Noob & new owner of 2019 Thor Freedom Elite 30FE

[ajz927]

Hello all,

First off, thanks for the forum and individual member input. It was through reading some threads here that quelled my fears of the negative reviews for this coach out there and made me just go for it knowing that 1) I’m buying an entry-level coach in every sense of the term so have the proper expectations going in and 2) I will probably have to lean on my carpentry, electrical, plumbing and overall construction experience and knowledge (I’m a roofer by trade) and 3) any problems within reasonable cost and time will be best served handled by myself and anything major expect the worst and hope for the best from Camping World and Thor.

Here’s a little background:

I have a young family (boys, 6 and 2) and have been wanting a way for us to be able to spend more quality, family time together. Wife and I like camping and have discussed a motorhome for at least a couple years. Started with a used 2017 Thor Four Winds 31E, but the financing wasn’t favorable. So I learned banks like new motorhomes better than used ones. I then discovered the 30FE Camping World exclusive model and the wife and I fell in love with the layout and features for the price. We were originally trying to be under 60k with a payment between $400-500. Unfortunately, the 2020 models are all between $75 and $80k at this point. Enter the unsold 2019 models on Camping World lots. Long story short, I ended up finding a brand new 2019 30FE and negotiated all the way down to $61,900 out the door including dealer fees! Considering that the new 2020 we looked at last night is going for almost $79k down at our local Camping World and the material differences between the coaches are negligible (other than we like the color of the 2019 much better), I think we done did good ��

Most likely will be picking it up a week from today and will be putting it into service a week after that. I’m excited to be a Thor Freedom Elite 30FE owner and contribute what I can to the forum. I plan on modding the @&$# out of this coach so will share what I can.

Wife and I might do an entire year full-time around the US in 2020 or 2021. I know I’ll need solar for sure, but beyond that will see how our family lives in it over a few weekends to see what else would be required for our family needs to live full-time. If anyone out there has put the Thor 30FE through the paces in the real world and has suggestions for modifying for my use case I’m all ears!

Can’t wait to hit the road and motorhome!

Adam

[Bob Denman]

Welcome to the Forum, and congratulations on what is the start of a really great adventure!

[RVwithDogs]

Welcome Adam, Bob is right, Its all about the Adventure. I have a 22FE and have had no major problems at all. My "entry level" RV was with VW camper vans in the 70's so my 24 foot Thor is huge to me.. Keep us posted on your mods.

[JamieGeek]

Congratulations and welcome.

[LandKO]

Welcome to the forum. We also have a 30FE so if you have any questions about your new rig, don’t hesitate to ask.

[jgtyler]

Welcome Adam. I have the same model as you and I'm a newbie as well. Picked mine up in January and have been on 2 short trips so far and heading to Disney at the end of the month. I've had one major issue, the kitchen sink p-trap nut was broken and was discovered during our check out at the dealer. Either the replaced it with a bad one or glued the old nut because on our first trip it broke and leaked under the sink. I replaced myself. I have also did all the a/c prep reported on this site and replaced the thermostat with a digital one. I also replace the main tv mount with one that swings out further.

[ajz927]

Thanks Bob!

[ajz927]

Originally Posted by RVwithDogs

Welcome Adam, Bob is right, Its all about the Adventure. I have a 22FE and have had no major problems at all. My "entry level" RV was with VW camper vans in the 70's so my 24 foot Thor is huge to me.. Keep us posted on your mods.

Believe me - I’m grateful to even be able to afford a motorhome, let alone a 32’ coach. I just meant entry level as in the fit and finish quality that I’ve read about in reviews. A pop-up tent would be the more apropos entry level RV, but as far as a 32’ bunkhouse motorhome I think the Freedom Elite is as “cost efficient” as it gets.

[ajz927]

Originally Posted by LandKO

Welcome to the forum. We also have a 30FE so if you have any questions about your new rig, don’t hesitate to ask.

Thanks and thanks for the forum invite. It was actually mainly your mod thread that gave me the confidence to realize I can do this and the time is now.

[Elite Washington]

Welcome to the site and welcome to the group of 30fe owners. We have a 2017 so if you have any questions just ask.

[nosticks]

3) any problems within reasonable cost and time will be best served handled by myself and anything major expect the worst and hope for the best from Camping World and Thor.

Thor will support you well until day 366, then you are on your own but by that time you will have learned many things about your unit. Oh, just remember, you do not need to take it back to CW for anything during or after the warranty period. Thor will authorize other RV service centers to perform repairs. Many of us here won't even allow CW to pick stones out of our tire treads.

[coachray]

Welcome to the forum

[awalk57]

Originally Posted by jgtyler

Welcome Adam. I have the same model as you and I'm a newbie as well. Picked mine up in January and have been on 2 short trips so far and heading to Disney at the end of the month. I've had one major issue, the kitchen sink p-trap nut was broken and was discovered during our check out at the dealer. Either the replaced it with a bad one or glued the old nut because on our first trip it broke and leaked under the sink. I replaced myself. I have also did all the a/c prep reported on this site and replaced the thermostat with a digital one. I also replace the main tv mount with one that swings out further.

I am interested in the mount you installed for the TV. Can you tell us the brand/model and possibly include a pic of the after installation.

[ColoradoPolyCouple]

Hi. We are Ray and Cake.



We are in our 50s and very new to RVing. We were able to purchase our 1999 Thor Windsport 29D for a really good price. There are a lot of buttons that we don't know what they do. The guy we bought it from had little knowledge. So, we are going to be asking a lot of questions.



We just found this forum and felt it may come in very handy.



We are hoping to become quite well versed, in time. And we hope that all of you will look back and remember when you were noobs.



Thanks,



Ray and Cake

[paulwadley]

Hi Adam

Also remember that if there is something that needs to be fixed during your warranty period and you want to do the repair yourself, you can call Thor Customer Service and have them ship the part(s) to you for the repair(s). They are more than happy to send you the parts directly during the warranty period.

Paul
Retired LEO

[Chucke]

Congratulations and welcome to the Forum! My boy was 2 when I dropped the idea of camping on my wife. We started out with a 1969 Fan 21 foot travel trailer. Good times and great memories with family and friends, that's what its all about. You will find that the men and women on this forum have a lot of great ideas and solutions to our goofy situations!

[jgtyler]

Missed the request from awalks57 for the tv mount that I ordered. Got it from Amazon, Aeon brand.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Baileyra]

I have the same MH. I have had since January and only had one problem. Drain pipe under the showe pan broke. Was a pain to fix but got it done at camp ground. Even under warranty sometimes best to fix yourself. If you take it to CE could be months before you see it again. And most of the time I would spend more money in fuel getting it there than fixing myself. Just enjoy we love ours and have had a great time with it.

[Popfla]

Welcome aboard from another '19 30FE owner.

We've only had a few minor issues with ours, some I've fixed myself and some done by CW.

When you pick up your rig, make sure they check out every little thing. Don't let them rush you, ask tons of questions, and don't sign on the dotted line until you are satisfied that all your questions have been answered.

[Zeddy]

Welcome, As much Solar, batteries and inverter as you can afford makes boondocking an awesome expedience.