Thor Sanctuary Cabinet FAIL!
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- Опубліковано 22 лип 2024
- Our Thor Tranquility / Sanctuary 19P camper van cabinets fell off while driving! It's a clear example of faulty workmanship in this van, and I've heard this is not an isolated case but a problem that has happened to others too. Fortunately no one was riding in back at the time. Sometimes the only way to know it's done right is to do it yourself, so I'll show you how I fixed the problem to make sure this never happens again. Bonus - how to relocate the Truma heat and DHW control panel to the front.
- Наука та технологія
Thanks for posting this. Mine(19L) is about to fall off as well. I was planning on fixing it myself, and this is a huge help!
Glad I could help
Thank you for all the insightful video's about this van, as we are thinking about purchasing one of these. I guess I'm like you if it breaks I will repair it myself and your experience will surely help. I would encourage you to share your upgrades to Thor and see what they have to say, you would probably make a very good consultant for them.
Glad you found the videos useful. Thor did contact me about the cabinet failure after I published this video but they did not seem very receptive when I suggested they do a safety recall to fix the cabinet issue before someone gets hurt. I just hope others don't encounter this problem when someone is riding in back. If you consider purchasing one just be sure to do a VERY thorough inspection first.
Thank you for taking the time to make this video. I've been trying to decide if I want to custom build or buy from a factory. Thor has so many problems as noted by other owners who also published on UA-cam. Your video helped me scratch off Thor as a possible manufacturer I would purchase.
Great video. I tried the warranty call with General RV with my Thor Sanctuary 19L and after 4 weeks of them doing nothing I just went and picked it and made the repairs myself in a day.
I heard similar stories from others about poor response from Thor and General, which is why I decided to just get it done. And on the bright side (which is not to say this didn't suck) it was a useful opportunity to fix the dumb location of the Truma panel. It's so much more convenient now, and with my own fasteners I'm 100% confident this cabinet won't be falling off again.
I like watching the way you solve problems.
Glad you enjoyed it. I could wish for fewer problems to solve, but as I say every problem is also an opportunity.
I purchased a 2023 Thor tranquility, it’s nice to see that your changes made it into their production model!
The model was fairly recently released when I got it, so they should have most of the problems worked out by now. Hope you enjoy your van!
Thanks for the video - I like how you look at problems like that as opportunities - much better than complaining about it.
To be honest I complain about it, just not on UA-cam because nobody wants to listen to that. :-) And I do try to see every problem as an opportunity to make things somehow better than they were before. It doesn't always work out that way, but often does.
That's so discouraging considering what they charge for these units! And seems no Quality Control!
Good luck and safe travels!
Thanks for sharing your experience. I am considering class b vans and this helps a great deal who to avoid
A really insightful video, Thanks.
Thanks for the video, very helpful.
You're welcome!
Wow, this video was very helpful. Thanks
Fwiw - I looked at a 19p a couple weeks ago and the cabinets were on our list of items to inspect. Both sides appeared extremely solid and sturdy. In fact the screw heads (not Philip slotted more of a square) and they were all an equal distance from each other.
I expect that the cabinet failures were in a limited number of units due to having one or more installers that just weren't properly trained. Thor has known about this problem for some time so I would hope the cabinets are solid in any recent production.
Great Video Jay. I have the same issue. What length of screws did you use to replace the the original too short screws?
Great job there.
I had heard the quality of RVs, not just Thor, since Covid is questionable at best.
During covid, many manufacturers lost their employees, for multiple reasons and at the same time there was a huge demand for RVs.
So manufacturers just threw them out the door as fast as possible, built by people who didn't know what they are doing.
Thor is not known for their quality cabinetry. I have an older one, 2008 Class A Windsport and I couldn't believe how badly the cabinets have been put together. Very shoddy work.
Surprisingly our cabinets seem pretty well put together, just poorly attached. I'm sure it's hit-and-miss like most things in the RV industry.
What great quality control.
I have a Thor sequence. Some great ideas. May just do this before I have problems.
Well done. That's not going anywhere now. Unfortunately, Thor has still not issued a recall for this problem. The cabinets in at least two model years 21 & 22 are still failing.
OMG! Yep seen this before. Mine squeaks like crazy. Thinking about adding some type of support cabinet.🤔
Were you able to get to the wiring sections that are between the underside lights and the bottom of the cabinet with this taken off? I was changing one of the led bulbs and the wire just came off it wasn't even attached and now I can't get at it. Thinking if I take it off I can see behind the cabinet in the hidden middle section?
Once the cabinet is taken off you can get to all the wiring above it, but as I recall there are two layers of plywood in the bottom with wires in between them and offhand I can't recall whether that is open at the back or not. I think before removing the cabinet I'd try removing the light and enlarging the hole enough to fish around for the wire. I also have a little USB endoscope that has come in handy for situations like that, and they are quite cheap on Amazon so you might consider trying one of those to find the wire. Don't expect good image quality but it's a cheap way to see into tight spaces.
@@BrainRight I did make a bigger hole but that scope idea seems to be the ticket I’ll try next! Thank you I definitely can try to fish it but I’ll need some sort of flexible hook or something
Jay what size screws did you use for the front bracket to attach it to the door frame?
I used a single stainless-steel 1/4-20 hex bolt with the head ground down on 2 sides to make a "T" bolt of sorts, passed through a 1/4" hole I drilled in the channel right above the door opening. With the T in the channel it holds the bolt head and I only need to tighten the stainless locknut to secure the bracket. I also added a dab of silicone caulk to seal it up.
Thanks for the warning
How did you repair the big hole you cut out?
I only cut out above the cabinets so it doesn't show once the cabinets are put back up.
My wife and I are in the selection/research phase before buying our rv. We like your informative channel ery much. We have almost selected the Thor Tranquility 19P but then we read that lithium ion batteries emit some sort of toxic gasses including CO2. I believe that in that floor plan the batteries are right under the bed! Have you ever heard anything in this regards? Do you think this is something to be concerned of?
The lithium batteries are indeed under the bed. The *production* of lithium batteries generates significant CO2 but I don't think they emit CO2 or any other gasses in normal operation.
Thank God no one was in the seat.
Has Thor contacted you after seeing this? This is a very solid repair. I also have the 19P and recently been having starting issues from the main battery. My wife and I bought a Battery Jumper which saved us many times. I'm taking it into Mercedes Service next week.
I think it's a bad battery.
Keep posting
I got a voicemail from Thor last week and have been playing phone tag, and finally spoke to Britney in their support dept today. She said the usual "let us know if there's anything we can do" but didn't offer anything substantive when I expressed my concern that others have this problem and it could lead to a serious injury if someone were riding in the back seat. I also pointed out that at least one other person reported this cabinet failure as a warranty issue months ago so Thor has been aware of it. I think they should issue a recall to fix it before someone gets hurt, but I will be surprised if Thor actually does that.
I'm under the impression that Thor has terrible quality control control I don't know if if it's the workers Not caring or if it's management over not overseaing
Are you kidding. For the price you paid for this van. I would have lost my mind. Unreal Thor.
I just try to keep it in perspective. Yes it is terrible, but then again *very* low on the scale of terrible things that happen to people. At least it was only an inconvenience and didn't cause any injuries.
Mine Thor Tranquility just like yours mine also fell off I was in San Diego California LA MESA rv in San Diego fix it they said they 3 so far wrong screws to broken off poorly installed at factory I want to thank the people who fixed it at LA MESA RV in San Diego
Yeah I've heard from other people too and it seems to be quite a few Thor vans that had that problem, glad you got yours fixed.
What year are these that are having this problem please? I was considering buying one but I'm not if they are this recklessly made.
Same… same. Honestly we looked at a 2022 a couple months ago in NJ. And the same cabinet had a gap on one end towards the couch. I assumed at the time just poor QC. But now hindsight I wonder if it was just sagging.
Between this and the numerous water leaks videos I’ve seen. I’m seriously thinking maybe I’ll need to save more money for a better van 😢🥺
@@JohnSeitz That's terrible, things are so cheaply made today it's beyond unacceptable. We pay for the "brand name" of junk made in China!
Happy exploring....
@@SuzyQ777 agree. Though these issues aren’t due to Chinese products. Rather poor build quality and I assume even worse training at Thor in The USA
This is a 2022 model that we bought mid-2021. To be fair, the workmanship on the cabinets themselves (made in-house by Thor as I understand it) seems pretty good. It's the installation of the cabinets that was botched. It seems that way in general, a mix of good and bad workmanship. Unfortunately, well-made cabinets don't do much good when they fall off.
@@BrainRight Best of luck in getting it right and enjoy your travels, thanks for the info!
I own same unit from Thor and it’s trash. My shelf also fell off and caught fire when the alternator wire shorted out on the propane tank.
Yikes!
I haven't owned an RV and never will after watching so many horror stories about the poor quality of RVs. I'd spend over $100K on buying an RV like this or a little better quality without a toilet. Thanks, but no, thanks. Great video! Thank you for sharing.
Have you had any problems with freezing water lines in this van? I also live in an area where it can get below freezing and I do not want the lines to freeze.
You need to winterize the water system before freezing weather. There are instructions in the owners manual for draining it and filling with RV antifreeze. The Truma heater must also be drained of water, but it's still usable for space heating.
I just hang off of one on a brand new 19P on a showroom floor.
The insulation shortage was done intentionally to save on material costs. The unacceptable cabinet as originally installed by Thor should prompt a National recall.
Poor workmanship looks to be across some of these class B units. I sure hope the manufacturers fix the root of the problem.
I'd put a sheet of ome kind of insulating plastic over the installation that shown
I am a bit shocked about the poor quality of this Thor Sprinter. Thor merged the HYMER GROUP in Germany in 2017. One of the biggest producer of RV in Europe. They do also conversions on the Sprinter or Fiat Ducato,which is branded in the US as a Dodge☺. Why they dont use this knowledge for their customer?
Whats the price for this weird Thor?
Really where that installation is they should just be blowing foam into there I can't be unless they can't because they know you're not to take it apart for wires and stuff
From your first video, the company should have payed you to take it back. I'll never get a thor van.
The cabinets in my Tranquility are a joke, the cheapest particle board and not well put together at all. Self tapping screws, some stripped out, others cammed out by the phillips driver. Thor should upgrade these to light plywood or a composite material. Also the cabinet door magnets are not only weak but one was missing a screw and the other was stripped out allowing a drawer to slide open. I taped it shut until I could fix it myself when I got home.
To be fair, I thought the upper cabinets were reasonably well constructed for RV cabinets despite not being attached well. I would not be surprised if the quality is hit-and-miss. The lower sink cabinet is just okay, not terrible in my case but not great either. I doubled up the magnets on the drawers and that has held them well. I also added a nice metal boat-style latch to the "closet" cabinet after it opened on a rough trail and dumped its contents. These are all things we shouldn't have to do, but at least they're fixable.
Anyone up for a class action lawsuit? Our tranquility cabinet just fell down after owning for 6 months. We have endured numerous problems with this RV (requiring towing twice, the first time within the first week). I have made lot of little and not so little repairs but this is ridiculous. It would have been so easy to have installed these cabinets (and everything else) correctly.
I’m sure if you returned it they would of not done a quality job like you did
The dealer might have done a quality job, but I would forever wonder if they were about to fall off again. At least this way I don't have to worry about it.
I was in the market for a possible Thor Tranquility ..but after seeing how crappy they build a product has really turn me off..half ass job with a High end price...
I've heard from some people who are happy with the newer ones, implying that Thor has worked out most of the problems from the early ones such as mine. But I've also heard from others who say their dealer has fixed multiple vans with the same cabinet screw problem. From what I've heard I do think the quality has improved, but I can't say I'd buy another van from Thor.