I had previously posted about the slide out saggin on the inside. See thread here. Turns out that when THOR builds their slides they join the two sides of the slide in the middle with a horsheoe type connector. Appearantly they had also left a considerable gap between the joint that cause the sag. The dealer took everything apart, jacked up the slide in the middle, then connected the two sides with a piece of metal running about 18" on either side of center. It appears to have worked as it is not saggin anymore.
I noticed that they did not fix the stripping behind the slide that seals when it closes. After a short (and rather one sided on my part) discussion with the service manager and the body guy that did the work and getting no where, I convinced them to order me a new strip (at no charge!) so I could fix it right myself. It's not that hard, just need to do it.
So here's where we got sidetracked.....We started talking with the service manager about THOR products. He was telling us that he is surprised that more of the THOR trailers have not come back just because of the way they are built. He even went as far as to say that the dealership was thinking of dropping THOR altogether and picking up a different manufacturer because the repairs are costing them too much! I could see the wheels turning inside DW's pretty little head at this point. I've been telling her all along that this was a so called "entry level" trailer from a mass producer of units that doesn't particularly pay attention to a lot of details. I think now she understands what I was trying to tell her.
Anyway, we got to talking on the way home and she started talking about trading the Wave for a new trailer from a different manufacturer, someone with a little better reputation. So today we went to the local yard to look around. (We bought our trailer at a dealer about 35 miles away)
We saw a Fleetwood Mallard 26BKS that we liked and are really thinking about. DW's parents have a Prowler by Fleetwood that is 18 years old and not a problem with it in the 18 years. Anyone else have a Mallard trailer or have experience with them? It seemed like a much better constructed trailer than the Wave we have and it fits into our budget. We're pretty much decided that we need to get out of the Wave situation and into something constructed better that is not going to start falling apart on us in the next couple of years as it now appears the Wave might do.
Sorry for the long post, it's been an interesting couple of days. You guys are always awesome with feedback and support.
2007 Thor Wave 26RLS
2004 Chevy 2500HD Gas Hog
DW Michelle, Son Tyler, Daughter Kaitlyn, and one on the way!
I promised not to use the term "entry level" any more, but I now use the term "price point" instead.
Fleetwood, like most RV manufacturers (including Thor) build to several price points.
The Mallard and the Pioneer are both at their "low price points" According to Fleetwood I doubt that, in the end, you would find them to be much better than what you have. If you really want to take a step up, better look at a Terry, Prowler or Wilderness.
On the other hand, for the money, the Jayflight by Jayco is one of the best trailers at a lower "price point"
DITTO on dixonmatco. He is correct to the letter. As far as THOR is concerned. THOR has the most names in the RV industry. Everything from DUTCHMEN to the entire KEYSTONE brands all the way to AIRSTREAM. (Yes THOR owns Keystone and Airstream) So you can buy a lesser quality THOR product, you can also buy a very (HIGH END) product from THOR. As well as Fleetwood and many others.
***Honostly if you like that Mallard soooo much better, then go for it. If your just trying to ditch off your Wave because of POSSIBLE???? future problems, Id say wait it out. You might be OK with it. Just maintain it right. TIM
Tim, Kathy and Ken (son) ASSOCIATES DEGREE OWNER
98 S-10,04 AVEO, 94 FIREBIRD
07 Coachmen 32FKS stays at campground IF your going to be on a horse in a desert --- AT LEAST GIVE IT A NAME TOTAL NIGHTS CAMPED IN 07 = = 62
I think Tim has a point, but if you get reasonable money back on the original TT you might make the change.
I can tell you I have a cheaper model too, and my unit had original build issues. I broke my slide when it was new and had a structural repair. The shop that repaired it was not affiliated with my manufacturer but they did all the work on warranty and got paid without me needing to pay and claim at my manufacturer.
Sure you get what you pay for, but there is a lot of depreciation when something first goes into service. Maybe you can make it work so you don't need to go back and spend again.
05 F150 FX4 Supercrew, 5.4, 3.73 LS, Jordan Ultima 2020 Brake Controller,
04 TrailCruiser 30QBSS, XM Cradle, Battery Disconnect
Dual Cam HP, Ultra Fab Power Tongue Jack, Bal Lockarm Stabilizers
I would definitely suggest you look at the Jayco line. They have a 2 year warranty and we never had any problems with any of our Jaycos we owned (a pop up and 1997 Eagle). We just bought a new one and for the quality felt we needed to get another Jayco. The Jayfeather is the lightweight model line and then the first in the line of regular weight TT (being careful with what I say here lol) are the Jayflights. The new G2's in the Jayflight model series have some nice upgrades. The Eagle line follows the Jayflights. There are some very good deals out there right now on Jayco's if you find the right dealer.
As other posters mentioned what your looking at will still have issues just like your Thor products, heck they all will have issues no matter what the price range is! As one of our independent RV repair shop always say's "There all a piece of junk no matter what you pay! I believe him after buying a very expensive TT and it was one big piece of junk, traded it for my current TT which has been a much better TT , but still has had some problems.
I have witnessed lunch and shift changes in the greater Elhart area and that's needs to be witnessed by the federal government and a few other influential government leaders, you would only have to see it once to understand why RV's have such a low quality built into the vast majority of them. I would recommend to anyone who owns a RV to go to the Elkhart region and not take a tour of a RV plant, just drive down RV row between 11:00am and 1:00pm watch the help go to lunch, see where they go and see how they return, you'll certainly have a better understanding of how and what a Rv is made of and most of all by!
The RV industry will never change until a national regulation and state consumer lemon laws reflect a big bite into RV manufacturer's wallets. The state of Indiana is pro RV manufacturer and anti consumer when it comes to warranty contracts and what it will take is a few other state's attorney's generals to seek out a class action suit in a federal court to make the state of Indiana change their view or protection of one of their largest industries.
Sorry for getting up on the pulpit, and I have to agree with you original though, get the parts and fix it yourself if you want it right. Enjoy the current RV you have, because I believe based upon 40+ years of RVing and seeing how and where they are built, your going to have a tough time finding a flawless RV not needing some type of repairs which sooner or later your going to have to fix yourself to get the results you expect.
* This post was
edited 05/11/08 12:29pm by an administrator/moderator *
Good Luck and Happy Trails
2007 Dodge 3500 4X4 MC,SRW,CTD EB
2004 Citation 29NP
Equal-i-Zer
Yamaha EF2800i
Nascar24 A lengend in my own mind, A Scary thought in someone else's!
Had an expensive Trail Manor (junk) and a new Thor Aerolite (more junk) to my present day Holiday Rambler Savoy XL tt which is just about the best I have had. Just a shower door water deflector in the two years I've had it since new.
Last summer we bought a 10 year old Holiday Rambler that just screams quality. The ONLY things we could find wrong with it were soiled carpet (not bad), faded sofa, and new foam needed in the sofa (getting that done now). We paid half of what a new "entry level" piece of **** would be. The original cost in 1997 was $27000. Dealer said to buy new now and get equal quality would cost over $50,000. BTW, we have a 2006 Summit from Thor California. It's absolutely identical to the Wave. Another BTW, Thor and Thor California are separate. You cannot get warranty work on a Thor California product from a Thor dealer. There's a Thor dealer in our town and he could not do the warranty stuff on our Summit.
RRUGG
2008 Dodge 2500 QC 4x4 SB Cummins 6 speed auto 3.73
1997 Holiday Rambler 29FK travel trailer
2006 Summit 22RB travel trailer
2003 Dodge Grand Caravan Sport
Bob & Grace professional retirees
Good Sam life members
We bought a Thor Tundra 27FKDS a year ago and have traveled over 14,000 miles in it, 9,000 of those miles with four adults living, cooking, showering etc. in it for 3 months as we crossed the country. We have never had a single issue with the trailer. In direct contract to your experience, we are quite impressed. It is exceeding our expetations.
Even in a time of elephantine vanity and greed, one never has to look far to see the campfires of gentle people.
-Garrison Keillor --American writer and broadcaster b.1942
Our first trailer was a Fleetwood Mallard. We loved it but it was too small. We had great service and it was also a Mallard Lite. I don't think they make lites anymore. Traded it in on a larger trailer but a lite one. Our second was a Kodiak by Thor. We had very bad luck with it (leaky slide, rotted floors, etc.) and dealers/Thor would not honor warantee. We finally traded for our present trailer last year and so far, love it.
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