Quality with Thor Products vs Loving the Floorplan?

I've had several Thor products, and several Forrest River products. In my opinion, they are about the same. Every RV I have ever owned had some really dumb mistakes in it's manufacture. Most I easily fixed, but I'm handy. If you aren't comfortable caulking, reinforcing, packing bearing etc, then RV ownership can be very stressful. I've had 13 RV's in my lifetime, and have never had one back in a dealership for repairs. It's my experience the dealer will not fix a problem as well as I can, and will cause some other damage while attempting repairs.

I live in a large city, and there are several respected mobile RV repair individuals. If I were not comfortable making repairs, I would establish a relationship with one of these folks. Sealing roofs must be checked and done properly yearly if your RV is parked outdoors. This could be done by one of these guys in one day, vs leaving it at a dealer for weeks and then having the trainee give it a shot. Same for wheel bearings, unsupported shower floors, plumbing leaks etc.

You didn't mention any other problems with your Thor other than the roof leak, which could happen to any trailer. I would advise buying the trailer you like, and finding someone you trust to check the roof when you take delivery, and yearly thereafter.

3oaks wrote:

B.O. Plenty wrote:
Thor is a holding company for many RV companies ie: Heartland, DRV, Airstream, Dutchman, Keystone and others. They don't have a lot of actual involvement in building the RVs other than to provide financial backing...Like any product, the brand you chose is a "you get what you pay for" type of thing.

B.O.

I disagree with "...Like any product, the brand you chose is a "you get what you pay for" type of thing."

Many times purchasers do not get what they pay for.

That said, purchasers must understand any type and brand of RV is a high maintenance item which is the responsibility of the owner.

There is a significant difference between high maintenance and poor build quality.

On my Dutchman, I had the welds that connect the axles shackles to the frame break. Twice. Had the aluminum siding blow off the side of the trailer because it was improperly secured. Twice. Had to replace a window that shouldn't have passed QC, learned it was improperly installed causing a leak, then had to wait 2 months for Dutchman to send a replacement.

That doesn't talk about the floor beneath the shower that had to be reinforced because there was a secontion that had no support underneath it, or the furnace that had to be rewired because the original wiring had a nail through it and shorted out. I could go on....

High maintenance and poor build quality are two different things.

B.O. Plenty wrote:
Thor is a holding company for many RV companies ie: Heartland, DRV, Airstream, Dutchman, Keystone and others. They don't have a lot of actual involvement in building the RVs other than to provide financial backing...Like any product, the brand you chose is a "you get what you pay for" type of thing.

B.O.

I disagree with "...Like any product, the brand you chose is a "you get what you pay for" type of thing."

Many times purchasers do not get what they pay for.

That said, purchasers must understand any type and brand of RV is a high maintenance item which is the responsibility of the owner.

Thor is a holding company for many RV companies ie: Heartland, DRV, Airstream, Dutchman, Keystone and others. They don't have a lot of actual involvement in building the RVs other than to provide financial backing...Like any product, the brand you chose is a "you get what you pay for" type of thing.

B.O.

I've had several TT's and have had very few problems, but I've been diligent in performing preventive maintenance checks and services. I currently own a "Thor Industries" product (Crossroads).

Any brand can and will have issues from time to time and it is rare that an owner gets on a forum and reports the good. Therefore, I suggest that you find the rig with the floor-plan you like and from a reputable dealer and go with it. Best wishes and happy camping!

This is going back a lot of years, but our first 5er was a Dutchman/Thor. The experience was bad enough that to this day I wouldn't buy another.

Thor IMO is no worse than other corp that owns lots of RV brands.
I've been around the RV trailer industry as a owner and a worker since the late early '60s.
Choose any corp that owns as many brands as Thor and we get about the same complaints.
I can't complain about my '97 5th wheel trailer by Thor. Its been just like the Fleetwood and Skyline trailers I've owned before.

I would buy another of any of them. I've never paid any attention to forum bashing anyhow.