Thor Forums

[48in366]

Hello All -

I've been lurking around the forums for just over a year now. I bought my 2015 Axis 25.1 in December of that year, then took off on a 1 year, 48 state road trip. I'd hoped to update on here when any issues popped up, but there is a LOT to see around this country and I was moving so fast I had little time for anything else. This forum has proved to be an invaluable resource when problems happen, and I hope to repay some of the benefits I've reaped over the year. I'm doing some writeups/videos on different experiences I've had, and will be sure to post links here in case someone finds them useful.

Overall, I absolutely love the coach. The engine has been reliable, the size is great for getting in to almost every national/state/county park, campground, city, attraction, or parking lot I want to visit, it drives nicely, and the floorplan is perfect for the way I use it. Yes, I've had plenty of issues (weight distribution, door latch shearing off ("locking" me in), slide out leak, loose chassis battery cables, valve stem gouging the tyre, camera connectivity, furnace shorting out, fridge door breaking off...), but, honestly, I still wouldn't trade it for any other unit I've seen. It could be a case of "you get what you pay for" (this coach was, by a long ways, the most affordable I looked at), but from what I've seen in the different service shops along the way, if really doesn't matter what you pay for a motorhome, it's going to have the same basic problems.

And one of those problems is leaky windows. After 4 months down in Florida, I was starting to prep the coach to go back on the road, and I noticed some bubbles under the passenger side window. When I was at the factory for service back in October, another Axis was in for warranty work. They'd noticed a quarter-sized bubble in the wallpaper, and added that to the list of things to check. They ended up having the entire wall torn apart and rebuilt, and the reason was a lack of sealant along the top of the window. Not old sealant, not cracked sealant, just a total lack of it. They suggested I have a look at mine (good plan!), and I've been keeping an eye on it since. After discovering the bubbles, I rechecked - seems the lovely winter sunshine down here had dried it out a bit and there were a few small holes for the water to leak through. We haven't had much rain at all, though, so I was a bit surprised at what I found.

The main reason for this post - has anyone seen window leak water damage on their coach? If so, does it look as extensive as this? I called up Thor's service line (which has been a fantastic resource while on the road - and I've never had to wait for them to pick up) before I tore into it, and they said to just take it to any local shop/dealer for a fix. I tried everywhere I could down here, and they're all operating about 6-8 weeks out. Since I want to hit the road as soon as possible, I followed some tips from a local tech I talked to - pull the paper, let it dry, hit it with a fungicide paint, then re-paper. I stopped at the "let it dry", as this seems a little excessive to be just a window leak.

I'm trying to contact some Thor folks for suggestions, but thought this was a pretty good place to try, too. Anyone know if stain patterns like this indicate anything more than a window leak. I found the exact same problem on the driver's side (despite no bubbles showing), and the wood over there is actually in worse shape.

Side note - if anyone wants any pictures of the dash interior, just let me know! I wanted to get as much of the wallpaper off as possible, and figured I may as well keep disassembling! (I'm also planning on replacing the carpet up there, hence the lack of seats).

Thanks so much!
Sara