Piss Poor Thor Sanctuary
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- Опубліковано 29 вер 2024
- Dan takes a break from an Alaskan Camper restoration he's working on to go over a brand new Thor Sanctuary in the shop for some upgrades. These Sprinter Van coaches start at $160,000... You'd think they'd have some sort of quality control before leaving the factory 🤔🤔 You'd also think they'd have some sort of quality control before leaving the dealer. But, that's not the case.
It's understandable for there to be some issues to appear in the first couple days of ownership. It's impossible to find all problems in a new RV, and a return visit to the dealer/manufacturer after the first few camping trips to address these are acceptable. But, the issues, pointed out here by Dan, were easy to identify and are indicative of the lazy-ness, ineptitude, and corner-cutting rampant in the RV industry.
It's as if they never left the malaise era of '70s auto manufacturing, and the greasy salesmen and factory workers from that time holed up in the RV industry and still thrive.
We're not perfect by any means. But, our team of builders, engineers, and craftsmen put as much effort into our builds as possible to reduce the chance for a client to have a bad experience. Something the complacent union works, designers, and managers in the mid-west factories can't claim -- based on the campers that visit our shop.
We'll be rolling out more piss poor vids, as the junk keeps rolling to our shop.
I think a lot of people appreciate this. Not many people talk about this
Thank you!
Buy one of those in 2022 I keep for 6 months and sell right away just garbage. Now I have Roadtrek Agile, bid differently.
Smart move my man Roadtreks are great we've modified a few
This is precisely the kind of stuff we need to see. I've been saying for a while that most RV's are built like absolute trash and this confirms that.
got any recommendation on improving the poor build quality of the interior? Mainly the rear interior wall panels that are not secured well at all... Thanks for calling out these issues with the build, I just bought the 2023 Tranquility and they seem to have made improvements in some of the wiring and other mind boggling failures :P
You'll get through it! You could use rivnuts or go simple and add some sheet metal screws to the back wall (make sure nothing's important back there). The best route would be to pull 80% of the interior, re-fasten walls, reinforce cabinetry, and address any other issues. Then the coach would be ready to rally.
@@Reparadise That's why I bought new for a lot less than what original owner paid. $35k less, with almost no miles. I just wanted to buy the "build template". I can make it rally worthy if I want.
LOVE OUR NEW MB THOR SANCTUARY! I know there’s a few things La Mesa RV NM could have done better when accepting the vehicles from the conversion place. Certainly not the quality of my MB GLE 350 but it works for rapid travel for 2 & a small 🐶 dog.
Would you buy a leftover low mileage 2022 Sanctuary 4x4 for $109k? It has less than 5000 miles on it. I'm looking at it this week. Any advice on that price for a new 2022 is appreciated. Seems like a great deal to me.
@@borandell9915 absolutely a great deal! We got ours for $97k new 2022 not 4WD though as those run an extra 25k +. They do not negotiate on those vans and they are a hot commodity. Everywhere we go everyone wants to see inside & they love it! I believe the 22’s were around 137k marked down to 97k. We’ve added a few things to make it even better. Good luck & you’re gonna love it!
@@JAdotNET Thank you so much for your reply. I just love it but I'm new to the game. Its a lot of money. But I worked hard and now want to travel. Thank you again so much for the encouragement.
@@JAdotNET Thanks so much. I was having a hard time deciding. You helped me get comfortable with it. Thanks.
@@borandell9915 I used to travel in private planes & wouldn’t have dreamed I would go on the road. I love it because you have much more freedom and relaxed travel…never go in public restrooms & see parts of the USA I’ve never seen or would have thought of going if I were in a plane
music is so distracting - good info though
Wow, bravo! Ballsey video. Don't think I've seen too many independent private builders take apart a mainstream mass-produced RV like this. Most folks are probably afraid that big brother will come after them for bad talking a piss poor attempt to capture a piece of the "van life" trend. Wish I could say you get what you pay for, Jesus, talk about a rip off! I wish more industry folk would take the big manufacturers to task for what passes for "quality craftmanship" but I guess people keep buying them so why should they change or improve? Thanks for this video, great job!
Thanks for the feedback Nitram 🙏🏻, there's more piss poor coming down the line... we've been raised with the school of thought not to bad mouth other peoples work, but enough is enough. Maybe as whole, the "Van Life" industry -- from custom builders to the big guys -- will better themselves from this piss poor 🧐series, and the end user won't have to bare the brunt of this Vansplotation.
@@Reparadise Damn right!
"Big brother...". Hahahahaha!!! Your probably someone who'd vote for more govt regulations in every industry yet you're afraid of big brother from the RV industry? Good grief.
My battery was back-feeding the secondary alternator because of a shorted wire on the propane tank heatshield. The unit caught fire at the secondary alternator. I brought these issues up with Thor at the highest levels and have been completely ignored. Piss poor Craftsmanship and unacceptable.
We have fixed a lot of problems on these but haven't seen that one yet. Sorry Thor sucks.
I bought one of these. MB 20/22 Sanctuary 4x4. I bought it after seeing this video. This saved me a ton of money. The van was technically used but only had 505 miles on it. The previous owner had just paid $130k for it. Brought it home and hated it, never drove it again. (Rich doctor). So they put it on the market for $112k. I flew out to see it. Showed them everything that was screwed up with it. Which was pretty much everything Thor related. I gave them $95k. Fixed everything for not very much really. But I did put some high end mods (VC 4.3 suspensive, Renntech Tune. Love it now. Moral of the story. These things are coming down in value so fast it will make your head spin. Some are getting down to the cost of an empty MB Sprinter 2500 chassis. Which I think is around $75k for the 4x4 6 cyl. Now at $75k, I think they are worth it. I thought $95k for one with basically no miles was a good deal.
That's a hot buy! Enjoy your van 👍👍
@@Reparadise Thx!
@@headinghome1644Thinking now about the same thing on the new Palladium since its on the new Ford Trail chassis. Your almost getting the rest of the RV so cheap and like this video guy did you can shore up the loose ends for a couple of thousand...
@@bassmonk2920 Exactly. It makes perfect sense. You are getting the build for cheap, cheap, without spending huge amounts of your time on it. And I like the Ford Trail chassis even better. Many benefits to it vs. MB Sprinter. Gas, AWD, more dealership service depts. You'll like it.
Driving my Sanctuary with 7800 miles this weekend on the Interstate. The large passenger side ceiling mounted cabinet came unbolted from the van and came crashing to the floor, glass shattering and wires yanked out of their fixtures. What a mess. Now I have to get them to honor the crappy warranty. FML. Should never have bought this thing.
Sorry to hear about your experience, hopefully they get it fixed up for you!
did they fix it? my cabinets seem tight when i tug them, were yours as well?
You are the third person of many to have this problem that I've heard about. Had the wrong screws in them. Need longer ones.
RV camper van company's are junk.But they can offer financing as we can't .You Guys do amazing work but very expensive!!! Small van builder in Omaha.
Thanks for sharing, Tommybound! Your right, financing and availability are some of the few benefits to these products. Being a custom shop, we do have a pretty broad spectrum of price points. It's all about the next job 🤟
The extra $60-70k of a custom build gets to tight cabinets.
Yeah. That was an eye opener. I've got a chance to buy a new (2022 with 600 miles) for $109K. The title changed so it's considered to be used. Seemed like a no brainer. Until I saw this video. I may just pass on it now. But God its beautiful for some light off roading and an easy daily driver.
Thank you for this. I’ve been doing research on RVs for a few months and this week I went on a comment rant on a few pages. The shitty quality in the majors if the industry is just unacceptable.
Wiring is an art. It should be neat, labeled at both ends and color coded. A good electrician is proud of his work and that shows! Grommets are a must when wires go through metal and you should have a schematic of the entire electrical system. If it looks like a rats nest it will burn like a rats nest!
FACTS
What would you recommend if someone (asking for a friend) has bought one of these Same make/model and has had extensive issues with mastervolt system, engine, etc etc etc. Basically, its unusable and has only seen the road 3x's. Thor service tech and Rv service tech can't get things fixed, is there any recourse here? IDK I mean what does a person do? Torch it?
If they don't want to deal with Thor any more, selling it and finding a Revel would be a move up. There's good ones with 30-80k miles that have had the majority of issues worked through by now. Other then that, find a good independent tech to fix all the issues.
Cap'n Rick, Port of Lewes, De former HVAC Tech, Boat Builder, Van Builder. Sibling bought a Thor Tallero 20J last July from General RV, Harrisburg< PA, 20,000 miles, I would give you a full list of problems but will just give a short list, you already have showed all the snags underneath, I fixed them, A. Gray water compartment 56 cent lock, replaced with metal one plus a bungy across as back up, B. Drawers are junk, bottoms fall out , stapled together (No Elmers?) with a letter stapler. Vinyl coverings peeling of everywhere. Two water tank leaks, one on the seam, another where the 1/1/2 fill fitting was cross threaded into the tank. flooring warped and mold under seat. Balmore meter gone 3 months ago. Cabinets coming loose. You need a skinny hand to get to the inverter switch????? Yes I build everything like I am going offshore, but this junk materials and shoddy work for over $100,000 plus $101,000 in finance charges!
Nice work, Captain!
Notice that trash Thetford refer in there as well. Those things are hot junk
i agree Completely since my brand new 2023 Thor Sanctuary caught fire last Friday.
we're not going to heart this comment... that sucks, sorry for the setback!
You may have lucked out if it burned to the ground lol.
Id like to see your take on an airstream interstate 19
We see them come through the shop pretty regularly, we'll keep that in mind!
Absolutely True. Love my 19L but the initial quality is unbelievably bad till you work out the kinks.
Wish I never bought one. Complete garbage and the warranty service just as bad if not worse
It's a sad state of affairs, hopefully you get it sorted an can enjoy the van life!
Which Tranquility did you buy? I have Tranquility 19L and yes the quality isn’t the best and there are some things that I plan on upgrading.
@@oatiko3065 In my 19L , "not the best " is an understatement .
To be fair it’s a Thor.
😆😆
Thor products are junk, They bought the legendary AIRSTREAM brand, and I spent a few months in a new one from Thor. Mad me sad about the lack of quality. Look else way.
Reparadise started by restoring Airstreams over a decade ago, and we know them very well. There's a marked difference of quality throughout the long history of the company. If you want a nice modern Airstream, be prepared to address tons of stuff the factory should be embarrassed of. 🙄🙄🙄
Well done video pissing on everyone who can’t afford your boutique artisanal builds. The point is for folks of a wider range of incomes to get into the backcountry of this country. It is great that you make such a nice product that will outlast the Sprinter chassis itself. Congratulations.
We're pissing on shitty RV manufacturers producing garbage to capitalize on a trend. You can enjoy the outdoors without an over-priced, poorly built Thor product 🏕🏕 We build plenty of van's for clients with tight budgets that do not fall apart as soon as it leaves the lot... Good luck taking one of these '4x4 vans' into the Backcountry
@@Reparadise oh shit, we couldn't possibly take something like a Sanctuary into the backcountry. It would fall apart within a mile of bad road. These are "Highway Queens". Just good enough to get me to the post office, and out of town if the old lady gets too nasty with me.
@@borandell9915 Be careful not to get high centered pulling into the post office
I was looking to waste some money on a piss poor product like the Sanctuary. Think I am going to buy one.
MDF for countertop? Chips easy, not practical.
It's MDF core, so there's a solid surface top. The core is what the cabinetry is attached to, so it fails easily over time.
Wonder how pleasure ways recon stacks up.
We haven't had a recon come through the shop yet, so can't comment. But, Pleasure Way isn't a giant conglomerate, so their QC is probably better then Thor... as it wouldn't be hard to achieve that 🧐🧐
@@Reparadise Probably, you won't see Rekon that much. Pleasure-way's products are of good quality but lack a fun design. Rekon must manually connect a grey tank jar outside the van every time. All my friends thought about Rekon but ended up with Storyteller or Winnebago.
PW fit and finish is really ahead of most of the big manufacturer and usually at the same price (or lower for Canadian). Just traded my Ontour 2.2 for a 2023 Rekon and could not be happier with the Rekon so far. I think it's a misunderstood Class B. It can become what ever you want 😀
funny, I was looking at a Thor Sanctury 4x2 and 4x4 yesterday and noticed the bad quality in both of the builds. The salesman just looked at me with that look, either you buy it or not, it is what it is. The price for the 4x2 was $109K and 4x4 was $137K. I was like almost $30K for 4x4 damn. Then I got on the web and found a few for $100k 4x4. I am worried about the quality since this is a lot of money to be putting down.
@@blkted2945 definitely, If you can find it for the right price it might be worth it , $119k tops for the 4x4
The preparation, fit, finish, and thought that the mass producer/quick turn producers like Thor Motorcoach and Jayco put into these conversions is absolutely saddening. Just pushed out as fast as they could to capitalize on the Van market, when they could have taken just a bit of time to really produce a good product. The attachment of the cabinets is horrendous with numerous failures online. That rear vertical cabinet is an eyesore and in the way and not needed (should have just extended the horizontal). The underbody fit/finish and thought process is astonishing even to a novice. I wouldn't pay over $90k for one of these, even new as it would take days if not weeks to go and do what Thor should have done. For the price, pay for a custom van built by a professional.
DON'T EVEN GET US STARTED!
I was just watching a sales team do a review of a Thor converted Ford Transit Trail (which is actually an awesome platform). I believe it was the Paladium…well even when the sales team was going around doing a basic tour basic switches were stuck and would fall in the off position 😂.
Wow. Thank you for watching!
Nice video, thank you! What a piece of garbage. I look forward to future piss poor videos. Look out Winnebago!
SO WHAT MODEL SHOULD WE BUY? I WAS GOING TO BUY ONE VERY SOON! NOT NOW!
We have an amazing Sprinter 144 for sale right now! Incredibly capable and luxurious if you only need to sleep two.
reparadise.co/campers/2022-luxury-4x4-sprinter-van-for-sale/
minimum 50-100K less than other makers private or corp price. For some minimal or lack of quality on craftsmanship? I’ll take my 50-100K on improvements.
That's true, Nick. They're cheap and readily available. If your diet is fast food because it's cheap and readily available, too, go for it. You can put all those saving into a HSA.
@@Reparadise that was just my opinion, people can spend their $ on whatever or however they want. What you compare the topics to is in a different universe. Again people can do whatever they want with their $ or life. Save for HSA or live like a Boss.
I gave up on custom builds and bought a Thor Tranquility. With respect to custom builds relative to Thor and Winnebago:
- The price difference is insane
- Most look less professional/lower quality
- Many don't offer more utility
- They take 6-8 months to order versus drive off the lot
- They will depreciate faster
I have signed on to upgrading/fixing a Thor as needed. Perhaps I will regret it, but the value proposition for a custom-build is simply not there.
My biggest issue is with a pre-fab solution is the lack of a 170" 4x4 Sprinter chassis. If Thor merged its L and P floorplans in a 170 Sprinter, I would have no concerns buying one. Seems like a no brainer to me.
That was my mindset exactly. I thought, how bad can it be, and with 40-50,000 on the table I can deal with it. I bought a Tranquility 19L and before I got it home started having issues with it. Eventually you will get most of the mechanical/electrical issues to basically work. The part you'll have to live with is the shitty fit and finish. If you really wanted to exert the effort to address these issues it is definitely possible .If I had it to do over I would spend the extra money and buy a Revel Or Storyteller. One thing I will never do again is buy a Thor product.
wtf is this video? it's all lithium ion. no propane. if you don't know how to secure the components and prevent them from making noise, don't by any camper van as im 100% positive that is going to be the most simple issue you run into.
and full transparency just bought one for 100k. newer generation and a better price point. ya'll just hate germans or something? damn
Thor Industries is located in the Mid-West USA. Other then some possible 3rd-gen German immigrant ancestry working for them, there's no Sauerkraut in this coach build. Also, considering the Charleston, SC Sprinter van assembly plant, there's a good chance the German influence on this build exists only in design and engineering of the chassis. @4:20 we point out the Propane systems on this build. Good luck with your Thor!
Have you come across the Jayco Terrain/Entegra Launch? If so any thoughts on the build quality?
Jayco is owned by Thor - while we haven't had any in the shop (yet) the build quality is probably comparable. For slightly more than the Jayco Terrain you could get one of our most epic set ups, and it's for sale. reparadise.co/campers/2022-luxury-4x4-sprinter-van-for-sale/