My Thoughts on the Palazzo

Your list is longer than some, shorter than others but not overly remarkable in terms of standard RV quality - unfortunately. Is Thor aware and a plan in place to fix these issues? Was a thorough PDI and walkthrough done by you and the dealer? And some of your issues are not specific to Thor. The genset, the cameras, monitors etc. Again, I empathize and I would be irritated and frustrated too. I think everyone with issues on their new RV is frustrated. What I am having trouble with is that Palazzos are still flying off the shelves and while you see some complaints, based on the number of these on the road the complaint to owner ratio is not as close as one would think if these issues plague every one. There have to be good and bad ones. Stay on Thor to get your issues fixed and hopefully you can still enjoy it. It's hard I know. It's easier to enjoy and pay for when you have pride in anything you own. And a bit of spoiled experience when you lose that pride of ownership. I am thinking Newmar for my next one. Seems to be about the best quality in the price range I can afford. I was looking at the Palazzo for a while, now thinking Ventana for really close to the same money. My dealer told me once when I asked about the Palazzo, he said "it's an ACE on a freightliner chassis". Unfortunately it looks like the chassis cost you about $100k more.

When I picked up my Aerbus, (Rexhall) there were no problems. After a year, still no problems. After 3 years, no problems. It was totally free of any defects. Everything worked as it should. Never had to take it back to the dealer or factory.

That is the way it should be.

93mastercraft wrote:
On the 35.1 I said I was fed up with Thor because of the following reasons. Since I obviously didn't get my message across in the video, here goes.

1. Day two, Major leak. Yes Thor fixed. All they did was put self leveling caulk on the roof. I had to paint the white caulk Black, myself. There is still mold in the sidewall. The entire front needs to be taken apart to fix that and a trip to Elkhart again.

2. Vinyl Flooring popping up in various places.

3. Small slide out chewed up the motor wire harness. I had to replace this myself and a motor. This happened 1 day before a beach trip.

4. The Generator burns oil visibly.

5. There are visible areas on the exterior where it looks like screws that are too long are trying to poke through the exterior walls.

6. A crack has formed on the left front corner.

7. The entry door sometimes gets stuck and will not open or close. Sometimes it takes my entire body weight against the door to open it.

8. There are bubbles forming on the rear in the paint.

9. The rear bedroom slide out has a roller that only had two screws in it that caused the bed to fall down and rip apart the bed structure underneath. I fixed this myself with more proper longer screws.

10. The electrical transfer box under the bed was hanging (dangling) from just one screw.

11. There is quarter trim on the floor that is not secured to anything.

12. There is split wood where screws hold the refrigerator in and where the front cabinets are held down to the bottom of the slide out.

13. Both windshield wipers were about to fall off. (I fixed this myself).

14. The large slide pops, grinds, make noises while driving down the road.

15. The worm gears on the top of the large slide are already very warn out. The aluminum is being shaven off on each slide extend and retract.

16. The whole exterior of the Palazzo looks like someone buffed it with sandpaper.

17. The Cameras in the both mirrors intermittently work.

I was told this Palazzo was thoroughly gone through before I picked it up. I even inspected it while I was in Elkhart for an entire day. Thor had their chance to make it right. All I got was another Palazzo with different problems. The large slide has not failed yet. I am so worried that when this thing runs out of warranty is when it will fail. That is primarily one of the reasons I am so upset. The other stuff I can live with, but it should not be this way.

We've had some of the same problems you've mentioned on our new Fleetwood. Even had a longer list. Most have been resolved by Fleetwood and the dealer. The generator isn't a Thor problem.

If you have had a better track record with other RV's you've bought then your not the norm. Most people here have had plenty of things to get fixed on new RV,s. Some of the things you just live with or you trade off and take the loss ( which might be a good thing for you).

We had chipped fiberglass and overspray, doors hot aligned correctly, mirror cameras not working, molding falling off, blinds that didn't work, water problems, defective washer, radio issues, hands free mic issues, etc, etc. It's in for service right now at Freightliner. You can work through this stuff or you can let it give you a heart attack.

If it were me I would be trading it in just due to the slide problems. Yeah, I'd take a loss, but it's a lot cheaper than making myself sick over the problems like you seem to be.


As far as the tour, because most likely nothing good would have became of it. You just explained the possible reason. You aren't a advocate.

et2 wrote:

peaches&cream wrote:

93mastercraft wrote:

peaches&cream wrote:
I feel sure 93mastercraft has not heard the last from Thor. After the slander he dealt the Co. (and they sure know who he is after all the dealings with them), I would say their Lawyers will be in touch shortly. He will be lucky if the cost of the MH is his only expense. They have much deeper pockets than he does.

OMG, Really? Thor Knowingly sold a product that was defective. Namely, the SCHWINTEK slide system with a slide that is TOO HEAVY. Why do you think they are trying to fix the problem on the 2015's with triple worm gears? So I take it Thor will start suing all the upset owners? There's other Youtube videos out there about the failed Schwintek System. AS far as I know one other person who complained ended up getting out of his misery by trading his Palazzo on a Newmar. If I had have a chance to get out of the Palazzo and go to a Newmar or Tiffin, I would.

AND BTW, I can thank Camping World for helping me get the replacement Palazzo. If it wasn't for them, I'd still be stuck with the first one that was a fail. In the end, I think Camping World went to bat for me. Thor would not even let me tour the Diesel factory when I was in Elkhart to pick up the 35.1. Now, just think for a minute. Regardless of the fact they were not doing factory tours at that time. Don't you think that after all I had been through they would have had the head of customer service take me to the factory? NOPE. They wanted to get rid of me as quickly as possible with the 35.1.

As you know, the proper way to settle a argument is take the claimants to court and let the court settle it. You have not sued Thor yet you slandered their product on a public forum. If they chose, they can sue you for slander and you will have to defend yourself. That will require Attorneys and time out of your schedule. Do you think a Attorney will defend you for nothing? What I am saying is, if it is as bad as you say, sue Thor. At least you may have a chance of winning.

You still haven't answered after all the information available to you about the Palazzo when you considered buying one ( your very first one) .... You actually did??? And now your here and other forums complaining about it. Why did you choose not to heed the warnings???

Really I'm curious about that, and what your "really" attempting to prove. Others asked you about the slides. Are they fixed? Your problems cross all manufactures. Based on your blasting Thor on the web your last time around do you really expect they would give you a tour? Smart decision to turn you down IMHO.

ET2,

I didn't think it would happen to me. Well, I was wrong. Okay. so there you have it. There was one video I watched about the serious slide out issues. I shrugged it off thinking this guy is crazy. Now there are two videos out there. Now people think I am crazy. The slide out is working right now. However, there is evidence of serious wear on the worm gears. I truly believe the reason I was refused the diesel factory tour was because they had already started building 2015's with the triple worm gears. If I had known Thor would have went to a triple worm gear I would have never accepted the 2014 35.1.

ET2, Now why do you say it was a smart decision for Thor to turn me down for a factory tour?

On the 35.1 I said I was fed up with Thor because of the following reasons. Since I obviously didn't get my message across in the video, here goes.

1. Day two, Major leak. Yes Thor fixed. All they did was put self leveling caulk on the roof. I had to paint the white caulk Black, myself. There is still mold in the sidewall. The entire front needs to be taken apart to fix that and a trip to Elkhart again.

2. Vinyl Flooring popping up in various places.

3. Small slide out chewed up the motor wire harness. I had to replace this myself and a motor. This happened 1 day before a beach trip.

4. The Generator burns oil visibly.

5. There are visible areas on the exterior where it looks like screws that are too long are trying to poke through the exterior walls.

6. A crack has formed on the left front corner.

7. The entry door sometimes gets stuck and will not open or close. Sometimes it takes my entire body weight against the door to open it.

8. There are bubbles forming on the rear in the paint.

9. The rear bedroom slide out has a roller that only had two screws in it that caused the bed to fall down and rip apart the bed structure underneath. I fixed this myself with more proper longer screws.

10. The electrical transfer box under the bed was hanging (dangling) from just one screw.

11. There is quarter trim on the floor that is not secured to anything.

12. There is split wood where screws hold the refrigerator in and where the front cabinets are held down to the bottom of the slide out.

13. Both windshield wipers were about to fall off. (I fixed this myself).

14. The large slide pops, grinds, make noises while driving down the road.

15. The worm gears on the top of the large slide are already very warn out. The aluminum is being shaven off on each slide extend and retract.

16. The whole exterior of the Palazzo looks like someone buffed it with sandpaper.

17. The Cameras in the both mirrors intermittently work.

18. Cabinet drawers will not stay closed underway.


I was told this Palazzo was thoroughly gone through before I picked it up. I even inspected it while I was in Elkhart for an entire day. Thor had their chance to make it right. All I got was another Palazzo with different problems. The large slide has not failed yet. I am so worried that when this thing runs out of warranty is when it will fail. That is primarily one of the reasons I am so upset. The other stuff I can live with, but it should not be this way.

I was doing some poking around on pricing. I was surprised to see that the Newmar Ventana can be had for almost the same price as the Palazzo. If anything, all of these posts make me realize my next MH will be of better quality. Thinking Newmar. But the ACE works for now and knock on wood, it's issue free.

Effy wrote:
Do you have a slide issue with this unit? That seems to be what everyone is focused on. They replaced the unit and other than the wires being caught in a slide I didn't see anywhere about the slide being an issue. All new units, from all manufacturers have issues. It's a sad truth. As far as I understand, every issue so far on the 35.1 has been addressed correct? So despite build quality, there are no major issues correct? The screw - I get it, it speaks to the overall quality, but this happens on every production unit from every manufacturer. I have seen similar complaints from everyone on this stuff, from wall issues, to windshield issues etc. Sticking to the fact, the screw is not really an issue. You are venting, but I would caution that if you ever want Thor to fix anything warranty related again you are going about it the wrong way. I empathize with you and your plight, but based on the facts available - I am willing to bet we don't have them all - Thor did what you wanted. They gave you a new unit and are fixing any of it's issues. Did you expect a different build quality for one customer? Sorry, I am struggling to gather any new issues with this unit that haven't been addressed. Maybe I missed something.

Usually, when the OEM replaces a unit, they have teams go thru the unit to make sure ALL aspects of the new unit is 100%. Most OEM's DO go the extra Quality Control on Customers like this one. Maybe Thor dropped the ball on this one or just did not care. I think he had a MAJOR water leak at the drivers window on this new unit. Doug

peaches&cream wrote:

93mastercraft wrote:

peaches&cream wrote:
I feel sure 93mastercraft has not heard the last from Thor. After the slander he dealt the Co. (and they sure know who he is after all the dealings with them), I would say their Lawyers will be in touch shortly. He will be lucky if the cost of the MH is his only expense. They have much deeper pockets than he does.

OMG, Really? Thor Knowingly sold a product that was defective. Namely, the SCHWINTEK slide system with a slide that is TOO HEAVY. Why do you think they are trying to fix the problem on the 2015's with triple worm gears? So I take it Thor will start suing all the upset owners? There's other Youtube videos out there about the failed Schwintek System. AS far as I know one other person who complained ended up getting out of his misery by trading his Palazzo on a Newmar. If I had have a chance to get out of the Palazzo and go to a Newmar or Tiffin, I would.

AND BTW, I can thank Camping World for helping me get the replacement Palazzo. If it wasn't for them, I'd still be stuck with the first one that was a fail. In the end, I think Camping World went to bat for me. Thor would not even let me tour the Diesel factory when I was in Elkhart to pick up the 35.1. Now, just think for a minute. Regardless of the fact they were not doing factory tours at that time. Don't you think that after all I had been through they would have had the head of customer service take me to the factory? NOPE. They wanted to get rid of me as quickly as possible with the 35.1.

As you know, the proper way to settle a argument is take the claimants to court and let the court settle it. You have not sued Thor yet you slandered their product on a public forum. If they chose, they can sue you for slander and you will have to defend yourself. That will require Attorneys and time out of your schedule. Do you think a Attorney will defend you for nothing? What I am saying is, if it is as bad as you say, sue Thor. At least you may have a chance of winning.

You still haven't answered after all the information available to you about the Palazzo when you considered buying one ( your very first one) .... You actually did??? And now your here and other forums complaining about it. Why did you choose not to heed the warnings???

Really I'm curious about that, and what your "really" attempting to prove. Others asked you about the slides. Are they fixed? Your problems cross all manufactures. Based on your blasting Thor on the web your last time around do you really expect they would give you a tour? Smart decision to turn you down IMHO.

Do you have a slide issue with this unit? That seems to be what everyone is focused on. They replaced the unit and other than the wires being caught in a slide I didn't see anywhere about the slide being an issue. All new units, from all manufacturers have issues. It's a sad truth. As far as I understand, every issue so far on the 35.1 has been addressed correct? So despite build quality, there are no major issues correct? The screw - I get it, it speaks to the overall quality, but this happens on every production unit from every manufacturer. I have seen similar complaints from everyone on this stuff, from wall issues, to windshield issues etc. Sticking to the fact, the screw is not really an issue. You are venting, but I would caution that if you ever want Thor to fix anything warranty related again you are going about it the wrong way. I empathize with you and your plight, but based on the facts available - I am willing to bet we don't have them all - Thor did what you wanted. They gave you a new unit and are fixing any of it's issues. Did you expect a different build quality for one customer? Sorry, I am struggling to gather any new issues with this unit that haven't been addressed. Maybe I missed something.

timmac wrote:

Mr.Mark wrote:

timmac wrote:

Mr.Mark wrote:
I've been following 93Mastercraft's posts.

If it were me, I would remove the video. Being involved in litigation on a HOA board, there are some low-life lawyers out there that will turn the video around on you. Even though 93MC may win, the headache and cost of legal work is not fun.

One thing that I have learned is never put anything in writing that will come back and bite you. Emotions have to be left out as laws aren't written with emotion. Be careful.

MM.

No I think he should not remove his videos and if Thor takes him to court we all should stand beside him, RV manufactures are not as quality as many of them should be and so are the dealers, to many issues with them over the years and very very few ever recalled like auto manufactures have to, it seems they just get away with sub standard products to many times, its time for a wake up..

Where is Good Sam and Camping World at...

:M

So, you are going to go to court with 93MC and help with his costs? Just wait until you are involved in a lawsuit and see how quickly the help comes. Words are just words when you say we should 'help'.... I'm just saying he should be very careful.

I'm not disagreeing with you on build quality, it should definitely be better, much better!

Mark

No not going to court and paying the bills, maybe sending letters to court, asking Good Sam and other RV groups to get involved and so forth, if we all stand together we all win, same thing happen back in the 60's and 70's with auto manufactures and same thing can happen here..

Remember Ralf Nader, we need someone like him to send a message to the RV manufactures..

I don't think you are familiar with the court system. I wasn't either until the lengthly litigation that I have been involved with on our HOA and multiple lawsuits. All I can say is good luck if you think your 'letter sending' will work. I really don't think it will.

I just wanted to offer my experience and opinion.

MM.