Axis/Vegas 25.5 reviews please

[micd]

Hi we are looking at the Axis/Vegas 25.5. Please provide as detailed review as you would care to share on your experience with the 25.5.

In particular we like how we can pull one of the beds out part way but still leave a small aisle to get to the bathroom. This allows one of the beds to fit a person and dogs without as much crowding. We will likely have new mattresses cut out of latex foam to fit the remaining twin and newly expanded twin. The existing cushions would likely go in our basement. Hopefully the new foam would make the beds slightly lower for our dogs to jump up on. We would likely leave this set up in full time. We would also try to put a pin into the bed extension to hold it in place. Has anyone done anything similar and how did it work out?

We would also like to put in new table supports so that the table can be in when the slide is in. Has anyone done this? There is a chance we would just never bother deploying the slide. Were in the camp of no slides are the best number of slides. I see there are a couple of others on the forum like this.

Is there any useful purpose for the countertop extension that extends over the toilet making it unusable? I could see stacking toilet paper on the shelf beneath it or putting in a net and storing shampoo bottles there. Both would require removing the countertop extension. With the counter blocking use of the toilet I really don't see any time you would bother putting it up as you could never leave anything out on it.

Some questions:
Do you find the table bases a bit high and trip over them? I think the plastic disks on top are not "back friendly" so I can't see putting them back on once they are taken off and likely they would get lost anyways. If we end up having issues with such high table bases we would have to remove them and replace with ones more flush with the floor.

We saw daylight in the back corner closet. How was your initial quality?

What are your likes and dislikes for the unit.

What suspension mods have you made?

What other mods?

Where do you store lawn chairs and other large items? Is it possible to remove the mattress in the drop down bunk and put them there?

Thanks!

[micd]

Our test drive was a bust. The steering wheel and the drivers seat were not properly lined up. Found the passenger seat left foot room was too restrictive for comfort. And the loveseat cushion bottomed out when going over minor bumps on the expressway.

We still like the overall floor plan so are looking at the Thor Citation 24sv. Will start a new thread on that model.

[axis earl]

You might want to find another unit to see if the seat is in the proper place before you totally give up and go to a Class C.... or not....

[JamieGeek]

Originally Posted by axis earl

You might want to find another unit to see if the seat is in the proper place before you totally give up and go to a Class C.... or not....

My thoughts as well: The issues they mention sound more like assembly issues than design ones (steering wheel and front seat can easily be re-aligned, etc.).

I do understand, however, the importance of a first impression and how difficult it is to shake that: "Hmm if this Axis/Vegas unit is like this, they all must be". You must keep in mind that you are looking at a sample of one (especially when there are many happy owners on the forums here and elsewhere--granted there are a few unhappy ones as well; sadly that seems to be the nature of RVs these days).

micd: Whenever there is a new floorplan there usually is considerable discussion about it here on the forums.
Here are a couple about it:
http://www.thorforums.com/forums/f17...-5-a-5239.html
http://www.thorforums.com/forums/f17...-5-a-6163.html

[tigwelder]

don't know what kind of 25 -2 you are looking at? i would look at a 2016 -17.

[Chance]

There is nothing inherently inferior with Class Cs to make them less desirable -- it comes down to preferences. In many cases similar Class C motorhomes cost much less than their Class A counterparts, and while they have smaller cab areas, they offer other advantages. If you can find a Class C you like, I wouldn't necessarily view it as settling for a lesser product.


2017 Class A sales edged up 0.2% for year.

2017 Class C sales soared up 20.5% for year.


Thor seems well positioned for this trend in that their market share of Cs is greater than As.

[micd]

Thanks everyone! Especially JamieGeek for the links to the other 2 threads. I had searched 25.5 but nothing came up. Seems like others on the threads reported the same search problem.

The discussions were interesting. Seems like several were using the beds like we would, as a twin and full. And they seemed happy with the arrangement, not reporting any problems.

I know some of you are shaking your heads saying why not the 24.1. For us the beds are too high for the dogs to jump on. In the 25.5 they are lower.

In terms of giving up on the Axis/Vegas and going with a Mercedes it mostly has to do with the foot impingement of the passenger. We likely could have the seat unbolted and rebolted further back. Especially since the drivers side seat in this unit was bolted too far to the right for the steering wheel to directly align with it.

We also weren't thrilled with the daylight we could see in the back corner closet (meaning there is likely a water leak back there) and the sofa bottoming out when you drove meant that would have to be replaced with something with better cushioning.

But the Thor Citation wasn't perfect either. The Mercedes part was better, seats were in the right place, and foot room was excellent. Stitching on seats was such that the seams caused pain (sort of like the princess and the pea) but that could likely be solved with a wool seat cover. Parts of the Thor Citation were laying around, like the wood cabinet front, exterior locks didn't work or doors were misaligned, part of air conditioner plastic cover broken, fake leather was wearing along where it hit when the slide was put in and out, main door needed realignment and we weren't sure we wouldn't hit the dump valve handle and knock it off when going up our driveway. We loved getting the bunk over the drivers area for storage. Lawn chairs and dog pen have to go somewhere.

But then it all came crashing down when we read the 920 lb CCC with 300 lbs subtracted if you had a full water tank so 620lbs. There is 2x the fresh water in grey and black tanks so if you ever did fill your grey and blacks then you, all your gear and any left over fresh water in the tanks are supposed to weigh <320 lbs. Zero chance of that since the two of us and our dog weigh more than that, so this rig may only be a campsite with hook ups rig. By the time we put in max fans, a second battery and solar panels we may have to travel with the clothes on our backs and a bottle of water each if we want to stay at campgrounds with out hook ups. Not sure what we would do for clean clothes and food (she says facetiously).

I can't recall if the Axis 25.5 had storage for out lawn chairs and dog pen. I'm thinking it didn't and we would have to get creative with a hitch mounted cargo carrier. I also don't recall the ccc of the Axis 25.5. If anyone knows it please let me know. It may put it back on our radar.

Thanks!

[Mr Sunshine]

Micd, from what you said, it seems like that dealer is doing a poor job of prepping units for sale. Don't walk, RUN somewhere else!

Even if you have to drive a ways, find another dealer. If their prep is that bad, you can expect that service will be poor, too. The wrong dealer can ruin your RV experience!

[micd]

Mr. Sunshine,
You are right. It is appalling to see the state of the RVs being offered for sale. They always say we fix everything before delivery but it isn't very convincing when they can't be bothered to do the simplest of fixes before offering them for sale. The RVs are falling apart beneath your hands when you are simply looking them over. And this is the things you see on the surface. Hard to imagine what the state is of the things you can't see.

[bruno1950]

Went to the RV show in Tampa a few weeks ago. I wanted to see what the new models looked like and also see all the rigs I could never afford. What amazed me was the state of some of these brand new units. Molding falling off, holes in walls where grill plates should be, etc. This is their showcase and you would think they would take special care to make them as pristine as they could. It really shows how much some dealers just don’t give a crap.

[micd]

Bruno,
Your right the manufacturers just don't care. I guess the only good thing is we can't claim they hide their flaws by showing specially constructed units at the shows. They let it all hang out to be sure we know we're buying crap.

When we are looking at units sometimes the sales person will ask us what we have. We say a 1994 Brave. If he is an old guy he usually says, those were really well designed and constructed units. Several intimated we may want to keep it if we want good quality. One offered to buy it but we already have a buyer within our family who wants it.

The more we look the more my husband wants to keep ours. But he is willing to be a good sport and look at a few more manufacturers. Next up is Pleasure-way, Leisure Travel Van and Coachhouse, if we can find these locally with the twin bed option.

I must say that the Forest River Sunseeker 2390 and 2370 are starting to be stand outs with respect to quality, as was the Thor Ace 29.4 that we looked at. Those all seemed OK when we looked at them.

[JamieGeek]

Originally Posted by micd

Bruno,
Your right the manufacturers just don't care. I guess the only good thing is we can't claim they hide their flaws by showing specially constructed units at the shows. They let it all hang out to be sure we know we're buying crap.

When we are looking at units sometimes the sales person will ask us what we have. We say a 1994 Brave. If he is an old guy he usually says, those were really well designed and constructed units. Several intimated we may want to keep it if we want good quality. One offered to buy it but we already have a buyer within our family who wants it.

The more we look the more my husband wants to keep ours. But he is willing to be a good sport and look at a few more manufacturers. Next up is Pleasure-way, Leisure Travel Van and Coachhouse, if we can find these locally with the twin bed option.

I must say that the Forest River Sunseeker 2390 and 2370 are starting to be stand outs with respect to quality, as was the Thor Ace 29.4 that we looked at. Those all seemed OK when we looked at them.

In some cases, with a good dealer, you do get to see good units (most likely that Ace you saw). Our Axis was a show unit--didn't realize it at first--very few problems with it at all (except for a broken bathroom door--most likely broken from people at the shows not knowing how to operate it--that was replaced).

[micd]

Jamie,
You also have to consider that yours was one of the first built so may have had the designer/engineer overseeing the build procedure to produce the show unit and isn't representative of a line built one that we are seeing now.

[JamieGeek]

Originally Posted by micd

Jamie,
You also have to consider that yours was one of the first built so may have had the designer/engineer overseeing the build procedure to produce the show unit and isn't representative of a line built one that we are seeing now.

Yes that is correct: The Axis/Vegas line started in late 2013 and ours was built around late Dec 13 so yeah it could have been meticulously built.

I'm a little doubtful of that, however, after disassembling things here and there:

• We don't have an outside TV, but the outlet for one is laying on the floor below the kitchen drawers
• When I disassembled the bathroom cabinet (long story LOL) there was so much sawdust there it was burying the water pipes
• I've found a switch box near the furnace just hanging by the 120V wires
• The center dash piece is held on by only 3 of the four bolts
• The passenger window leaked into the wall

If that is "good" quality...hmmm

(We do love the unit, however LOL )

Yes I did say no problems: No problems when we picked it up at the dealer. The above list is things I've found in the past 4 years (most of them found after the 1 year warranty was up--most notably the window leak). Our first year of camping with it was trouble free.

The Axis is our 4th RV (2 TT's, 1 5er and the Axis), all of them had quality issues..kind of comes with the territory these days (and all of them had mods--best part of RV'ing making it yours).

[Pete'sMH]

We bought a coach that had been to several shows. Not an Axis/Vegas but we decided it might be a positive thing. First our coach had about 400 “extra” mikes on it (i.e. more than driving it to the dealer from the factory) and it was 10 months old. We figure that being “used” by the dealer many of its systems will be broken in and/or repaired. The only issues we’ve had so far were a few trim pieces coming loose and a water stained seat cushion which I believed came from someone leaving a window open on a rainy day. It was promptly and courteously replaced by the manufacturer. So far so good.

[micd]

Jamie,
I guess that blows that theory. Also I should clarify my definition of good in this thread is that when you touched things they did not fall off or fall apart in your hands. Also that they managed to get the drivers seat properly installed in front of the steering wheel. You know, looking for those really fine nit picky details (she says facetiously).

I can just see the assembly line.
Bob: Let's get this seat installed so we can go to lunch.
John: But it isn't quite lined up.
Bob: Who cares? The dealership will have to take care of it. I can't be bothered to pull out a tape measure and measure the location of every single one. Besides, they are heavy, and everyone knows we build crap, so we're just meeting expectations.
John: But it's a safety issue.
Bob: Oh quit it John. If you want to build quality product go work somewhere else. We aren't paid to care.

[Chance]

Originally Posted by micd

....cut....

Also that they managed to get the drivers seat properly installed in front of the steering wheel. You know, looking for those really fine nit picky details (she says facetiously).

....cut....

It's not all that unusual for seats in some vehicles to not align straight, and it's by design. Not saying your issue is necessarily one of these.

In the case of the Axis/Vegas, the chassis is built for a van body that is only 80" wide, and they are building a motorhome 94" wide on top of it. Granted the motorhome's nose is narrower, but as you move back to seats the body is much wider. I'm pretty sure the distance between these front seats is farther apart than is the case in a Class C, or older B.

I'd guess they have to rotate seats slightly to compensate for this difference, otherwise steering wheel and pedals would be off to one side by too much.

[mountainsam]

Since it takes dealers 6+ weeks to schedule and make simple repairs it is probably necessary for them to show RVs as they receive them. They need to turn this inventory over quickly and sitting waiting for repairs costs them a lot of cash. Once it is sold they are sitting on the lot waiting for repairs on your dime and the manufacturer pays for the repair. Some times dollars and cents makes no sense.