Edited by Russ and Tiña De Maris

In a hilarious and sad-but-true fashion, a YouTube feature we highlighted showed just how bad things can be for folks buying new RVs. What a nerve that struck with you. Here’s just a SMALL sample of the many responses that came rushing in.

Wayne wonders, “Why is Thor still in business? Maybe they make better ones and the buyers aren’t commenting like on this blog? If there are any happy Thor owners, I’d like to hear those stories,but then I didn’t know any RV maker had a real heart once their product reaches the selling floor. Good luck buyer…”

Another Thor owner, Laurie, writes of her experiences. “Our first attempt to work with the dealer from which the RV was sold ended up in a standoff between my husband and the very belligerent manager there. So we contacted Thor, and got some other dealers we could work with. We contacted a dealer and he reluctantly agreed to take us on. (Not much money for them and LOADS of hassle!!) One trip to the dealer to take pictures and present our list of problems. Then MONTHS of waiting and calling and pestering both the dealer and Thor. Interesting that Thor has a great customer service department – they say all the right things, and haven’t been difficult to reach – but they obviously have NO power and control over getting real decisions made and getting things fixed in a timely manner. The dealer too was pleasant enough, but was understaffed and we continually went to the bottom of their priority list.”

Theresa offers a suggestion to RVers: “Social media is the answer. Years ago, our only resource was to threaten to “write the newspaper.” Now social media allows dissatisfied owners to immediately spread the word and let the whole world know what a piece of crap they’ve purchased! Good luck, Jon, with this pursuit. I think you have a just case for getting ALL of your money refunded. Keep us informed of how both Thor and CW respond after all of this exposure.”

Richard Hughes was succinct: “Typical for Camping World and most RV makers. ‘We have your money, you have your coach and warranty, both are bad, but we are going to ignore you until you go away.’”

We could relate plenty of horror stories. Here’s one from Jeff: “My wife and I purchased a 2014 Hurricane built by Thor from Camping World. Both of these decisions were probably the worst we have ever made when it comes to camping. Like you, we spent three months in Camping World’s shop in Garner, North Carolina, and the items we brought it in for were never fixed. I ended up having to fix some of them myself. The remainder required another six week trip to service and those only got fixed because my wife went in there and lost it in the service department. Long story short, the useless general manager called me a couple of weeks later after I posted a letter on their website. I guess he didn’t like my bluntness. We are now looking to trade away from poor quality Thor to something that won’t rattle apart going down the road.”

Not everyone has completely lost faith in Camping World. Andy writes, “Camping World’s CEO Marcus Lemonis either has his head buried in the sand or his people are keeping the many customer complaints from him. I think he is a very competent and honest person, and he needs to step up. CW is in desperate need of a complete company wide customer care revamp. Let’s see if he can ‘turn around’ his own company as he does with the ones on THE PROFIT!”

Observes Mike, “Latest figures indicate that 80% of the RV industry is owned by three corporations. Their only purpose is to answer to their shareholders, not the consumer. As such, it’s ‘caveat emptor.’ Better off to buy from a company which isn’t publicly traded and who are known for their quality.”

Here’s a suggestion Bill makes when it’s time to shop for a new RV: “I went with a used 2006 Four Winds with a Chevy engine from El Monte Rentals. My theory was that for insurance purposes, they have to keep things maintained and safe for rental customers so when they decide to sell them, at least most things have been fixed. Sure, we had to buy new tires and some minor details had to be fixed, most of which I was able to do. Took it to a mechanic who said it drove great and all looked good. We drove it 8,000 miles our first summer across the country with no problems…engine hardly used any oil and had a great time. We have bought used cars from car rental agencies too and they always seem to be in good shape. With people suing for almost anything, these rental companies have to be on top of maintenance or they will be out of business.”

And as to the amazing logic of some RV dealers? “American traveler” writes: “When we were shopping for our 5th wheel we tried Camping World. The models shown had numerous visual flaws. I asked the salesman if that was wise. He said they fixed that stuff if a customer bought it. I said I thought it might drive people away. It certainly did us!”

You may wonder if anything has happened for Jon Henderson, who posted (and starred in) the original video. After a week or better of the video rattling the heavens of YouTube, here’s Jon’s report: “So far we have not heard from Camping World. We actually sent it to Thor before we released it. They fixed the stairs and the rattling, calling it ‘good will’ as the warranty expired. But [they] didn’t address that the coach was in the shop during four months of the warranty period . They offered us three months of the payments we made while the coach was in the shop, but only if I signed a release saying I would not release the video or talk about Thor negatively on social media. The gentleman I spoke to was very condescending. He talked to me as if I was a child, not someone who just spent $80k on his product. Thor cares very little about their consumers.”

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