Axis owner

Happily Retired · 02-18-2015, 04:40 PM

Hi All!

We have owned Thor motor homes for almost 13 years. We started with a 37 foot Infinity 35D and in January of 2014 downsized to a 24.1 Axis. While we have had our share of new coach issues, we are still happy with our purchase a year later!

We have been posting on Rv.net since getting the Axis and have tried to help others with info on the coach when few people had one! We have been reading posts on this forum for a while and are really interested in the sharing of ideas, mods, and repairs that we can help each other with on our same or similar coaches!!

Hoping to be able to jump in and give help with issues we have already solved, and get help with new ones as they crop up!!

JamieGeek · 02-18-2015, 04:57 PM

Welcome Happy!
The more the merrier..quite a few Axis/Vegas owners on here.

JamieGeek · 02-18-2015, 05:25 PM

There are quite a few threads around here about Axis/Vegas mods:
http://www.thorforums.com/forums/f27...-3-go-820.html
http://www.thorforums.com/forums/f27...raps-1088.html
http://www.thorforums.com/forums/f17...ount-1090.html
http://www.thorforums.com/forums/f27...rade-1105.html

One on driving it:
http://www.thorforums.com/forums/f17...egas-1000.html

One person had a driveshaft issue:
http://www.thorforums.com/forums/f17...ssue-1106.html

(I will admit to having authored some of those, and/or contributed somewhat LOL )

There are a few more...

Happily Retired · 02-18-2015, 07:57 PM

Thanks for the welcome and links to those threads. Had seen some of those but will definitely check the others out.

We had the melted mud flap and replaced it. Also had the defective windshield washer pump that all early Axis/Vegas purchasers probably had to deal with. We may be one of the only or few who has had their couch replaced, so we have seen and taken pictures of the empty slide space!!!

Agree with others' comments about the poor quality tail and clearance lights. Our tail lights have been well sealed so no problem there yet! Did reseal the backup camera grommet the other day and had to get on the roof to reseal the front clearance lights, which had some water droplets inside the lens. Would be very interested in replacement lights if anyone has found a better quality product that would fit with little or no modification.

JamieGeek · 02-18-2015, 08:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Happily Retired

Also had the defective windshield washer pump that all early Axis/Vegas purchasers probably had to deal with.

So far we've been lucky but then we haven't had to use the windshield washer pump--I think I've used it once and at the time it didn't blow a fuse (for reference our 24.1 is exactly a year old this month--at least we picked it up in Feb 2014).

JamieGeek · 03-23-2015, 01:40 PM

I spoke too soon. Was driving the camper around on Saturday when it started misting out...zzzzt blew the wiper fuse when I hit the washer button.

Sigh no escaping this one. I did send an e-mail to Thor to see if they would just send me the replacement parts and let me do the swap out. We'll see how cooperative they are...

Larry · 03-23-2015, 02:24 PM

Good Luck Jamie. Had same trouble with mine. Took CW and Thor awhile to get their act together but I blame the majority of it on CW'S ineptness.
Told me it was the washer pump that was bad.

Happily Retired · 03-24-2015, 12:37 AM

Sorry yours went too, Jamie.
I think Thor will and should send you a replacement since yours just went out of warranty, and this is a known issue. If you don't get a prompt email reply I'd try calling their customer service. Ours went out on our first trip with the new Axis on the way to Mississippi on an extremely rainy day!! We were one of the first with this issue and didn't have wipers again until we returned home! Don't be surprised if Thor wants the defective pump returned. They sent us a return shipping label with the new pump.

Larry, I believe you are right about CW being to blame!
We bought out of state so didn't have a local dealer for service. Actually worked out great as we were able to use our own local Thor approved independent techs for all warranty work. That meant I handled all of the calls and emails to customer service, and they sent all replacement parts directly to us. Never took very long to get them. Even had a couch delivered to the house to replace a defective one. We had a long list of issues, but most were fixed at the house on our motorhome driveway. Several times we took it to a local shop with Thor's parts, and it was worked on by appointment. We always got the labor estimate approved before work was done and paid the bill ourselves. Would usually take 4-6 weeks to get reimbursed BUT our coach has never spent a night away from home unless we were camping in it!!

Our experience with Thor's customer service has, for the most part, been so much better than what those using the dealer service centers report, that I have to think the dealers are usually to blame for those long repair waits, not Thor!!

Bruce · 03-24-2015, 02:34 PM

Is the washer unit fried or does it work when the fuse is replaced? Is the fuse adequate for the washer/wiper motor loads?

Bruce

Quote:

Originally Posted by JamieGeek

...zzzzt blew the wiper fuse when I hit the washer button....

JamieGeek · 03-24-2015, 03:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bruce

Is the washer unit fried or does it work when the fuse is replaced? Is the fuse adequate for the washer/wiper motor loads?

Bruce

In my case the wipers work fine its just the washer that kills the fuse (replacing the fuse and the wipers work again until you hit the wash button).

Happily Retired · 03-24-2015, 03:50 PM

The fuse on ours was adequate. Thor had a batch of bad pumps on their first Axis/Vegas coaches. Since the fuse controls the wipers and washer it will fuse both whenever the washer is engaged. You can replace the fuse and not use the washer and then the wipers will work. Not a good long term solution though.

When it happened to us in early 2014 it was not a known problem like it is now, so it took more troubleshooting.

Happily Retired · 03-24-2015, 03:58 PM

Jamie,
Though our pump has been replaced, we are considering putting in a separate inline fuse for the pump to prevent another future wiper shutdown. That was no fun in heavy rain!!!

Bruce · 03-24-2015, 11:55 PM

Is the fuse in question, F02 on connector P6 located in the front fuse box?

Bruce

Quote:

Originally Posted by JamieGeek

In my case the wipers work fine its just the washer that kills the fuse (replacing the fuse and the wipers work again until you hit the wash button).

JamieGeek · 03-25-2015, 12:21 AM

No, it's actually the Ford fuse under the dash. The wiper pin on the board in the front compartment is not used.

Bruce · 04-11-2015, 10:44 PM

I will be heading back north on Friday after spending two months in my Axis. Unfortunately, the forecast is for rain.

It seems that there is only one fuse for the wiper/washers. Apparently, fuse 45, a five amp ATM type located in the fuse box below the dash.

Should I replace this with a higher amperage fuse?

Bruce

Larry · 04-11-2015, 11:34 PM

I would just replace the bad fuse with another 5 amp. It should be fine as long as you only use the wipers. The culprit seems to be with the washer pump/ motor only.

JamieGeek · 04-12-2015, 04:54 AM

When ours blew I just replaced it with one of the spares on the same panel since I didn't have any that size. I'll be putting the correct size back in when I get the replacement washer motor Thor is sending us.

belfastboy · 05-06-2015, 01:35 AM

We parked beside an Axis owner today in Natural Bridges Utah. We chatted withthe owner for a bit and compared notes.
He suggested I check the house water pump as his acted up and he discovered the filter almost full of plastic debris. This is first on my to do list when weget home. We both have logged 6000 miles with no real issues. His windshield washer blew so now I know how to replace.
We both noticed that it seemed to get quieter in the cab....less engine noise...around the 5000 mile mark and our gas mileage increased a touch to 10.5 mpg.

JamieGeek · 05-06-2015, 03:05 AM

That is typical with the V-10: it picks up a mpg or so between 5,000 and 10,000 miles.

aa9zz · 05-06-2015, 02:23 PM

My Axis water pump went out on a trip and the shop that fixed it gave me a hand full of of plastic shavings created by drilling the input and output holes. The shavings were just left in the tank. They got into the pump and it quit, sending the water all over the floor. I had month old water in the fresh tank and wanted to put more in the grey so I could dump and clean after the black dump.

I suggest that the owner drain the house water through the floor drain rather than through the pump. The plastic debris will float so the tank has to be empty for it to get into the pump.

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