Disappointed in my Axis

[nick104]

I have been down this road before and found my best solution is to email Thor Customer Service Rep and tell him what is not working. Because Thor buys a basic E-350 or 450 chassis , then builds the motor home on top of it, it's sometimes difficult to know who should be doing the repair. More than once I have been told by Camping World where I bought my 2016 Axis 24.1 that a problem should be fixed at Ford and the Service Rep at Thor says No, it's a Thor problem. Much of the equipment under and behind the dash belongs to Thor because they added it after the basic chassis and engine arrived at their factory. To be fair, my Axis has been in the shop 3 times in the past 14 months I have owned it. All 3 of those times it stayed there over 2 weeks. Recently Thor extended my warranty 30 days to cover a problem that should have been fixed during a previous visit before the warranty expired. A jester of "good will". I took the Axis to Alaska last summer and we drove 13069 miles in 3 months without any significant problems. Overall I am pleased with the Axis 24.1, especially the Big Ford V-10 and 6 speed tranny. Getting any motorhome repaired can be very trying. Be calm, be nice and don't believe everything the repair tell you. Make some follow up calls and hold them accountable. Happy Travels.

[croused]

good advice, thanks! Im about to take delivery of 2018 Vegas 24.1 and really want to get the steering stabilizer right up front!

[nick104]

Congratulations on the new 2018 Axis 24.1. Did you determine you have a steering problem during your test drive? When I did my test drive on our new 2016 Axis 24.1 the steering was good. I did not have to get a wheel alignment either. Maybe I was lucky or they did a wheel alignment before I drove it. After over 16,000 miles now, I still don't feel the need to have any after market devices added. I do slow down if I have a crosswind because any RV with a large profile and a lot of surface area tends to be blown around ( pushed to the right ) a bit by passing trucks and by crosswinds and gusty winds. I don't think my Axis ever moved more than a couple of feet due to the wind or passing trucks. I don't tow anything and normally don't drive more than 65 mph. My 24.1 is on the E-450 chassis and has the 6 speed transmission. Maybe this helps. One tip- do a very thorough walk around and inspection before you leave the dealer. Ask lots of questions, make sure all the lights, doors, windows, drawers, stove and frige. actually work. Operate the slideout and lower bunk slide. Move the seats, set up the tables, turn on the faucets and flush the toilet. Put the awning out and turn on the awning lights. Start the generator and see if all the TV's work. Check the radios and the back-up camera system. Operate the exhaust fans. Learn about the windshield wipers controls. Lower the power window shade all the way down. This will pay off because this is the absolute best time to have some of those little or big things made right and probably reduce the items that might have to be taken care of after you drive the Axis and go camping. Lastly, make sure you have manuals for all the things that were added to your unit.

One last thing !! Ed Felker a senior member of this forum made a Checklist and Users Guide for his 2015 Axis 24.1 that is a must have !!!*** He did a spectacular job and sent me a link so I could make my own copy. Thor should include one of these with their basic manual for the Axis models. Good Luck

[JamieGeek]

Originally Posted by nick104

One last thing !! Ed Felker a senior member of this forum made a Checklist and Users Guide for his 2015 Axis 24.1 that is a must have !!!*** He did a spectacular job and sent me a link so I could make my own copy. Thor should include one of these with their basic manual for the Axis models. Good Luck

A link to Ed's manual is now a sticky at the top of the tech topics forum here:
Motorhome Tech Topics - Thor Forums

[croused]

Originally Posted by Bettyboarder

Yeah thats the truth I am trying to avoid them as much as possible. Also I have learned that purchasing a extended warranty is a great idea for RV's. They are now covering problems that Thor will not. Normally I think those extended warranties are junk but its paying for itself this time.

We had the mud flap issue to luckly I had read Jamie's post and Camping World fixed it before we drove it off the lot.

One more issue I forgot people might keep a eye on there heating pad on the water tank. Both of ours came off while driving and got shredded. CW replaced them and it happened again a month later. There fixing them again. Just a heads up to check them every once in a while.

Just noticed the heating pad already pulling away on black water tank! 360 miles! Thanks for heads up, I'll tape up for now and have General RV fix on my next warranty visit!

[Kev]

Originally Posted by croused

Just noticed the heating pad already pulling away on black water tank! 360 miles! Thanks for heads up, I'll tape up for now and have General RV fix on my next warranty visit!

Same thing happened to mine. I noticed it when waxing the the unit. It had been dragging for a while so General RV replaced the pad. When I got it back I taped around it with Gorilla tape.

[upnyfolks]

Originally Posted by lokisgirls2016

Yes they have been notified. We had one of the top Thor people call down to the Ford dealership today and apparently wires were crossed and attached incorrectly and once they fixed that the a/c started to work. This is a common enough problem that the Thor expert was able to tell the Ford repair center. I is just very frustrating that it took a total of 7 weeks and 3 in the shop

Our 2017 Axis cab A/C didn't blow any cold air either (compressor didn't engage), Thor told me it was a Ford problem so I took it to a local Ford dealer (Niles Ford in Hamilton NY), there they determined the wiring harness was mis-spliced at the point that the coach wires connected to the chassis wires (Thor problem)...mechanic spliced wires correctly and cab A/C now works great.
It only took them a couple of days to diagnose and fix the problem with no help from Thor or my original dealer, however my selling dealer did pay the $600.00 for the warranty repair.

[upnyfolks]

Originally Posted by croused

Just noticed the heating pad already pulling away on black water tank! 360 miles! Thanks for heads up, I'll tape up for now and have General RV fix on my next warranty visit!

Our heating pads were also falling off and it sounds like I fixed them the same way that Kev fixed his, with Gorilla tape...
We also had the wire looms that contained the wiring for both side rear marker lights (that sit just in front of the rear axles) fall down and get caught in the rear tires, this resulted in the wires being ripped out of the marker lights and blowing the fuse to the taillights and front fog lights.
I noticed the problem the next day when I was pulling in my driveway in my car and saw loose wires hanging down under the coach laying on the driveway.
I have no idea how long we had been driving with no tail lights but if this had happened at night it could have been disastrous.
Moral of this story is crawl underneath your coach and check everything!!!

[sikorge]

The adjustable bushing number is 59400. We did that swap on our 24.1 and it made a BIG difference.
Jerry

[Peeski]

Rod'sMom - We have a 25.2 and have had it for a year without too many problems. Most warranty issues were documented from the initial shakedown and taken care of by our Dealer. We too have a special needs child, a daughter with Down Syndrome and traveling by coach is the way to go! The size of this coach is wonderful. My wife drives it without any reservation. We may go bigger in the future but right now we love our Vegas.