Thinking of buying 2013 Thor Hurricane 29x. Anyone have feedback in terms of build quality?

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I_did_that

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Hello,

I'm thinking of buying a 2013 Thor Hurricane 29x. Anyone here own or was a former owner? I'm looking for feedback regarding the overall build quality / reliability? The coach has 25K miles. Thank you!
 
I can only comment in a broad sense. The Hurricane is what many call an "entry level model", i.e. more focused on affordable price than high function or quality. That doesn't make it bad, but in an industry that is not known for prioritizing quality, the low end models aren't likely to impress with build quality, either workmanship or materials.

That said, the Hurricane uses pretty much the same major components as similar class A gas coaches. A Ford F53 chassis, appliances from Dometic/Atwood or Norcold/Suburban, etc. Some common features are options rather than standard, so pay close attention to the equipment on the one you are looking at. Examples of options that may be standard on more upscale models include 50A electrical, full body paint, auto- leveling jacks, and electric water heating.

Here's the 2013 brochure.
 
To add to the above there will be a lot of components that are likely to be starting to age out on a 2013 coach, though some of this depends on how they were maintained.
 
Kirk said:
With any used RV, unless you consider yourself to be an RV expert, you would be very wise to get a professional pre-purchase inspector to check it our for you.
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Thanks. I'm going thru PPL Motors. I did pay to have them perform pre delivery inspection. They don't check the drive train, though. Do you think I should get another inspector to check out the drive train?
 
I_did_that said:
Do you think I should get another inspector to check out the drive train?
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As Isaac said, asking the people who want to sell it to you to do the inspection is, in my opinion, a waste of money. And especially since they don't even check the chassis and related components. I guess that all depends on how much risk you are willing to take.
 
Isaac-1 said:
That is like asking the fox to guard the henhouse
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Kirk said:
As Isaac said, asking the people who want to sell it to you to do the inspection is, in my opinion, a waste of money. And especially since they don't even check the chassis and related components. I guess that all depends on how much risk you are willing to take.
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I get that. PPL is a consignment dealer, so the inspection they perform and subsequent repair cost becomes the owner's responsibility. The way I think about it is that PPL has incentive to do a good job of inspecting since they will place the burden of repair cost upon the owner. The sales agent said that Consignee and Consignor sign agreement to the effect. Maybe I'm being naive?
 
I_did_that said:
Sorry I tagged because I assume you're technically proficient in RV
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Gary does have a lot of experience and knowledge, but he is no more expert than a lot of others on the forum. I do have different but similar RV experiences over 50 years where I did the vast majority of maintenance and repairs to my own RV as well as those of may friends and/or fellow campers. For that reason, I'll offer some thoughts and if you don't want my advice, you are free to ignore it.

The most positive thing that I'd say about the pictures and video is that if it comes from the seller, they sure didn't hide the poor condition of the upholstery or the awnings. The awnings are unusable and will need to be replaced before any use. The upholstery would be a must for my wife but perhaps you can live with that. The main awning will probably cost about $150 if you do the work yourself and at least twice that if you hire it done. Slides will cost similar to that. I suggest that you get estimates for both before you buy. On the tires,
A1.jpg
The red above is the week of manufacture and the yellow is the year, so your tires (if they are all the same age) were manufactured in the first week of 2012 so are now 12 years old and should be replaced. Manufacturers only support tires for a maximum of 10 years and most experienced RV owners replace them between 7 and 10 years of age. As to the other pictures, they look OK as far as the go but pictures really don't tell you much. I believe that you would be very foolish to buy this rig without a professional inspection that checks out every appliance, and structural area and the chassis, engine, and transmission.
 
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Kirk said:
Gary does have a lot of experience and knowledge, but he is no more expert than a lot of others on the forum. I do have different but similar RV experiences over 50 years where I did the vast majority of maintenance and repairs to my own RV as well as those of may friends and/or fellow campers. For that reason, I'll offer some thoughts and if you don't want my advice, you are free to ignore it.

The most positive thing that I'd say about the pictures and video is that if it comes from the seller, they sure didn't hide the poor condition of the upholstery or the awnings. The awnings are unusable and will need to be replaced before any use. The upholstery would be a must for my wife but perhaps you can live with that. The main awning will probably cost about $150 if you do the work yourself and at least twice that if you hire it done. Slides will cost similar to that. I suggest that you get estimates for both before you buy. On the tires,
View attachment 172433
The red above is the week of manufacture and the yellow is the year, so your tires (if they are all the same age) were manufactured in the first week of 2012 so are now 12 years old and should be replaced. Manufacturers only support tires for a maximum of 10 years and most experienced RV owners replace them between 7 and 10 years of age. As to the other pictures, they look OK as far as the go but pictures really don't tell you much. I believe that you would be very foolish to buy this rig without a professional inspection that checks out every appliance, and structural area and the chassis, engine, and transmission.
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Thank you, I do appreciate the feedback. With respect to professional inspection, could a single rv tech inspect the chassis, engine, transmission, structural, appliance, etc all-in-one or require multiple rv tech with specific specialty?
 
There are certified pre-purchase inspectors who do the entire RV but most RV technicians would be very reluctant to give an opinion on the chassis components. I suggest that you do an internet search for inspection services in the area you are shopping. Such inspections are not cheap and typically cost $300 or more but a good one will spend several hours and give you a multipage report with many details. They also do an analysis on the various fluids.
 
We bought a brand new Thor Quantum 2023 and didn’t have it inspected and have had nothing but trouble.

rvinspectionandcare.com

RV Inspectors - What They Do And How You Can Find Them

What do RV inspectors actually do? How do you find a qualified inspector? How much do they charge? Get answers to those questions here!
rvinspectionandcare.com rvinspectionandcare.com

And

Home - NRVIA

Get your RV Inspected by a trained, certified RV Inspector through the NRVIA. Use our RV Inspector Locator to search for an RV Inspector in your area.
nrvia.org

Should get you started on what you’d want with an inspection.

It may cost some $$, but we paid way more than that fixing problems an inspector might have caught.
 
I_did_that said:
The way I think about it is that PPL has incentive to do a good job of inspecting since they will place the burden of repair cost upon the owner. The sales agent said that Consignee and Consignor sign agreement to the effect. Maybe I'm being naive?
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A little. Their primary goal is to have the sale go through, so they don't want either you or the seller balk at the cost of repairs. I would not worry about outright dishonesty, but there are many shades of gray when reporting on equipment condition or possible risk.

Motorized RV inspections typically do NOT include the chassis beyond the fact that it starts & runs and the transmission shifts. Anything more than that requires a trained vehicle mechanic rather than an RV tech. If you hired an independent NRVIA inspector, they would still tell you to get a chassis tech to look it over if you want more than that.
 
I_did_that said:
@Gary RV_Wizard Could you please take a look and give your honest feedback? Sorry I tagged because I assume you're technically proficient in RV
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Others have commented on the obvious shortcomings in condition. Everything I see in those photos & videos are not unusual in an 11 year-old RV and simply things that have to be factored into the price. However, a newcomer to RVs is likely to underestimate both the cost of repairs and the time & effort needed to achieve them. Especially if you aren't the DIY type. You are looking at some $thousands in tires, upholstery and awnings, and probably another thousand to get the chassis maintenance up to date (see next paragraph).

A big unknown here is the owner's previous care. The condition suggests that they weren't big on maintenance. Did they change oil & filter regularly? Put in fresh coolant at least once in 11 years? Run the generator periodically to keep it dry & clean inside? Etc. Plan on changing all fluids and filters, engine, transmission, and generator. New drive belts too.

What did PPL's inspection report? Was it a simple checklist of OK or Not OK? Or just a list of what they found broken or poor condition? Did it suggest any necessary or desirable repairs?

The obvious...
  • The tires are goners. I would hesitate to even drive off the sales lot on them. Maybe OK as far as a nearby truck tire shop.
  • Awning replacements
  • Major upholstery work. Somebody will have to remove the furniture and take to a custom upholstery shop, then re-install. Lots of both time & $$.
  • Roof appears to be in decent condition but needs a closer inspection of the caulked seams and openings to avoid future leaks.
  • The crackles in the decals are only cosmetic but unfixable. If they bother you, they have to be scraped off and new decals custom made and applied, or painted on instead of decals. Neither is cheap. Plan on living with it they way they are.
  • The window seals aren't big deal, but one more thing to spend money on.
 
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Gary RV_Wizard said:
Others have commented on the obvious shortcomings in condition. Everything I see in those photos & videos are not unusual in an 11 year-old RV and simply things that have to be factored into the price. However, a newcomer to RVs is likely to underestimate both the cost of repairs and the time & effort needed to achieve them. Especially if you aren't the DIY type. You are looking at some $thousands in tires, upholstery and awnings, and probably another thousand to get the chassis maintenance up to date (see next paragraph).

A big unknown here is the owner's previous care. The condition suggests that they weren't big on maintenance. Did they change oil & filter regularly? Put in fresh coolant at least once in 11 years? Run the generator periodically to keep it dry & clean inside? Etc. Plan on changing all fluids and filters, engine, transmission, and generator. New drive belts too.

What did PPL's inspection report? Was it a simple checklist of OK or Not OK? Or just a list of what they found broken or poor condition? Did it suggest any necessary or desirable repairs?

The obvious...
  • The tires are goners. I would hesitate to even drive off the sales lot on them. Maybe OK as far as a nearby truck tire shop.
  • Awning replacements
  • Major upholstery work. Somebody will have to remove the furniture and take to a custom upholstery shop, then re-install. Lots of both time & $$.
  • Roof appears to be in decent condition but needs a closer inspection of the caulked seams and openings to avoid future leaks.
  • The crackles in the decals are only cosmetic but unfixable. If they bother you, they have to be scraped off and new decals custom made and applied, or painted on instead of decals. Neither is cheap. Plan on living with it they way they are.
  • The window seals aren't big deal, but one more thing to spend money on.
Click to expand...
Agree--I realize that all the tires will need to be replaced + chassis maintenance = ~$3k in cost. What would be a good price for the RV, given the knowns?
 
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