New ACE 30.1 owner

[dhgasman55]

Hello!

This is Dave and Sue Harvey here in Clovis, CA. We just bought a '14 ACE 30.1 about 2 months ago. Sat at the dealer having nothing whatsoever done to it for a month and we haven't had a chance to actually take it anywhere yet, but we're really looking forward to it.

I'm a nurse anesthetist and Sue is a semi-retired dental hygienist. We have 2 sons: Neal, 28, married a year, expecting their first next April and Brent, 27, autistic, developmentally delayed who still lives with us and frequently travels with us. We also have a 3 year old English Bulldog, Hoss, who is a therapy dog and is impatiently waiting for us to actually take him somewhere in the ACE.

Our interests include, but are not limited to: Cooking, classic cars, traveling, SCUBA diving (Neal is an instructor in the Bahamas), reading, ballroom dancing, cycling, tennis, golf, and now- of course- RVing.

I've got a couple questions too, and our dealer has been of questionable help, Camping World more so, and Thor more so yet, but still some things puzzling me a bit:

1. How are the plastic bottoms of the storage compartments actually supposed to be attached to the frame of the coach? The large one on the passenger's side was "reinforced" with 2 short (less than 1") woodscrews screwed into a wooden panel near the fender. As soon as anything was put in the compartment and we drove 7 miles from the house to our storage unit- the screws tore out and the whole bottom of the compartment was displaced. Thor says they'll pay to fix it-but I haven't really gotten a straight answer in terms of how it really should have been attached. No- I have not yet had a chance to look at the other compartments in detail.

2. How many of you actually use the deadbolt in your doors?

3. How many of you have changed out the storage compartment "locks" for non-universal actual uniquely keyed locks?

4. I need to tow a 1997 Nissan Sentra GLE (automatic), have gotten a few differing responses about whether I need A. a lube pump for the transmission and B. supplemental braking. Yes-we did have Camping World talk with Remco, but have not received a completely definitive answer.


I would very much appreciate any and all guidance regarding the above, because we are rank novices to RVing.

Thanks So Much!!

Dave Harvey

 

[fhenn]

Welcome to the Forum. I can not answer some of your questions but I will on two
We use the Dead Bolts when we leave the unit.
I have not change the compartment locks. In the 10 years we have been into RV's we have never had any thing taken out of the storage bins. My theroy is if they are going to get in to those bins, make it easy thus less damage. Just my 2 cents worth.
Why they do thing a certain way when they build these, is a question that nobody can answer

 

[arnie1960]

Congrats

Congrats on your new motorhome. We are considering buying a
30.1 too. Send me your initial impressions of the Ace.
We live in fremont. Maybe we will cross paths...

 

[dhgasman55]

Impressions of our ACE

Congrats on your new motorhome. We are considering buying a
30.1 too. Send me your initial impressions of the Ace.
We live in fremont. Maybe we will cross paths...

Hi There,
We lived in San Jose for 16 years and my nephew worked in Fremont.
We like the ACE. It is an entry level unit and the fit and finish reflect that,
but the 30.1 is designed nicely. We like the layout a lot. Handles very well- MAKE SURE IT IS CORRECTLY ALIGNED AND THAT THE TIRE WEAR IS EVEN.
We went through a fair amount of rigamarole in getting this set up, but THOR was very helpful and reimbursed us for the alignment and moving the inner rear dualies to the front. We had been told if you buy a new RV- you'll spend the first year shaking it down and getting warranty work done and that has certainly been true.

Would I buy another ACE? I think so. I might look a bit harder at other brands making a similar size (30ft.) with better/ nicer build quality- within 25k of what we paid, but having said that, from looking at other brands a bit more since we've had the ACE- I think that with the ACE, you get a lot for the money.

If you haven't done so already look at the website for Motor Home Specialist in TX. Prices are an eye opener, except for a for unique details with our deal- I would have definitely gone there to get our unit.

Dave Harvey
Ps: if you want any further details private message me with your phone number and we can talk.
Take Care

 

[Falls]

Welcome. I've had one for 1 1/2 years. I would consider a tow dolly. That's what we used until we got a Jeep. The first thing I did was build a 5" fold down step in the bathroom so my feet doesn't dangle while on the toilet. Installed 6 LED map/reading lights, 2 in the cockpit, 2 in the bedroom, and 2 above the couch which I replaced with a reclining love seat. Installed a sound bar because the volume is weak when playing a movie. Put above dash speaker on the dash. put in more electrical plugs. Purchased a dash cover and a outside windshield cover from prompt.com. This one does not require drilling holes. Vent covers and a Max Air in the living room. Outside propane connection. I did change the locks out with matching cylinder locks and a few other things.

 

[Nursx2-THOR]

Hey Dave from a fellow CRNA! Welcome to the wild and not so wonderful world of Thor ownership.


The only time we use the dead bolt is during the night when we are inside sleeping. I had a class C prior to this Hurricane and never changed the locks either!


Good luck with the new RV!

 

[Millertl2]

I have a 2013 Thor ACE 30.1. I really enjoy it. I am looking for a reclining sofa to replace the standard sofa

 

[arnie1960]

replace sofa

curious, is the sofa on the 30.1 really that uncomfortable?

i wondered about the quality of sitting on the sofa and dinette
for long periods...

maybe the sofa can be replaced with something like on
the FR3 28ds, which seemed to be softer and was
both a recliner and sleeper.

mike from CA