Thor Motor Coach Challenger reviews

Purchased this Thor Challenger 35MQ at the end of May, 2021 and took delivery about June 4th. Got it home and hooked it up to power and found the refrigerator did not work because it was not plugged in, the ice maker did not work because the valve was turned off, the GFI circuit did not work due to a loose wire, and the entrance door would not shut without slamming it. After our 1st outing, we discovered about 20 other items that were in need of repair, which I documented with pictures and written notes and sent to Camping World in Hampton Roads, Va. , where the unit was purchased from. We scheduled with their service department to return the unit to them on August 23rd of 2021. We returned to CW around 10/15 and picked up the unit as we were told the unit was ready. We got home and not much had been repaired except the entrance door replaced (I think) and a storage door on the driver side painted due to scratches. On January 3rd, the unit was picked up by a Thor transport contractor to make a laundry list of repairs including a complete floor replacement. The unit was returned to our home by a transport contractor around the 25th of March only to find that about 4 items had been repaired and the floor that had been replaced had a large buckle in the middle of it. I called Thor and spoke with Terry Baughman in the warranty depart (?) and told me not to worry, the unit can be retuned at the end of the camping season and the unresolved issues would get repaired. So, the unit was again taken to CW of Hampton Roads, Va on 12/14 so we could get the warranty repairs made. I received an Email on 1/24 from the service writer at CW stating that Thor had declined all the repairs. So at this point my frustration is out the roof. Who do we have to turn to when we have been lied to, manipulated, and completely ignored concerning issues that were beyond any doubt the fault of Thor Motor Coach or what ever their official company name is. The looks of this motorhome is absolutely beautiful. The power for taking on steep mountainous hills is great and there is plenty of power for towing a vehicle. But when it comes to quality of workmanship and quality of the materials used to assemble this particular unit is terrible. We have had seats fall apart, slide out sticking, HVAC diffusers falling out of the ceiling, etc…… I will continue to fight to get my unit fixed as it should have never left the factory in the condition that it was in. It was obviously barely inspected before leaving if it was inspected at all. What I would like to do is save someone, anyone, the issues of having to deal with Thor on any RV purchase. Please, Please, Please read all the reviews and take notice of all the angry consumers that Thor has neglected. Show less

Junk, Junk,Junk!!! My wife and I bought this in November 2021 from the original owners with only 14,000 miles on it in excellent condition. However. Something breaks on it almost on a daily basis and we have been living in it since we bought it. Only driving it from Colorado to Florida permanently. That’s the only driving we’ve done with it. There is such a large list of things that have gone wrong with it (and we have been babying it) that I warn you. Do Not Buy a Thor Challenger series. This thing is so poorly built that we can’t even keep up with things that keep simply just fall apart on it due to the junky build and quality of the materials used. I watched a video of this exact model where a Thor representative states this is their top of the line model. WOW!!! Show less

It handles the road very well after I had frond and rear stabilizers installed on it. I am happy the V10 motor has so much power even pulling a vehicle. We had to replace all the furniture because the original furniture peeled. The brand new furniture is very comfortable. Show less

The rig is great. The slides could be better. We love the coach we just bought a boat and don’t need both. I’m not sure what else you want me to say. You should allow a person to opt out of this section. It’s a great couch. Show less

Experience with my challenger 37 fh has been the motors in the slides. I just had my big slide work on. Over all the coach is great with the 3 slides that gives you room. My only problem is with ford engine why the don"t help in deadening the engine sound. I am working on that. Show less

26months fulltime layout is great ,also plenty of storage in basement. Drive and handling also good. Factory support is excellent. Overall very pleased with coach no regrets. Very few problems and have done very few upgrades or repairs. Show less

We really liked the layout and how it feels when your livin in it. Others will talk about the suspension and yes it a soft but with sway bar upgrades and Sumo springs and front and rear stabilizers you go from white knuckle to one handed joy. We followed up with a 5 Star reprogram and it all together a different coach. Like I tell everyone that asks, if you don't which end of a wrench to hold, an RV is not for you. Things go wrong and it parts of hauling 27,000 pounds around. The Owners Group will help answer pretty much any question that come up so your not alone out on the road. Show less

The only thing we like about this RV is the layout and the performance of the engine/transmission. We thought we were upgrading earlier this year from our Coachmen Class C but now wonder. The craftsmanship and general engineering from Thor is so bad that I will never own another Thor product. First, the two a/c units cannot keep the unit cool if the temperature is 90 outside. I live in Florida which makes the units unusable at least 4 months of the year. Second, I have had the vehicle for less than 6 months and have it in the shop 5 times so far. Twice for the a/c units not being able to cool the unit and Thor's pathetic response was it is by design. In addition, we have been in the shop three times because the generator will not run for more than 15 mins with only one a/c unit running. This is still not resolved. Another issue we have had is when trying to level the vehicle, occasionally the kitchen slide will not extend because it is rubbing against the wall in the kitchen area. Note this is on fairly level ground. This is an indication that the vehicle was designed without enough rigidity in the frame (poor or complete lack of engineering). Next, when using the furnace, there is a 10 degree difference between the rear of the unit and the front. The fact that Thor cannot layout the ductwork to achieve a semblance of balance in such a small space nearly violates the laws of thermodynamics. Finally, after our third trip, the 50 amp cable provided with the vehicle now needs to be replaced because of the exposed internal wires and poor quality provided by Thor. If you are considering any unit from Thor, I highly recommend NOT BUYING IT! Show less

We purchased this RV because of the floorplan. Unfortunately during the five years we have owned it we have had many issues with it. The drive train fell out within the first few hundred miles. Most recently our full wall slide's gear box failed and had to be replaced. It failed because there is damage to the floor that is causing the slide to catch when it is retracted and put undue strain on the gear box. We have been told this large a slide should never have been a cable operated slide. While the gear box is covered under our extended warranty the repair to the floor is not considered mechanical and is not covered. Additionally we are having issues with our levelers losing hydraulic fluid requiring the replacement of the leveler. We have replaced the circuit board for the furnace twice now because despite our best efforts we cannot determine how water is getting onto the board. Even our RV tech is puzzled by this. Until we solve this issue the third circuit board will remain in the box. We had to replace the "control panel" in the outside water cabinet because of issues with the switch that allows you to change from city to tank, etc. The furniture is peeling after less than five years despite the fact it is manufactured by Flex Steel. Very disappointing. A cushion to the sofa had to be replaced early on because the fabric backing tore around the velcro piece designed to hold the cushion in place. The replacement cushion was slightly different than the original cushion and it shows. Previously we had a false check engine light that lasted nearly a year and required multiple trips to Ford dealers that were equipped to handle a unit this big. (this followed immediately on the heels of getting the drive shaft repaired) The flashing for the vent pipe that runs through the roof from the plumbing for the washer/dryer was installed incorrectly and resulted in water pouring into our pantry. The hot water heater valves were not set to allow water to run from the hot water heater through the system. The fix required us to have to crawl under the bed, unscrew the panel to access the water heater and set the valves properly. The electrical outlet in the bathroom pulled out of the wall the first time we used it and there were numerous other "minor" issues. This is our third purchase of a new unit and NEVER have we had the kind of issues we have had with this unit. Show less