Thor ACE ahead of the competition

Thor is innovative. Were it not for the ACE there wouldn't be a sub 100k market. You wouldn't have the Vista 26 and 27, the FR3 etc etc. They all exist to compete in a market place that Thor opened up. You look at the FR3 and it's an exact copy. The mudroom, the laptop desk, the drop down bunk, and for the record Thor brought that back too. No one had done that in years and now everyone is doing it. Please, you walk into a Winnie and it's abut as stark and dated as it gets, and not in the retro good way either. And what about the RUV? As for the rest of you spouting about quality, they are all the same in the same price point. I can pick apart every single brand. I have seen pretty slipshod work and stuff that should have never left the factory from FR to Newmar. And I love that most of this rhetoric comes from guys in coaches costing 3x as much. What in the world do you know about the sub 100k market? Again, I challenge you to go to a show and walk through several entry level MH's from various brands without knowing what you are in, and see if you can tell the difference based on build quality. You can't.

mike brez wrote:

Rollnhome wrote:
I don't see innovations being an out side kitchen, full wall slides, or 1000 watt inverters. These features and more have been around for many years. What is the CCC on this setup? Not bashing just saying don't let the bling distract you from the basics.

X2
My 1998 came standard with a 2500 watt inverter.

I meant innovative on a $70,000 ish Class A and still keep the price point.

Rollnhome wrote:
I don't see innovations being an out side kitchen, full wall slides, or 1000 watt inverters. These features and more have been around for many years. What is the CCC on this setup? Not bashing just saying don't let the bling distract you from the basics.

X2
My 1998 came standard with a 2500 watt inverter.

Rollnhome wrote:
I don't see innovations being an out side kitchen, full wall slides, or 1000 watt inverters. These features and more have been around for many years. What is the CCC on this setup? Not bashing just saying don't let the bling distract you from the basics.

and my "like button" is where?

I don't see innovations being an out side kitchen, full wall slides, or 1000 watt inverters. These features and more have been around for many years. What is the CCC on this setup? Not bashing just saying don't let the bling distract you from the basics.

Just to stand at Dipdon's side at the name of quality, rather thanbe a cheerleader for the walmarts of RV's...

The cheapest is not the best.
The cheapest with the most gadgets is not the best either.

It costs money to make a quality product...

When we were looking, my DW fell in love with a particular floorplan, it was either a sportscoach or a berkshire, not sure, brand new out the door 40 DP for under $160k!

After considerable searching, I found a 2 year old Monaco (or insert Newmar, winnie, fleetwood, or american coach, or other quality rv...) for the same price with an identical floorplan. I'mnot sad I dint buy new....

vjstangelo wrote:
I want to thank those who provided constructive comments.

I take it no one has seen the 29.3 yet so I will surely take a gander as I walk through the Hershey displays.

I may be opening up a can of worms but I do like the Fleetwood Storm floorplans also (Duck! here come the Fleetwood bashers!).

We will look at the Fleetwoods, Thors, Forest Rivers, Winnies, any any others that get me to a price point we feel comfortable with.

I'll say this about the 29.3; it has a full wall schwintek slide, the Achilles heel of it's bigger brother, the Palazzo. The Palazzo and all it's problems it brings to the table to blacken Thor's eye is mostly around slide problems. Specifically the full wall schwintek. Our 29.2 has a larger slide than our old 29.1 but not quite full wall and smaller than the 29.3. When it runs it sounds like you wouldn't want a bigger slide on that mechanism. I would exercise great caution with a schwintek slide that large. You might be ok, but it's not a strong performer in the full wall category. Notice the 2 gear rails at the top when you look at it. That's Thor's answer to the problem and personally I don't like it. It clearly says "this slide is too heavy for the standard 2 rail system, so we added a third" instead of going with a more robust slide system. I am not real happy Thor chose this route. Again, it might be just fine, many units run this mechanism, but it's an exact copy of the Palazzo system and that was a disaster. Hence all the recent bashing. Just an FYI.

I want to thank those who provided constructive comments.

I take it no one has seen the 29.3 yet so I will surely take a gander as I walk through the Hershey displays.

I may be opening up a can of worms but I do like the Fleetwood Storm floorplans also (Duck! here come the Fleetwood bashers!).

We will look at the Fleetwoods, Thors, Forest Rivers, Winnies, any any others that get me to a price point we feel comfortable with.

Effy wrote:

DSDP Don wrote:
People will always defend their poor choices!

As an Owner of an ACE I did a lot of research before buying. I feel good about my purchase. All I can tell you is that in my real world experience of owning 2, I have had no major issues and happy with Thor as a Company. I love our 29.2. Is the build quality comparable to a high end rig, of course not. But is it on par with the rest in the same genre, yes. Would I buy a Palazzo, no. Would I buy a Thor again, yes if it was the right model. I really scrutinized every unit in the same price point. FR3, Vista, Pursuit, bay star, terra, etc. And I will say this, the innovation of Thor is spot on. Is there an element of ready, shoot, aim? Yes. So in that sense I would agree that buyers need to look past the shiny bits. But frankly all of them in the same range are built with the same quality. All of them, and I think anyone who thinks otherwise in this price range is kidding themselves. Based on a level playing field for build quality, often you are left with a better décor, or more innovative options, like electric bunks and laptop work stations, mud room, and massive storage and the ACE hit the mark on every one. So in that sense and my painless ownership thus far, I would say I made a good decision.

Great post Effy. Find me a better new coach for under $100K. That is the catch.
I was joking yesterday tailgating in the RV lot with guys about our new ACE. I mentioned that it may not be the biggest, fanciest, best built class a out there. But for under $90K, it was I felt the best new unit available. And yes, I love all the 'little features'.
Heck the guy in the Newmar DP next to me watched me run the electric canopy in and out. He was jealous! (I found that laughable actually)

But there will always be the argument that for $125K one can buy this. Well, then again a DP is necessary if you are going to tow. And don't forget you also need this...that...throw this in too...oh yeah, this is also a necessity. :D

First thing is to determine how much you wish to spend and then find the best unit in that price range. ;)

And FWIW DSDP, I find spending $400K on a motorhome to be just as ridiculous. I'd rather invest that money into a nice property (4000 ft2 vs 400ft2) that will not drop in value like a motorhome.

DSDP Don wrote:
People will always defend their poor choices!

As an Owner of an ACE I did a lot of research before buying. I feel good about my purchase. All I can tell you is that in my real world experience of owning 2, I have had no major issues and happy with Thor as a Company. I love our 29.2. Is the build quality comparable to a high end rig, of course not. But is it on par with the rest in the same genre, yes. Would I buy a Palazzo, no. Would I buy a Thor again, yes if it was the right model. I really scrutinized every unit in the same price point. FR3, Vista, Pursuit, bay star, terra, etc. And I will say this, the innovation of Thor is spot on. Is there an element of ready, shoot, aim? Yes. So in that sense I would agree that buyers need to look past the shiny bits. But frankly all of them in the same range are built with the same quality. All of them, and I think anyone who thinks otherwise in this price range is kidding themselves. Based on a level playing field for build quality, often you are left with a better décor, or more innovative options, like electric bunks and laptop work stations, mud room, and massive storage and the ACE hit the mark on every one. So in that sense and my painless ownership thus far, I would say I made a good decision.