2022 Axis mini review

[Chance]

P.S. — Sorry Jamie, had not seen that you had already posted weight in 24.4 thread. It’s not empty weight, but shows even an E-350 would have enough capacity if not for GVWR “rating”.

Your excess capacity for front axle is 540 pounds, and for rear axle 640 pounds, and while you can’t legally combine these, it should be a comforting sign.


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[16ACE27]

Originally Posted by Trophy1200

Scuba, you really need to use the insert hyperlink function.

You post a lot of links, but it’s easier if you post it as a hyperlink, then other users just click it and it opens the page.

https://campersmarts.com/rv-inspecti...new-or-used-rv

Just like this

I believe the problem is he is using his phone. All I have to do to fix his post is EDIT his post and save it without changing anything. That creates a hyperlink from his website paste.

[Obiwan57]

Hello, 2022 Vegas 24.3 owner here. Ditto for the wandering steering and narrow tires-can wider tires be a possible option? Totally agree on the display and the gas pedal.

Unfortunately, my coach arrived with numerous QC issues and is at the dealer, who is also installing a Safe-T-Steer stabilizer to replace the OEM, which is not robust enough based on feedback and dealer recommendation. I like the Vegas and look forward to getting it back.

[ducksface]

I use jamies 24.1 weights if anyone asks out of curiosity.
I'm just not that involved in creating weight distribution anxiety for myself or riders.

And
The patch of tires hitting the ground is just over one square foot. That's the same +- as a size 14 pair of mens boots. Wider tires will do little in our category of vehicle. Wider tires are a lateral at maximums thing. We don't do power slides or .8g corners as sport.
And
You're limited by the dually room between tires.
A very vague width difference now calls for spacers or new wheels.
It can be done but you'll get seat of the pants improvements only.

GNach(a member here) went slightly wider and more aggressive. He's happy with it. Ask him for specifics. I think he has about 35hours of research involved in his decsion. Whether he is 35hours or zero hours, I'll use his research when I'm ready for tires. But I won't replace good tires for the miniscule difference.


Signed,
Did anyone else here run g60 front tires and m50's on the rear in the 1970's?
They fit perfectly under a 70 1/2 z28.

[JamieGeek]

Originally Posted by Obiwan57

Hello, 2022 Vegas 24.3 owner here. Ditto for the wandering steering and narrow tires-can wider tires be a possible option? Totally agree on the display and the gas pedal.

Unfortunately, my coach arrived with numerous QC issues and is at the dealer, who is also installing a Safe-T-Steer stabilizer to replace the OEM, which is not robust enough based on feedback and dealer recommendation. I like the Vegas and look forward to getting it back.

Did you get an alignment? Pretty much all motorhomes need one after you've loaded it up and put some miles on it.

[sportcoupe]

Originally Posted by JamieGeek

Did you take it to any scales?

I weighed our 24.1--it came in at 11,400 lbs with all our gear, full fresh water, full propane and 3 people in it--basically as we would drive it. That left 1100 lbs free--I don't think I'd ever put an extra 1000 lbs of stuff in my RV on top of that.

Originally Posted by JamieGeek

Nope my 2014 24.1 was an E-350 (my 2022 24.4 is an E-450).

11,400 with full everything including gear, full fuel and fresh water AND 3 adults sounds unlikely. That's just slightly more than the dry weight of a 24.1 E350 chassis.

Not judging you, I am judging the scales you used.

[Chance]

Originally Posted by sportcoupe

11,400 with full everything including gear, full fuel and fresh water AND 3 adults sounds unlikely. That's just slightly more than the dry weight of a 24.1 E350 chassis.

Not judging you, I am judging the scales you used.

Original Thor Axis ad listed the “estimated” dry weight at 10,300 pounds. I’m certain original 24.1 gained weight over time as they added “upgrades” to fix or improve issues.

If Jamie traveled light, it’s possible he was around 11,400 pounds, particularly if Thor’s 10,300-pound estimate was on heavy side.


P.S. — He said three people, not three adults. If I recall correctly, he had a young son when he first purchased his 24.1. That’s not to say his “child” didn’t weigh more than my adult wife.

[JamieGeek]

Originally Posted by Chance

Original Thor Axis ad listed the “estimated” dry weight at 10,300 pounds. I’m certain original 24.1 gained weight over time as they added “upgrades” to fix or improve issues.

If Jamie traveled light, it’s possible he was around 11,400 pounds, particularly if Thor’s 10,300-pound estimate was on heavy side.


P.S. — He said three people, not three adults. If I recall correctly, he had a young son when he first purchased his 24.1. That’s not to say his “child” didn’t weigh more than my adult wife.

LOL Yes 3 people: Myself, my wife, and our 12 y/o son at the time (so he might have weighed 60-80 lbs max..skinny boy LOL).

The early 24.1's were significantly lighter than today's version.

That 11,400 came from a calibrated CAT scale. They take their accuracy very seriously.

[sportcoupe]

Originally Posted by Chance

Original Thor Axis ad listed the “estimated” dry weight at 10,300 pounds. I’m certain original 24.1 gained weight over time as they added “upgrades” to fix or improve issues.

If Jamie traveled light, it’s possible he was around 11,400 pounds, particularly if Thor’s 10,300-pound estimate was on heavy side.


P.S. — He said three people, not three adults. If I recall correctly, he had a young son when he first purchased his 24.1. That’s not to say his “child” didn’t weigh more than my adult wife.

Original Axis had an even bigger windshield, heavier than todays smaller one. Not very many options from Thor, even today. Heaviest being the electric stabilizers and the 100 watt solar.

Yes, he must have traveled without anything.

Base 10300
Water 400
Gas ~400
3 people ~400
Total 11500

Estimated total is over his scale ticket and there isn't anything for fridge, pantry, clothes or gear such as chairs.

The math just doesn't work out unless as you say Thor over estimated the base dry weight. No one advertises that anymore it seems.

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[JamieGeek]

Originally Posted by sportcoupe

Original Axis had an even bigger windshield, heavier than todays smaller one. Not very many options from Thor, even today. Heaviest being the electric stabilizers and the 100 watt solar.

Yes, he must have traveled without anything.

Base 10300
Water 400
Gas ~400
3 people ~400
Total 11500

Estimated total is over his scale ticket and there isn't anything for fridge, pantry, clothes or gear such as chairs.

The math just doesn't work out unless as you say Thor over estimated the base dry weight. No one advertises that anymore it seems.

.

Looking at the date of the Cat scale ticket it is possible that we didn't have our gear in it yet (date is about the day we picked it up from the dealer). Thus it would have had full propane, full gas, propbably full water but none of our stuff in it yet (and the 3 of us) not sure, however.

I only weighed it the one time.

The current one I weighed after we went camping in it (and of course it was only a few weeks ago LOL) so I know what was in it when I hit the scales (this time just me--little kid is off to college now LOL).

Original Axis also had absolutely no sound deadening in the dash, engine compartment, etc. All of that area was really thin (and the inside of the coach was very loud as a consequence).

[Chance]

Originally Posted by JamieGeek

.....cut....

Original Axis also had absolutely no sound deadening in the dash, engine compartment, etc. All of that area was really thin (and the inside of the coach was very loud as a consequence).

What I find most interesting between your two units, given the similar length and wheelbase, is how much weight has shifted towards rear. Granted, you may have not been loaded the same when you weighed the two motorhomes, but weight distribution differences due to floor plan design are quite noticeable.

Your 24.1 may not have had as much insulation around engine and cab area, but was heavier up front nonetheless. Your 24.4’s rear bath and longer slide (extending further back) seems to shift a lot of weight to back, even though generator has been moved forward a lot in 24.4 compared to your older 24.1.

[JamieGeek]

Originally Posted by Chance

What I find most interesting between your two units, given the similar length and wheelbase, is how much weight has shifted towards rear. Granted, you may have not been loaded the same when you weighed the two motorhomes, but weight distribution differences due to floor plan design are quite noticeable.

Your 24.1 may not have had as much insulation around engine and cab area, but was heavier up front nonetheless. Your 24.4’s rear bath and longer slide (extending further back) seems to shift a lot of weight to back, even though generator has been moved forward a lot in 24.4 compared to your older 24.1.

On the 24.4 all of the tanks hang back behind the rear axle--even the water heater is back there (fresh tank and water heater are above the floor on the passenger side rear). Black and grey tanks are on the drivers side back there in and below the frame. Of course the gas tank is in a similar spot but even that is behind the rear axle.

It is also possible that the V-10 was a heavier engine than the V-8 as well (although I'd guess not by much).

[Chance]

Originally Posted by sportcoupe

....cut....

The math just doesn't work out unless as you say Thor over estimated the base dry weight. No one advertises that anymore it seems.

.

Agree dry weight isn’t used much, which is probably a good thing since it could easily mislead. Using OCCC is likely easier for many to follow since it requires less math and less estimating; plus from marketing perspective it focuses on what you can carry (positive) rather than how much it will cost to do it (negative).

Below is original ad I was referring to. I would guess Thor started the Axis/Vegas line in order to create smaller and lighter Class As (which lowered cost and improved fuel economy), but soon after added larger and heavier floor plans that competed more directly with conventional F-53-based Class As.

The latest two introduced floor plans are more or less the same size as original 24.1, which suggest to me that designing larger Axis/Vegas was not necessarily a great business decision.

With present high fuel and purchase costs, Thor should consider a new floor plan even smaller, lighter, and lower-cost than 24.1. As I’ve suggested before, they could design a smaller Axis optimized for two people to tour in, targeting weight under 10,000 pounds which shouldn’t be that difficult to achieve.
.

[JamieGeek]

Originally Posted by JamieGeek

On the 24.4 all of the tanks hang back behind the rear axle--even the water heater is back there (fresh tank and water heater are above the floor on the passenger side rear). Black and grey tanks are on the drivers side back there in and below the frame. Of course the gas tank is in a similar spot but even that is behind the rear axle.

It is also possible that the V-10 was a heavier engine than the V-8 as well (although I'd guess not by much).

Oh and when I weighed the 24.1 I had two adults in front. For the 24.4 it was just me so only one adult (ok that is questionable ) in front.

[JamieGeek]

Originally Posted by Chance

Agree dry weight isn’t used much, which is probably a good thing since it could easily mislead. Using OCCC is likely easier for many to follow since it requires less math and less estimating; plus from marketing perspective it focuses on what you can carry (positive) rather than how much it will cost to do it (negative).

Below is original ad I was referring to. I would guess Thor started the Axis/Vegas line in order to create smaller and lighter Class As (which lowered cost and improved fuel economy), but soon after added larger and heavier floor plans that competed more directly with conventional F-53-based Class As.

The latest two introduced floor plans are more or less the same size as original 24.1, which suggest to me that designing larger Axis/Vegas was not necessarily a great business decision.

With present high fuel and purchase costs, Thor should consider a new floor plan even smaller, lighter, and lower-cost than 24.1. As I’ve suggested before, they could design a smaller Axis optimized for two people to tour in, targeting weight under 10,000 pounds which shouldn’t be that difficult to achieve.
.

Note that even there the dry weight is estimated--it could have weighed in a lot less than that.

[Chance]

Originally Posted by JamieGeek

Note that even there the dry weight is estimated--it could have weighed in a lot less than that.

Yes, noted that possibility in post #27, though realistically it is doubtful Thor would have estimated weight too high by much, and that motorhome was significantly lighter than initially advertised (dry weight below 10,300 pounds). If anything, it is much easier to miss weight estimates in opposite direction.

In my opinion a new Axis could be made much lower in weight than existing 24.1, but would require significant design revisions. As Chapman would say, “simplify, then add lightness”.

[Jason977]

Originally Posted by happy

Reflections on the driverside create some weird sensations when checking the side mirror. It will take a bit to learn what is reflection and what is really being shown in the mirrors.

The real bad: AXXERA monitor screen. Tear off, throw away and replace. It is dark, bad, not clear, grainy, horrid......bearly useable and extremely less so when wearing sunglasses.

Not going to say much about the shower....we bought it knowing what it is.

I've wondered if there was a non-reflective window tint that could go on the inside of the glass to reduce glare but haven't spent much time researching. Looking forward to a solution if you find one.

I put up with the Axxera until it broke and replaced it with a small monitor mounted to a ball mount near the left side window. The display is so much better I wish I had done it years ago. I used to hate the blinker activated side cameras, but I actually like them now. The monitor I got was $100 on Amazon, search "Neewer F100".

For the shower, I put up a new track on the ceiling that took up as much ceiling space as I could reasonably get, then replaced the shower curtain with a much heavier one, so the shower is now kind of like an ice-cream cone. Makes it feel much much larger!

Good luck with your mods!

[Muggs]

First few trips out in our 2016 24.1 e450 was not great. Trip back was always better. Put Roadmaster front damper on, weighed it adjusted tire pressures to full load weight. Handles fine since then.

6 years latter, 44,000 miles, many trips with and without 5300 lb open racecar trailer unit still handles fine. Put new tires (higher cap commercial C ribs) at first sign of spider cracks on tread edges.

Gas milage averages 10 with and without trailer. Good enough that taking trailer on vacation is no significant impact on expense. Even at todays prices less than 1 mpg is of no concern.

I would not consider e350 for my applivation, spares for car, full water tank, tools, food/clothes and extra fresh water puts us at almost 19,000 going down road. No issue keeping up with traffic and passing. Is my first Ford and I am impressed with overall performance of v10/6 spd.

Good luck and you will get used to drivong it with time. Only heavy winds bother us, semis are easy to compensate by moving to opposite side of lane.

[happy]

Jason977
There was an older thread about the reflections in the side window..
I do not recall any solutions, so I too would appreciate hearing any solutions to this.

I will look up that monitor. I started off with very little knowledge and now I have some but need to keep at it before spending the $.....or is it $$$ ?

Wife and I are also digging into the shower fixes. Do you recall what shower rod/track you used? We have been using Vermont Country Store cotton twill cloth shower curtains. They work great at home being non-billowing. May try that in The 24.1

[Jason977]

The monitor is about $100. If you intend on replacing the head unit with something better, that should serve as a perfectly good monitor. My preference was to abandon the head unit and place the rear view monitor up on the dash.

Here's the track I used:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...2?ie=UTF8&th=1

And the clear shower curtain:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...1?ie=UTF8&th=1

The shower curtain is very heavy plastic and oversized. I intended to cut it to size (may still) but the excess doesn't bother me and probably helps keep the water inside.