Axis/Vegas Mods...1,2,3 Go.

[JamieGeek]

Originally Posted by Deant

Outside of my local dealer do you have suggestions on where I can get a good price?

My only suggestion is search around the internet: Perhaps you can get your dealer to match a price--if you find one (many dealers don't put prices on their websites for just such a reason).

I'm sure there are others here will chime in with some suggestions (we picked up ours at a camper show and got a pretty decent deal given what I've seen others pay here).

[mcr1010]

Deant:
I probably should have followed up with the fact that if you are aware of the mods or fixes, of which some are fixes, and you are buying from a dealer especially new, they will take care of the necessary fixes under warranty. Key words here are, aware of what needs fixing before signing off .
I would suggest making a checklist from the posts on the forum of the important stuff-fixes. This will give you a heads up when going for your particular choice of RV. I think it is called a PDI.

Don't be scared off by reading about all the fixes and mods on this forum because for every problem written about there are many more out there without a problem. This is typical of most RV's and their forums unless you get into the custom big buck RV's. Case in point; last coach I had was a Navion Sprinter diesel. It generally sells for 50% more than an Axis or Vegas. Had many more problems and mods with it than I have with the Vegas. And some of the fixes or mods were show stoppers.
Hope you find the best camper and start enjoying camping.
Your best price mostly likely would be from a dealer close to the Thor plant if that is an option for you.

Jamie:
Good idea on the shades. That should lower the inside temp some by reflecting the sun. Should help a lot down here in the land of sun.

[Larry]

Originally Posted by groswald

I finally completed several mod’s just before our most recent trip to New Mexico.

The first, and most important was to get the coach aligned. It handled poorly on our first extended trip last year, and I was very concerned about talking it back on the interstate this year. The alignment found camber was fine, caster was toward the top of the range where we want it, but both wheels were toed out 0.1 degrees. That’s definitely a cause for poor handling!

Handling this trip was much improved – it now tracks straight and can be one-handed without fear. Strong crosswind gusts still need attention, but they aren't pants-changing experiences anymore. I actually enjoyed the driving part of this trip. I may still add a Saf-T-Plus, but it will be to provide additional help with the gusts and give a degree of peace-of-mind about a front-tire blowout.

On to the real mod’s:

I hated the countertop-extension banging back into the cabinet every time we slowed or stopped. I made this little device to hold the extension in the lowered position when not in use. A bit of scrap cherry, some time in the CNC router, and a bit-o-Velcro. Works a treat. No more crashing!





I'm limited to a max of six images per post, so I'll break this here and continue in additional replies.

Regards,

Randy

On Thursday, I received the Oswald anti-crash counter- extension restraint and made the installation today. I must say I'm quite pleased with the outcome and thankful to Randy for coming up with this creative idea/mod and making it available. I strongly recommend this fix if you are tired of the banging and rattling of the counter when you come to a stop.

Thanks again Randy!

Deant: You might want to check with Total Value RV in Elkhart, IN. I feel they gave me a good price on mine. Better than you many others I had received price quotes from.

Larry

[Happily Retired]

Originally Posted by Deant

I appreciate this long thread. A lot of good info. My dealer should be getting the 2016 24.1 and the 25.2 in next month. Outside of my local dealer do you have suggestions on where I can get a good price?

Deant,

Price your Axis by getting a quote on RVDirect's website. Since you are in Florida it would be an easy pickup for you at Orlando RV. Have yet to see a dealer with a better price! They matched their on line price and were easy to to deal with and no high pressure! Other than the PDI, we did not use them for service because we live in Georgia, so I can't comment on warranty work. Their people did hook us up with the Thor rep who worked with us the entire warranty year. Overall good experience!!

[3shooter]

Deant,
Motorhome Specialist in Alvarado ,TX has the best prices anywhere and Thor is one of their main brands. They also post their prices on their website. At one time they had to stop postinfg their LOWEST price because of complaints by other dealers, but I think they area again doing so . Lazydays is Florida's largest dealer and their prices are not as low but they or any other large dealer may be able to match mhsrv's online listed price.
Hope this helps!

[magicbus]

Originally Posted by 3shooter

Deant,
Motorhome Specialist in Alvarado ,TX has the best prices anywhere and Thor is one of their main brands. They also post their prices on their website. At one time they had to stop postinfg their LOWEST price because of complaints by other dealers, but I think they area again doing so . Lazydays is Florida's largest dealer and their prices are not as low but they or any other large dealer may be able to match mhsrv's online listed price.
Hope this helps!

We flew from san diego to Motor Home Specialists in Alvarado to buy our 2014 Axis. Saved about 20k from California prices at the time. Not only best price, outstanding customer service, wonderful gifts and a free rental car. Ask for Cowboy. if we ever buy again, we will go back there. Incredible customer service. They will pick you up at the airport, too. If you call, they will give you a lower price than on their ad, no haggle

[Happily Retired]

3shooter and magicbus,

Sounds like you both had a great experience with Motorhome Specialists! I have also heard good things about their customer service.

However, with regards to advising Deant, I still stand by my previous statement that RV Direct had the most competitive prices that I have ever seen!

I actually called and talked to Cowboy from Motorhome Specialists when we were shopping for our 2014 Axis, and the price he gave me, which was even lower than his own advertised price, was thousands higher than RV Direct's. I looked at Motorhome Specialist's prices today, and that appears to still be true, but should be easy enough for Deant to check with a current quote from them both.

We all know there are many factors that go into a purchasing decision, but based on price alone, our best deal was at Orlando RV, one of the 5 RV One/RV Direct dealerships.

[Deant]

Thanks 3shooter. I have been in touch with mhsrv. I asked a guy 3 times for a figure and each time he responded with where do you live so i can figure the tax. I blew him off and am talking to someone else. I am now communicating with 4-5 dealerships. I should know something next week. I do like the change to the bath door on the 2016 24.1

[Larry]

Cowboy at Motorhome Specialists supposedly quoted us his lowest price which was thousands more on a 2014 with fewer upgrade options than the 2015 we settled on wth Total Value RV. He got rather annoying after several emails wanting to know where we were getting ours, how much we were paying, etc., which we never disclosed to him. No haggling and good service with Ivan at Total Value RV either.

[3shooter]

Happily Retired and Larry,
Thanks for the info ! Looks like that is Neant's best option ! We will also check them out if we are in the market for a new unit. If we do upgrade we are considering a later model used diesel pusher. We came to look at the Ace's but ended up with our Hurricane 34f. They had 3 units sticker priced at $133,000 discounted to $89,900. However one of these had been purchased by a 1st timer (like us) who quickly decided RVing was not for him. It had only 800 more miles on it than the other two. We paid $79,900 - the price of a new Ace for basically a new Hurricane with much more room - larger couch and booth make into larger beds - drop down is much larger - king in master! Great for when kids and or grandkids are with us . We love the Ace and Axis and would have enjoyed either but couldn't pass this one up ! Have had fewer problems than what we see on this forum for over a year so must have lucked into one of the better built units.

[Larry]

Congrats 3Shooter! Sounds as if you did great a great deal.

[Happily Retired]

3shooter,

Know you will enjoy the Hurricane and getting a good deal makes it even more enjoyable!!

We had a 37 foot Infinity, which we loved, for almost 12 years before we decided to downsize. Infinity used to be Thor's third gas model along with the Hurricane and Windsport.

[Deant]

Is there a satellite radio or GPS option?

[JamieGeek]

That would depend on what radio is installed. With the Jensen radio there is a Sirius module you can get, but the 212 is a basic radio (no navigation). Some are built with a different radio that has Bluetooth (at least with Bluetooth you can use the Sirius/XM app and stream satellite).

I replaced my Jensen with another Jensen (the 215) that had navigation and Bluetooth. (There is a thread here documenting that project.)

[TyCreek]

Originally Posted by Tomspen

Who's added a rear stabilizer bar to their Axis? If so what brand and where did you acquire it. I've added the Safe T Plus steering stabilizer. But since we have a cross country western trip this summer, I think a rear stabilizer will help with some of the winds we will encounter out west. Trip starts in TN thru MO, KS, CO, UT, AZ, CA, OR, WA, ID, MT, WY and back to TN.

A Safe-T-Plus was down a ways on my consideration list because previous windy weekend outings had me seriously thinking about what might make my Axis enjoyable to drive. Experience with one on a former class C E350 chassis didn't thrill me.

I felt the worst trait causing constant correction was tail-wag-the-dog ... so a Trac-Bar and alignment were top of my list of potential things to do & check first. The alignment wasn't crazy off and in the end, caster was increased a bit over a degree into the +5 range.

Anyway... I just got back from an outing and there was plenty of wind for comparison! It was surprisingly a pleasure to drive! Night & Day difference. So nicely connected to the road I'm done thinking about further handling mods because the wild ride is gone!

[Deant]

Other than headlights, what is the difference between the Vegas and Axis? Value wise is one more advantageous than the other? I've noticed that dealers usually one, not both.

[magicbus]

Originally Posted by timp410

Added two modification to the shower that made a tremendous improvement to our shower experience. The L shaped curtain rod added some additional space in front of the facet. The addition of the Oxygenics 26481 Shower Head really helped with the water the water. This thread has provided me with some great solutions.

where did you find the shower curtain rod and what brand is it?

[JamieGeek]

Originally Posted by Deant

Other than headlights, what is the difference between the Vegas and Axis? Value wise is one more advantageous than the other? I've noticed that dealers usually one, not both.

No differences other than colors and the exterior (front). The main reason to have two brands is so that locally different dealers can sell them (e.g. the Camping World can sell the Axis but Bob's Camper's down the block can sell the Vegas and technically they wouldn't be stepping on each others toes).

[JamieGeek]

Picked up another 4' X 10' sheet of the general purpose foil from Camping World to cover the front window:

and cut up some of the spare to cover the shower skylight:

(Learned a bit from our 5th wheel: 10 years of sunlight shining through all of the roof hatches, skylights, etc. faded all the wall paper and fabrics in the camper. On the Axis we've plugged just about every hole for summer storage--in winter its covered.)

[timp410]

Originally Posted by magicbus

where did you find the shower curtain rod and what brand is it?

I ordered the rod from Amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1