Introduction
Our primary criteria when getting a motorhome was the ability to park it between our garage and a retaining wall to avoid storage fees. This means 96” max width and 18’ or less from entry door hinge to back bumper. When we found the Axis/Vegas line we knew we had a winner.
Review:
Fantastic floor plan, especially the walk-around queen bed (RV queen size, but at 5’11” it’s ok for me). Some may miss having both a dinette and sofa/recliners, but we needed narrow and short so it would fit next to the garage. Having the recliners face the TV was great for watching the Tour de France and Olympics while on vacation. The recliners are manual push back so it takes some work and getting used to. Would like to upgrade to electric someday.
Good looking and lots of light from the large windows in front.
The electric driver’s seat is very nice. The only problem is while moving back to get my knee around the steering column the pressure from chair popped off the slideout trim. Turns out that there wasn’t much glue and maybe not enough pin nails. Gorilla glue and screws from the back to the rescue.
Was originally concerned about the 12v refer but really like that it’s not nearly as sensitive to being level as a propane refer. Just concerned about high electrical usage while dry camping. While stored, the standard 100w solar panel kept the battery charged but didn’t seem to keep up with the refer. We’ll see what lithium will do next year.
We towed our Ford Maverick 2,500 miles over 5 weeks and 2 days and felt we could keep going. The E450 tows great. Added a Safe T Plus steering stabilizer which made a big difference. We had hookups every night so this review does not cover any dry camping issues. We will upgrade to lithium next year so we can do some dry camping.
Got 9.77 mpg over 3,000 miles after subtracting 0.5 gals per hour of generator use. Being on an E450 chassis means smaller 16” tires which is a lower cost for replacement. Lost 2 chrome wheel simulators (hubcaps) on the trip and I will probably not replace to save weight and make it easier to check tire pressure.
The pullout grill is very nice, but it needs locking slides to keep it from being pushed in accidentally. A piece of 1x2 solved that problem.
Design flaws or cost saving cheapness.
The pop-up electrical outlet in the kitchen counter is too close to the window and doesn’t allow the shade to go fully down. You have to remember to pull the shade down first.
The large round sink makes a statement but is a water hog. I’d like to have a sink in the shape of a Rubbermaid dish pan so I can nest a pan in it and then dump it in the toilet rather than the gray tank. A rectangular sink would give 4-5” more counter space and who can’t use more counter space.
Hey Thor, why is the 26.1 the only model without a fold-up table next to the kitchen sink? It was really handy in our old 25.3.
The wireless chargers are cheap and not useful. Just used our plug-in chargers.
Nice that some lights can be controlled by the BMPro app on the phone, but there are 9 other light switches not controlled by the BMPro. It’s nice that the BMPro controlled lights can be dimmed except you can’t dim the awning. Wish we could.
The vent vans are all the cheap bathroom type and we replaced the bedroom and living room fans with MaxxAir with remotes so DW can operate them.
Refrigerator lock is poorly designed. It does keep the refrigerator from accidentally opening fully, but the magnet doors are a little on the side and the corner did allow stuff to push out the door to the limit of the lock. Added baby locks which are really secure.
I have this complaint on both my Axis and Vegas: maybe it’s just because I’m tall but it’s a pain to contort my body under the medicine cabinet to spit after brushing my teeth. In the new Vegas the medicine cabinet is huge and I’d prefer a mirror on the wall over the sink with just half the cabinet. I often used the kitchen sink instead.
And finally, Thor keeps using the stupid Girard instant water heater. Just search for other threads on this topic. Would much prefer a 6 gal propane/electric version.
Conclusion
This is probably our last motorhome. Just right for two people. Our daughter saw the recliners and said, “Where are the grandkids going to sleep?” Uhhh, in your tent?? Actually there is a dropdown bunk in the cab and an air mattress on the floor could work too for those rare times.
We look forward to a lot of camping!
Our primary criteria when getting a motorhome was the ability to park it between our garage and a retaining wall to avoid storage fees. This means 96” max width and 18’ or less from entry door hinge to back bumper. When we found the Axis/Vegas line we knew we had a winner.
Review:
Fantastic floor plan, especially the walk-around queen bed (RV queen size, but at 5’11” it’s ok for me). Some may miss having both a dinette and sofa/recliners, but we needed narrow and short so it would fit next to the garage. Having the recliners face the TV was great for watching the Tour de France and Olympics while on vacation. The recliners are manual push back so it takes some work and getting used to. Would like to upgrade to electric someday.
Good looking and lots of light from the large windows in front.
The electric driver’s seat is very nice. The only problem is while moving back to get my knee around the steering column the pressure from chair popped off the slideout trim. Turns out that there wasn’t much glue and maybe not enough pin nails. Gorilla glue and screws from the back to the rescue.
Was originally concerned about the 12v refer but really like that it’s not nearly as sensitive to being level as a propane refer. Just concerned about high electrical usage while dry camping. While stored, the standard 100w solar panel kept the battery charged but didn’t seem to keep up with the refer. We’ll see what lithium will do next year.
We towed our Ford Maverick 2,500 miles over 5 weeks and 2 days and felt we could keep going. The E450 tows great. Added a Safe T Plus steering stabilizer which made a big difference. We had hookups every night so this review does not cover any dry camping issues. We will upgrade to lithium next year so we can do some dry camping.
Got 9.77 mpg over 3,000 miles after subtracting 0.5 gals per hour of generator use. Being on an E450 chassis means smaller 16” tires which is a lower cost for replacement. Lost 2 chrome wheel simulators (hubcaps) on the trip and I will probably not replace to save weight and make it easier to check tire pressure.
The pullout grill is very nice, but it needs locking slides to keep it from being pushed in accidentally. A piece of 1x2 solved that problem.
Design flaws or cost saving cheapness.
The pop-up electrical outlet in the kitchen counter is too close to the window and doesn’t allow the shade to go fully down. You have to remember to pull the shade down first.
The large round sink makes a statement but is a water hog. I’d like to have a sink in the shape of a Rubbermaid dish pan so I can nest a pan in it and then dump it in the toilet rather than the gray tank. A rectangular sink would give 4-5” more counter space and who can’t use more counter space.
Hey Thor, why is the 26.1 the only model without a fold-up table next to the kitchen sink? It was really handy in our old 25.3.
The wireless chargers are cheap and not useful. Just used our plug-in chargers.
Nice that some lights can be controlled by the BMPro app on the phone, but there are 9 other light switches not controlled by the BMPro. It’s nice that the BMPro controlled lights can be dimmed except you can’t dim the awning. Wish we could.
The vent vans are all the cheap bathroom type and we replaced the bedroom and living room fans with MaxxAir with remotes so DW can operate them.
Refrigerator lock is poorly designed. It does keep the refrigerator from accidentally opening fully, but the magnet doors are a little on the side and the corner did allow stuff to push out the door to the limit of the lock. Added baby locks which are really secure.
I have this complaint on both my Axis and Vegas: maybe it’s just because I’m tall but it’s a pain to contort my body under the medicine cabinet to spit after brushing my teeth. In the new Vegas the medicine cabinet is huge and I’d prefer a mirror on the wall over the sink with just half the cabinet. I often used the kitchen sink instead.
And finally, Thor keeps using the stupid Girard instant water heater. Just search for other threads on this topic. Would much prefer a 6 gal propane/electric version.
Conclusion
This is probably our last motorhome. Just right for two people. Our daughter saw the recliners and said, “Where are the grandkids going to sleep?” Uhhh, in your tent?? Actually there is a dropdown bunk in the cab and an air mattress on the floor could work too for those rare times.
We look forward to a lot of camping!