, but if you look at value for the money, the unit we bought is hard to beat. If we had to do it again, we would get a 42 or 45 with a tag and more power...

Please post your comments as I am very curious to hear them, even lowejug is encouraged to respond.

Harry B · 05-09-2016, 06:27 PM

Doesn't sound terribly bad. About on par what I have run into. You get the problems behind you and it will stabilize, however some issues will continue to pop up to keep us from getting bored. It seems when they get to about 10 years old the number of problems start increasing again

V3600 · 05-09-2016, 07:27 PM

Thanks for the heads-up. I can cross the Tuscany off of my list.

Agaveguy · 05-10-2016, 12:00 AM

A lot of the items that I have had some trouble with are components that Thor does not make and are common to most of the coaches in the middle of the price range.

Some of the items were directly related to a dealer that wasn't exactly up to par.

I didn't post this to try and sway people away from a Tuscany. The only gripe I have right now is the floor under the refrigerator that has sunk down. It is part of the kitchen slide and is constructed from what looks like 1 x 1 steel with a sheet of plywood or something on top. It sags under the load of the frige. The brace at the top keeps it from falling more. It just needs a roller underneath to carry some of the weight. I will post some pics and of the repair when I get to it.

I cannot think of anyone I know who has an RV that hasn't had a laundry list of things wrong with it. We camped next to a nice fellow in Williams Arizona who had a '15 Phaeton, he was on his first trip with it and a long ways from home, he had no hot water or heat and the breaker for the kitchen outlets would trip on it's own. Ain't none of them perfect. I think you should pick a color and floorplan you like and roll with it.

I would have much rather bought a Mountain Aire but I don't have that kind of cash flow.

bigben · 05-10-2016, 06:18 AM

Spot on about "stuff" needing to be fixed. The real difference is the quality of the repair service. Unless you got a bucket of money (and then I am not positive) you are gonna have repairs. I've bought several new homes and I've always had "stuff" go wrong. Now move that house down the road at 65 MPH for 7 months per year - "stuff" comes loose.

We have lots of friends that watch our adventures with our family and they always say "wow - we want to do that!!!". Our advise is always the same - our traveling has become an essential part of our family. Lots of time with family, lots of time for us alone and we most enjoy sharing our love of this country with them all. BUT - be prepared to handle things that go wrong. Either gotta pay to have it done or do it yourself.

For Example: We actually had the drivers side window shatter running down the road at 70 MPH on I90 in Wyoming. Couldn't stop on the interstate so I pushed the screen slider forward over the broken window. Stopped at the next pull off, removed most of the broken glass from the frame and broken pieces on the floor and put some duct tape over the frame to keep broken pieces in the frame from flying out. Got into Cody, rigged up 1/4" plexiglass and continued on our trip. We were about 2,000 miles into our 7,500 mile summer trip with our grandkids.

I use this example because we had a choice: 1. Set and worry about the problem or 2. Rig something up and drive on.

We continued on with the fix in place for another 2 months and a wonderful time.

So - don't scratch any particular unit off your list because of issues. As advised, find the color and floor plan you like and go for it. "Stuff" will happen - guarantee "stuff" happens it is how you handle it that makes the difference.

Real morale to the story - enjoy the journey in you coach. We sure do.

Martinichuck · 05-10-2016, 06:53 AM

Likewise we also own a 13 Tuscany EX. We had our share of laundry list repairs also. I won't bore those following with all that went wrong but the first year was unbelievable. 6 of the 12 months it was in the shop for repairs. Most of that time though I blame on the dealer for their lack of follow up. Quality issues I firmly place at the feet of Thor though. Why they can't spend a little more time going over the units to ensure the visible issues are resolved before it is shipped to dealers I will never understand. Like the old saying " time is money" I guess to them.

We are now coming up on our 4th year of ownership 2nd year of full time and yes things have quieted down. Still issues but much fewer and reasonably simple to resolve so far.

I also know others with rigs that are north of $500k and they too have issues. So I think the issues are wide spread. That must be why RVs never come with more than a one year warranty.

lowejug · 05-10-2016, 04:56 PM

Hey agavguy Lowe jug. Here. We did kinda bicker a bit about Tuscany model 2013. I read your post and then u said
Me to respond. I thought that was weird. Then now I remember the thread we were in... It's all good. You already know my thoughts about Thor and Tuscany. If you want a refresher. Run forest run ✌

HarleyOutlaw · 05-11-2016, 06:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by V3600

Thanks for the heads-up. I can cross the Tuscany off of my list.

vmelroe · 05-12-2016, 02:25 PM

Did you ever get the rear toilet to flush right I have the same problem. I pulled the toilet out from the wall it worked fine I put it back and it dose the same thing. I have e-mail the toilet mfg they said to call them and they can help with the problem have not had time to call them.

Agaveguy · 05-12-2016, 10:06 PM

I have not messed with it to be honest. The shop foreman of the dealer I now take it too said that it was due to the length of the piping that connects it to the black tank, he guessed the shorter run to the tank didn't provide as much momentum for the water to draw the bowl empty. He said that a lot of the macerator toilets would not work exactly as designed and it was pretty common for the owners to complain about them, in all makes.

Mine flushes, but after the initial flush the water will gurgle back and forth in the bowl until the pump stops running. The toilet in the front bathroom does not do this at all. I have an excellent warranty when I get around to having it officially looked at.

I think I am going to slide the refrigerator out from the cabinet this weekend and see what size of roller I am going to need. The engineer from Thor I spoke with said that is only a 1 1/2 hour job at the most, 2 if you have never done one.

I really hadn't intended to discourage anyone from a Tuscany, ours really is a nice coach. But oh well, I'm done trying to defend the Tuscany line from those who just don't like them. We can still peacefully co-exist in the same CG.

Any other Tuscany owners want to share their troubles in the first year or so?

MartinC · 06-20-2016, 10:06 AM

Experiences in the first year? Well, we've had quite a few in the first few months of ownership of the 45 AT.

I would class these into two groups. 1) defects in build quality and 2) shortcomings in design. Before going into detail, I have to say that this coach is perfect for us in terms of its floor plan and drive-ability and we are still pleased with our choice.

Regarding build quality, the first serious problem became evident on our first night out on our snowbird journey to the south. It was raining at the campground and we soon became aware of a waterfall coming in across the windshield and flooding the dashboard. The following day we managed to get to an auto glass place where it was discovered that the glue that bonds the windshield to the front cap was completely missing across the top edge of the glass. First warranty fix.

In addition to that leak, we had water ingress through the long slide roof caused by an improperly fitted Eternabond seal. I patched that up with Gorilla tape.

We had many other issues during our winter trip like, for example, the back support of the microwave literally falling down requiring me to insert a prop to keep the unit in place and several weird electrical anomalies.

I took the coach back to Wakarusa to get a 25 item list of issues fixed and I am very pleased with the meticulous attention to detail they gave in sorting things out. Thanks, Steve and Todd.

During our return visit to pick the coach up, I took the opportunity to go on the factory tour. My impressions were not entirely favorable. It saddened me to see the line of four or five coaches undergoing final inspection with dozens and dozens of the little Post it Note like streamers attached by inspectors to identify faults to be fixed. OK, most on the outside related to paintwork (done by a sub-contractor) but there were many more on the inside of the coaches we looked over.

These vehicles should never have arrived at final inspection in this state. Our tour guide proclaimed that the factory shop floor staff worked on a piecework basis and I think that this must be behind a lot of the quality problems. Incentivising staff this way can only encourage them to pass problems down the line for someone else to fix. I asked the guide whether he thought putting staff onto an hourly rate basis would improve quality and he replied 'well piece work is the industry norm'.

Turning to my second gripe - shortcomings in design - I think most of it is down to penny pinching which I find amazing on a coach costing (msrp) over $400K.

One issue I had on the warranty repair list concerned the fancy new 10" screen Infotainment center. On the screen there is a place for showing outside temperature and, within the settings menu, there is the facility to chose deg F or deg C. My complaint was that no temp. figure appeared on the screen. I was told that temperature display was an optional extra which Thor had chosen not to provide. Words fail me! On a coach costing this much, Thor decide not to fit a feature which is standard on practically every auto on the market! I'm currently researching whether I can fit and wire up the optional temperature probe.

Another gripe concerns the bank of switches by the entry door, only two of which are illuminated. Our previous Tuscany had all switches illuminated, now at night one has to switch on the overhead lights to identify switch function. This was an item on my punch list, requesting all switches to be lit. This drew a response that the two switch only lit was 'per design'. I raised this at question time with Adam Gudger at the recent TDC rally and he said that that response was wrong - they should be all lit. Well, Adam, I've now been told by Thor Service that it was you who in fact authorised the 'only two switch lit' design. Thank you - I have met quite a few other Tuscany owners who have complained about this design deficiency.

Finally, another penny pinching item - also raised by a fellow RVer on the tour - why are there no towel rails in the bathrooms?

Harry B · 06-20-2016, 12:34 PM

I think you hit the nail on the head with everything you mentioned. The sad part is that Thor doesn't stand alone in this. I have owned 3 different mfg diesel coaches and ran into the same issues with all of them. I am at a loss as to how to get these mfg companies attention. I think is going to take some competition from abroad with a different mindset to change this lack of QC.