Thor Axis 24.1 Owner

[Baddad53]

Originally Posted by JamieGeek

Not sure it is an "issue" per se as more of one person's annoyance.

We've had our 24.1 since Feb 2014 and haven't had any issues with the waste valves. Yes its all pretty low, but works well. Keep in mind that the dump output rotates.

Its just bad engineering and is a pet peeve of mind being a former engineer. It didn't drain at the last campground due to it height being the same as the drain (Flying Flags in Buellton). The valves open up and down direction which is poor leverage being in the back of the small compartment. I had a new 1983 Itasca Phasar which was a low chassis also but had no problems - worked well. The Axis valves work just the height and location are "p" poor. There are a few poor engineering designs by Thor were they just are not thought out. (thermostat being behind the slide wall being another) We still like the coach just "annoyed"

[JamieGeek]

Originally Posted by Baddad53

The valves open up and down direction

That must be specific to the 25.3; on my 24.1 they are both pull up to open.

[Recalculating]

Originally Posted by JamieGeek

Wait! Stop the presses...there is a 3rd floorplan for the Axis!! Look at this flyer:
http://thormotorcoach.com/media/docu...2014-08-22.pdf

The 24.2 model. Very interesting. I wonder if one of those will be at our camper show.

From the looks of it this is a rear kitchen model. That would seem to open up the main area a bit more but now your sleeping options are limited to: the drop down bunk, the hide-a-bed, and the small dinette. In this case I'd bet your "main" bed would be the drop down bunk (it can hold 500lbs). This model looks to be more of a tailgater type of unit: It has seatbelts for 7 but not sleeping for 7 and a bit more counter space in the kitchen.

Oh yeah another thought too: For more storage do NOT get the range/oven combo. Just get the cooktop (you'll get 2 or 3 extra drawers for storage) then get the optional convection microwave (you'll have a combo oven/microwave). We had an oven in our 5th wheel and we used it once in 10 years. We got the Axis configured this way: The combo convection/microwave works quite well as an oven.

I have a 24.2 and love it. I do not like dinettes and this unit has 2 captain chairs there with a pull out table instead. Much more comfortable in my opinion. The only real gripe is the bottom bed. I would prefer a jackknife sofa. I also would like a regular mattress for the drop down bed as well. I can order one for the drop down and drill new holes for the pins and I have just today requested if a jackknife sofa was available. All in all though I really like this unit.

[Bob217]

we have owned a 24.1 for two years now. We have put about 16,000 miles on it and we love it. We had stayed in it for 3 months at a time. We purchased some recliners and replaced the bench seat...(personal preference we pull a vehicle with it and have not had any problem other than a front fender guard coming off which Thor fixed without any problem. Highly recommend the Thor axis 24.1

[belfastboy]

Originally Posted by Bob217

we have owned a 24.1 for two years now. We have put about 16,000 miles on it and we love it. We had stayed in it for 3 months at a time. We purchased some recliners and replaced the bench seat...(personal preference we pull a vehicle with it and have not had any problem other than a front fender guard coming off which Thor fixed without any problem. Highly recommend the Thor axis 24.1

We love ours as well. 14,000 miles for us. Our fender trim separated as well. The dealer fixed it, sloppily but it did get fixed. We have some trim coming apart on the inside, glue separating and the trim falling away. We are two weeks in to a 7 week trip, our longest so far.
It is perfect for the two of us, no toad just bikes.

[shspector]

We have a 2016 24.1 & one side of the grey plastic T dump handle broke off.
I went to CW & bought a $2 replacement metal handle & found out that the dump mechanism is all one piece. I'm unable to screw on the new part.
I'm thinking of cutting off the remaining plastic & glueing the new handle on.
Anyone else have a similar issue?

[petew]

Originally Posted by Baddad53

Its just bad engineering and is a pet peeve of mind being a former engineer. It didn't drain at the last campground due to it height being the same as the drain (Flying Flags in Buellton). The valves open up and down direction which is poor leverage being in the back of the small compartment. I had a new 1983 Itasca Phasar which was a low chassis also but had no problems - worked well. The Axis valves work just the height and location are "p" poor. There are a few poor engineering designs by Thor were they just are not thought out. (thermostat being behind the slide wall being another) We still like the coach just "annoyed"

Ran into this problem on our first camping trip . We were in Cape Cod and the sewer pipe at our site was actually higher than the outlet on my Vegas .
We all know poop doesn't flow uphill so I had move to another site with a more favorable angle to dump.
Even at Fort Wilderness I had to unscrew one of their sewer couplers to get a good angle.
I did purchase a Flo Jet pump to use instead of gravity if need be.
It also allows me to dump my tanks at home.
Even the Flo Jet required a 45 degree elbow in order to avoid ground contact.

Poor design for sure but I believe the low design of the Vegas contributes to it's great driving manners.

[Oneilkeys]

I've installed a Clean Dump system in my Vegas and new Axis and have used then for 35000 miles without a problem. I can pump both the black and grey tanks thru a small hose uphill and long distances without any mess or smell. And it is twice as fast as taking out the hose, cleaning it and putting it back in. I don't even wear gloves anymore.

[shspector]

[QUOTE=shspector;74264]We have a 2016 24.1 & one side of the grey plastic T dump handle broke off.
I went to CW & bought a $2 replacement metal handle & found out that the dump mechanism is all one piece. I'm unable to screw on the new part.
I'm thinking of cutting off the remaining plastic & glueing the new handle on.
Anyone else have a similar issue?


Done!
! sawed off the remaining plastic & went to the plumbing dept at Home Depot. Found a chrome "Universal" vise grip cross arm diverter handle (fits any faucet), placed it over the nub & tightened it down. Saved whatever Thor would have charged for a total new mechanism & the labor to install.

[Finch1408]

Originally Posted by JamieGeek

Ok Teeitup26: Long post warning.

Private/public campgrounds: We usually stay at private campgrounds because they have full hookup sites. Its very rare to find a public campground with full hookup sites. As a result private campgrounds are typically smaller, you are much closer to your neighbor and fewer trees for shade (simply because it costs a lot more to run those sewer pipes around so they put them close together and they have to yank the trees as well). As a consequence we really don't use the campground facilities much because we use our camper. When travelling for long distances we typically will stay at KOA's--much like McDonalds you always know what you'll get when you go to a KOA (and since we're just overnighting anyway its not that big of a deal).

Quality/trailer/etc.: We traded in our F-350 and our Cougar 5th wheel for the 24.1 (Cougar 5th wheel was this model 2006 Keystone Cougar 281efs, Center Conway NH - 113186689 - RVTrader.com ). That 5er had a huge slide down the side and was very roomy. The 24.1 in comparison could be called cramped (but we were looking to downsize and wanted something more maneuverable than 50+ feet going down the road). The 24.1 is that and spades. The interesting thing is storage: Most 5th wheels have a huge storage area under the front bedroom (typically called the "basement"). We were able to fit everything we had in the 5th wheel into the 24.1 except for one lawn chair. I was very impressed.
In your case you'll have to consider storing your golf clubs. The 24.1 has a huge through-the-back storage area under the beds which is perfect for them. The floorplan on the 25.1 doesn't have that (if you look at the specs:
2015 Axis Motorhomes: Class A RV by Thor Motor Coach the 25.1 only has 48 cu ft of exterior storage, the 24.1 has a whopping 63 cu ft).

Purchase process: I'm not sure how much research you've done on buying an RV so I'll go a little into it here. RV manufacturer's don't have the same kind of quality control as car companies. Thus you have to be a bit more of a tough customer to the RV dealership. Being a newbie you'll have to do some research otherwise the sales people will see you coming a mile away. I'd start by finding a delivery checklist (like this one: RV Inspection Checklist ) go over it, print it out and bring it with you when you pick up the RV. Have the dealership show you everything (open panels, take off the beds to show you the plumbing, how to winterize--even if you never will, etc.). Take lots of notes. If you find anything wrong with it make sure they fix it before you leave the dealership. In addition if you're going to pick it up out of state from where you live I'd camp for a few nights near the dealership so you can learn it and use it before driving off (some really good dealers have their own campground next to the dealership so you can spend the first night in it right there). If you find anything wrong with it you can take it back and have them fix it before going home.

E-350 chassis: Both models use the E-350 chassis with the V-10 engine. This is our 3rd V-10 (prior to this our F-350 and an earlier F-250 we had both had the V-10). The V-10 is a great engine for an RV and will last many miles when taken care of (much like any engine, our F-250 had 140k miles on it when we traded it for the F-350). Its an overhead valve design which means it is perfectly happy winding out to high revs (a lot of first time V-10 owners get a little nervous when the RPMs pick up. Rest assured we pulled our Cougar through the mountains with the V-10 screaming all the way with no damage at all to the engine). It also makes for a pretty peppy camper LOL.
It will need to be aligned once you pick it up (unless you can negotiate for the dealer to get that done for you). Note that there is an alignment thread around here (with discussions about the E-350 and Ford's F-53 chassis). Ours was more than an inch out of alignment when I had it done. I had to find a local truck shop to get it done (they were quite amused to see our little tiny 25' motorhome pulling into the shop filled with semi-trucks).

A tad off topic (curious). A lot of mention of E350. My 2017 Axis 24.1 says it has a E450. Is this new, or special?

[JamieGeek]

No, Thor built quite a few with E450 there for a while. You are one of the lucky ones with more payload capacity.

[Finch1408]

Originally Posted by JamieGeek

No, Thor built quite a few with E450 there for a while. You are one of the lucky ones with more payload capacity.

Thanks!

[Oneilkeys]

I have one of the 2016 E-450s and it is nice to have the extra 2000 lbs capacity. I was at the top of the capacity in my 2014 Vegas.

[Travbob]

Hi all, just registered here. Have a 2016 Vegas 25.2 on an E450 chassis and been using it for about a year now. So far am happy with it but always looking at ways to improve.

One issue I do not like is the slide out pantry. It is held in place by two "clicker" locks just like the drawers use so is very still. I would like to remove the clicker lockers and replace with a manual release lock. My issue I cannot see how to remove the pantry. There are walls on both sides, the unit is very close to the floor and is held in place with two slides so not able to lift it out.

Has anyone removed their panty, and if so how does it come out?

[JamieGeek]

Can't help you with the pantry--my 24.1 doesn't have that but welcome to the forums.

[Baddad53]

Originally Posted by Travbob

Hi all, just registered here. Have a 2016 Vegas 25.2 on an E450 chassis and been using it for about a year now. So far am happy with it but always looking at ways to improve.

One issue I do not like is the slide out pantry. It is held in place by two "clicker" locks just like the drawers use so is very still. I would like to remove the clicker lockers and replace with a manual release lock. My issue I cannot see how to remove the pantry. There are walls on both sides, the unit is very close to the floor and is held in place with two slides so not able to lift it out.

Has anyone removed their panty, and if so how does it come out?

I installed the power system to a cell phone booster in the space behind the pantry. It comes out by pressing the black tabs once the pastry slide is all the way out to its limit. Then you just keep pulling it out.

[Travbob]

Thanks Baddad53. It seems they changed the design a little for the 25.3. I did get mine out after I removed the liner on the bottom shelf. There are two small screws that once removed, allow the bottom shelf to come out. With the shelf removed you can see the whole pantry is held with four screws to a box. With these four screws removed the pantry can be lifted off. The box underneath is in two parts with one half screwed to the pantry and the other half screwed to the floor. Two heavy duty drawer slides connect the two parts of the box and allow the top to slide out.

Easy removal once you look at it carefully, but I was looking for a slide release like on the drawers. They are there but not accessible until everything is taken apart.

Anyway I got it all apart and removed the two "clicker" locks that make it so hard to pull it open (the wife hated it). Installed an elbow latch in the back with a rod to actuate the latch. Now you just push a button just under the counter and the pantry easily slides open. When you close it the latch catches and locks the panty closed.

[tomwill]

Originally Posted by Teeitup26

Let me know if you consider it a non-fulltimer type bed, where it's not really a bed but a sofa that people use when they are going to football games and camping out for a night. This thing is being hyped as a RUV; in other words, not a real house on wheels, just a big SUV with a temporary bed. I do want a small Class A, just not a juiced down vehicle not really a camper.

I have a 2013 Hurricane 29X, which is actually 31ft 10inches. I retired in 2012 and my wife and I rented the home and took off for 3 1/2 years full timing it. Plenty big enought for two and a little dog. I am not a fan of Ford, but have fallen in love with their Triton V10.

[TomFlynn]

Originally Posted by Teeitup26

I'm only 5ft 7 or so. Does that make the seat a non prob? And as to your comment about "it depends on how many people" , i am single and will be alone. No cats or dogs either. Does it have enough room to make it feel like a small living room and then bedroom in the back as if it was "home". ? that's all i'm looking for. appreciate the comments.

You will do fine in an Axis 24.1 You can even get into fast food places . All you need is 2 spaces and some extra room behind. The shower is small but I dis connected the curtain holder with the somewhat flexible rolled metal and made it wider so I could turn in the shower and not move the curtain with my shoulders. That did require a new shower curtain and a little cutting with scissors. The biggest thing is if you buy one, get it many weeks before as quality control is pretty bad and you will need some fixes. The v10 is great in the mountains.

[vkb]

Originally Posted by TomFlynn

You will do fine in an Axis 24.1

Tom...thought I would let you know...tee it up...has been researching for a couple years and his question, which you referred to is obsolete.


We, also, have a 24.1 and have had no problem with it at all. Love the Axis and when we have thought about downsizing...and shop for something on a bit smaller frame...we realize how much we appreciate what we have !

Happy camping !