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Old 10-18-2016, 06:13 PM   #1
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Thor Chateau

We are looking at a 2016 Thor Chateaux 31w, class c. I'm curious to hear from anyone who has one if they think this is a good coach? Pros and cons of this coach? We have found one at a dealer and have to make up our minds shortly. Please help an RV virgin
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Old 10-18-2016, 06:56 PM   #2
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Look at something that does not have wood in the sidewalls !
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Old 10-19-2016, 01:29 PM   #3
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Look at something that does not have wood in the sidewalls !
What rv would you recommend- in the 30 foot range
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Old 10-23-2016, 08:09 PM   #4
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Chateau

We had the chateau 31E in our list of finalists. The 31W is a beautiful unit. Are you ok with the residential fridge (no propane operation)? Is single pane glass ok with you? In the end, we stumbled into the Winnie 31D and absolutely love it.
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Old 10-23-2016, 08:28 PM   #5
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Quote:
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Look at something that does not have wood in the sidewalls !
Wood in the walls?
The frame on all TMC motorhomes (B+ to the Class A DP's) is a welded metal frame with closed cell insulation vacuum/pressure/heat bonded into the walls and roof. See the build video here:
https://thormotorcoach.com/chateau/

There is Luan to skin the interior wall...like almost every other RV made.

The 31W is an incredible Class C with full wall slide. Just be sure to see it with the slide closed for use if/when you can't open the slide.

The Four Winds/Chateau model lines (duplicates) are the best selling Class C's in North America...they are doing something right

Best luck to the OP
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Old 10-24-2016, 01:19 PM   #6
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We had the chateau 31E in our list of finalists. The 31W is a beautiful unit. Are you ok with the residential fridge (no propane operation)? Is single pane glass ok with you? In the end, we stumbled into the Winnie 31D and absolutely love it.
I'm not sure about the fridge. Our propane will last longer, but it does seem like an energy hog. Nobody can tell me how long before I have to use the generator- I've heard anywhere from 12 hours to 3 days. Not sure why they switched from a propane/electric fridge found in most coaches
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Old 10-24-2016, 02:12 PM   #7
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Probably for a cost reason and a lot of the gas absorbsion refers tend to have problems
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Old 10-24-2016, 02:54 PM   #8
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I purchased a 2013 Fourwinds 31L in August of 2013 and for the first year was either taking the rig to the dealer or fixing it myself. So far all the paint covering the plastic backing strips started peeling off because the manufacturer didn't prepare the surface properly or the paint wasn't conducive to the plastic backing strip.I finally got the manufacture to cover the repair. By the time we drove the rig home from the dealer about 15 miles , we had several drawers opening and slamming shut as we went around a turn. The large pantry slammed open on the first trip spilling all the contents. The manufacturer nor the dealer had a fix. We have had to replace the 32inch tv and the radio because of poor wiring practices. The remote door locks would not work the day we got it and after taking the rig to a FORD dealer, we were informed that the door locks were not Ford. After 3 years of operation, we have finally make a trip without having to repair something. I will never purchase a rig from this manufacturer and I would never buy from this dealer.
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Old 04-29-2018, 11:20 AM   #9
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Thor best selling in America?

Can you send me links to back this up?

The Four Winds/Chateau model lines (duplicates) are the best selling Class C's in North America...they are doing something right
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Old 04-29-2018, 11:44 AM   #10
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Can you send me links to back this up?

The Four Winds/Chateau model lines (duplicates) are the best selling Class C's in North America...they are doing something right
Here ya' go
RVBusiness

2016 and 2017 reports break the two lines apart, but except for some colors an fabrics they are duplicates making FourWinds/Chateau the best selling Class C's by far.

And I find it interesting how many makers other than TMC group all their Class A's, B's and C's into one reporting entity. Very significant since some of TMC's model lines outsell other brand's entire Class offerings...like the A.C.E. (just one model line) sells more units than all Coachmen Class A's. And it is only beat by combining all model lines of Class A Winnebago, all 4 Tiffin Allego model lines, and all 3 FR Georgetown model lines. I submit, that's not very accurate measures.

Safe travels
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Old 04-29-2018, 08:45 PM   #11
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We have a 2017 Quantum that is a cousin of the Chateau. I had through that we got lucky with ours as it had two big things going for it as it was the first one built with the cabinets and TV instead of a bunk overhead, and it was in the initial order for a new dealer and was destined for a RV Show and this was noted in the coach. We walked into the show with the expectation of leaving as the owners of a new high end 5er T/H, but due a misstep by a salesman for Jamestown RV, by the end of the day, we had the Quantum. The fit and finish were nearly perfect. We spent a long time with Kevin Mullis from Thor while looking at it discussing the coach and Thor corporate, even though the Quantum isn't in his line. While walking through high$$ Class A's I actual found more fit/finish problems in some of them in 10 minutes that we have had in a year. We have had very few problems with ours. I had a great PDI at D&H RV Center in Apex / Cary, took it home, put it up, plugged it up and broke out a case and the manuals.
One year and 4,000 miles later here is the list;
Loose accent light on exterior of cap. Less than 1 hour repair at D&H.
Replaced flex hoses under kitchen counter with longer stainless braided hoses to prevent kinking during slide out operation, About $15 and 20 minutes.
Hydraulic leak at leveler pump. LCI sent a replacement hose, but ended up being an O-ring. I replaced all 4. $2.50 for O-rings, plus a can of Gunk and 1.5 hours.
Replaced fresh water drain valve with a ball valve for faster draining. $3.00 and 30 minutes
Then we scheduled a trip to the factory in Wakarusa. When we scheduled the trip, everything on the list was cosmetic, but one repair was something I really wanted done at the factory. There was a piece of flashing on the back wall that wasn't either formed correctly or was hit by something in transit.
Otherwise it was adjusting a few drawer slides, replacing the bathroom door for a finishing issue, and the slide had a little "bump" when extending.
Then before we got there, a piece of molding got damaged, the gas side of the water heater quit working, and water pump was making a noise.
When they started on it, they adjusted the drawer slides, added a 2 inch extension to the slide roller plates, replaced the molding, control board for the water heater, water pump, replaced the flashing and installed just as it was new, and also reinforced the large compartment bottom and covered with the same flooring as the coach and it actually looks better than it did new. The door that they went after for us wasn't right from the cabinet shop and they shipped it to me but I haven't had time to install it.
while I was there we also went on a factory tour and also spent time discussing a large range of subjects including QC and what I call "neat work", plus "incentive" to dealers to perform warranty work on Thor products more quickly. I saw coaches at the factory center that were pulled out for repairs before shipping and sent there rather than doing it at the plant.
What a lot of people do not take into consideration is that a coach is a small house sitting on an active earthquake fault line and repeatedly subjected to hurricanes. Then due to the complexity of the systems and the size of the house, systems are often times intertwined, and then some stuff (mainly plumbing) can't be tested before purchase. Stuff gonna happen, and the owners attitude is 75% of the ballgame.

People why aren't happy with something will jump onto every forum every time that they get a chance to bash something that they aren't happy with. People who are satisfied with something rarely do, and even those who are very happy rarely do. There are threads in the owners forums of more that are totally happy with their Thor products and will say so. Somebody will make a 10 minute video trashing a Thor product and get 100,000 hits. I can make a 10 minute video showing that everything on mine is great and wonderful and get 1,000. Human nature to spend more time watching pimple popping vids that one of a great coach.
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Old 04-30-2018, 05:58 AM   #12
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We looked at new also before purchasing settled with a used unit saves you thousands..
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Old 04-30-2018, 07:17 AM   #13
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What an incredibly thought out and informative post! Thank you so much! I am at the dealership right now hopefully driving out of here within the next couple of hours in my new (to me) 2016 Thor chateau!
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