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RTinVa

2017 Thor 35SD

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My wife and I are downsizing possibly this week from our 2014 Fleetwood Expedition 38B to a 2017 Thor 35SB Super C.  The Fleetwood has been very good to us but for a number of reasons I have decided the Super C will be more beneficial for us.  I read the issues expressed in a previous post regarding a 2015 with the diesel.  It appears the fit and finishes in the 2017 has improved from the Thor products I have seen in the past from a few to five years ago.  The 2017 is a Ford 550 frame with the 6.7 diesel. We hope we are making a positive move and hope we are satisfied for years to come with the 35SD.  Any thought or comments are very much appreciated.

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Speaking for the chassis, decent powertrain as far as dependability goes. They are a bit costly for routine maintenance but not more than you are use to now. The only concern I observed is most serious repairs require the cab to raise for access, with that overhead bunk it could get interesting. Below is a 2016 (same chassis) a friend is working on :blink:

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Think I'll pass on this!  Labor alone, would not make me a happy camper.  What's being done?  Trans or engine?

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Look at all the shivs and idler pulleys:wacko:. I remember when all there was were the Harmonic Balancer, Water Pump and Generator (which was also the tensioner).

Am I dating myself or what?:wub:

Herman

 

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Ate a camshaft! To pull the cam you have to pull the heads, to pull the heads you have to remove it from the engine bay :blink:. Herman, that engine has the following;

Two radiators

Four thermostats

Two water pumps

It literally has a cooling system for the emissions system and a cooling system for the base engine. very complex but surprisingly pretty dependable. The biggest problem...take a look at the cab on the lift, to the left of the radiator you see a rectangle opening, that is the air intake to the engine, when its assembled it sits between the passenger side headlamp and the grill, when you hit a puddle of water it throws water out in front of you, you drive into it, suck it into the air filter and BOOM, Blown engine! I have a customer with Four of these, he has lost 2 engines from this. I told him to stop driving in the rain or avoid puddles on the right side of the road, it wasn't designed for that :lol:

Honestly, if I was in the market for a Class C I would consider one, just without the overhead bunk. I'm betting there is another way to pull that engine, but the shop manual says to raise the cab, and the cab is designed to come off in under an hour, that is all they would pay if under warranty.

 

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I would not consider that class c.  When I changed engines on my last coach, which was a diesel pusher, all I had to do to fully access the engine and trans was to remove the rear door.  That was a easy as removing the hood from a regular truck.  Everything slid out the back.  I replaced the mechanical Cummins for a electronic ISB and 4 speed Allison to a 6 speed.

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