Not to Happy with Thor or Ford

[marcdohc]

Not to Happy with Thor or Ford
Back in May of 2016 Thor sent a driver to my home in Mashpee, Massachusetts to drive the 2016 Challenger 37KT back to Indiana because the repairs needed were too much for CW in Berkley, Mass.
After repairs we're done we flew out to Indiana and drove the rig home. Some of the issues were the hydraulic system would come on in the middle of driving down the highway at speed. The windshield wipers would get tangled up. Problems with the heat. Various leaks in Windows, showers and sinks. It was another half a dozen things that I can't remember.
The main thing is that the coach drove down the road crooked. There's a few phrases for this issue, crabbing or some call it dog walking. This usually occurs after an accident, it's a giveaway that the frame is not square or the rear axle is not perpendicular to the frame.
When Thor had it last year in Indiana they sent the rig to Ford, Ford sent the rig to a company called Quality Automotive to fix the crabbing issue. The problem is due to the rear axle not being perpendicular to the frame. When the fix was being done I tried to find out the approach they were taking, Unfortunately they would not tell me. They did not eliminate the crabbing although they did get it much better.

Well, this January I noticed the handling had gotten very sloppy. I had a friend drive and I got behind the rig and could see that the crabbing had gotten just as bad if not worse than it used to be and that the coach had a lot of swaying in the rear. I called the Thor and told them about it. Knowing the issue was serious Thor sent a so-called expert to fly out the Massachusetts to check it out. He drove behind me and then he drove the unit. I asked him what he thought and his words were and I quote "It's Crooked"
Thor had me bring it to a local truck repair shop in Mass. They discovered that the leaf springs had been twisted to compensate for the crabbing and a had bent the shackles and blown out the bushings. This damage was the result of the technique that Quality Automotive used to try to make the axle perpendicular to the frame. They simply loosen the bolts Twisted the axle and then tighten the bolts putting more torque then the bushings and metal shackles could take.
Thor did pay to have this fixed, but not before they blamed the damage on me. I installed a super steer track bar to help eliminate the absurd amount of rear sway the coach had and they tried to say the damage was caused by the trac bar. The mechanic told me there was no stress on the bar this problem was created by the technique that was used to adjust the axle. Thor decided to add a leaf spring on each side two help stiffen up the sloppy handling.
Unfortunately now the ride is ridiculous, the rear end is two inches higher than the front end in this a ridiculous amount of body roll and sway now that the center of gravity is even higher. Thor has refused to pay the money to fix this problem that they've created.
Not only do I still have the crabbing problem, I now have a RV that every time I want to set it up I have to lift the front wheels off the ground to inches just to get her level. My wife refuses to drive in it because she doesn't feel confident in the drive as well as it makes her sick from all the body roll.
Thor says it's a Ford problem, Ford says it's an altered chassis. Dealing with Thor has been frustrating and unrewarding.
I consider this the worst purchase of my life. I read a lot of bad reviews about Thor, I decided that there probably were many happy people that never left reviews.
Marc DeNardo

[Bruce_Brown]

RVER wrote:
Thor seems to have LOTS of complaints against them, Camping World seems to ONLY sell Thor for new rigs and many other used rigs. This problem seems very serious!! Get help, legal help!

I'm not sure I'm following what you're saying.

Are you saying they'll only sell Thors when they're new but won't sell a used one?

Either way, Camping World sells a lot more brands than Thor, both new and used.

[Tgator1]

Thanks for posting your experience. I have heard and read many complaints about Thor RVs. I have not had good service from Good Sam /Camping World. I won't spend my money on any of their products or services. I'm hoping you have success on this matter.

[RVER]

Thor seems to have LOTS of complaints against them, Camping World seems to ONLY sell Thor for new rigs and many other used rigs. This problem seems very serious!! Get help, legal help!

[Bruce_Brown]

^^^ Workhorse is a long way from "basically went out of business", although they have gone in a completely different direction. They are out of the RV chassis business, for sure.

Some of the crabbing is chassis related, some is a house placement issue. For the number of Ford RV chassis on the road VS those who are crabbing gives me an idea of who maybe does a better job on a consistent basis. :W

[wa8yxm]

Thor used to use a lot of Workhorse Custom Chassis manufactured chassis. These came with the no longer made Chevy 8.1L vortec, when GM stopped making the engine, Workhorse basically went out of business.. I have NO complaints about my Workhorse.

Page 2: Ford... Well the chassis, crabbing, and any engine issues you have belong to Ford.. All Ford.

The hydraulics... Not sure who did that but I'd blame THOR.. the only hudraulics on my rig are the jacks and they .... Well they are no longer OEM controlled and the controls I have are very "Solid" (I designed and assembled).

The wipers.. That's Thor. they should never "Get tangled up".

I do admit my wipers had a screw loose.. I let the shop fix it under warranty.

[Jarlaxle]

jplante4 wrote:
Marc - which local truck shop did you use? Southeast Truck Center in Sagamore has a good rep but they don't like to work on motor homes.

It's further away, but Minuteman Truck (Route 1 in Foxboro) can service anything...I have seen MH's in their lot, and know they also service shuttle buses.

[Jarlaxle]

dougrainer wrote:
I understand the OP's frustration. What I DON"T understand is why he has not involved his dealer in the process. Maybe he has, but your dealer(the one you gave thousands of dollar too) is the person to go to bat for you. HE should be getting Thor involved. He CANNOT deal with Ford, but Thor is the main component. THEY modified the chassis, and they are responsible for getting the chassis to meet spec. Thor(all OEM's) have a LOT of pull with chassis makers. Doug

At a guess, he DID: the reason it went to Thor was the dealer COULD NOT FIX IT!

[univmd]

Chainwright wrote:

Effy wrote:
Welcome to the forum.

You know you could always open up with "Hi, I am new here, I have such and such rig and have a questions/issues"

So what's he point of the post? Is this a slanderous first post, or do you need a shoulder to cry on?

Sorry I am a little leary of brand new members, first time posters who open up with guns blazing about a unit they bought over a year ago. Makes little sense, other than "my warranty is out now so I am going to make slanderous posts on various forums". Thinking maybe you could have joined here over a year ago when you first bought it. otherwise it's sort of troll-ish.



We just had one yesterday that got deleted.

And chassis issues are covered under Ford which carries a 3/36, not Thor.

Hmm. He has his character, you have yours and everyone has their's. Personally I'm sorry you got your feelings hurt because he didn't say "Hi" and introduce him self. I feel for the guy. The guy bought a lemon and is justifiably angry. His problem is not easily rectified as a matter of fact I don't think he'll ever rectify it unless most of it gets disassembled. It's like having a Crooked Spine, good luck getting that fixed. You're talking about a $175 Thousand dollars reduced to almost 10K (because who's going to buy it now??In some states, He would have to disclose a problem of this magnitude). Who in their right mind would not be Upset and come out with guns blazing after going through this for over a yr. I wish I had 175k to throw away and then calmly say:"Oh no big deal, I'll just buy another one." A little bit of Empathy, that's all.

Thank you to the OP for posting. You do not have to say hi. You are frustrated and we can all relate. It is terrible to know that this could have happened to any of us.

[Chainwright]

Effy wrote:
Welcome to the forum.

You know you could always open up with "Hi, I am new here, I have such and such rig and have a questions/issues"

So what's he point of the post? Is this a slanderous first post, or do you need a shoulder to cry on?

Sorry I am a little leary of brand new members, first time posters who open up with guns blazing about a unit they bought over a year ago. Makes little sense, other than "my warranty is out now so I am going to make slanderous posts on various forums". Thinking maybe you could have joined here over a year ago when you first bought it. otherwise it's sort of troll-ish.



We just had one yesterday that got deleted.

And chassis issues are covered under Ford which carries a 3/36, not Thor.

Hmm. He has his character, you have yours and everyone has their's. Personally I'm sorry you got your feelings hurt because he didn't say "Hi" and introduce him self. I feel for the guy. The guy bought a lemon and is justifiably angry. His problem is not easily rectified as a matter of fact I don't think he'll ever rectify it unless most of it gets disassembled. It's like having a Crooked Spine, good luck getting that fixed. You're talking about a $175 Thousand dollars reduced to almost 10K (because who's going to buy it now??In some states, He would have to disclose a problem of this magnitude). Who in their right mind would not be Upset and come out with guns blazing after going through this for over a yr. I wish I had 175k to throw away and then calmly say:"Oh no big deal, I'll just buy another one." A little bit of Empathy, that's all.

[Chainwright]

marcdohc wrote:
Your right, I apologize.
Hello all, my name is Marc DeNardo. I'm new here and just wanted to share my frustration and what it's been like too own my Rig. On one hand I have to fix this and the advice is needed. On the other hand I want everybody to know what it's been like with my wife and I since we purchased this motorhome.

You have nothing to apologize for. I feel your pain. God bless. take care.

[CA_Traveler]

My rear axle also cannot be adjusted for thrust angle alignment ie the axle is not perpendicular to the frame. The fix is to cut one side off of the frame and reweld.

[Chainwright]

marcdohc wrote:
Not to Happy with Thor or Ford
Back in May of 2016 Thor sent a driver to my home in Mashpee, Massachusetts to drive the 2016 Challenger 37KT back to Indiana because the repairs needed were too much for CW in Berkley, Mass.
After repairs we're done we flew out to Indiana and drove the rig home. Some of the issues were the hydraulic system would come on in the middle of driving down the highway at speed. The windshield wipers would get tangled up. Problems with the heat. Various leaks in Windows, showers and sinks. It was another half a dozen things that I can't remember.
The main thing is that the coach drove down the road crooked. There's a few phrases for this issue, crabbing or some call it dog walking. This usually occurs after an accident, it's a giveaway that the frame is not square or the rear axle is not perpendicular to the frame.
When Thor had it last year in Indiana they sent the rig to Ford, Ford sent the rig to a company called Quality Automotive to fix the crabbing issue. The problem is due to the rear axle not being perpendicular to the frame. When the fix was being done I tried to find out the approach they were taking, Unfortunately they would not tell me. They did not eliminate the crabbing although they did get it much better.

Well, this January I noticed the handling had gotten very sloppy. I had a friend drive and I got behind the rig and could see that the crabbing had gotten just as bad if not worse than it used to be and that the coach had a lot of swaying in the rear. I called the Thor and told them about it. Knowing the issue was serious Thor sent a so-called expert to fly out the Massachusetts to check it out. He drove behind me and then he drove the unit. I asked him what he thought and his words were and I quote "It's Crooked"
Thor had me bring it to a local truck repair shop in Mass. They discovered that the leaf springs had been twisted to compensate for the crabbing and a had bent the shackles and blown out the bushings. This damage was the result of the technique that Quality Automotive used to try to make the axle perpendicular to the frame. They simply loosen the bolts Twisted the axle and then tighten the bolts putting more torque then the bushings and metal shackles could take.
Thor did pay to have this fixed, but not before they blamed the damage on me. I installed a super steer track bar to help eliminate the absurd amount of rear sway the coach had and they tried to say the damage was caused by the trac bar. The mechanic told me there was no stress on the bar this problem was created by the technique that was used to adjust the axle. Thor decided to add a leaf spring on each side two help stiffen up the sloppy handling.
Unfortunately now the ride is ridiculous, the rear end is two inches higher than the front end in this a ridiculous amount of body roll and sway now that the center of gravity is even higher. Thor has refused to pay the money to fix this problem that they've created.
Not only do I still have the crabbing problem, I now have a RV that every time I want to set it up I have to lift the front wheels off the ground to inches just to get her level. My wife refuses to drive in it because she doesn't feel confident in the drive as well as it makes her sick from all the body roll.
Thor says it's a Ford problem, Ford says it's an altered chassis. Dealing with Thor has been frustrating and unrewarding.
I consider this the worst purchase of my life. I read a lot of bad reviews about Thor, I decided that there probably were many happy people that never left reviews.
Marc DeNardo

Wow. You seem to be a patient man. I'd be very very very Angry. Hell, I was getting all worked up while reading your post. I'd get a lawyer and Bring soooo many charges against them until they asked me to settle. I'd tell them Give me a Brand new chassis or a new rig, because After I'm done suing them I'd be able to buy 5 of those rigs.

[wildmanbaker]

Mark, its time to contact your state officials' about a "Lemon" recall. You will need a legal representative, but when you win, it will be paid for. get all your receipts/appointments in order and your rundown of what and when.
Good luck

[marcdohc]

To elaborate a little on why I brought up the rear cap being removed. I think they did it to SKU it towards the driver's side to give it the illusion that it's not crooked. I just don't see why else the cap would have been removed.
Marc DeNardo marcdohc