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01-18-2016, 01:31 PM
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#1
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Junior Member
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
State: Illinois
Posts: 1
THOR #3512
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Thor Vegas Engine Battery removal
Good morning, I just purchased a Thor Vegas 2014, and drove it home from Kansas City, 550 miles to get it home, A very nice driving unit. I did see some treads on the under hood battery removal/replacement, very bad location. One Rv'er said he had to remove the pass side tray slide and cut through some Mfgr. plywood and plastic inside the cab to access battery. I'm going to leave the battery in place, ( disconnect)have two battery cables made and route the cables to the storage compartment behind the r/s front wheel and mount the battery there..It'll sure make life easer down the road..
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01-18-2016, 02:37 PM
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#2
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Senior Member
Brand: Still Looking
Model: Travato
State: Florida
Posts: 2,475
THOR #1765
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gunner03
Good morning, I just purchased a Thor Vegas 2014, and drove it home from Kansas City, 550 miles to get it home, A very nice driving unit. I did see some treads on the under hood battery removal/replacement, very bad location. One Rv'er said he had to remove the pass side tray slide and cut through some Mfgr. plywood and plastic inside the cab to access battery. I'm going to leave the battery in place, ( disconnect)have two battery cables made and route the cables to the storage compartment behind the r/s front wheel and mount the battery there..It'll sure make life easer down the road..
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If treated well, starting batteries can last over 3 years. In 8 years of owning RVs, I have never replaced one (I turned them over every 3 years). Not a bad idea to move the battery, but, depending how long you keep your RV, it may be a lot of work for little gain.
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01-18-2016, 03:00 PM
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#3
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Junior Member
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Vegas 24.1
State: Texas
Posts: 23
THOR #1879
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Thor Vegas Engine Battery removal
I just replaced this battery on our Vegas 24.1 The factory recommended method of going in from the passenger side dash works well. The plywood was pre-cut by Thor to be easily removed and battery access is good. Lifting the old battery out is a little awkward, but it can be done. The only down side is you have to create a way to put the plywood "hatch" back in place and secure it. Once that's done future access will be easy, but you really don't have to go in this way often.
BTW I got a battery watering system and put it on this battery, so topping off the water is easily done from the front.
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01-18-2016, 04:16 PM
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#4
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Senior Member
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Axis 24.1
State: Illinois
Posts: 108
THOR #3027
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Is it possible to jump start the battery from the front of an axis 24.1 in case of a dead battery?
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01-18-2016, 05:06 PM
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#5
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Senior Member
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Axis 24.1
State: Georgia
Posts: 844
THOR #1123
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Quote:
Originally Posted by leshunter
Is it possible to jump start the battery from the front of an axis 24.1 in case of a dead battery?
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Yes, you could do that. Probably would need to remove the vent hoses in the front to allow easier access to the battery though. I've installed the battery watering system on mine and it's not too difficult to get in there.
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01-18-2016, 05:33 PM
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#6
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Senior Member
Brand: Still Looking
Model: Travato
State: Florida
Posts: 2,475
THOR #1765
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Quote:
Originally Posted by leshunter
Is it possible to jump start the battery from the front of an axis 24.1 in case of a dead battery?
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Yes. I've had it done by AAA.
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01-18-2016, 05:37 PM
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#7
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Senior Member
Brand: Still Looking
Model: Travato
State: Florida
Posts: 2,475
THOR #1765
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mck67
I just replaced this battery on our Vegas 24.1 The factory recommended method of going in from the passenger side dash works well. The plywood was pre-cut by Thor to be easily removed and battery access is good. Lifting the old battery out is a little awkward, but it can be done. The only down side is you have to create a way to put the plywood "hatch" back in place and secure it. Once that's done future access will be easy, but you really don't have to go in this way often.
BTW I got a battery watering system and put it on this battery, so topping off the water is easily done from the front.
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That is good to know. What year is your Vegas? I have one of the earliest coaches and from previous posts I understood that you had to cut the plywood yourself. The watering system is a good idea. I would have liked to do that but could not see how it would be possible without removing the dash. Has anyone put in a battery watering system without moving the dash or had one installed?
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01-18-2016, 07:04 PM
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#8
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Senior Member
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Axis 24.1
State: Georgia
Posts: 844
THOR #1123
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You can get to the battery and put the water refill in from the front of the coach. No need to go through the dash.
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01-18-2016, 07:48 PM
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#9
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Senior Member
Brand: Still Looking
Model: Travato
State: Florida
Posts: 2,475
THOR #1765
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Larry
You can get to the battery and put the water refill in from the front of the coach. No need to go through the dash.
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Do you think that there is enough room to put in a battery watering system? Has anyone ever done it? I watched my local mechanic fill the battery from the front and it is a tight fit. Not as tight as adding a quart of oil, but almost?
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01-18-2016, 08:11 PM
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#10
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Senior Member
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Axis 24.1
State: Georgia
Posts: 844
THOR #1123
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Oneilkeys
Do you think that there is enough room to put in a battery watering system? Has anyone ever done it? I watched my local mechanic fill the battery from the front and it is a tight fit. Not as tight as adding a quart of oil, but almost?
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I put one of these on my chassis battery without much trouble:
Amazon.com: Flow-Rite MP2010 Qwik-Fill 1 Battery Kit: Automotive
You just have to remove the clamps holding the air hose vents in place and move them out of the way.
Will need this also to pump the water in unless you have one already:
Amazon.com: Flow-Rite RV2020 Pro-Fill/Qwik Fill Hand Pump: Automotive
I also have the dual battery refill kit for the coach batteries. Makes it real simple to add water to the batteries.
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01-18-2016, 09:13 PM
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#11
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Senior Member
Brand: Still Looking
Model: Travato
State: Florida
Posts: 2,475
THOR #1765
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Larry
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Thanks. I'll buy one of those for my new Axis.
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01-30-2016, 03:30 AM
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#12
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Senior Member
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Vegas 24.1
State: Arizona
Posts: 110
THOR #1670
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Yes it is possible but a real pain, not much room.
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01-30-2016, 01:23 PM
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#13
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Senior Member
Brand: Still Looking
Model: Travato
State: Florida
Posts: 2,475
THOR #1765
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Quote:
Originally Posted by srolfe
Yes it is possible but a real pain, not much room.
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In the 2016's there is more room, so it looks like it will be easier.
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01-30-2016, 02:38 PM
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#14
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Senior Member
Brand: Still Looking
Model: 2016 Newmar
State: Indiana
Posts: 323
THOR #1075
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Instead of jumping, my 2015 24.1 has a switch allowing the coach batteries to help start. You shouldn't have to access the starter battery from under the hood.
Phil
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01-30-2016, 04:12 PM
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#15
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Senior Member
Brand: Still Looking
Model: Travato
State: Florida
Posts: 2,475
THOR #1765
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Quote:
Originally Posted by aa9zz
Instead of jumping, my 2015 24.1 has a switch allowing the coach batteries to help start. You shouldn't have to access the starter battery from under the hood.
Phil
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The batteries are not sealed. You need access to check the water levels in all of them (including the engine start battery) as well as access to the start battery to change it out when it dies. In the initial Vegas/Axis models, you had to cut the dashboard under the dashboard table to change out the battery and it was extremely difficult to check the water levels.
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01-30-2016, 04:43 PM
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#16
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Senior Member
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Axis 24.2
State: Idaho
Posts: 533
THOR #1944
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When I first got my Axis I checked the water levels and all batteries had at couple cells that were quite low. I've used the filler kits in previous RVs and promptly put them on the Axis too. Thankfully the batteries have required very little water after their first fill.
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Axis 24.2 "was" tug'n a JK
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03-11-2016, 11:38 PM
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#17
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Senior Member
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Vegas 25.2
State: North Carolina
Posts: 122
THOR #3216
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Ok. I think I had a couple low cells in chassis battery (couldnt see but it seemed to take more water). What a pain. I ordered the quik-fill for the chassis as well as the dual for the house. and the $20 something bulb and tube to fill. One of my house batteries was also low in a couple of cells. Has anyone tried changing out the chassis Bat from below?
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Bill Nagle
Another Retired Army Guy
2016 Vegas 25.2
Hendersonville, NC
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03-12-2016, 01:12 AM
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#18
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Senior Member
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Axis 24.2
State: Idaho
Posts: 533
THOR #1944
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Having a few cells low isn't necessarily bad. All my Axis batteries had some cells near exposure level when I first got the RV home (that's NOT good). I used a mirror to check the chassis battery cell levels and put easy filler caps on to fill it. I just checked batteries a couple weeks ago and none took on much water or gave that squirt sound. So my take after a year now is that the conditions were corrected before the dominos started to fall The charging systems can also cause boil-off (I've had this on 2 RVs) but boil off in just a couple cells doesn't point me to blaming the charger.
Most of my battery issues over the years have had an exposed cell condition. Keeping cells topped off at proper levels helps batteries last a long time. I'm all for prolonging the engine battery extraction!!!
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Axis 24.2 "was" tug'n a JK
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05-06-2016, 08:31 PM
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#19
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Senior Member
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Axis 24.1 KC's Big Box
State: Kansas
Posts: 2,171
THOR #3510
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Chassis Battery..water refill unit
Quote:
Originally Posted by TyCreek
Having a few cells low isn't necessarily bad. All my Axis batteries had some cells near exposure level when I first got the RV home (that's NOT good). I used a mirror to check the chassis battery cell levels and put easy filler caps on to fill it. I just checked batteries a couple weeks ago and none took on much water or gave that squirt sound. So my take after a year now is that the conditions were corrected before the dominos started to fall The charging systems can also cause boil-off (I've had this on 2 RVs) but boil off in just a couple cells doesn't point me to blaming the charger.
Most of my battery issues over the years have had an exposed cell condition. Keeping cells topped off at proper levels helps batteries last a long time. I'm all for prolonging the engine battery extraction!!!
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TyCreek...Ron is considering the water filling unit for the Chassis battery.
I read your opinion and that of others...you feel this is the way to go?
Did you order from Amazon ?
Thanks
Kay
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Ron & Kay n KC too !
2001 Scamp 13'
'KC's Little Box'
Jeep Wrangler TJ
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05-06-2016, 08:53 PM
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#20
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Senior Member
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Vegas 25.2
State: North Carolina
Posts: 122
THOR #3216
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Quote:
Originally Posted by vkb
TyCreek...Ron is considering the water filling unit for the Chassis battery.
I read your opinion and that of others...you feel this is the way to go?
Did you order from Amazon ?
Thanks
Kay
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It sure makes it easy. I did get mine from Amazon.
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