Preseason Inspection - Thank you, Scott Tuttle

Started by charliem, July 20, 2019, 10:51:24 AM

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charliem

With all the reports of wall separation and cracked welds I decided to inspect my 21BHS before beginning this year's camping season. Happily all is well. The walls are in place, the welds are beautiful, the tongue is connected, the waste tanks are properly installed and secure and there are no freeze damaged pipes. I had previously replaced the beeping CO monitor that had passed its five year life span. The only problems found are a failed stove thermocouple and the known countertop delamination issues. Even the non Chinese BFGoodrich tires are looking good with no cracking. All as expected but then, I have a 2014 pre-Thor model. Thank you, Scott Tuttle.
Any 20 minute job can be stretched to a week with proper planning

Charlie
Northern Colorado
2014 21RBS
2013 Tacoma supercharged 4.0L V6
E2 WDH, P3 controller

DavidM

Me too for my 2013 16TBS. It is amazing how Thor ran the LL product into the ground with cheaper materials and shoddy construction in a few short years.

Here's to Scott Tuttle as well!!!

David

MitchB

I'm with you! My 2013 13QBB has been flawless.
If it ain't broke it probably will be soon.

GrampaKilt

OK, time to bring Scott down a notch. Soon I will post my bow window install. As part of the process, I recovered all my valances. You would not believe how shoddy the construction was--numerous staples driven into the edges of 1/8" MDF (complete splitting), weathered and water damaged pieces of OSB, no glue, no pieces were tightly nailed to each other and not lined up either. The idiotic way the valances were attached into the adzel is laughable. The fabric held the valances together, that is, until they fell off the wall...

Yet, I love my trailer and when I change the countertop and make good the tabletop :P, re-secure the upper cabinets :o, construct proper valances >:( and complete upgrades by the dozens, I know this TT is truly worthy of being generational ;). GK

DavidM

Maybe your 2014 was built after Thor acquired LL and moved the factory. That may have happened sometime in 2014 and is when the problems started.

David

djsamuel

Quote from: DavidM on July 20, 2019, 03:43:46 PM
Maybe your 2014 was built after Thor acquired LL and moved the factory. That may have happened sometime in 2014 and is when the problems started.

David
Thor bought Livin Lite in late August 2013.  The press release was dated 27 August 2013 and the deal was to be finalized August 30th.  We were in negotiations for our 2013 21BHS at the time and I used the acquisition to help get a better deal from the dealer.  Worked well for me and the trailer has held up very well.  However, it is really a shame to see what happened.

GrampaKilt

I picked up my 2014 CL from the Wakarusa plant on September 17, 2013. The order was placed early in July and I was told it would be 3 months before delivery. I may have received an update in August that the TT was on the assembly line. Given djsamuel's remarks, I think my 14DB is mostly a 'Tuttle'. Even so, the deal called for Scott to manage for year or so after selling to Thor.

That said, the proverbial room for improvement was large for the 'Tuttle's'. Given his radical TT concept, maybe growing pains resulted in occasions of questionable alum welding by inexperienced tradesmen and lackadaisical workmanship. The trailers themselves lacked finesse and were bereft of features that were common in other brands and should have come with the price tag.

But OH! does it have good bones! When I fix or make upgrades, it's worth doing because I feel these are perfecting a gem in the rough--something that will not rust out from beneath me--a trailer that might even last for a generation or two, just as Scott envisioned. GK

Apollo

I have a 2016 built in 2015. I've done quite a few mods and my camper is great. There have been no structural failures of any kind and all the hidden areas I worked on have been well built.

Going to guess that some days are better than others in all manufacturing plants.

dlb53151

Apollo - would you mind sharing some of the mods you did? 


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