I know from previous research FR products where not of the best quality but priced accordingly. From what I gather THOR is at the bottom. Looking at the upfront cost and resale it may not make any sense to go with a high end unit if I plan to flip it in 5-7 yrs. Weekend/vacation use only. Case in point I can prob get a late model ( 1-2 yrs old) FR gasser for the same price as 5-7 yrs old Fleetwood. By the time I go to flip a 5-7 yr old Fleetwood it's 10-14 yrs old and less desirable. I don't know what % of buyers are cash buyers but it does appear units over 10 yrs old and over 60K miles become harder to finance - thus lowering the value I would assume. Typically I am a buyer of higher end products ( Boats, ATV's, trucks etc..) but it really doesn't appear that in my price range $60-75K that much quality exists. If it does the unit looks so outdated my wife won't step foot in it. I know that buying an RV is a money loosing deal but just trying come up with a strategy. BTW I am very handy and can fix most of the little items that pop up. Also what is up with all these 5 yr or less old gassers with upholstery that looks terrible/ratty - Fleetwoods included???

If value at resale is your main concern, you're in the wrong hobby! The only ones that make any money are the dealers, everyone else is in it for the enjoyment of use. Go out and buy what ever makes you happy, use it for whatever time you can and quit worrying about what it will be worth at resale. Guaranteed it will loose a considerable amount of value!Keith

Don't know if this helps but our use for the last 20 years is limited to weekends & 4-5 weeks a year. A lack of quality with your equipment can suck the fun out of RVing even with relatively light usage.

I don't know about flipping, but when I purchased our Forest River TT almost 7 years ago, all I heard was had bad Forest River was. Now it seems to have turned towards Thor. I just bought a Miramar (Thor) and couldn't be happier. I did what everyone told me to do. Buy the floorplan you like as that's, IMO, the most important thing.Burch

Thor BUYS existing companies that build motorhomes. FR is a company on its own. So you cannot compare a Fleetwood to a FR built RV. But, to answer your question. THOR is a much better attempt than buying a FR product. Doug

Thanks - it just seems like they all ride on the same chassis / engine combo and unless they mess that integration up then the rest of the problems should be relatively minor. I get the cheaper wood cabinets and all that. I am not looking for home but a "camper". The unit would be stored out of the weather so hopefully none of them will deteriorate too bad in 5 or so years.

Is a FR product better worse than THOR? | Good Sam Community

tinkerer
Explorer
Dec 18, 2017
Not a FR or Thor owner, but remember it seems that there are some who don't own certain brands know more about them than the actual owners. Just saying.:)
jplante4
Explorer II
Dec 18, 2017
Thor has 35 percent market share according to the RV mags I've read. That number may be just class A coaches, but I'll bet they're pretty close to that across the board. That means they're trying to get quite a few units out the day every day.

All manufacturers are having trouble finding enough people to fill the jobs. Unemployment in the Elkhart area is 1.9 percent, meaning that everyone who wants a job has one.

IMHO, a lot of the quality issues are small, but the people who experience them expected zero issues. I hear it all the time at the RV shop; "We bought new because we didn't want to deal with other people's problems". The trouble is because they had to buy new, their budget forced them into the lower end of the market.

Even Tiffin has quality issues. The folks from the Life Rebooted blog had a brand new Tiffin built (they documented the entire process) and after it was built AND PAINTED, it was discovered that the slide was crooked. Tiffin replaced the slide and repainted of course, but Mike and Kathie were in Red Bay about a month longer than expected.
Lancslad
Explorer
Dec 17, 2017
We bought a used FR in 2012. It's been to a dealer one time to replace the toilet under warranty. The rest of the minor repair stuff I do myself, including oil changes.
DownTheAvenue
Explorer
Dec 16, 2017
Is a Chevrolet better or worse than a Ford?

That is the same question you are asking only about different products.
Txsurfer
Explorer
Dec 16, 2017
DocP wrote:
Very, very happy with my Thor Hurricane 35M Class A. As with any of the 12+ campers, class C, or class A's I have had over the years, there have always been relatively minor fit and/or finish issues that I was able to get resolved. I would definitely buy another Thor.

I think you are right. If you are handy or can Be self taught on YouTube you can fix a lot of stuff. I often wonder what % of posters that bag on products even try to solve issues themselves before going the dealer route. I realize that there are bigger structural issues that pop up but I would guess they are a very small % overall. Then there are those that out of principle refuse to fix anything and bicker with dealers and manufacturers for months rather than move on. Personally my general experience with cars boats at a RVs etc is I’d rather try and do it myself first then let some underpaid kid touch it.
DocP
Explorer
Dec 15, 2017
Very, very happy with my Thor Hurricane 35M Class A. As with any of the 12+ campers, class C, or class A's I have had over the years, there have always been relatively minor fit and/or finish issues that I was able to get resolved. I would definitely buy another Thor.
Georgew48
Explorer
Dec 15, 2017
Have had both and will tahe my FR Georgetown over any Thor product any day.
Dennis12
Explorer
Dec 15, 2017
I have a 2015 Thor Vegas and love it. Had some small issues in the beginning that I fixed myself but other than that i love it. I have always said that if a company comes out with a MH that has quality materials in it and pride in the workmanship the others would be out of business in 2 yrs.
Txsurfer
Explorer
Dec 15, 2017
Thanks - it just seems like they all ride on the same chassis / engine combo and unless they mess that integration up then the rest of the problems should be relatively minor. I get the cheaper wood cabinets and all that. I am not looking for home but a "camper". The unit would be stored out of the weather so hopefully none of them will deteriorate too bad in 5 or so years.
dougrainer
Nomad
Dec 15, 2017
Thor BUYS existing companies that build motorhomes. FR is a company on its own. So you cannot compare a Fleetwood to a FR built RV. But, to answer your question. THOR is a much better attempt than buying a FR product. Doug