4 year Vegas update

[Muggs]

We have just completed the 4th year of Thor ownership. We have just over 28,000 miles.

Overall the unit performs great. No really issues beyond normal wear and rear.

Items addressed:
Reseal roof joints last year. I check every 90 days when washing slime off roof.
Replaced outside shower as plastic breaking down.
Have new awning fabric to install as material starting to tear at lower edge. Was likely damaged inn NC when we were in freezing weather.

Upcoming events:
Need to think about replacing tires. They are now 5 years and 3 months old. OEM Michelins show plenty of tread, no cracking and fronts have never showed alignment issues.

Wish list:
At some point, I will replace sway bars. Handling is while towing still impressive.

Overall unit has been impressive. It meets our needs as a drag car hauler, mobil hotel room and to run to store.

Thor did a good job with this unit.

[Chance]

The 24.1 floor plan was first and still seems most popular, apparently meeting many needs well.

To this day I still don’t get why Thor never tried to develop other Axis/Vegas floor plans based on similar concept.

[JamieGeek]

Yeah we're starting in on our 6th season with our 24.1.

Replaced the tires 2 seasons ago now. New ones seem to be holding up well (Cooper tires); the Michelins were really cracked and in dire need of replacement.

I'm only at about 17,000 miles on ours. Haven't been travelling with it as much as we'd like (especially this year ! LOL). Once our son starts college (er if he will be on campus this fall--still don't know) we will probably use it more.

Our awning fabric still looks pretty good; some dirt on it but otherwise holding up.

Only suspension mod I've done is the sumo springs in the front.

I still do a few mods each year (end of last season replaced kitchen counter, sink, and stove). We're starting to think about adding a WiFi extender/cellular booster but haven't done any research on that yet.

Our roof gets a once over in the fall: The place where we get the oil changed does a look over the coach re-sealing the roof, replacing burned out bulbs, etc. for a complete "fall service" package.

Still very happy with the coach to the extent that we have yet to see anything at the RV shows that we would want "more" than our Axis (especially after all the mods).

[Chance]

Forums like this one are very helpful in adding context to general information even when that may have not been the original intent.

For example, industry reports often estimate average motorhome annual mileage in the 5,000 range, and you guys split the difference — Muggs about 7,000 and Jamie about 3,000 miles per year. It’s easy to question who only drives 5,000 miles a year, but this confirms it happens to normal owners on a regular basis.

The information not only adds perspective to wear and tear, fuel consumption, depreciation, etc., but also sheds light on owners’ views of their motorhome. Thanks for sharing.

[Bob Denman]

Good to see that you're both still "diggin' the ride"!

[JamieGeek]

Typically we'll have one "long" trip a year in the 1500-2000 mile range with several short trips generally within 100-500 miles so yeah 3000 miles is a good estimate for our average.

This year notwithstanding, however--never know though we may have a long one come fall....

[Muggs]

We usually take it out at least twice a month for local, less than 200 mile trips to tracks. Out of town races a few times a year. Works great on short and long vacations. Been in blue ridge and carolinas many times. In fall period we usually out every weekend racing.

With unit if we go rounds and are still in competition late, we just drive home next day. The overall flexibility it gibed us is impressive. When we have visitors, the younger groups will stay in Vegas.

We my SIL husband passed, we stayed in driveway at thier place almost 3 weeks. I then loaded car trailer and Vegas when we relocated SIL near our central florida house.

We were looking for new Suburban when wife said maybe small RV would be good for track. Even at local events it is great to jave house with us. At the most I give up 2 MPG vs towing with SUV.

Jas been great for us.

[EA37TS]

Originally Posted by Muggs

...

Thor did a good job with this unit.

Heart Attack Mode, someone giving Thor credit for a "good job". That's one for the record books.

[Bob Denman]

It's just proof that "even a blind hog can still find the occasional acorn".

[taylorbob1]

Originally Posted by Muggs

We have just completed the 4th year of Thor ownership. We have just over 28,000 miles....

...Wish list:
At some point, I will replace sway bars. Handling is while towing still impressive.
.

The Helwig Anti Sways are a good fit.
I purchased mine from Amazon.
They ran about $550 + the MOOG End Links at $28 a piece.
It's an ez DIY if you have good sockets and wrenches.

Once you place OEM vs Helwig's side by side...you will see how whimpy the stock sway bars are.

[saerdna]

Interesting thread. We are also at 4 years with our 24.1. On the one hand, at 28k miles, it has been an absolute joy for us. Most of our mods involved handicapped access and room for a service dog. Living in the northwest means you sometimes travel further (and cross country ads a bit to the miles as well). I’m not aware of another RV that would fit us anywhere near as well. That said, there have been numerous significant repairs. Most of them simply shouldn’t have been needed - the latest being the left side of the RV starting to detach from the chassis. Our saving grace has been a highly competent, fair priced RV service shop not to far from us.

Overall, you definitely pay for the low cost, but it been totally worth it.

[Long & Winding road]

Originally Posted by saerdna

umerous significant repairs. Most of them simply shouldn’t have been needed - the latest being the left side of the RV starting to detach from the chassis.

Huh, Tell us more about this problem. Any picutures? How did you notice this?

[saerdna]

Originally Posted by Long & Winding road

Huh, Tell us more about this problem. Any picutures? How did you notice this?

If you just walked in, you wouldn't really see anything. The left side of the RV dropped a bit wrt the chassis, so for example, you couldn't release the emergency break because it was up under the front panel. We first noticed it because the left wall was moving separately from the instrument controls, and the entire left front dash was moving around a whole lot while driving.



Luckily we were most of the way back home from our cross country trip when it started to get bad. There are a couple of bolts that hold the plywood to the chassis. One had no nut on it at all, the rest were loose except for one that had sheared off.


From our viewpoint, the most important part of the RV is a really good repair shop.

[Long & Winding road]

Ok, thanks..... I need to locate these bolts/ Nuts on my Axis and tigten them a little bit (or lease make sure they are intact with nuts on them). I never heard of this problem before so hopfully yours is an isolated case.

I might pickup a few extra bolts with large washer "Just In case" I need to replace one while on the road.

Thats for the info.

[JamieGeek]

I would guess that is a pretty rare case as it hasn't been reported in the forums before (and there has been some odd stuff).

There are also some high milage Axis/Vegas units out there that haven't reported something like that. For instance this one:
https://thelonglongroad.com/
Its been all over the country multiple times (and pulled apart and put back together a couple of times as well) without her reporting anything like the body and chassis separating...

[bverouden]

We love our Thor axis 24.1 but shame on Thor for the upholstery. I own a furniture manufacturing company in High Point NC for the last 30 years(used to be furniture capital of the usa but we gave that away to china - that's for another day) First thing I did was rework the sofa /sleeper made it so cushions on front and back were reversible and used washable fabric - changed pitch on back so met USA standards. I could see thors problem they needed space to store tables so they sacrificed pitch for space and comfort(simple fix use angled foam). The foam grade they used was literally the worst available (not sure I could even buy it) the difference in cost between what they used and what I bought was $20 ?? The fabric/vinyl they used was a cheap Chinese import that cost $3 per yard (6 yards for sofa)no uv or moisture protection will delam high grade uv protected vinyl runs about $8 per yard so again difference is $30

So for $50 extra in cost they could have done it right ???
Bill and Sherry

[Long & Winding road]

Yep, I agree "Bverouden".

And welcome to the Forum.......Looks like this might have been your first post?

I guess they are tying to offer the RV's at the cheapest price possible to the consumer with the max revenue to them.

But between cheap foam + Seating Materials and lack of insulation (Dog house + Firewall and elsewhere) I would gladly pay an extra $100 or $200 for something better than what I got.

[ducksface]

It's a KIT.
I'll wager the same number of people who have had vinyl problems almost exactly match the number of people who tossed the sleeper and installed recliners.

An rv isn't a forever thing.
It's a base to change from base to custom.
If you're satisfied with the base, groovy.

But don't complain about the base.
Make it yours.
The insulation you wanted from the factory?
I'll bet only 1:10,000 coach owners have done the mod.
I'll bet that's how many who would opt for the extra insulation from Thor who would have to interrupt assembly to do it.

A hint to people who are contemplating but have not yet purchased:
There isn't a mod or luxury or upgrade mentioned anywhere in any thread in this entire forum which isn't available to you as an option.
Tell the dealer you want :
4wd
Extra ac units
$3,000 mattress
300lbs added insulation
360° camera
$4,000 stereo
Three awnings
That silly $10,000 aquahot system
Three alternators
30 yards of oxblood colored leather furnishing
Levelers and a redundant pump'just in case'
Built in compressor
Built in pressure washer

It's all available.
It was when you bought it, it is now after you own it.
Those who don't want the mods listed above didn't have to pay for them as standard. The expense is the same for the wanter, yet unspent by the unwanter.

Same with the counters. They're cardboard. Some here care, some don't. The volcano granite going in mine was free to me, $$$$ from the factory if Thor made built them into a base model.

[bevedfelker]

August will be our 5th year on our 2015 Vegas 24.1. We are at about 24,000 miles. Still on the original Harris batteries. Still on the original Michelin tires (haven't seen any cracking or degradation on the tires and plenty of tread yet).

Never had any real problems. Our windshield stress cracked siting at the dealer's waiting to go in the shop for an oil change. That happened when the RV was only 3 months old. Thor and dealer replaced windshield under warranty. Also had the fan quit in the microwave while the unit was under warranty. That was also replaced by Thor under warranty.

The upholstery is beginning to show wear. I have a set of slip covers I picked up at Camping World for the captain chairs but haven't installed them yet. We've been talking about replacing the couch with a jack knife type of the same dimensions.

All in all, we've been very happy with the Vegas. No horror stories like you often see here in the forum.

For Jamie -- bveroudon (post above) emailed me asking about scissors jack installation. I told him I carry 4 with me but do not have them permanently installed. I said you have yours permanently installed. Can you repost your pictures of your installation or post the link to where your pictures are in the post you made on the forum?

[Chance]

Upgrading after the fact (aftermarket) costs way more than if done originally.

One problem I see is that the industry doesn’t offer many RV choices in what I like to think of as compact and simple in design yet built with higher quality materials. It must be a middle ground in pricing that buyers don’t value much.

I would personally pay the incremental cost for automotive fabrics and foam that can last up to 20 years in normal use.