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Old 10-12-2015, 03:40 AM   #41
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Model: Axis 24.1
State: Tennessee
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We completed a 7500 mi. Trip out west in July & Aug this summer. I got 7.5 in low lands where it was hot and had to run gen. In CO, UT, OR mountains and most of CA got 9-10 when we did not have to run any AC since it was cool enough to have windows and vents open. One day I Got 11.5 in WY high plains when wind was so bad I couldn't drive much over 60. Prob overall I got 9.5 mpg. Most of highway driving was at 70+ and some in Montana at 80. Drove like my suburban at 80 so long as there was no wind.

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Old 10-12-2015, 03:46 AM   #42
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How many of you guys in the 24.1 feel a need to pull something behind you as a local car. I plan to buy but do not want to have a toad.
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Old 10-12-2015, 04:01 AM   #43
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Originally Posted by erikdjensen View Post
Taking ours to the shop for some work next Saturday - about 100 miles away in Portland. I will test out the 2,000 RPM then. I have noticed the speedometer is a little slower than what my GPS says my speed is.
Thanks, that would be great to know.

I don't need a lot of accuracy because Ford only has so many rear axle ratios available and they aren't that close to each other. The standard listed in specs is 4.10. When I do a little reverse engineering using provided speed at 2,000 RPM it will reveal whether rear axle is indeed 4.10 or some other ratio that Ford uses like 3.55, 3.73, or perhaps even 4.30.

I would also like you to confirm whether your motorhome has the 5-speed or new 6-speed transmission since top overdrive gearing is different. Everything else being equal the new 6-speed should get slightly better MPGs.
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Old 10-12-2015, 02:10 PM   #44
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Thanks, that would be great to know.

I don't need a lot of accuracy because Ford only has so many rear axle ratios available and they aren't that close to each other. The standard listed in specs is 4.10. When I do a little reverse engineering using provided speed at 2,000 RPM it will reveal whether rear axle is indeed 4.10 or some other ratio that Ford uses like 3.55, 3.73, or perhaps even 4.30.

I would also like you to confirm whether your motorhome has the 5-speed or new 6-speed transmission since top overdrive gearing is different. Everything else being equal the new 6-speed should get slightly better MPGs.
I can tell you now it is a five speed. I wish now I knew what I know now, I would have held out for another year for the new transmission. But what everyone else has posted about RPM and cruse control and going up hills is the same as what I am finding.
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Old 10-12-2015, 02:29 PM   #45
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Dropping mine off at the dealer this morning 2100-2200 = about 65mph on the speedometer (but my GPS shows we were really going about 60-63mph instead).

The RPM/speed combo matches my last F-350 which had the same trans and a 4:10 rear end.
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Old 10-12-2015, 05:43 PM   #46
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Dropping mine off at the dealer this morning 2100-2200 = about 65mph on the speedometer (but my GPS shows we were really going about 60-63mph instead).

The RPM/speed combo matches my last F-350 which had the same trans and a 4:10 rear end.
I agree that 4:10 is most likely correct.

I double checked Ford specs and it works out to 58.1 MPH at 2,000 RPM using 0.71 overdrive ratio and 709 revolutions per mile for stock tires. That fits extremely well to your GPS speed at 2,100 to 2,200 RPM.

With new 6-speed top overdrive is 0.67 so it works out to 61.6 MPH at 2,000 RPM.

If your Axis had the next taller 3.73 ratio your speed would have been 10 percent faster which you would have never mistaken it for. Hence, I'd say 4:10 is a sure bet.

Thanks for data Jamie. I'm curious how the 5.4L V8 should compare against V10 under these conditions -- both on performance and fuel economy.
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Old 10-12-2015, 06:01 PM   #47
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Just completed a 2748 mile trip from Tampa to VA, MD, DE, and PA. Mostly drove I95, I81, and US13. Pretty much flat terrain except southern PA to Hershey (rolling hills but no mtns). Speed probably averaged 65 @ 2200 rpm. Some periods driving 60 and some 70. Ran generator probably a total of 2 hours. Average mpg for whole trip was 10.1.
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Old 10-12-2015, 07:52 PM   #48
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Originally Posted by erikdjensen View Post
I can tell you now it is a five speed. I wish now I knew what I know now, I would have held out for another year for the new transmission. But what everyone else has posted about RPM and cruse control and going up hills is the same as what I am finding.
I have not read any reviews yet on newer 6R140 when used on motorhomes, but expect that it will be a significant improvement.

In theory the closer gear steps should address many of the issues that some report with high RPMs when downshifting.

For example, if traveling at 2,200 RPM at about 64 MPH, we can see what happens if downshifts occur:

2,200 RPM in 5th gear
3,100 RPM in 4th gear (drive)
4,800 RPM in 3rd gear

With 6-speed transmission, the same 64 MPH should give us:

2,100 RPM in 6th
2,600 RPM in 5th
3,500 RPM in 4th
4,700 RPM in 3rd

Above numbers are rounded off and don't include torque converter slip, if applicable. Regardless, it shows the 6-speed should improve driveability under most conditions.
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Old 10-13-2015, 11:59 PM   #49
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On a flat road I can get 62 MPH at 2000RPM. It bumps up to about 2100 or 2150 if I want to cruise at 65MPH
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Old 10-18-2015, 10:00 PM   #50
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RPM & Speed

Took my 2016 Vegas 26.2 to the shop for some work yesterday. 10 mile stretch of flat highway - clicked on the cruise control at 2,000 RPM. Speed on the speedometer stayed at 62 mph the whole 10 miles. My GPS stayed at 60 mph the whole 10 miles.
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Old 10-19-2015, 12:18 AM   #51
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Figuring that most of these motorhomes have some inaccuracy in both the speedometer and tachometer, it looks like all being reported thus far have the standard 4:10 final gearing. That's what I had on my Class C and often only got between 7 and 8 MPG, suggesting my V10 was working much harder on average than on Axis that reportedly can obtain up to 10 MPG.

For smaller, lighter, and more aerodynamic motorhomes like the Axis, it would be nice to see Ford offer taller gearing as an option. Fuel economy likely wouldn't improve a lot because the V10 is already geared fairly efficiently, but an extra 0.5 to 1.0 MPG may be possible.
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Old 10-19-2015, 12:24 AM   #52
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I just turned over 10,000 miles on my 2015 24.1 Axis and the mileage after about 5000 miles has been pretty consistent at 10mpg, sometimes a bit over sometimes under depending on the terrain.
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Old 10-22-2015, 08:47 PM   #53
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Just returned from a 5,000 mile trip from Georgia to Wisconsin to Yellowstone then home. went over 3 mountain ranges, state highways, interstates and even some dirt roads. Our overall average was 9.97GPM. We were not towing.
2015 Thor Axis 25.1
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Old 10-22-2015, 09:24 PM   #54
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Just returned from a 5,000 mile trip from Georgia to Wisconsin to Yellowstone then home. went over 3 mountain ranges, state highways, interstates and even some dirt roads. Our overall average was 9.97GPM. We were not towing.
2015 Thor Axis 25.1
I'm curious since you're one of the few 25.1 owners i've seen on here. Is the bedroom setup and down easy on the unit? What i'm meaning is, the L shape couch is turned into a bed and then back into a couch each day right? I have been in most of the Axis models except the 25.1 and am wanting your opinion on it versus the 24.1 which is a bed all the time. Is it convenient to put it back and forth from couch to bed? thanks.
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Old 10-22-2015, 09:50 PM   #55
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Unfortunately, the rear bed in the 25.1 is a piece of crap. At first we would leave it in bed mode with the air mattress inflated. With the bed assembled there is no room to open drawers or move around. Although the bed is comfortable, it's nice for napping during a trip.
We don't use the rear bed any more. We leave the table up and use the area for dining. We use the over-head bed and the slide-out bed now. They are much easier and quicker to restore. We have the air mattress on the overhead bed.
I am trying to reconfigure the rear area to incorporate a fold up bed.
Overall the are enjoying the Axis and love to travel in it. Only wish that the people that design motor homes would actually use them.
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Old 10-22-2015, 09:58 PM   #56
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Unfortunately, the rear bed in the 25.1 is a piece of crap. At first we would leave it in bed mode with the air mattress inflated. With the bed assembled there is no room to open drawers or move around. Although the bed is comfortable, it's nice for napping during a trip.
We don't use the rear bed any more. We leave the table up and use the area for dining. We use the over-head bed and the slide-out bed now. They are much easier and quicker to restore. We have the air mattress on the overhead bed.
I am trying to reconfigure the rear area to incorporate a fold up bed.
Overall the are enjoying the Axis and love to travel in it. Only wish that the people that design motor homes would actually use them.
Wow.. Thanks for all that. I came within 5 minutes of pulling the trigger on one of those 25.1 Axis last month at Total Value RV in Elkhart, In. luckily, the thing that saved me was the new finance manager. He's going to cost that place a ton of business. He makes shit up as he goes like telling me that if i will agree to finance and only put down 10%, the lenders will give a much better rate. When the guy came back with the rates of Bank of America, it was 1 basis point lower than if i put down 40%. LOL. the guy has no clue what he's doing, but he's bound and determined to make himself a fortune by selling extended warranties which we all know is just a way to bonus up the finance mgr and let him make a better living. They do usually give the finance mgr HALF of the extended warranty amount you agree to when you close the deal. Found this out while doing my business as a recruiter in that industry. Lots of finance managers told me half their income came from extended warranty bonuses.

ANYWAY, i appreciate the feedback on the sleeping arrangement in the 25.1. Thanks.
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Old 11-25-2015, 03:44 AM   #57
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I got between 8 to 8.5 on maiden voyage in October from Rapid City, SD to Huntsville, AL about 1500 miles (65 to 75 mph) towing a Ranger pickup on tow dolly. On short trips without toad around Huntsville I'm getting 9.5 which beats the heck out of 6 to 8 in my old 93 class c Allegro Bay with 460! (But a great engine!!!) I have Axis 25.2.
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Old 12-12-2015, 10:31 PM   #58
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We drove from the California coast to Maine and back. We went up through Oregon (after catching US 97 at Weed, CA) and then caught I-90 just west of Spokane. Stayed on 90 through Chicago. We try to stay off toll roads when possible, thus we drove through NY on the Southern Tier Expressway (I-86/NY-17) to Binghamton and I-88 to Albany. We go through VT and NH on secondary roads, catching I-95 just north of the I-95 toll booth south of Portsmouth, NH.

Return through Chicago followed same route going out, but west of Chicago, we stayed on I-80. Overall, we got 10.2 MPG for entire trip. We don't tow and I keep the speed down to about 62-63 MPH on freeways. Finally got smart and kicked off cruise control when climbing long sustained grades. Can maintain 60 up a 6% at around 3200 RPM or so using gas pedal rather than cruise control. Also found that Tow/Haul mode was very useful for DESCENDING long, steep grades as any significant braking would downshift engine. That really saves the brakes as I rarely had to apply them.

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Old 12-12-2015, 11:27 PM   #59
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Mileage check at 5k miles VEGAS 24.1

We toad our Ford F150 from Nags Head to Myrtle beach three times and then from Nags Head to Daytona. MPG stayed a constant 9.5 to 9.75. Checked for a total of 5k miles. My fuel gauge reads one half at 250 miles and we usually stop at best price gas. People have ask about my mpg towing the truck. I boated for years and tell them my motor home gets fifteen times better gas mileage than my boat. Our last boat had twin 454 ci. and we burnt 32 to 36 gallon a hour.

I had a flow meter on the boat and it gave me gallons per hour. I think I will put one on the RV. It does help when you know how much your burning in real time.
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Old 12-13-2015, 02:27 AM   #60
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We toad our Ford F150 from Nags Head to Myrtle beach three times and then from Nags Head to Daytona. MPG stayed a constant 9.5 to 9.75. Checked for a total of 5k miles. My fuel gauge reads one half at 250 miles and we usually stop at best price gas. People have ask about my mpg towing the truck. I boated for years and tell them my motor home gets fifteen times better gas mileage than my boat. Our last boat had twin 454 ci. and we burnt 32 to 36 gallon a hour.

I had a flow meter on the boat and it gave me gallons per hour. I think I will put one on the RV. It does help when you know how much your burning in real time.
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