Question about sway and wind on my brand new Omni BH35

[Alex55]

Hello,
We just bought an Omni BH35 and will be taking possession sometime in the next few weeks. I drove it a few times on the highway and it drives great.

I put sway bars, steering stabilizers and sumo springs on my Thor Vegas to keep it from swaying in the wind. I had issues with white knuckling before those mods, but my question is, has anyone needed to put any mods as far as sway bars and such for this model? Its pretty big and again, drives great, but after spending alot of money already, I am hopeful it will be a dream to drive in the wind.

[MTcamper]

We have a Magnitude SV34 on the same chassis but with 4x4. It drives and handles great right off the showroom floor-I think you will find that you won't need to add anything to the suspension. I have driven in quite a bit of wind and it handles very well-even pulling a toad. Welcome & enjoy your Omni!

[Bob Denman]

The best thing you can do: drive it before you start throwing money at a problem that might not exist...

[Lt Keefer]

Don't forget to weigh the coach and set the tire pressures. Also have the front end alignment checked/adjusted. Then drive it for a while and see if it needs any suspension upgrades.

[Alex55]

Thanks everyone. I am sure it will be fine. Definitely should get a front end alignment. Can't wait to take it out!

[kwplot34]

Originally Posted by Alex55

Thanks everyone. I am sure it will be fine. Definitely should get a front end alignment. Can't wait to take it out!

I have the XG32 same chassis you have. Don't spend any money on it till you put some miles on it, mine drives great with no adjustments needed. And after owning an E350 and an E450, this coach is a pleasure to drive.
Put a little over 9k miles on it last year and no tire wear issues either.

[nyles@gentzfinancial.com]

We have a 2021 Omni sv34.
Handles great, no modifications from the factory.
Handles like a pickup.
We got caught in that storm in Iowa last August.
Did great in very high winds

[Greybear]

2020 BH35 here. Ours drives like a dream.

We did a trip from SLC Utah to Charlotte, NC and back along Hwy 40. Hit some pretty stiff winds in OK and TX, and NO problems with sway or tracking.

There IS a recall out for the Ford F550 chassis however for the front end steering damper (at least that's what I think they called it). Some of them are faulty and cause wobbly steering at highway speeds. Ours is fine so we got a good one apparently.

The advice about driving a bit first is good. Congrats on your rig, hope you love it as much as we do ours.

[CTRvs666]

Originally Posted by Alex55

Hello,
We just bought an Omni BH35 and will be taking possession sometime in the next few weeks. I drove it a few times on the highway and it drives great.

I put sway bars, steering stabilizers and sumo springs on my Thor Vegas to keep it from swaying in the wind. I had issues with white knuckling before those mods, but my question is, has anyone needed to put any mods as far as sway bars and such for this model? Its pretty big and again, drives great, but after spending alot of money already, I am hopeful it will be a dream to drive in the wind.

No issues on the first 12K miles on my 2021 XG32. These are just solid. I do have to drive these things with two hands, I can't just pinky drive this like I do my car.

[Party of 5]

Greetings everyone,
This is my first post on the Thor forum website. I just purchased a 2021 Thor Omni and will be taking possession in the next few weeks. We're going to take it out locally to get all the kinks out of it before driving it on a big trip. Do you have any advice or things I should be keeping an eye on that maybe you experienced when purchasing your RV's? Are there any upgrades I should consider?? I read on another post where the generator's exhaust on the 34 model leaking into the RV. Has anyone else had similar issues? Lastly, is there anything I should be looking for or bringing to the attention of the agent assisting in my walk-thru?

Any help or guidance would be greatly appreciated.

[Judge]

I put $1500 in sway bars, Sumo's and a Steering Stabilizer for the E-450 for my Outlaw 29H just to get it to handle like it should have from the factory.

When I test drove my 2020 Magnitude SV34 I could not believe the difference. It was clear that a motorhome 25' or longer should never be on an E-Series chassis. They need to be on heavy duty truck chassis.

Now the ride difference with the stock F-550 Magnitude is night and day over the E-450 but it still is not a Cadillac. After a year or so I did add Sumo Springs just to soften some of the pot holes and bridge transitions along the way. It did help with those a bit.

Could the ride and handling be further improved? Sure it could.

Does it need to be further improved? Probably not for the average owner.

[Party of 5]

Thank you Judge! This is our first RV purchase, but have camped in a truck camper is the past. We're excited to get started. You and others are far more knowledgeable than I. The input and ideas are greatly appreciated.

[kwplot34]

I have had an E350 and an E450 and now an XG32 on the F550, the F550 needs nothing for handling and driver comfort. Just keep an on the front tire wear to make sure you don't need an alignment adjustment.

[CTRvs666]

Originally Posted by Judge

I put $1500 in sway bars, Sumo's and a Steering Stabilizer for the E-450 for my Outlaw 29H just to get it to handle like it should have from the factory.

When I test drove my 2020 Magnitude SV34 I could not believe the difference. It was clear that a motorhome 25' or longer should never be on an E-Series chassis. They need to be on heavy duty truck chassis.

Now the ride difference with the stock F-550 Magnitude is night and day over the E-450 but it still is not a Cadillac. After a year or so I did add Sumo Springs just to soften some of the pot holes and bridge transitions along the way. It did help with those a bit.

Could the ride and handling be further improved? Sure it could.

Does it need to be further improved? Probably not for the average owner.

I agree on the ride being a bit rough on the really bad roads, but it isn't much different to me than the F350 long bed that I had before. The biggest problem is that if you hit a hard bump the suspension is going to fight back. I know that it handles the wind quite well and if it was a softer suspension I think the wind would push it around a lot more. I think I might go with the bump stops. I think your SV34 has about another foot of wheelbase than the XG-32.

[Party of 5]

Judge, KWPlott, and CTR, thank you for your responses. We are excited about grabbing the keys to the rig, and setting out on our family adventures. Do your models have an engine and tank heaters to prevent freezing over? Do you fill your DEF tank at the time of refueling at the pump? It appears the tanks are at the front and back end of the rig. Some say they fill their DEF tanks away from the fuel pumps.

[kwplot34]

Originally Posted by Party of 5

Judge, KWPlott, and CTR, thank you for your responses. We are excited about grabbing the keys to the rig, and setting out on our family adventures. Do your models have an engine and tank heaters to prevent freezing over? Do you fill your DEF tank at the time of refueling at the pump? It appears the tanks are at the front and back end of the rig. Some say they fill their DEF tanks away from the fuel pumps.

They do have a block heater. I fill the DEF tank when the gauge is down to about a 1/4 left, I have used the pumps for DEF and filled from the jug, sometimes I have an issue filling from the pumps, not sure if some of them just pump to fast. There are 2 tanks, the engine runs off the front tank and the back just gravity feeds into the front, you will notice the front will drop down to 3/4 full and then the rear tank will start gravity feeding into the front tank till it's empty then you will see the front tank level start to drop.

[Party of 5]

Thank you for all of your and advice.

Does anyone have any advice or input regarding the purchase of a new rig. I reside in California and we pay more for everything because of our lovely taxes. I saw on-line a Thor Omni BH35 in Alvarado Texas roughly $30,000 cheaper than what I have been quoted. Is there a catch?? I realize that it's a sellers market and they aren't budging on their price due to supply and demand. Has anyone ever purchased a rig out of their state and do your local RV dealers honor the warranty?? Last summer, when we initially began looking and prior to the pandemic, I was told by a salesman that should we venture out of state to make a purchase, they wouldn't be obligated to honor the out of state warranty. I found that hard to believe since his company was selling the identical rig, made my the same manufacturer.

Any thoughts or advice?? Although I have placed a refundable down payment, I technically have not signed on the dotted line per se. If I can save thousands of dollars, would it be worth us taking a road trip and purchasing a rig out of state??

[nyles@gentzfinancial.com]

I dont see why your local dealer wouldn't cover warranty work?

You'll enjoy your Omni, we sure do!

[Greybear]

Originally Posted by Party of 5

Thank you for all of your and advice.

Does anyone have any advice or input regarding the purchase of a new rig. I reside in California and we pay more for everything because of our lovely taxes. I saw on-line a Thor Omni BH35 in Alvarado Texas roughly $30,000 cheaper than what I have been quoted. Is there a catch?? I realize that it's a sellers market and they aren't budging on their price due to supply and demand. Has anyone ever purchased a rig out of their state and do your local RV dealers honor the warranty?? Last summer, when we initially began looking and prior to the pandemic, I was told by a salesman that should we venture out of state to make a purchase, they wouldn't be obligated to honor the out of state warranty. I found that hard to believe since his company was selling the identical rig, made my the same manufacturer.

Any thoughts or advice?? Although I have placed a refundable down payment, I technically have not signed on the dotted line per se. If I can save thousands of dollars, would it be worth us taking a road trip and purchasing a rig out of state??

We live in SLC, Utah. Looking in late 2020, the only rig available locally was a BB35 for nearly 200k. Didn't want that layout, didn’t like the color or the price. Got on them thar interwebs and found a BH35 in Yuma at RV World for less than 150k. Perfect layout, perfect color, and what a price! We pulled the trigger and I flew to Yuma to pick it up with a softball size lump in my throat. Bottom line is that the deal went smooth as butter. The salesman was a champ, even picking me up at the airport! No after the sale pressure, nice walkthrough. Signed the papers and drove it home.

As I detailed in a another thread, I had an issue with the DEF fill spout. The Ford dealer fixed it to the tune of $600. After contacting Thor and not getting much help, I emailed the dealer. A week later, a Thor check for the work amount appeared in my mailbox. The dealer had gone to bat for me!

So, although your mileage may vary, there IS a big regional price difference. The big secret is to price match! Make the dealer work a bit for your business. There’s a HUGE built in margin, so don’t give away any more than you have to.

The only downside of buying a rig out of town is finding a local dealer who will give you good service. Fortunately I had a previous relationship with our local Camping World. Be prepared to be treated like a second class citizen when your local dealers find out you bought out of state however.

[Judge]

Originally Posted by Party of 5

Thank you for all of your and advice.

Does anyone have any advice or input regarding the purchase of a new rig. I reside in California and we pay more for everything because of our lovely taxes. I saw on-line a Thor Omni BH35 in Alvarado Texas roughly $30,000 cheaper than what I have been quoted. Is there a catch?? I realize that it's a sellers market and they aren't budging on their price due to supply and demand. Has anyone ever purchased a rig out of their state and do your local RV dealers honor the warranty?? Last summer, when we initially began looking and prior to the pandemic, I was told by a salesman that should we venture out of state to make a purchase, they wouldn't be obligated to honor the out of state warranty. I found that hard to believe since his company was selling the identical rig, made my the same manufacturer.

Any thoughts or advice?? Although I have placed a refundable down payment, I technically have not signed on the dotted line per se. If I can save thousands of dollars, would it be worth us taking a road trip and purchasing a rig out of state??

They are one of the larger dealers in the country and have better pricing because of volume.... and they are Texas!

I think they would pick you up at the airport and let you camp there for a night to make sure everything works ok. Then your first adventure will be your trip home!

That being said.... I used the Texas pricing to get a dealer to match pricing for the Magnitude SV34 in Ohio.... but that was 18 months ago at the end of the season when it was a buyers market.