Thor new 19-foot ESpec floor plan

Chance-THOR

Senior Member
Joined
May 30, 2015
Messages
6,242
Location
Houston
Thor introducing ESpec Essential smaller Class C budget motorhomes, including a new 19-foot floor plan. The 24-foot floor plans are basically copies of other existing motorhomes, but new 19-footer at 20’-4” overall length is new as far as I know. I searched forum but did not see previous discussions on these.

It comes under various brand names like Chateau, and is not only considerably shorter built on 138-inch WB chassis, but also 5 inches narrower (94 versus 99) and 4 inches lower (10’-8” versus 11’-0”). Inside headroom is 6’-8” versus 7’-0”.

Floor plan is almost identical to Cruise America Compact+ but 4 inches wider since it appears built on dual-rear-wheel (DRW) chassis instead of Cruise America on single-rear-wheel (SRW) chassis. This increases GVWR from 10,050 to 11,500 pounds.

Wet bath will likely be greatest compromise or drawback for many potential buyers, but I expect this basic 19-foot floor plan starting at only $122,700 MSRP is meant to provide more space than typical vans at a much lower price. Fuel consumption should be greater than vans, but powered by Ford E-Series V8 can tow up to 8,000 pounds for those looking to pull large boats or other toys.

Thoughts? It will be interesting to see how sales do given price is much lower than many vans, yet at 20’-4” length can be maneuvered and parked in similar spaces.

https://www.thormotorcoach.com/chateau-espec

.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_4473.jpg
    IMG_4473.jpg
    58.7 KB · Views: 116
C class cramped cab
C cab hatefullness of climbing in the back between those seats.
A commercial never meant for comfort cab
A overhang on top that comes from a Chuck Jones design.
The cab to coach separation chances.

The most horrible of beds combined with the the worst of bathrooms.

If they sell 20 of them outside of rental companies... that's 20 people who lack the rational forethought that might have imagined a two week trip in that thing.

It is An almost perfect field trip to your soccer kids away game type vehicle.
All but perfect for the emergency poop or making and serving lunches for the younger crowd.
 
For a small coach aimed at a solo traveler the floor plan ain't to bad. The downside I see is it's made by Thor.
 
It looks like a Class B floor plan.

Yeah, agree. When shrinking length to 20 feet, I think it reduces floor plan options a lot so many will look similar. The big difference is that interior width is shown at 91 inches, so essentially around 20 inches wider than common Class B vans. That plus vertical walls all the way up to ceiling, and also cab-over bed, must make it feel huge by comparison to a 20-foot van camper. Down sides include not being a van, will likely ride worse especially if riding over rear axle with duallies, and also burn a lot more fuel. However, price is lower than most vans and offers some outside storage.
 
Wet bath... uh no.

That’s a big problem for many, though I think many buyers who shop this RV against Class B van campers based on price and length will be looking at wet baths anyway. While this is a Class C, some new and much more expensive compact Class B+ also have wet bath, even if longer. The Winnebago EKKO comes to mind, as well as the Entegra Condor (pictures below).
.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_4501.jpg
    IMG_4501.jpg
    77.1 KB · Views: 51
  • IMG_4500.jpg
    IMG_4500.jpg
    63.2 KB · Views: 49
For a small coach aimed at a solo traveler the floor plan ain't to bad. The downside I see is it's made by Thor.

Yeah, Thor has reputation issue. This small unit could work for some couples also, and even young family on a budget, though riding in back would likely be uncomfortable and not all that safe.

What I find interesting is that other manufacturers have designed newer Class B+ like EKKO and Condor narrower, yet Thor made this 20-foot unit shorter but nearly 10 inches wider. The wider dually chassis is great for towing, but a narrower motorhome based on SRW E-Series would have made more sense to me in that size range. Maybe weight was an issue or they wanted to provide greater OCCC.
 
Interesting for the very budget conscious that want a smaller unit, and it also comes on the Chevy chassis too.

Personally, I think I prefer the Jayco Granite Ridge (posted above) and Tiffin Midas (slightly bigger, but has a dry bath), both of which are also on the much better driving Transit chassis. They cost a lot more though.
 
Interesting for the very budget conscious that want a smaller unit, and it also comes on the Chevy chassis too.

Personally, I think I prefer the Jayco Granite Ridge (posted above) and Tiffin Midas (slightly bigger, but has a dry bath), both of which are also on the much better driving Transit chassis. They cost a lot more though.


Agree lower cost is a huge factor. MSRP difference is about $40~50k less. Transit is a much newer chassis design, and offers AWD, but for my needs I prefer E-Series with pushrod V8, body-on-frame, and truck-like towing and durability. A problem that complicates motorhome design using E-Series (or Chevy equivalent) is that SRW only go to 10,050 pounds, limiting MH size and payload below DRW Transit and Sprinter. And if RV manufacturers increase E-Series chassis GVWR to 11,500 pounds, the extra width of DRW chassis essentially precludes building a narrower, sportier and more nimble MH like Winnebago EKKO or Jayco Granite Ridge, both listed at only 85 inches wide.

The new 20-foot Thor is also a Class C instead of B+ like EKKO, Granite, and Midas. Thor is obviously going after a different market, though I don’t fully understand their logic. I’ll have to see one in person, but I think a Class C with large overcab extension, only 20-ft long with duallies may look odd due to proportions. I hope I’m wrong though.
 
The only way to make that thing any worse would be a cassette toilet.
It's a compromise from tires to antenna tip.



The price is OUTLANDISHLY high.

I wouldn't take one for free if it came with free premium rv spaces for life.

Other than budget
Where is any bit of value...as in valuable as in RELATIVE value of this vs quality life experience?

If compromise is your thing
Take that price
Add in fuel and insurance and rv costs
Then
COMPROMISE
by staying in quality hotels 1000 times.
 
Last edited:
Looking at pictures of similar Cruise America it may not look that bad after all. Should just be 4 inches wider and with dually rear axle. Anyone considering buying this motorhome could first rent a CA since probably very close except maybe for ride.
.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_4509.jpg
    IMG_4509.jpg
    108.4 KB · Views: 28
  • IMG_4508.jpg
    IMG_4508.jpg
    53.2 KB · Views: 22
  • IMG_4507.jpg
    IMG_4507.jpg
    114.4 KB · Views: 25
  • IMG_4506.jpg
    IMG_4506.jpg
    48.6 KB · Views: 30
Thor video of Four Winds 19Z below. The extra width makes it appear very roomy given its short length, but some design decisions left me wondering why Thor can’t come up with better ideas. And also why every compact motorhome built on E-Series is designed to be as cheap as absolutely possible.


Also interesting that video OCCC suggests a higher payload than there is storage to carry that much stuff. There are Axis/Vegas, Sprinter and Transit motorhomes that hardly have half as much OCCC. :nonono:
.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_4515.jpg
    IMG_4515.jpg
    83.8 KB · Views: 14
Thor introducing ESpec Essential smaller Class C budget motorhomes, including a new 19-foot floor plan. The 24-foot floor plans are basically copies of other existing motorhomes, but new 19-footer at 20’-4” overall length is new as far as I know. I searched forum but did not see previous discussions on these.

It comes under various brand names like Chateau, and is not only considerably shorter built on 138-inch WB chassis, but also 5 inches narrower (94 versus 99) and 4 inches lower (10’-8” versus 11’-0”). Inside headroom is 6’-8” versus 7’-0”.

Floor plan is almost identical to Cruise America Compact+ but 4 inches wider since it appears built on dual-rear-wheel (DRW) chassis instead of Cruise America on single-rear-wheel (SRW) chassis. This increases GVWR from 10,050 to 11,500 pounds.

Wet bath will likely be greatest compromise or drawback for many potential buyers, but I expect this basic 19-foot floor plan starting at only $122,700 MSRP is meant to provide more space than typical vans at a much lower price. Fuel consumption should be greater than vans, but powered by Ford E-Series V8 can tow up to 8,000 pounds for those looking to pull large boats or other toys.

Thoughts? It will be interesting to see how sales do given price is much lower than many vans, yet at 20’-4” length can be maneuvered and parked in similar spaces.

Thor Chateau Class C Motorhomes

.
Looks neatly perfect to me - I could do without the bathroom! I like the seat belts to secure a large and xl dog crate. We've traveled mult-times cross country using a pop up truck camper and I liked sleeping on a gaucho bed. The cost is the same as an SUV with the same towing capacity, room for three large crates, and rear air conditioning.
 

Try RV LIFE Pro Free for 7 Days

  • New Ad-Free experience on this RV LIFE Community.
  • Plan the best RV Safe travel with RV LIFE Trip Wizard.
  • Navigate with our RV Safe GPS mobile app.
  • and much more...
Try RV LIFE Pro Today
Back
Top