Axis/Vegas Mods...1,2,3 Go. - Page 7

Larry · 01-03-2015, 06:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aa9zz

Nice work above Jamie.

Anyone planning on attending the Central Indiana RV show next weekend in Indianapolis? I'd sure like to meet some of you Axis owners.

I'll bet there will be a lot of ideas for mods there.

Sorry Phil, I won't be able to make it there. Would be great meeting you. A bit too far for me to make the trip but sounds interesting. It's back to work for me now. But, only about 2 and a half more years before I join you guys enjoying the retired years and on the road more frequently with the wife and Lab in the Axis.

Have fun and let us know of any mods you find that may be of use.

Larry

Ziggys Vegas · 01-07-2015, 12:56 AM

Sorry to take so long to reply with a photo, but how does one insert a photo in a quick reply?

Ziggys Vegas · 01-07-2015, 01:19 AM

Photo of Dangling Switch

groswald · 01-07-2015, 01:29 AM

Weird. Nothing like that in our Axis!

Randy

aa9zz · 01-07-2015, 02:03 AM

I was told it controls the front shade as an emergency switch. I'll try mine to verify. I believe it was introduced in the 15's.

JamieGeek · 01-07-2015, 02:15 AM

Are you sure it isn't just a limit switch that has fallen off?

Larry · 01-07-2015, 02:55 AM

Mine is like that but only about half that length.

Ziggys Vegas · 01-07-2015, 12:30 PM

The shower in the Vegas is pretty small, and I am not a large person but I still had trouble keeping the shower curtain closed and preventing water from splashing on the floor. My solution was to pop rivet long sections of drop ceiling angle to the edges, (see photo) and put eight evenly spaced 5\8 inch diameter ceramic magnets in the side seams of the outer curtain, held in place by injecting a drop of fabric glue. Haven't has a chance to try it yet, but it seems to hold the curtain in place.

I also replaced the lavatory faucet with a single lever faucet.

Ziggys Vegas · 01-07-2015, 04:01 PM

I wasn't to happy with the way the Vegas handled, especially when being passed by large trucks, and on back roads so I installed Air Lift bags in the front coils. The installation went relatively easily. The upper shock nuts must be removed, and the sway bar disconnected in order to get the spring out. I used a vacuum pump to remove most of the air in the bag, then folded it like a hot dog bun, and secured it with zip ties. Air Lift did not supply any protection for the top of the bag where it contacted the spring, so I cut some large washers out of heavy rubber I had around.

At 90 lbs air pressure in the bags the front was raised about 3/4 of an inch. When I took it in to be aligned they had to put in adjustable camber bushings, as Ford uses non-adjustable ones, to set the camber correctly. The guys at the shop were surprised that the recommended air pressure in the rear duals was 65 psi for this size vehicle, and suggested raising it to 70 psi or even to 75psi to help reduce the swaying. I will have to experiment with that. I haven't driven it on the interstate since it was aligned, but it felt better when I drove it home on back roads.

This shop aligns a lot of the motorhomes in this area and this was the first Vegas they had seen and they wondered about how much it would cost to replace the windshield, and how Thor designed the area around the windshield to prevent twisting and subsequent cracking of the windshield. They were impressed with the use of the long wheelbase chassis on a 25 footer with the resulting shorter rear overhang. They commented that some of the Class C's were on such a short wheelbase chassis as to be dangerous.

I'll report back later after I put a few thousand miles on it.

Sorry that I didn't take any pictures of the installation, but it is pretty much self explanatory.

aa9zz · 01-07-2015, 06:46 PM

Ziggy,

Can you tell us the cost area of the air lift bags? And, why did you select the Air rather than another control? Did the air bags change the total height of the unit? (I need about an inch or two for a comfortable entry into my driveway.) I am trying to decide on either air or the Safe-T-Plus.

Has anyone tried a Safe-T-Plus instead of airbags?

Phil

Ziggys Vegas · 01-17-2015, 01:36 PM

The air bags were less than $100, and I selected them based on previous experience. My last motorhome was factory equipped with both air bags and a steering shock. Maybe I will have to add one later.

The front air bags raised the front end about 3/4 of an inch.

JamieGeek · 01-17-2015, 04:33 PM

Just dropped our Axis off at the dealer to get some last minute warranty work done before it runs out in Feb:

The step recall
The extensions on the duallys don't work (can't read or add air to the inner tires)
The one broken bracket to the "hood"
The front drop-down bunk "skips a beat" on its way down just before its final position

Our dealer has provided pretty good service so far (the biggest issue we had was that the bathroom door latch at the top was broken. They replaced the door with a new one from the factory--you can't tell that the door has been replaced).

aa9zz · 01-18-2015, 12:01 AM

I put almost 500 miles on my ‘15 Axis this weekend. It has been winterized so no water or extra dump weight, no loaded stuff, just a short sleeve T-shirt and no underwear. Wait, TMI—point being nothing but the unit; no extra weight. I found the steering to be excellent. I drove 60 to 65 on a state highway to my destination and up to 70 on I-70 back home and had no drifting issues at all. Trucks were passing at the speed of light and not blowing me all over the road. It was a good feeling. Maybe everyone talking about the front end alignment after loading for travel is a very good idea.

JamieGeek · 01-23-2015, 07:07 PM

Just talked to our dealer: Even though we got the recall letter on the step our unit was not involved in the step recall! LOL The factory must have done it as our VIN was not on the list of affected VINs. So Thor must have just blanket mailed all motorhome owners with the recall notice.

Larry · 01-23-2015, 08:47 PM

Yeah, probably so. I got the letter too and mine wasn't on the list either.

Ziggys Vegas · 01-26-2015, 03:58 AM

Need help diagnosing wiper problem.

The windshield wipers and washers suddenly quit working on my new Vegas and I don't want to have to drive 100 miles to the dealer. The 30 amp fuse in the fusebox beside the radiator for the wipers is ok. I read somewhere that there should be a smaller fuse someplace that protects the wiper module. Does anybody know where the wiper module is, or is it part of the engine management module. Normally Ford puts the wiper module, and/or the engine module on the inside of he firewall near the steering column, and there is such a device on the Vegas, but I cannot see any other fuses or a separate wiper module.

There is also a 20 amp automatic reset fuse marked as "wiper" in the Battery Control Center that houses the "RV Custom Products" fuse panel for the house batteries. Question - are the house batteries somehow involved with wiper operation, or is the wiper switch installed by Thor not part of the Ford striped chassis and therefore somehow controlled by the Battery Control Center. The automatic fuse checked OK, but there was no voltage at either fuse terminal on the circuit board.

As far as I can see, everything else that the Battery Control Center should control is working OK, unless there is some electrical interlock that I am unaware of.

timp410 · 01-26-2015, 02:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ziggys Vegas

Need help diagnosing wiper problem.

The windshield wipers and washers suddenly quit working on my new Vegas and I don't want to have to drive 100 miles to the dealer. The 30 amp fuse in the fusebox beside the radiator for the wipers is ok. I read somewhere that there should be a smaller fuse someplace that protects the wiper module. Does anybody know where the wiper module is, or is it part of the engine management module. Normally Ford puts the wiper module, and/or the engine module on the inside of he firewall near the steering column, and there is such a device on the Vegas, but I cannot see any other fuses or a separate wiper module.

There is also a 20 amp automatic reset fuse marked as "wiper" in the Battery Control Center that houses the "RV Custom Products" fuse panel for the house batteries. Question - are the house batteries somehow involved with wiper operation, or is the wiper switch installed by Thor not part of the Ford striped chassis and therefore somehow controlled by the Battery Control Center. The automatic fuse checked OK, but there was no voltage at either fuse terminal on the circuit board.

As far as I can see, everything else that the Battery Control Center should control is working OK, unless there is some electrical interlock that I am unaware of.

When I took delivery of my Axis, luckily it was raining. The wipers worked fine but as soon as I pressed the washer button, a fuse located under dash blew. The dealer replaced the fuse but the fuse blew again when the washer button was pressed. The dealer ended up having to replace the washer motor. I have since heard that Thor had a number of these motor go bad. The motor is located toward the bottom of the front end. You could probably have Thor send you a replacement motor and replace it yourself.

Larry · 01-26-2015, 02:03 PM

Mine was blowing fuses whenever I tried to use the windshield washer on my Axis. the wipers worked fine until I tried to use the washer. There's a 5a fuse located in the fuse panel under the driver's side dash panel behind a rectangular shape cover and is to the left of the brake pedal if I recall correctly. I believe the fuse was on the right side. CW had to change out the washer pump and motor to fix mine and took about a month to get the replacements from Thor.

Ziggys Vegas · 01-26-2015, 08:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by timp410

When I took delivery of my Axis, luckily it was raining. The wipers worked fine but as soon as I pressed the washer button, a fuse located under dash blew. The dealer replaced the fuse but the fuse blew again when the washer button was pressed. The dealer ended up having to replace the washer motor. I have since heard that Thor had a number of these motor go bad. The motor is located toward the bottom of the front end. You could probably have Thor send you a replacement motor and replace it yourself.

Thanks to you and Larry.

Sure enough, when I finally located the correct fuse, it was blown. Replaced it and the wipers worked fine, until I pressed the washer switch. I replaced the fuse again and disconnected the washer motor and now the wipers work again. Will have to get a new pump from the dealer, hope it doesn't take a month.

Larry · 01-26-2015, 08:42 PM

Glad to be of help and you found the fuse and have the wipers working again. Good luck with it. Maybe your dealer can get better service from Thor than CW did for me. Can live without the windshield washer working, but not the wipers when it's raining or snowing as your case may be.
Thor must have gotten a batch of bad motors/pumps to go in their MHs some time ago.

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