Any opinions on a Thor Tahoe Transport trailer?

[Chris Cory - President 2012-14 -Life Memeber]

Hey guys, I am looking at doing a trade with a guy that has a 2006 38 foot Thor Tahoe Transport trailer that is fully loaded. It will be plus cash of coarse, I am not giving my motorhome away.  Anyone hear anything about them in your own searches when you bought your trailers?

Everything I have found on them seem to be positive.

Thanks

[Charlie & Darlene Barney - Life Members, 2015 President]

I'm no help. All I can say it is like anything else if it is taken care of I'm sure it will be fine.

Charlie

[Donn Nay]

I had a Wanderer made by Thor of CA, same Mfr. and Brian and Bob Johnson have Thor products. Decent trailers for sure. Had a few minor issues when new that the dealer fixed. Mine was a 1999 21' tag trailer and the only semi-major issue was the water tanks were not mounted very well. The dealer did a cheesy fix that I later beefed up. Check the generator, Thor used a Generac back then which is not as dependable at the Onan IMO but still serviceable. I would have bought another if they had a floor plan I liked, only upgraded because we wanted a fifth wheel with a master bedroom that would sleep more, hated climbing up into the bed on the old one, now walk around bed is wonderful.

Is this a fifth wheel? If not Stacy will not like making the bed in front and a tag trailer that big will be a monster to pull.

Also, look at the tires and wheels. Most of the Tahoes only used tandem axles on their big trailers and that's a lot of load on four tires, most other brands use three axles.

And like Charlie said if it was maintained and treated well you should be fine.

[Brian Matthews]

Along with Donn, my 27 foot 5th wheel is a Thor product.  No complaints about the trailer, but it is what it is.  Meaning, it is not plush and fluffy.  Mine is very utilitarian and functional.  Nothing flashy, but it all works.  My only current problem is a hole in my gray water tank at about the 2/3 level.  I can't see what may have worn it, so I'm assuming it was just a faulty tank.  As those who have seen my rig know, my awning is falling apart.  Again, I don't think that is a Thor problem (it's an AE awning).  Mine has a single A/C, which is marginal in hot weather.  I changed the duct registers and get a little better air distribution now, but that big box is a lot of volume for one air to cool.  Mine only came with a 4000 Onan and 30 amp service, so I'm stuck with one air.  I'm sure the langer ones have a 5500, so you would be able to handle two.  Thor uses super cheap OEM tires.  On a big trailer, higher end after-markets would almost seem a requirement. 

[Chris Cory - President 2012-14 -Life Memeber]

It does have triple axles with at least 15" D rated tires. I will upgrade to the E rated if I changed them for extra safety.
It also has the Onan 5500 gold like my motorhome with two air conditioners. It has an in motion satellite system and all the bells and whistles. It has the loft inside and the two electric beds in the garage. The bottom one makes into a coach also.

Here are some pictures. We are going to see it next Monday so we will see what happens.
We are looking at getting this trailer plus between 42K - 45K in cash for our motohome. Think it is a good deal?

[Donn Nay]

I don't know what your MH is worth so can't comment but that seems pretty good. That's a nice trailer for sure. What are you towing it with? Be sure to check you tow capacity, I would think you'd need a dually for a trailer that large. Having a garage is really a luxury too. Will all four of your quads fit in that garage? I would think you'll have to stand up the kids' and will it still be large enough when Nathan grows into larger quad? Looks like a well maintained trailer from the pics and with two A/C and the auto satellite you'd be comfy in the summer too, heck I'll come stay with you!!

[Chris Cory - President 2012-14 -Life Memeber]

Hey Donn, I should be fine with my 2500HD. I can put 6900 on my rear axle and tires and I am at 2700 empty. After the hitch and everything I can do a pin weight of a little less that 4 K. It should be down around the low 3K mark though depending on how it is loaded. I may be a little over the gross combined weight limit but I am not to worried about that number. I have the 8.1 with the Allison tranny, same as in my motorhome. The dually does help with stability some, I have pulled a 37' with both single and dually trucks. What many people don't think about is the dually trucks weigh a lot more which eats into the combined weight limit. They can handle more pin weight but not as much combined weight. My dad spent a lot of time making the gas tanker trucks lighter so they could hall more product, same principle.

As far as the garage goes it will be a little tight but they will all fit. The width is fine but the 12' length is a few inches to short to have 2 FULL size quads end to end. Since I only have two full size quads now I am fine and as far as the future goes, I may be back on a bike eventually anyway.
Nate also wants a bike so his next one may not be a quad.

We will see next weekend. 

[Donn Nay]

Sounds like you've done your homework on the weight issue but double check as the weight of toy haulers are typically WAY over what the MFR. states. You may want to weigh it before you buy it. Also if you are running the 8.1 your mileage is gonna SUCK big time. Ask Bob Johnson, he dumped his gasser for a diesel as he could hardly afford to take his trailer out it got such poor mileage, don't remember which motor he had though, maybe it was the 6.0. Brian has the same drivetrain as yours and I know his mileage is much worse than mine when we've vacationed together. Since you have the same thing in your motorhome this all may not come as much of a surprise though.

[Chris Cory - President 2012-14 -Life Memeber]

8.1 millage sucks? I get 12 in my truck empty!  I only get around 6.5 for the trip average in the motorhome which includes generator use. So yes I will not be surprised. 

As far as the weights go, I am expecting them to be higher. It is listed as 2600 pin weight and I should be able to handle a 1000 over that so I think I am okay. I will be using a 22K hitch that I have so that part is way overkill.

[Donn Nay]

8.1 millage sucks? I get 12 in my truck empty!  I only get around 6.5 for the trip average in the motorhome which includes generator use. So yes I will not be surprised. 

As far as the weights go, I am expecting them to be higher. It is listed as 2600 pin weight and I should be able to handle a 1000 over that so I think I am okay. I will be using a 22K hitch that I have so that part is way overkill.

You WILL need air bags for sure, or Timbrens or the truck will squat unacceptably. I almost need them, truck goes down just past level.

[Brian Matthews]

Chris
I pull my TB with a 2500 HB and 8.1.  I get anywhere from 6.5 to 8.5 MPG, depending on where I'm going.  However, when I pull the hill on 395 from the turn off Garlock, I can watch the gas gauge move.  She pulls strong, but she likes her gas.  Anyway, the trailer looks clean and comfy.  Be sure the truck is rated to pull the overall weight.  Your insurance will continue to collect premiums, but drop you like a hot rock come payout time if you are towing overweight.  My 27' is right around 11,500 loaded (my best guess, I need to find a scale to get real world numbers). 

[Chris Cory - President 2012-14 -Life Memeber]

Thanks for the info Brian, I will be very close to the max combined weight. But that would be the same as if I had a 3500 dually since they both have the same rating of 22K.
Since the 3500 dually weighs more it can actually tow less overall weight. The only advantage is the higher axles weight capabilities.

The trailer GVWR is either 16500 or 17200, I will find out Monday when I look at it. I don't think I will be loading it that heavy anyway so I think I will be okay. I will be putting it on the scales if I get it. At this point it is pretty much a done deal if we like the trailer. They want the motorhome and they shouldn't have any problems with the financing.

As far as the gas mileage goes, I am not really concerned and if I get 6.5 I will be happy.

Another benefit of this trailer is we could make some extra money making "movies" with that black and red leather interior! 

[Bob Johnson - D37 Rep]

Well I made it back ALIVE!!
As far as the Thor products, obviously the "D" rated tires are an issue, even the "E's" have given us trouble, but Your gonna have an extra axel to spread out the weight.  ALL of our failures have been on the rear tires, I assume because of the weight in the back (1,200#'s of Rhino").
I would look at the floor very carefully, we have to replace the floor in the cargo area and the under bed storage area, water has leaked thru the compartment doors and damaged the particle board flooring.
As Donn said, we had to replace he sheetmetal screws that hold the angle iron supports for all of the tanks, I drilled out the holes and put 5/16" bolts/nuts in the place of the smallish self drilling screws.
Hope that it has an Onan Genny, I have at least 2 friends over at BPMC with Gennerac Gennys, both have problems getting them going virtually every trip.
One has had fuel pump/carb problems, the other has to use starting fluid most every time he goes out.
All of the other stuff has been cosmetic and fairly easy to fix or modify.
They have Tahoe's, I have the lower priced Wanderer.

Hope that helps!!

[Bob Johnson - D37 Rep]

One more thing, I had the 6.0 "small block" It did not have the torque needed to pull our rig, so it constantly downshifted and usually was in 2nd gear spinning like 5K RPM  on ANY HILL
4 to 6 MPG was about all she could get, now were around the 8 to 10 MPG fully loaded with the Dizzle.
The 8.1 and Allison have the roughly the same tow capacity as the Diesel.

[Chris Cory - President 2012-14 -Life Memeber]

Well I made it back ALIVE!!
As far as the Thor products, obviously the "D" rated tires are an issue, even the "E's" have given us trouble, but Your gonna have an extra axel to spread out the weight.  ALL of our failures have been on the rear tires, I assume because of the weight in the back (1,200#'s of Rhino").
I would look at the floor very carefully, we have to replace the floor in the cargo area and the under bed storage area, water has leaked thru the compartment doors and damaged the particle board flooring.
As Donn said, we had to replace he sheetmetal screws that hold the angle iron supports for all of the tanks, I drilled out the holes and put 5/16" bolts/nuts in the place of the smallish self drilling screws.
Hope that it has an Onan Genny, I have at least 2 friends over at BPMC with Gennerac Gennys, both have problems getting them going virtually every trip.
One has had fuel pump/carb problems, the other has to use starting fluid most every time he goes out.
All of the other stuff has been cosmetic and fairly easy to fix or modify.
They have Tahoe's, I have the lower priced Wanderer.

Hope that helps!!

Thanks for the info Bob. The floor felt better than the new Cyclones and Forrest Rivers units we looked at. There was a little squeak in one spot by the couch but everywhere else felt very solid. The D rated tires should be enough for the 5K axle rating but I think I will be putting E rated tires on it just to be sure. The tanks are supported up at the top and not on the bottom. Sort of a T shape tank the rests on the sides of the T but I will look closer when I get it. The generator is the Onan Gold just like my motorhome. Those Genneracs suck and are LOUD!

It is in pretty good shape but does look more used than my motorhome. Nothing major just a few small things here and there. But it is a little over a year older and started off as a cheaper unit so I can't complain. We deal we agreed on is I get the trailer and 44K cash for the motorhome. So we get a pretty nice 40 foot trailer and get to put some cash in the bank.

We will know for sure in a few days since he has to arrange his financing but it shouldn't be a problem. Keep your fingers crossed for me!