RoadVitals

1998 Thor Dutchmen Owner Complaints

Reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers, shown in full

Data refreshed

Complaints on fileComplaints are reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a complaint does not establish that a defect exists. Volume is influenced by how many of a vehicle were sold, how long it has been on the road, and how much attention an issue has received.
4
Latest Mar 17, 2004
Crash or fire reportedComplaints whose submitter recorded that a crash or a fire occurred. These are the reporter's own answers on the NHTSA form, not verified findings.
0
Filed in the last 12 monthsReports filed with NHTSA in the trailing 365 days. Recent volume reflects attention and vehicle age as much as anything else.
0
Reports on file since Jul 2, 2001

What this page shows

Our database holds 4 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 1998 Thor Dutchmen. Each one is a report filed by an owner or driver and published by NHTSA without most of them being verified. A complaint is not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. Narratives are shown exactly as filed.

Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.

Complaints, most recent first

Showing 1–4 of 4

Tires & wheels
Filed Mar 17, 2004

I EXPERIENCED TWO TIRE BLOWOUTS WITHIN 200 MILES OF EACH OTHER WITH FIRESTONE STEELTEX TIRES. THE TIRE SIZE IS LT225/75R16, LOAD RANGE E. EACH TIRE HAD OVER 3/8'S OF AN INCH OF TREAD LEFT. THE MILEAGE ON THE TIRES WAS APPROXIMATELY 29,500. BOTH BLOWOUTS WERE THE INNER TIRE OF A DUAL REAR SET. THE VEHICLE INVOLVED IS A 1998 DUTCHMEN CLASS C MOTORHOME ON A FORD SUPER DUTY VAN CHASSIS. THE FIRST BLOWOUT WAS VERY EXPLOSIVE AND VIOLENT. THE EXPLOSION LIFTED THE REAR OF THE MOTORHOME AND CAUSED A MOMENT OF UNCONTROLLABLE SLIDING. THE BLOWOUT OCCURRED AT ABOUT 75 MPH. IT WAS A COMPLETE TREAD SEPARATION. THIS BLOWOUT ALSO DAMAGED THE EXHAUST SYSTEM AND UNDERCARRIAGE OF THE VEHICLE. ON THE RETURN TRIP HOME, ABOUT 200 MILES LATER, THE OTHER INSIDE REAR TIRE BLEW. THIS BLOWOUT WAS MUCH TAMER. IT WAS A SIDEWALL SPLIT AND THE TREAD REMAINED ATTACHED. THIS BLOWOUT OCCURRED AT 65 MPH. NO ADDITIONAL DAMAGE TO THE MOTORHOME OCCURRED AND MANUVERABILITY OF THE VEHICLE WAS NOT COMPROMISED. THE AIR PRESSURE AT THE BEGINNING OF THE TRIP WAS CHECKED - 65 FRONT, 75 REAR. BEFORE RETURNING FOR HOME, THE PRESSURE WAS CHECKED AGAIN - 65 FRONT, 75 REAR. *NM

NHTSA ID
10062420
Incident
Mar 12, 2004
Mileage
29,500 mi
Tires & wheels
Filed Aug 29, 2003

IN UTAH, YESTERDAY ABOUT 5:30 P.M., HEADING TOWARDS SALT LAKE CITY IN I-80, ABOUT 10 MILES OUT OF COALVILLE, UTAH, THE FIRESTONE STEELTEX RADIAL R4S LT225/65 R16 M/S ON THE RIGHT OUTSIDE DUALLY OF OUR 1998 CHATEAU CLASS C MOTORHOME SUFFERED A TREAD SEPARATION. THE ENTIRE TREAD CAME OFF THE TIRE. WE CALLED A TIRE STORE IN SALT LAKE THAT RECOMMENDED WE LIMP TO THE NEXT TOWN, WHICH WE DID. ABOUT 2 MILES OUT OF COALVILLE THE TIRE BLEW OUT, WE WERE GOING ABOUT 35 MPH IN THE EMERGENCY LANE, SO NOTHING MAJOR HAPPENED, OUTSIDE OF SOME DAMAGE TO THE FENDER WELL. WE HAVE 5 MORE ON THIS VEHICLE JUST LIKE THIS. THEY NEED TO BE REPLACED BEFORE SOMETHING SERIOUS HAPPENS. THIS TIRE IS A HAZARD, AND NEED TO BE RECALLED. IF THIS HAD BEEN A FRONT TIRE, WE MIGHT HAVE BEEN DEAD. IT SHOULDN'T HAVE TO COME TO THAT. ESPECIALLY SINCE THIS TIRE IS THE WORKHORSE COUNTERPART TO THE WILDERNESS TIRES THAT HAVE KILLED SO MANY ALREADY.

NHTSA ID
10036866
Incident
Aug 28, 2003
Mileage
19,000 mi
Body & structure
Filed Jun 25, 2002

FRAME AND CROSS MEMBERS HAVE CRACKED. MANUFACTURER HAS BEEN NOTIFIED. *AK THE TRAILER FRAME HAS MANY CRACKS, SOME OF WHICH YOU CAN SEE RIGHT THROUGH. THE WELDS HOLDING THE TOUNGUE WERE CRACKED AND THE OTHER MAJOR CRACKS WERE SEPARATED FROM THE FRAME. THE THOR TAHOE TT 28FBSS TRAILER HAS BEEN REPAIRED. *GJ

NHTSA ID
8012617
Suspension
Filed Jul 2, 2001

REPORTING REAR SPRING HANGER ON FIFTH WHEEL TRAILER HAS BROKEN FROM FRAME DUE TO A DEFECTIVE PART, ASKING NHTSA TO ASSIST IN THIS MATTER.PROVIDE ANY FURTHER INFORMATION.*AK

NHTSA ID
891864
Incident
Jun 30, 2001

Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.

Data sources

Data on this page last refreshed .