Not to Happy with Thor or Ford

[marcdohc]

Not to Happy with Thor or Ford
Back in May of 2016 Thor sent a driver to my home in Mashpee, Massachusetts to drive the 2016 Challenger 37KT back to Indiana because the repairs needed were too much for CW in Berkley, Mass.
After repairs we're done we flew out to Indiana and drove the rig home. Some of the issues were the hydraulic system would come on in the middle of driving down the highway at speed. The windshield wipers would get tangled up. Problems with the heat. Various leaks in Windows, showers and sinks. It was another half a dozen things that I can't remember.
The main thing is that the coach drove down the road crooked. There's a few phrases for this issue, crabbing or some call it dog walking. This usually occurs after an accident, it's a giveaway that the frame is not square or the rear axle is not perpendicular to the frame.
When Thor had it last year in Indiana they sent the rig to Ford, Ford sent the rig to a company called Quality Automotive to fix the crabbing issue. The problem is due to the rear axle not being perpendicular to the frame. When the fix was being done I tried to find out the approach they were taking, Unfortunately they would not tell me. They did not eliminate the crabbing although they did get it much better.

Well, this January I noticed the handling had gotten very sloppy. I had a friend drive and I got behind the rig and could see that the crabbing had gotten just as bad if not worse than it used to be and that the coach had a lot of swaying in the rear. I called the Thor and told them about it. Knowing the issue was serious Thor sent a so-called expert to fly out the Massachusetts to check it out. He drove behind me and then he drove the unit. I asked him what he thought and his words were and I quote "It's Crooked"
Thor had me bring it to a local truck repair shop in Mass. They discovered that the leaf springs had been twisted to compensate for the crabbing and a had bent the shackles and blown out the bushings. This damage was the result of the technique that Quality Automotive used to try to make the axle perpendicular to the frame. They simply loosen the bolts Twisted the axle and then tighten the bolts putting more torque then the bushings and metal shackles could take.
Thor did pay to have this fixed, but not before they blamed the damage on me. I installed a super steer track bar to help eliminate the absurd amount of rear sway the coach had and they tried to say the damage was caused by the trac bar. The mechanic told me there was no stress on the bar this problem was created by the technique that was used to adjust the axle. Thor decided to add a leaf spring on each side two help stiffen up the sloppy handling.
Unfortunately now the ride is ridiculous, the rear end is two inches higher than the front end in this a ridiculous amount of body roll and sway now that the center of gravity is even higher. Thor has refused to pay the money to fix this problem that they've created.
Not only do I still have the crabbing problem, I now have a RV that every time I want to set it up I have to lift the front wheels off the ground to inches just to get her level. My wife refuses to drive in it because she doesn't feel confident in the drive as well as it makes her sick from all the body roll.
Thor says it's a Ford problem, Ford says it's an altered chassis. Dealing with Thor has been frustrating and unrewarding.
I consider this the worst purchase of my life. I read a lot of bad reviews about Thor, I decided that there probably were many happy people that never left reviews.
Marc DeNardo

[hohenwald48]

Effy wrote:
Welcome to the forum.

You know you could always open up with "Hi, I am new here, I have such and such rig and have a questions/issues"

So what's he point of the post? Is this a slanderous first post, or do you need a shoulder to cry on?

Sorry I am a little leary of brand new members, first time posters who open up with guns blazing about a unit they bought over a year ago. Makes little sense, other than "my warranty is out now so I am going to make slanderous posts on various forums". Thinking maybe you could have joined here over a year ago when you first bought it. otherwise it's sort of troll-ish.

We just had one yesterday that got deleted.

And chassis issues are covered under Ford which carries a 3/36, not Thor.

What an unnecessary response. The poster has a legitimate issue and posted here looking for feedback and advice.

I have no specific advice to help the OP solve his problem. However, I hope he understands that Effy does not speak for most folks on this forum and I hope someone comes up with something useful.

[rockhillmanor]

First of all did you buy this new or used?
What type of warranty did you have on the MH?

Thor did pay to have this fixed,

but not before they blamed the damage on me.

I

installed a super steer track bar

Sounds like you did in fact install an aftermarket item yourself. They diagnosed that that is what twisted it. They repaired that AND did NOT charge you for something you created. I'd say that was pretty fair if not exceptional.

They added a leaf spring to both sides.

I had that done to my MH. Yes it made the tail end of the 'body' of the MH up a little higher. Eliminated bottoming out and stabilized the handling.

Adding leaf springs does NOT change the height of your MH chassis from front to back. It only raises the body. So your claim you have to level it while parked on a level pad because of the added leaf springs is just not correct.

It seems that Thor and Ford have gone way beyond to fix, and make numerous repairs on your MH and at no charge to you.

Are you a first time MH owner?
How much cargo weight do you have inside this MH?
Where is it located in the MH all in the front or all in the back?
How old are the tires?
Do you have the correct air in the tires?
Most of us keep the front tires a little lower in air than the rear. Too much air in the front tires will have them bumping around which mimics front end handling problems where just lowering the amount air in the front tires rectifies it.

These are just a few of many items that can also affect how good or badly a MH will handle.

[ScottG]

Welcome Marc!!

[Effy]

Welcome to the forum.

[marcdohc]

Your right, I apologize.
Hello all, my name is Marc DeNardo. I'm new here and just wanted to share my frustration and what it's been like too own my Rig. On one hand I have to fix this and the advice is needed. On the other hand I want everybody to know what it's been like with my wife and I since we purchased this motorhome.

[soren]

rgatijnet1 wrote:
The problem can be corrected. The issue you have right now is who is going to pay for it. Even an altered or bent frame can be repaired by a competent alignment shop that has the right equipment and the mechanics that will take the time to do it right. Unfortunately, most RV manufacturers, and factory warranty issues are usually done using the least expensive solution, which may or may not work.
There are only a few places in the country that I know of will do the job right, but I doubt if Thor or Ford will want to pay for the fix.
One shop is Hendersons and another is Champion and a third is Brazels and the last that I know about is Sunshine Alignment. Just remember that you are looking for a shop that will correct "Thrust Angle" alignment problems with a truck chassis and that they have the equipment to accurately measure the before and after alignment.

Garden Spot truck repair is a big player in south central PA. They have multiple facilities in the region, including a shop in Ephrata PA. that specializes in drivability issues. The do a lot of work on brand new rigs for fleets, which typically involves receiving a truck straight from the dealer, shaving/truing all the tires, doing a proper all wheel alignment, adjusting steering wheel position, etc... Bottom line, according to their techs? Most truck chassis leave the factory in less than optimal condition, and correcting the defects makes the thing a lot more pleasant to drive, and gives much longer tire life. They trued the egg shaped Goodyears on my F53 chassis, and the MH left the shop a much better beast to drive.

[DownTheAvenue]

It does sound like Thor has spent a lot of money trying to solve a problem. From Thor's perspective, they may believe they have fixed the problem and they are now dealing with a customer who can never be satisfied and who has an unrealistic expectation on how a motorhome drives. Thor may very well be correct.

[soren]

Effy wrote:
Welcome to the forum.

You know you could always open up with "Hi, I am new here, I have such and such rig and have a questions/issues"

So what's he point of the post? Is this a slanderous first post, or do you need a shoulder to cry on?

Sorry I am a little leary of brand new members, first time posters who open up with guns blazing about a unit they bought over a year ago. Makes little sense, other than "my warranty is out now so I am going to make slanderous posts on various forums". Thinking maybe you could have joined here over a year ago when you first bought it. otherwise it's sort of troll-ish.

We just had one yesterday that got deleted.

And chassis issues are covered under Ford which carries a 3/36, not Thor.

Are you like this in real life also? I doubt it. There is no reason to doubt any of his story.

A buddy recently took delivery on new Thor Outlaw. He is absolutely sick about the whole motorhome. He had a list of defects that run a page and a half of legal paper. Honestly, after two decades of owning all kinds of RVs, I think it may be the biggest piece of $hit I have ever laid eyes on.

As for Ford's tracking issues with the F53, oddly enough I just followed a brand New Newmar Canyon Star in some heavy tourist traffic, here in the PA. Amish country. After a few miles I followed him into a parking lot. At that point I reported to the new owner that his rig was crabbing severely, with the front end at least six inches left of the rear, as it travelled straight sections of road.

Hopefully the OP will realize that it's necessary to rise above the clowns on this site that have nothing to add, and not only contribute his experience, but hopefully gain valuable information to resolve his issues.

[azrving]

rgatijnet1 wrote:
The problem can be corrected. The issue you have right now is who is going to pay for it. Even an altered or bent frame can be repaired by a competent alignment shop that has the right equipment and the mechanics that will take the time to do it right. Unfortunately, most RV manufacturers, and factory warranty issues are usually done using the least expensive solution, which may or may not work.
There are only a few places in the country that I know of will do the job right, but I doubt if Thor or Ford will want to pay for the fix.
One shop is Hendersons and another is Champion and a third is Brazels and the last that I know about is Sunshine Alignment. Just remember that you are looking for a shop that will correct "Thrust Angle" alignment problems with a truck chassis and that they have the equipment to accurately measure the before and after alignment.

x2, with key words being "competent alignment shop"

[rgatijnet1]

The problem can be corrected. The issue you have right now is who is going to pay for it. Even an altered or bent frame can be repaired by a competent alignment shop that has the right equipment and the mechanics that will take the time to do it right. Unfortunately, most RV manufacturers, and factory warranty issues are usually done using the least expensive solution, which may or may not work.
There are only a few places in the country that I know of will do the job right, but I doubt if Thor or Ford will want to pay for the fix.
One shop is Hendersons and another is Champion and a third is Brazels and the last that I know about is Sunshine Alignment. Just remember that you are looking for a shop that will correct "Thrust Angle" alignment problems with a truck chassis and that they have the equipment to accurately measure the before and after alignment.

[Effy]

Welcome to the forum.

You know you could always open up with "Hi, I am new here, I have such and such rig and have a questions/issues"

So what's he point of the post? Is this a slanderous first post, or do you need a shoulder to cry on?

Sorry I am a little leary of brand new members, first time posters who open up with guns blazing about a unit they bought over a year ago. Makes little sense, other than "my warranty is out now so I am going to make slanderous posts on various forums". Thinking maybe you could have joined here over a year ago when you first bought it. otherwise it's sort of troll-ish.

We just had one yesterday that got deleted.

And chassis issues are covered under Ford which carries a 3/36, not Thor.

[azrving]

I cant imagine the amount of stress and sorry to hear of this. This wont fix it but it may give you more insight to what is wrong, get a helper and measure from front tire to rear tire on each side then try to get the front tires straight to the rig and measure diagonally at the same contact points. If possible, try to find equal points on the frame with which to take diagonal measurements to see if the frame is "racked". Also measure from the center of the rear leaf spring to the hanger to be sure you dont have an issue with wrong spring center pin on one side. some springs will not have equal distance from the center pin to each end. You are looking for a reason for the rear axle to be sitting crooked to the frame.

I have built rock crawling jeep xj's and performed the alignment with a tape measure and good straight pieces of steel. We drove it 40,000 with normal tire wear. You could have a serious frame issue or a relatively easy fix. It doesn't mean you can do it yourself in the driveway but it may not be so bad.

Another thing to do is use a straight piece of metal laid along the side of the tires to see if they are parallel to the side of the rig or if they are noticeably at an angle to that or the other tires. This is crude but it's an indicator of big differences.