I was an IDIOT for buying a Thor Palazzo!!!

G.Lewis wrote:
I am happy that some Thor owners are pleased with their units. I note that many take their units back to the factory for repair....mostly the slides. I know most new motorhomes require repairs, usually minor, but slide problems are a major part of a unit and taking it to the factory for repair should not be necessary. I really like the Thor floorplans and was dissappointed in their overall QC program and their selection of slide hardware.

Having the right dealership is a big plus for me. The techs at my local dealer are top notch and do stuff right. I have always heard buying from CW can get you a good deal but you don't want them serviced there. Hopefully the barrage of slide issues will force the hand and have them start using better mechanisms. No doubt contracts and money is involved.

I am happy that some Thor owners are pleased with their units. I note that many take their units back to the factory for repair....mostly the slides. I know most new motorhomes require repairs, usually minor, but slide problems are a major part of a unit and taking it to the factory for repair should not be necessary. I really like the Thor floorplans and was dissappointed in their overall QC program and their selection of slide hardware.

The Schwintek system is definitely the crux of the matter here. With the exception of a floor squeak in the Palazzo, I am pretty sure that all the other small issues can be fixed. If that were the case, I'd be happy and would not be posting here with my problems. However, I have zero confidence in the Schwintek issues getting fixed. Also, Just one replacement of these has created a domino effect of other issues which needs to be addressed by body work and paint. That is totally unacceptable.

93mastercraft wrote:

Effy wrote:

G.Lewis wrote:
I posted this before, but must say it again. I am sad to read of all of the problems you folks have and are having with your Thor products. I loved the Palazzo 33.1 floorplan and offered a large credit card downpayment to order our choice of colors, etc. The balance would be paid upon delivery. The CW said they preferred a cashiers check. I agreed and went back to my credit union to get one...a 100 mile round trip. It was late on Friday so I thought I would return on the following Monday.

I had read of some problems on a couple of RV web sites and over the weekend, I read many more horror stories....long story short....Monday I cancelled our discussion about buying a Thor. I am now shopping a 2014 Tiffin Breeze at a different dealer. No Thor in my future.....I wish all luck in getting their units repaired...

Plenty of us have Thors and love them. I have never really had any major issues and what small items I did have - all brands have issues - Thor took care of immediately. I have been very happy with all my Thor purchases and will continue to buy them mainly due to their outstanding service. Doesn't explain or excuse the issues the OP is having, unless there is more to it. I know a few Palazzo owners. Some have issues, some have never had any. I will say it stopped me from looking harder at the Palazzo though and that's a shame. Hopefully they get it worked out, for the OP's sake and Thors.

Effy,

Does your ACE use the Schwintek system?

Yes. And I can say it works fine. The 29.1 which has a smaller slide seems to be powered right. The 29.2 has a larger slide and it's noticeable that the motors work harder. Not difficult to imagine that a full wall slide on a DP with the same slide motors would be sized too small. From what I gather reading all the Palazzo slide issues is that the slide mechanisms are sized too small. Great for my ACE, too small for a full wall. That's my opinion though and I am not a tech.

Effy wrote:

G.Lewis wrote:
I posted this before, but must say it again. I am sad to read of all of the problems you folks have and are having with your Thor products. I loved the Palazzo 33.1 floorplan and offered a large credit card downpayment to order our choice of colors, etc. The balance would be paid upon delivery. The CW said they preferred a cashiers check. I agreed and went back to my credit union to get one...a 100 mile round trip. It was late on Friday so I thought I would return on the following Monday.

I had read of some problems on a couple of RV web sites and over the weekend, I read many more horror stories....long story short....Monday I cancelled our discussion about buying a Thor. I am now shopping a 2014 Tiffin Breeze at a different dealer. No Thor in my future.....I wish all luck in getting their units repaired...

Plenty of us have Thors and love them. I have never really had any major issues and what small items I did have - all brands have issues - Thor took care of immediately. I have been very happy with all my Thor purchases and will continue to buy them mainly due to their outstanding service. Doesn't explain or excuse the issues the OP is having, unless there is more to it. I know a few Palazzo owners. Some have issues, some have never had any. I will say it stopped me from looking harder at the Palazzo though and that's a shame. Hopefully they get it worked out, for the OP's sake and Thors.

Effy,

Does your ACE use the Schwintek system?

G.Lewis wrote:
I posted this before, but must say it again. I am sad to read of all of the problems you folks have and are having with your Thor products. I loved the Palazzo 33.1 floorplan and offered a large credit card downpayment to order our choice of colors, etc. The balance would be paid upon delivery. The CW said they preferred a cashiers check. I agreed and went back to my credit union to get one...a 100 mile round trip. It was late on Friday so I thought I would return on the following Monday.

I had read of some problems on a couple of RV web sites and over the weekend, I read many more horror stories....long story short....Monday I cancelled our discussion about buying a Thor. I am now shopping a 2014 Tiffin Breeze at a different dealer. No Thor in my future.....I wish all luck in getting their units repaired...

Plenty of us have Thors and love them. I have never really had any major issues and what small items I did have - all brands have issues - Thor took care of immediately. I have been very happy with all my Thor purchases and will continue to buy them mainly due to their outstanding service. Doesn't explain or excuse the issues the OP is having, unless there is more to it. I know a few Palazzo owners. Some have issues, some have never had any. I will say it stopped me from looking harder at the Palazzo though and that's a shame. Hopefully they get it worked out, for the OP's sake and Thors.

I posted this before, but must say it again. I am sad to read of all of the problems you folks have and are having with your Thor products. I loved the Palazzo 33.1 floorplan and offered a large credit card downpayment to order our choice of colors, etc. The balance would be paid upon delivery. The CW said they preferred a cashiers check. I agreed and went back to my credit union to get one...a 100 mile round trip. It was late on Friday so I thought I would return on the following Monday.

I had read of some problems on a couple of RV web sites and over the weekend, I read many more horror stories....long story short....Monday I cancelled our discussion about buying a Thor. I am now shopping a 2014 Tiffin Breeze at a different dealer. No Thor in my future.....I wish all luck in getting their units repaired...

2bzy2c wrote:
Well, 7,300 people have seen this post.

HEY THOR...YOU LISTENING??? If you aren't, 7,000 potential buyers are.

The damage this is causing THOR, while they are turning a deaf ear to it, has to be felt. In the RV industry, reputation is everything. Hard to build, easy to tear down. THOR...You just tore it down.

the archives function gives me a 404 not found, but has everyone forgot the all those Thor Hurricane units with very rusty chassis from the "big flood" at the factory?

Well, 7,300 people have seen this post.

HEY THOR...YOU LISTENING??? If you aren't, 7,000 potential buyers are.

The damage this is causing THOR, while they are turning a deaf ear to it, has to be felt. In the RV industry, reputation is everything. Hard to build, easy to tear down. THOR...You just tore it down.

93mastercraft wrote:

bullydogs1 wrote:
Let this board know when you get it back and rolling...I am concerned with Doug's comment...he knows his stuff and just who is the THOR rep?..did he himself do the work?...I only hope for all concerned that this is the last you see of this....my friends Tuscany should be in any day and he purchased in NY state....I'm not even sure if the Tuscany has those slides..bath and a half with no tag....because if it does, he will have even worse problems than he did with his Charleston...

Dean Albanese from Thor Replaced both Schwintek mechanisms. I did watch him do some of it, but I could not stay through the entire thing. I've heard that Dean knows his stuff too. Just browse over to the IRV2 Thor owners forums to see the praises. However, I am not holding my breath with any of this. Once something this major breaks, it is never right again. I don't care what anyone says. This has been a living nightmare.

The Pics you showed. That is the mechanism torn apart. EACH mechanism (front and back) come as a COMPLETE assbly. NOT apart like you showed. So, are you saying Thor or LCI shipped in a new complete system (minus the wiring and controller) and the Thor rep installed that? If not, they did NOT replace the mechanism. You are CORRECT about the floor support rollers. IF they are NOT supporting the complete room, then the mechanism will not work correctly. BUT, that is the fault of Thor, not LCI. ALL the motors do is move the room back and forth and it does NOT take a strong system to do that if the floor rollers are installed correctly and support the room. I have never seen a driveshaft on the Scwintek that was steel and not aluminum. Most Scwinteks are 300 RPM motors with the other less used a 500 rpm. NONE of my OEM's use the 500 RPM, so I think you must have the 500 RPM since you have the steel shaft. Doug