Almost new motorhome owner

[foglght]

Sold my Forest River Work and Play 38SB about a year ago and have been researching what we should get next. It has been an extremely laborious process to look at all the options and details. I was racing previously, but have sold the truck, 5'er and the car. For now I wanted to focus on more camping and spending time with the kids (3 of em).

We needed to find a motorhome that would tow a race car in the future. That was the biggest issue in all of this. The ONLY class C motorhome we can find that really supports towing is the Jayco. Loaded up I estimate about 5,500 to 6,000lbs. with somewhere between 600-700lbs. of tongue weight. All of the class C's except for the Jayco only support a 500lb. tongue weight and many still have a 5,000lb. hitch. After long conversations with Jayco I found out the hitch also supports weight distribution bars as well.

Then, we looked at a Thor Quantum LF31. Well crap, now the debate started with the wife. The thor has an 8k hitch, but only supports 500lbs. of tongue weight. However, it appears from speaking with Thor that I can pretty much put any hitch on I want as long as I don't exceed the GCWR/GVWR.

The list started. Pros and cons of each. I'd say that list had almost 50 things on it at the end. We tallied everything up and, of course, it was even. We even went a step further and counted all the "gotta have it" items and it still came out even. We finally agreed to purchase the Thor. It had a significant advantage in inverter, interior design and had a residential fridge. It also had a battery bank that would accept up to 4 coach batteries. When I went racing in the past, it was mostly dry camping, so that was a big deal. The other thing was the 31FS Greyhawk has 2 slides. The awning is tiny compared to the one on the Thor. We knew we would be happy with either coach, but the Thor edged out just a hair in the end.

Welp, the Thor dealer said they wouldn't move on the price. I tried to be pretty logical with them in showing the MSRP similarities and the features side by side. Nope, no movement. We were at a $5k gap between the Jayco and the Thor.

So, I said thanks but no thanks and went over to the Jayco dealer. We agreed on a great OTD price.

I went to pick it up today, but couldn't take it home. There was a noise/vibration issue that cropped up starting around 60mph and up to 70. After 70 it went away. Problem is, I spend 95% of my time driving @ 65mph. No bueno. After taking it back they said they would definitely get right on it and send it to the Ford dealer. I got a call back and said they spoke to Jayco and know what the problem is. Apparently, the driveshaft is out of alignment and needs a shim kit due to the changeover to the 6-speed automatic. I'm also having them take a look at the Hellwig springs for adjustment and an alignment. It drove pretty decent, but I'm wondering how much better it will be when all this stuff is fixed. I drove another identical unit and it had the same issue. Interesting. At least the dealer is being really good about it.

I am looking forward to picking it up next week........hopefully.

[Mustang65]

CONGRATULATIONS on the JAYCO (Almost)!!!

...and WELCOME TO JOF!!! The members here are GREAT!!! There is a lot of GREAT information to be found here. I am sure that you will have information and pictures to share with us... so please do!!

Don

[House of Harview]

Maybe a bit off topic however, I looked into this Thor diesel TH motor home and was quite impressed. I assume the tow capacity would more than meet your needs. I watched a video on this unit and the slides seemed to be extremely heavy duty. After a short thought, such a unit doesn't meet my criteria and is way out of my budget.

New 2015 Thor Motor Coach Outlaw

[foglght]

Oh yeah, I've looked at them. Interestingly CCC was really low on the one I looked at. Again, it has a 10k hitch, but won't support the appropriate tongue weight. The coach had a rough ride as well.

No desire for a diesel. I've had plenty of diesel trucks in the past.

Plus, out the door those motor homes are 30-40,000 more expensive. No thanks.

[fielro]

Welcome aboard and congrats on new MH

[foglght]

Well, we brought it home yesterday! Spending some time getting the feel for it and sanitizing the tanks.

[oldmanAZ]

Congratulations on the new MH and welcome to the JOF.