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Thor Chateau 28Z 2016


maggie blair

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Before purchasing any Thor product I would advise you to do some intensive research. They have a less than stellar reputation. Although you will find lots of complaints on almost any make Thor has had lots of problems with shoddy workmanship. Asking that question on this forum will not get many pertinent answers. Try a Google. Maybe go to one of the large forums for RV's. You may even find a Thor specific forum. unfortunately when it comes to Class C's there are only a few really good mfrs. and a host of others. Lazydays, Bigfoot ( I think they went out of business), Born Free are some good ones. Nexus is usually recommended. Good luck

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Bigfoot is in business, but they currently make only truck campers and travel trailers. Born Free makes a class C, as does Lazy Daze. Lazy Daze are factory-direct; current delivery times are about a year, but "pre-loved" LDs can be found.

 

Born Free and Lazy Daze produce high-quality products; both are pricey. (BF more so!) But, if I were buying a new class C, my choice would unquestionably be another Lazy Daze.

 

I agree with Moishe's assessment of Thor products, and would add the advice to carefully and thoroughly research the quality of all manufacturers' products; IMO, there is a massive amount of poorly designed, engineered, and constructed junk currently rolling off the lines.

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Class C's are by definition made on a cutaway van chassis. Differences in quality of the manufacturer are related to the coach portion of the RV.

 

Some manufacturers offer more choices in chassis specifications than others.

 

The Thor Chateau models are made on both Ford and Chevy gasoline powered chassis. Which one the individual RV is made on will affect the GVWR and thus likely the Cargo Carrying Capacity and possibly the towing capacity. I am not sure if any Class C on a Ford E450 or Chevy 3500 is still available with a diesel engine.

 

While Lazy Daze has a great reputation, I believe that all their products are built on the Ford E450 gas chassis.

 

Born Free offers coaches built on the Mercedes diesel chassis, Ford E450, F550 or Dodge 5500 chassis. Diesel engines are available in the F550 and Dodge 5500.

 

Winnebago manufactures Class C's on the Ford E450 chassis and the Mercedes and Ford Transit chassis with diesel engines or the Ram chassis with a gasoline engine.

 

Phoenix appears to offer a 4x4 option as do several of the specialty manufacturers like EarthRoamer.

The one that dies with the most toys is still dead!

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When we were in the market for a used C I could not understand the bad quality in the marketplace. Thor, Jayco and more are horrible. There is a fellow on rv.net that bought a new Super C chateau by Thor. Right from day one he started to have problems. Fortunately he is talented and patient. 50 or more pages of posts and he finally gave up. Reading his and other posts on the4se mfrs. the goof ups are unbelievable. Water tanks mounted so high tey will only half fill. Important things like water pumps mounted inside a stapled close compartment. Slam bang and out the door. 4 season's, Thor,Citation,Chateau,4 Winds, Dutchmen, Keystone, Jayco, Heartland and even Airstream are all Thor brands. Berkshire Hathaway is a huge shareholder. They are the largest RV mfr. in the world. Pity!

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...4 season's, Thor,Citation,Chateau,4 Winds, Dutchmen, Keystone, Jayco, Heartland and even Airstream are all Thor brands. Berkshire Hathaway is a huge shareholder...

Berkshire Hathaway (Warren Buffett) owns Forest River. I do not think there is any connection with Thor Industries. Here is a list of Thor's major shareholders and Concentrated Owners. I don't see Berkshire Hathaway listed.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Another quality C (actually a B+) is from Phoenix USA (www.phoenixusarv.com)

We can vouch for Phoenix. We toured the factory and watched them hand build each coach rather than running them thru an assembly line. Each coach is built to order, not unlike the excellent way Foretravel builds Class A DPs.

Jeff and Suzanne with Scout and Sydney, the Cocker Spaniel Sisters touring in Fawkes the 2012 Phoenix Cruiser 2400 Sprinter

 

"What happens in Vagueness, stays in Vagueness"

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  • 3 months later...

I have a Thor 28z.  The Ford E450 is awesome.  The coach is OK.  Couple of initial factory problems (water heater worked on gas, not on electric cause it was installed incorrectly, A/C connector box not properly grounded causing compressor to not kick on-- another factory screw up).  Rear window leaked and the dealership eventually got it fixed.  I'm thinking this kind of stuff is normal, unfortunately. 

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