Shopping - THOR

[okwaterdog]

I'm considering upgrading my gas model  to a diesel for longer trips and have found a few models which fit some of my criteria but they are from a company I'm not familiar with.  The company name is THOR.  The particular model I'm seeing is a Serrano and it has an International MaxxForce 7 Turbo Diesel...

Any feedback on either Thor or this particular diesel would be appreciated.  Thanks in advance.

 

 

[ms60ocb]

For what your asking, this Forum may give more answers.

http://www.thorforums.com/forums/#thor-community-forums

Happy Travels  Clay

[Darryl&Rita]

Run away from anything with an International MaxxForce engine.

[Kirk W]

2 hours ago, okwaterdog said:

The company name is THOR. 

The company Thor Industries was formed in 1980 to purchase RV companies and began with the purchase of Airstream company which had been in financial difficulties for several years at the time. Thor made dramatic changes to that company which did return it to profitability quickly but lost some of the reputation for quality and factory support, at least for a time. In 1982 they added several other brand names and in 86 they went public. They added Dutchman in 91, Four Winds in 92, Comfort and Skamper in 95. In 2001 bought  Keystone RV in 2001, Damon RV in 2003, and CrossRoads RV in 2004, Thor Industries became the largest RV manufacturer in the world. Since that time they have continued to purchase RV builders including Jayco, KZ, DRV, and several others. The company has a somewhat checkered past and is best known for profitability and has a less than stellar reputation for quality and customer support. 

The Serrano was built on the Workhorse chassis and that company no longer builds a chassis for motorhomes. 

[cactus]

2 hours ago, Darryl&Rita said:

Run away from anything with an International MaxxForce engine.

X2

[FL-JOE]

We had a Thor Challenger 37GT gas coach prior to owning our current rig.  We bought it used (2 years old).  The first year we bought it we visited the factory since we were close to the northern part of Indiana.

In either 2016 or 2017 their motor coach factory slowed production.  In other words, they went from a certain number of gas/diesel coaches being pushed out the door each day to a much lower number.  When we did the factory tour they told us this was due to quality control issues that they were determined to fix.

We only had a few minor items go wrong with our coach for the year we had it which I was able to fix myself.  I have no idea why the original owner got rid of it so quickly nor do I know how many issues he had with it.  I belonged to a couple Thor forums and I know there were many QC issues with most of their coaches back then.

[richfaa]

THOR is like GM they make many brands of RV. The RV industry in general is not known for its excellent quality control. There are QC issues today and in the past with every brand every brand every price range.

[jblo]

Agree with the above, but to combine a Thor product with the IH Maxxforce is a double whammy....

[Pappy Yokum]

On 5/2/2019 at 2:02 PM, cactus said:

X2

 

Post your Maxxforce engine question on the HDT forum!

No doubt you will get xlnt advice - and probably lots of..... "X2s".

.

 

[okwaterdog]

Thanks for your feedback - I went to the site mentioned in one response, and read mostly positive comments from current/previous owners, but it helped to see the responses here.  

okwaterdog

[kb0zke]

Welcome to the forum. If you can tell us some about your needs, wants, and budget we can provide you with some suggested coaches.

Remember that coaches depreciate - sometimes fairly quickly. I don't know what your budget is, but you can get an entry-level diesel coach for maybe $100,000 or a bit more. That same $100,000 can get you a Foretravel or Newell, but as a used coach. Five years down the road the Foretravel or Newell will still be worth close to the $100,000 (although somewhat less), but the entry-level diesel may be worth only $50,000. The Foretravel or Newell would have been close to $500,000 new. In other words, buying used lets depreciation work for you, and you get a higher-end coach.

Check out http://pplmotorhomes.com/ for low-end prices. RV Trader prices vary quite a bit, as some people ask more than what their coaches are actually worth.

Last thought: there is a difference between a FRED (FRont Engine Diesel) and a DP (Diesel Pusher).

[Kirk W]

10 hours ago, kb0zke said:

Five years down the road the Foretravel or Newell will still be worth close to the $100,000 (although somewhat less), but the entry-level diesel may be worth only $50,000. The Foretravel or Newell would have been close to $500,000 new. In other words, buying used lets depreciation work for you, and you get a higher-end coach.

You are just a little bit off on your prices. If you ever find a 5-year-old Newell for $100k you should definitely buy it. I find lots of 10 year old Newell coaches for $600k. All of the current new ones are in excess of $2 million. 

If you shop Foretravel used rigs you can get one of those from 2001 for between $90k and $130k. When new these coaches are a real buy at only $1.4 million. 

[FL-JOE]

1 hour ago, Kirk W said:

You are just a little bit off on your prices. If you ever find a 5-year-old Newell for $100k you should definitely buy it. I find lots of 10 year old Newell coaches for $600k. All of the current new ones are in excess of $2 million. 

If you shop Foretravel used rigs you can get one of those from 2001 for between $90k and $130k. When new these coaches are a real buy at only $1.4 million. 

I think what he was saying is that if you bought a used Foretravel or Newell diesel coach (he didn't say what year) for around $100,000 and keep that same used coach for 5 years it could still be worth close to $100,000.  No where in his post did he claim you could purchase a 5 year old Foretravel or Newell for $100,000.  

Please don't confuse the OP.

[docj]

I think the key point is that for higher end coaches the depreciation rate slows significantly when they get past the ~10-15 year point. A well-cared for premium MH can still command a surprisingly high value if it is kept in excellent condition.   For example, I was surprised last year when Progressive Insurance offered me a "declared value" policy on our MH at a level which represented 70% of what we had paid for it ~8 years before.  This was without an inspection and the policy  was renewable at the level for 10 years  Furthermore, the rate was only slightly more than what I had been paying for  "cash value" coverage. 

That got me to thinking that things like the large-block diesel mated to a n Allison 4000 transmission probably retain decent value as long as they're in good working order.  Engines of the vintage of our CAT C12 command what I would consider rather high prices on the used engine market.  Not all that surprising since we have only ~110,000 miles on an engine with a design life of ~750k miles before first in-frame rebuild!

[Kirk W]

1 hour ago, docj said:

I think the key point is that for higher end coaches the depreciation rate slows significantly when they get past the ~10-15 year point. A well-cared for premium MH can still command a surprisingly high value if it is kept in excellent condition. 

That is certainly true. This thread got me to thinking about it so I did a bit of window shopping and found that RV Trader has several used Newell coaches that are more than the 10 years old the factory reconditions and sells. Newell has long been the dream coach that I'd buy if I should win the Power-Ball. 

Foretravel is also a class coach, not really in the same price/quality group with Newell but still above my ability to shop new. Because they start about half of where the Newell starts, they also reach my budget range much more quickly and still seem to hold up pretty well. For me, the catch with buying one of the older ones has always been the cost of major repairs if you happen to choose one that has serious issues. I have known 2 Escapee members who left the road because of that cost after buying an older, high-end diesel coach. If I were shopping in that market I would have to at least look at one like this 96 Fortravel.

Most sellers of extended warranties won't sell for a coach that is more than 10 years old. Does anyone know if that is different for Foretravel, Newell, Marathon, or others in that price range?

Edited May 8, 2019 by Kirk W

[jcussen]

9 hours ago, Kirk W said:

You are just a little bit off on your prices. If you ever find a 5-year-old Newell for $100k you should definitely buy it. I find lots of 10 year old Newell coaches for $600k. All of the current new ones are in excess of $2 million. 

If you shop Foretravel used rigs you can get one of those from 2001 for between $90k and $130k. When new these coaches are a real buy at only $1.4 million. 

Think you misunderstood. He was talking about buying a used Newell and saying it would be worth close to what he paid for it in 5 years, opposed to buying a new coach for $100000 and it being only worth $50000 in 5 years.

The most expensive Foretravel sold in 2001 was about $500000. New ones cost from about $550000 up to 2.5 million.New Newells are $1.9 million and up.

But agree 2000 to 2005 Newells and Foretravels are a great bang for the buck.

http://beamalarm.com/foretravel-links/models/2001_foretravel_u320_specifications.html

Edited May 8, 2019 by jcussen

[jmrkav]

From my experience, Thor would not be a choice. That company should be ashamed of their customer service and quality. I have met several retirees forced off the road due to constant problems with their Thor products. We were able to take the loss and move on.

No Thor products for me.

[richfaa]

By not purchasing  thor it does  eliminate dozens of brands from the search therefore maki.ng  the purchase much easier.

[Kirk W]

 

 

 

 

3

1 hour ago, richfaa said:

By not purchasing  thor it does  eliminate dozens of brands from the search therefore maki.ng  the purchase much easier.

If I were shopping for a used diesel class A I would look primarily at Tiffin, Newmar, and Winnebago/Itasca.

[TXiceman]

I agree with Kirk.

 

Ken

[AKmtnpilot]

Thor has bought out many brands, even Airstream. If you can purchase a unit before Thor got their hands on the manufacturing quality, you may be OK. But, be very careful. 

[Kirk W]

2 hours ago, AKmtnpilot said:

Thor has bought out many brands, even Airstream.  If you can purchase a unit before Thor got their hands on the manufacturing quality, you may be OK.

Thor has owned the Airstream RV company since 1980.