Who loves their Thor and why? We are condering one.

[Debbiemae]

We are searching for a new motorhome to accommodate our growing family. I would love to hear from those of you that love your Thor Motor coach and why? As in all areas of life, it is easy to complain but we are all a lot less likely to say why we love something. Thanks in advance for all your help and suggestions.

[blw2]

I like our floor plan. It seemed to be about the best class C layout for us out there.....

Is it perfect? no. would I change a few things in the layout?..... i sure would, but we still like it better than pretty much every other plan that I've seen...... well in my budget anyway

That's about as far as i can go at the moment.... but hey, it's somethin'

[FW28z]

We bought used. This helps for two reasons. First, the previous owner will already go through the hassle of warranty issues, and the depreciation is significant in the first few years.

We bought our 2011 model last year (2013), when it was 2yr old for about 30~40% less than a new one. I don't know about you, but that is a significant depreciation hit I did not want to take.

It was owned by a Doctor and had 5,800 miles on it, and being a Doctor, it was probably not really used that much, as it still looked fairly new. Plus the Doctor put some upgrades in it, like $1,000 for a upgraded bed.

But the one issue is during the recession of 2008~2011 or wherever you want to put the dates, not as many RVs were sold - which results in not as many good late model used RVs are available. So it might be hard to find a good used late model RV. I know it took us quite awhile to find this one.

One thing you will have to contend with is build quality. You will find a lot of disappointed Thor owners. There are a few things that were annoying on my coach that were easily fixed, and a few more I have to work on. But you have to realize these are budget rigs, and they are not going to be perfect. And you will be putting wear-and-tear on them, so in the end, it's a lot more fancy than a tent.

I think the most serious issue I have had to date is leaking tail lights, which could have damaged the walls of the coach if not fixed.

Other issues are over-torqued screws. My furnace is literally held together with super-glue and caulking, as the morons at the factory over-tightened all of the screws and broke the plastic frame of the furnace. An idiot with a pneumatic drill/screwdriver can be a dangerous thing.

In summary, if you are a do-it-yourselfer, you will not have many issues you cannot fix. But if you are not as mechanically-inclined, or have the time, you might have issues.

I not saying this should be acceptable, and I am not letting Thor off the hook for shoddy practices, but they are not unique. We saw a travel trailer last spring (not a Thor brand) at a RV show that used a residential window air conditioner, and just mounted it through the wall. And, with a keen eye, any visit to a RV show and you can pick out shoddy work from most brands.

Many motorhomes and travel trailers are built in the Elkhart, Indiana area, which also makes those even more shoddy mobile homes. So I suppose it's in their genes.

Of course, you get what you pay for, and you can buy premium brands that are a lot more expensive, so it all depends on your expectations I guess.

Others though, depending on the model, may indeed have more serous issues. This seems to be more with Class As though, but it may just be my perception. Whether it is because more of the coach is built by the RV manufacturer, or a higher bad engineering content, I don't know.

I went with a Class C - as I figured the less the motorhome factory did the better, it is easier to get serviced by the local Ford dealership, and parts might be easier to find.

The one thing I continuously thought about when shopping for our RV is...

what would happen if I need to replace the windshield?

OK, what would happen if I needed to replace the windshield 10yrs from now?

I am sure I can find a Ford E450 windshield in 10yrs, but not perhaps a Class A windshield).

I am not saying a Class A is not in our future. But for our first coach, we went with a Class C, as I thought it would be more "beginner friendly". In the future, we might upgrade to a Class A, but I just cringe when thinking about a 36ft gasoline powered RV... fuel economy-wise.

I liked it because it has a sofa, and that was my minimum needs. The wife's minimum needs was a slide-out. I didn't care so much if it had a slide-out or not, but they do help with space, as well as resale.

However, the downside to a slideout is they can leak, and a lot of people have been having problems with them operating properly. I think though that most people having issues are with the larger slide outs. So if you keep it to smaller slide outs, you may not have as many issues.

As well, make sure the slide out has a topper. Most do these days, but if you are looking in the used department, you may find one without it. A topper is the small awning that is fixed to the top of the slide out, which helps prevent leaks, but more importantly, keeps debris that falls on the roof from being jammed into the seals when you retract it.

The only thing the wife does not like with our rig is there is not a pantry, and not as much storage as she would like. She wanted a 31F or 31L, but we could not find a used one, and I wanted something a bit lighter. But truth told, there is probably not a lot of difference in weight between mine and a 31L (although called a 28ft'er, my coach is actually 29'-11"). My coach is 11,599lbs, and maybe BLW2 can elaborate on his coach's weight.

I would also go with an E450 rather than E350, but of course, that depends on the size. For example, we originally looked at a 28A floorplan, which is more or less identical but without a slide out (although the orientation of the fridge, shower, and toilet is different). It is also a bit shorter, 29'-9". The coach is on a E350 rather than E450, while it is almost as heavy and large as my 28Z (which is on a E450 chassis).

The 28A is no longer available, but my point is go with the heaver duty (E450) chassis when you can.

I would avoid the 31W for the slide out reasons I mentioned. I just think that huge slide out is asking for trouble.

[JamieGeek]

We've been camping for a good 15 years now. Our first one was a hybrid trailer (a hard sided camper but it had beds that fold out like a pop up). It was the first attempt at such a thing by the manufacturer we purchased from (you'd think I'd learned my lesson! LOL oh well). We got out of that after a year (we had to completely re-engineer the hinges on the beds!).
Our next two (a 26' travel trailer, and a 31 ft 5th wheel) we were very happy with (picked up the 5th wheel when the family started growing).
After 10 years of hauling 45+ ft down the road we were looking to downsize a bit and ended up with the Axis 24.1 (about 26ft long). It is big enough for our family to all sleep comfortably and small enough that we can put it just about anywhere or even use it like a conversion van (which we have).
So far we've been very happy with it (put about 2000 miles on it). Being new, however, we've found all kinds of different mods we want to do (our rule with the 5th wheel was to do at least one thing to it a season).
(Re: Learned my lesson above: the Axis was a brand new design when we picked it up back in Feb. My thoughts though: Everything on the Axis Thor has done in various campers before so it isn't completely new.)

[Nursx2]

OMG! The Maxxair ceiling fan on my brand new, 3 and 1/2 week old, 2015 Thor hurricane 34 J died after only two uses.

I emailed Maxxair, explained the situation, and asked for assistance. That evening I received an email explaining how to check to see if the fan RV power was intact and if it was, they told me the PC board was most likely the cause. The RV power was intact so yesterday I wrote them back asking if they could simply send the board to me so I could replace it myself. Just received an email requesting my address so they could sent me the PC board!

Wow, if only Thor customer service was this good! I am soooo impressed!!!!

[aa9zz]

I have spent the past two years in an Airstream Interstate Class B Sprinter. I really enjoyed it but it was small enough that it was difficult to take our two grandkids (3 and 5) with us.

We sold The Airstream last month and bought an Axis. We were very nervous at first but we have found our Thor Axis 24.1 to be a nice unit. It is a great size for us to take our grandkids with us. They live in Chicago and don't get so see grass and real life.

We were nervous about buying a new rig and finding the issues and having them fixed. Notice I said "having them" fixed as I an mot a very handy person. I seem to not have hands but four feet when it comes to fix up duties. We spent the first ten days of ownership on the road and logged over 2000 miles through seven states.

I am very happy with Thor and our Axis. My only found issues being the need to seal the kitchen sink drain and a slightly bent stove top cover. I sent a note to Thor service and was told in two days to contact our seller and they would take care of it.

The Axis is comfortable and has tons of room, especially when compared to the Airstream Class B.

The biggest issue with our travels was so many people in campgrounds and parking lots wanting to see what our unit was. The styling and layout was a big hit. If I had been a commissioned salesperson and had a few extra units, we could have sold them ourselves.

While I miss the 20 MPG of the Airstream, I am happy to give it up to get the extra room and convenience of the Axis.

I think we will have it for quite a few years.

[KNMIB]

We bought a very slightly used 2012 Four Winds 23u (25ft.) 1600 miles and we love it. Had it out only two times before winter for an educational test run and everything worked great. The original owner may have debugged it. It is perfect size for the boss and me and we will be heading to Phoenix in Feb. Head south fast and turn right to avoid the snow. Wish I would have done this years ago.

[Larry]

We've always loved the camping experience and meeting the super nice folks (usually!) at various campgrounds. Started out in a small tent, "upgraded" to a larger tent, purchased a used Coleman pop-up which we used several years, progressed to a used 20 ft. pop out canvas at front and rear TT (StarCraft Antigua) which we loved and kept for about 7 years and finally bought a new Axis 24.1 back in July of this year. We've put almost 2500 miles on it and love it because of the style, size, layout and ease of handling. Especially enjoy having all of the available options other than the cooktop oven (don't have...we use the convectional m/w and have never used the 3 burner cook top) which allows for more cabinet drawer space. We also enjoy having the built in outside TV for watching sporting events and the TV w/built in DVD player in the bedroom. The hidden overhead bunk is nice to have for the nephew to sleep in when he's with us too as well as the bathroom shower area which will close off from the from the kitchen area to the back with a sliding door. We've had a few minor under warranty issues to get corrected (passenger seat arm rest came loose, left side camera quit working, windshield washer pump replacement and a few cosmetic things) but nothing major to report. Whatever you decide on, check it over really well before turning over the check. They should give you a good walk thru, and if they have a place at the dealership to stay overnight to check it out well, take advantage of the offer. We also get compliments every time we take ours out from strangers who say it would fit their needs very well and some have inquired further about purchasing information. We love ours and can't wait to take it out again whenever time allows.

[timr]

Maybe not much help,but as newbies,we really like our Thor ACE. We have the 30.1 Bunkhouse that has bunkbeds. Plenty of room for 4-5 easily. Claims to sleep 10,which is true,but makes for super tight living. We've been on two shakedowns with no issues. Love driving it.
Good Luck!
Tim and Nancy Riggs

[malabarbob]

We bought a new 26 foot Class C - 2014 Thor Four Winds and (knock on wood) no major issues. We did switch the folding mattress to a sleep number but in all honesty, its a little bit of a pain to deflate and inflate bed to move the slide. Easy to drive, easy to park - about 9mpg at 55 mph. Great for what we wanted - one week a month at Disney.