Thor ACE

I just took my new '13 Thor ACE 27.1 for it's first camping trip. I have the following list of problems that I found and have scheduled an appointment with the dealer to correct these. We'll see what happens next month. I'm not sure if this is a lot or is typical. (The '06 Sunline travel trailer I traded in for this coach had no problems.)

Exterior:
Front nose molding pulling away by driver mirror
Front upper clearance lights full of water
Left rear fender trim – Wheel opening molding, check caulking
Decals bubbled and pulling away along belt molding
Rear license plate light not working and is loose.

Mechanical:
House battery cuts out, will not take full charge, drains fast

Interior:
Water found leaking into left front on driver’s side wall after driving in rain. The rectangular storage compartment in front of cup holder full of water, water drops on curtain rail, , water coming in around screws lower part of fixed part of driver’s side window. Did not see any water running down inside of window.

After the delivery trip to ...., found one of the pocket doors off track and jammed blocking entry into bedroom. Had to have the rollers removed and push it in the opening to get into the bedroom. Found bracket on floor. This is the door that was noted as scratched during the walk through before delivery.

Upper wall trim between pocket doors and hall coming off
Shower wall to pan caulking has gaps. Water stands in this area after shower.
Check toilet mounting, appears to be loose, toilet moves.
Cut in vinyl flooring between entry door and kitchen. Needs to be glued down and sealed.
Bungee & net in compartment above passenger seat pulled out.
Left vent, passenger side, one lover is not attached

MISSING
Awning pull rod for small above-door awning
Drain basket for kitchen sink
Stopper for vanity sink

eabc5454 wrote:

We have been camping with a 30' travel trailer pulled by a Tundra, and have enjoyed it. However, we are now considering selling the rig and buying a 2014 Thor A.C.E. We have a great deal on it - $79K out the door for the 30.1 with every option available except maple cabinets - we like the cherry. Does anyone have an opinion on this RV? Anyone with class A Thor products with pros/cons? We're driving it tomorrow, but don't have much to compare it to. Anyone's advice would be welcome.

We have a 2013 30.1 that we've owned for about a year and love it. We had a couple little nit-picky problems that were fixed under warranty no problem. And Thor's customer service is unparalleled. You'll be assigned a "concierge" once you purchase the unit, who will check on you a couple times after the purchase and then become your point of contact in case you have any issues. And Thor's technical support team really knows their stuff and goes way out of their way to be helpful.

We tow a 2006 Toyota Highlander (3700 pounds), but we've only made one trip with it so I'm really not in a position to say anything with much certainty. That one trip was fine, though: plenty of power, no adverse effects on handling, no problems.

We've averaged 8.48 mpg so far, for a cost-per-mile of $0.422 (the ACE uses regular 87-octane gasoline).

You're already familiar with the layout, so no need to wax on about that. We did recently take a trip with our 6-year old granddaughter and the drop-down bunk was a big hit. She didn't sleep up there because, as she put it, she is a "very rolly kind of person" (where do kids get such ideas?), but she used it as a play area and loved it. We did get a ladder that I keep in the pass-through area to make it easier for her to get up and down.

We also moved up from a travel trailer, and the transition was a snap. However, we did attend the FMCA rally last summer to get trained on the systems that were new to us (generator, hydraulic leveling, dual tires, weight and balance, etc.).

Feel free to PM me if you need anything or want to take this off-line. And good luck with your search. I'm sure you'll love the ACE.

Skip

On edit: One other thought. The only design element that we are not crazy about is the oval sink. I've already been instructed by the DW to replace it with a conventional rectangular sink at my earliest convenience.

As with just about any motorhome, you will end up having some problems. Hopefully mostly minor. You ask about Thor. I have a 2012 Tuscany. Have had several problems and had to call their tech support at late hours for help. They have always been willing to help and have solved each issue. I made a trip a few weeks ago to the Thor facility to have some problems resolved on which were more dealer problems than Thor, and they fixed all problems. They went beyond what they had to do. I've only had Thor products so can't really compare to others. You just have to keep an open mind when issues arise. I would not hesitate to buy another Thor product. I think you'll enjoy the ACE!