Thor Quality

[8Muddypaws]

Yesterday the DW and I went to see some Thor motorhomes.  Very pretty but I, being who I am, crawled all over them like a monkey.  The one I liked the most was a 45 foot Venetian.  Way too big for many of the places we go.  It seemed to be put together better than the rest.  The others had cabinets that seemed rather flimsy, wires hanging down in cabinets, scratched surfaces etc.

I've read that Thor in general has some quality issues.  Is that correct?

 

[legrandnormand]

Today, there are only 5 main names for class A and DP; (not talking about luxurious ones like Newell & Prevost and more)


- Winnebago & Itasca products
- Tiffin with Phaeton & Allegro products
- REV which include American coach, Fleetwood, Holiday Rambler & Monaco
- Newmar
- Thor that has bought all the remaining companies like Challengers


So within Thor, you have from the cheapest to the flashiest ones including Tuscany models

 

[Tom]

There was a time when they got poor reviews/comments, but I don't know if this is still the same company making the same products.

 

[OC Metal Man]

We recently bought a '17 Thor Tuscany XTE 40 to replace a 36' gas Holiday Rambler. We've only had it on one short trip but so far the build quality and component quality seems MUCH better than the HR.  We found a couple of minor things that need to be taken care of but minimal.  Love the floor plan and how quiet it is in the road.

 

[legrandnormand]

We recently bought a '17 Thor Tuscany XTE 40 to replace a 36' gas Holiday Rambler. We've only had it on one short trip but so far the build quality and component quality seems MUCH better than the HR.  We found a couple of minor things that need to be taken care of but minimal.  Love the floor plan and how quiet it is in the road.

You cannot compare a gas motorhome with any DP ! It is like comparing a russian Lada car with a german Mercedez !

 

[TonyDtorch]

realistically..... on good guality motorhomes it's a little more like comparing a Hundai Gensis to a Mercedes.

they are both very nice and look similar, and yes there is a difference,..... but is it all really worth the price difference ?

there are some real garbage low end diesel pushers being sold out there just because everyone says "don't spend your money on a gasser,  only DPs are good",  so people buy these POS low end motorhomes just because it's a ... 'Diesel Pusher'.

I would rather buy a new high end gasser,    that a same price lower end DP.

as for Thor quality,....  the cheap Thor's I've looked at looked cheap.... and the high end Thor's I looked at looked pretty good.

Thor also owns Airstream, how bad could they be ?

 

[legrandnormand]

Tony, you really look at "how your flashy motorhome looks like" instead of looking on what chassis it is built on, what about the suspension and the engine and the tranny !
I guess you don't know sweet f...all about how a motorhome is built !
Keep on looking at flashy shiny Airstreams...

 

[TonyDtorch]

Tony, you really look at "how your flashy motorhome looks like" instead of looking on what chassis it is built on, what about the suspension and the engine and the tranny !
I guess you don't know sweet f...all about how a motorhome is built !
Keep on looking at flashy shiny Airstreams...

I don't really know the new Airstreams,

engine and chassis ?

Gas motorhomes are usually on Ford or Workhorse chassis,  both are fine. the newer the chassis,  the better the chassis,  and because of this the chassis has very little to do with the build quality of a gas motorhome.

With DPs,  the average Sparton or Freighliner chassis under 80% of all the motorhomes typically works just fine,  are they as nice as a highend Roadmaster chassis ?..... not really... but they still work fine.

for me,  ......  good motorhomes have fiberglass roofs,  not TPO,  and dual pane windows, and then on to the cabinets and components.  I look for a Girard or Zip-Dee awning, they don't put them on cheap motorhomes.

To me, the engine ... either Cummins or Cat (not the small Cat) is fine,  and the chassis maker to some extent is not nearly as important as the build quality of the rest of the coach.

almost every motorhome engine and chassis combo ever made will likely still get you there safely....then you are supposed to enjoy living in the quality.

this is all my opinion, but you probably know a lot more...huh?

 

[legrandnormand]

Concerning dual pane windows and awnings, those are options on most basic motorhome; if they are factory installed, they will show up in the starting price of any mh. Even A/C's are optional but there will always be one factory installed.
If you look at certain mh, some of them have 3" external walls and others only have 2.5"... this is a construction quality feature since that mh will be more insolated and usually the 3" mh are much more solid on the ceiling and floor structure and are also more insolated.
Like you mentioned, the mechanical part, they are all the same except that Workhorse is out of it since many years.

 

[TonyDtorch]

and Roadmaster has also been out of business for many years..

there are 3 companies that produce about 85% of all the new RVs on the market and with motorhomes they put them the same on the same mass produced chassis they all order from a the same factorys.

so, for the most part in the RVs available today..... "Quality"  .. is identified primarily by the price tag and not the manufacture's name.

 

[scottydl]

Classifying quality of a massive parent company like Thor will be pretty difficult to do, since they own so many other RV nameplates that were probably all originally independent companies.

I owned a Thor Class A motorhome from 1994, and for what it was (an entry/mid level large gasser of that era)... it was just fine for our purposes.  As you mentioned, you already know to climb through and look for all the little indicators of solid build.  That tactic will give you the best information on any RV you consider, moreso than the make/model name stamped on the outside.

 

[TonyDtorch]

Thor.

In addition to Jayco and its subsidiaries, Thor also owns Airstream, Bison Coach, Crossroads RV, Cruiser RV, DRV, Dutchmen, Heartland RV, Keystone, K-Z, Livin Lite, Damon,  as well as Thor Motor Coach.

there are (or were)  some Quality RVs in this list.

 

[WILDEBILL308]

Yesterday the DW and I went to see some Thor motorhomes.  Very pretty but I, being who I am, crawled all over them like a monkey.  The one I liked the most was a 45 foot Venetian.  Way too big for many of the places we go.  It seemed to be put together better than the rest.  The others had cabinets that seemed rather flimsy, wires hanging down in cabinets, scratched surfaces etc.

I've read that Thor in general has some quality issues.  Is that correct?

For what they want for a new Venetian you can by a used higher quality coach.
Look at this web site, http://motorhomesoftexas.com/, They have a couple of nice coaches like this, 2011 Foretravel Nimbus 42'
What was their asking price on the Thor? Here is one.
http://www.mhsrv.com/2017-thor-motor-coach-venetian-t42-bath-amp-1-2-w-400hp-king-10kw-gen-new-diesel-pusher-tx-i1864014
Bill

 

[TonyDtorch]

Bill:
Sadly many new RVers have never owned any vehicle except a car,  so they are absoultly terrified about buying any RV without a factory warranty ..... and they often end up dissatisfied with a brand new, very limited warranty,  POS,  rv...... instead of an older better built rig.

 

[BruceinFL]

Oxymoron? 

 

[legrandnormand]

For what they want for a new Venetian you can by a used higher quality coach.
Look at this web site, http://motorhomesoftexas.com/, They have a couple of nice coaches like this, 2011 Foretravel Nimbus 42'
What was their asking price on the Thor? Here is one.
http://www.mhsrv.com/2017-thor-motor-coach-venetian-t42-bath-amp-1-2-w-400hp-king-10kw-gen-new-diesel-pusher-tx-i1864014
Bill

Newell, Foretravel and Prevost are in a class of their own, nothing else compares to them.

 

[TonyDtorch]

Newell, Foretravel and Prevost are in a class of their own, nothing else compares to them.

and nothing says "young family RV adventures"  like a 45' Newell  ? ???

 

[WILDEBILL308]

and nothing says "young family adventures"  like a Newell  ? ???

Well you do need something to go to your summer cottage in the Hamptons.
Bill

 

[WILDEBILL308]

Newell, Foretravel and Prevost are in a class of their own, nothing else compares to them.

Go look at the 2001 Newell, I know most people don't understand that this is a chance to own a quality coach for under $150.000 that probably has a 1.6M replacement price.
Bill

 

[yolo]

I owned a 2013 Thor Tuscany for 4 years and it was a great motorcoach.  Before the Thor I owned a Winnebago Vectra, also a nice motorcoach.
The cheaper Thors are cheaply built to make them cheaper.
Many people who don't own a particular coach will bad mouth any brand, Thor, Tiffin, Winnebago, etc.  They have no knowledge other than what they read on somebodies ranting post on a forum.  People who like a product may not post that on the forums.
Granted, most of the million dollar plus coaches are put together better than the assembly line coaches.  But most can't afford them unless they are 10 -20 years old.