Hi friends and neighbors,One of the first coaches I saw was the 2014 Thor Tuscany 45LT and I must tell you I thought it was a humdinger! Yet I see that many on the forum have little good to say about the Thor line of coaches. It seems to me that this stems from one of possibly four 4 different reasons...1. My girlfriend had one and wouldn’t let me drive it?2. My girlfriend didn’t have one and I couldn’t drive it?3. My girlfriend wanted one and wasn’t sure she’d let me drive it?4. All of the above?Please place your number here ( )Now for those who refuse the numeric system of 4 choices, I have allotted additional white space below for reasons of "why oh why" does the Tuscany 45LT make you so Thor?Harry

Hey there is no 5... Come on Mr. Newman you know you want to play! :)

Well look everyone RV.NET has a TROLL >>>Foodsman<<<:R

Shirley you mean Troglodyte... And I’m sorry I called you Shirley.

I hit my thumb and its really Thor | Good Sam Community

60 Replies

Foodsman
Explorer
Jun 11, 2014
I'm happy to hear that the water is from seals etc. That's at least something that can be seen and maintenance. I thought maybe it was a serious frame issue associated with motorhomes which would be a bad structural failure.
93mastercraft
Explorer II
Jun 11, 2014
I think where Thor missed their mark is on Quality Control in regards to major structural areas such as the slide outs, roof, sidewalls and floor. These are all the basis for what a well built motor home should be. I also think Thor knowingly let those areas slide because they did go to the extra step to set the Palazzo "house" on a relatively good chassis. To this day there is no way I would have even considered a Palazzo without the Freighliner chassis and cummins engine combination. Thor had that card in their deck and played it well. But now, I am paying for it in spades.
RCtime
Explorer
Jun 11, 2014
Foodsman wrote:
Thanks guys,

BTW what do you mean by "battle against water intrusion for the house"? Is that to say the motorhome leaks water into the coach from rain?

Harry

Its a maintenence that you look after, same as taking care of your chassis.
For every opening in your roof, there is caulking., around your vents, air conditioner etc. When your up there washing it off, check it out. Its not a continuous thing, In 12 yrs of travels I have replaced my caulk around the front cap to roof seam twice. some vents a couple times and so on. None of them leaked, but showed some deterioration so I replaced the caulk BEFORE I had a problem.
Daveinet
Explorer
Jun 10, 2014
Very often yes. The seams where the fiberglass is joined are prone to leakage because of the constant shifting/twisting of the coach as it goes down the road. Your better DPs are a little less prone, as they often have a stiffer frame. Then there are rounded designs which distribute the stress over a large area and never leak. That is what I have, and its 30 years old. While things like marker lights and vent covers still deteriorate, the seams never leak on mine.
Foodsman
Explorer
Jun 10, 2014
Thanks guys,

BTW what do you mean by "battle against water intrusion for the house"? Is that to say the motorhome leaks water into the coach from rain?

Harry
RCtime
Explorer
Jun 10, 2014
Even the gas chassis coaches will easily give you the 15 years these days. You just pretty much have to fight the non stop battle against water intrusion for the house and get the odd malfunction repaired that pops up here and there. (quote)

Well said. My 2002, 12 yr old Winnebago Journey purrs down the road as it did many years ago.
My biggest complaint is the outdated tvs., but that's technologies progress and fixable. Everything still works and functions as it should.
I expect it will go many years more based on its current condition.

The OP should not have to be dealing with these problems, I cant believe the frustration level he must be dealing with.
OhhWell
Explorer
Jun 10, 2014
Foodsman wrote:

It seems from what I've read and correct me if I'm wrong, that 10 to 15 years with proper maintenance is doable. Certainly the diesel and drivetrain are up to the challenge, its the coach itself that will show its wear & tear right?

Harry

Even the gas chassis coaches will easily give you the 15 years these days. You just pretty much have to fight the non stop battle against water intrusion for the house and get the odd malfunction repaired that pops up here and there.

Yeah, they are not an investment like paying off a house when you retire but you are paying for the lifestyle. If you paid for hotel rooms to travel all over like that, that is quite a bit less of an investment than a nice coach :B

If you can swing renting your house out while you travel, that is a great situation, especially if you pay a management company to worry about the tenants.
Laman
Explorer
Jun 09, 2014
My 16 year old American Eagle with 100K miles is still a solid fully functioning MH that I would not hesitate to jump in and head for Alaska tomorrow. Sure there have been some repairs but they have all been on "wear" items not the basics of the chassis or coach itself.

There are many 15 year old plus MH's that are on the road today. The key is start with good "bones" and maintain, maintain, maintain.
buchanan
Explorer
Jun 08, 2014
Foodsman wrote:
Hi Buchanan,

I didn't mean to imply the Thor for 15 years, I meant a motorhome period for 15 years!

no probs my post(opinion) was based on general research and owning a Tiffin bus noting to do with what your were saying
really in general its down right awefull the way RV in general are constructed. can any of us imagine if motor cars and trucks were build with same act of poor poor construction quality
Foodsman
Explorer
Jun 08, 2014
Hi Buchanan,

I didn't mean to imply the Thor for 15 years, I meant a motorhome period for 15 years!