Thor Axis drivability

[stevent1967]

Thor has a new "Class A" style motorhome called the Axis that is built on an E350 chassis:

http://axis-motorhomes.com/

My wife and I we really like the twin bed setup and TV placement in the Axis. However, the driving experience was not pleasant. I test drove one yesterday and this thing wandered all over the road. I drove it for about 10 miles on the interstate at 62 mph in moderate winds and had to constantly correct right and left. It leaned excessively with each course correction. And I didn't have a single tractor trailer pass me. My wife drove the 10 miles back and she completely agreed. We then test drove a new Jayco 31' Class C on the same stretch of road and it was a breeze to drive. Very little correction necessary. Much more stable. Would be much less stressful to drive. So much so that the wife said an absolute "no" to the Axis and a "yes" to the Class C.

I wonder if a Trac Bar, sway bars, Bilstein shocks and an alignment with extra caster would allow the Axis to drive like the Jayco Class C since its built on a similar E series chassis? Any ideas?

[Fastpaddler]

GinJim wrote:
we test drove a vegas before we bought our Axis. The Vegas did not drive as well the Axis we ultimately purchased. Suspect the Vegas was out of alignment or tire pressure wasn't correct. Love the way our Axis handles and turns corners, etc. Very stable on the road, too. Love it.

Could have been tire pressure. I reduced the front tire pressure on my previous two C classes both with E350 chassis and found it would understeer a bit more and not wander as much. I even have 55 psi on my current Sprinter t/d and it correctly a tendency to oversteer with 60 or more psi up front. Modern vehicles need proper camber/caster to track properly and I wonder if that isn't often the problem with rvs which wander on the road, ie Fords in particular. Wheel alignment can also be OUT on a new vehicle.
AL

[pnichols]

That Bimobil is an interesting little rig. It looks like a just-right marriage between the Sprinter size chassis and a camping coach structure.

Finally IMHO ... an RV of the right size on the Sprinter frame instead of the overly-large top heavy coaches you see thrown on them by U.S. builders.

[dleslie125]

Sure wish we had an option here to get something like this. An AWD Sprinter with a lighter box on it. Only problem is that we are 3 and it is but 2 with 3 being a pretty tight fit. It would be nice as a touring unit.

http://www.gizmag.com/bimobil-mercedes-sprinter-ex-366/36227/pictures#1

[dleslie125]

pnichols wrote:

dleslie125 wrote:
We looked in all the usual places (have had 5 MHs) and could not find them.

In our 2005 Itasca it is on the back wall of the main clothing closet.

That is where it is on our 2011 Impulse as well, but that was not exactly what I was asking. Do the Feds specify a location because if they do, based on our checking at the Tampa show, it sure isn't obvious what the location is when you open every closet door, every storage compartment door, every kitchen/pantry door and every cabinet door (in bath) and find nothing. In binder or bag from the manufacturer with all the manuals and warranties there is often a copy of the weight sticker but the bags were not available in the show models.

Frankly, I doubt that the Feds specify a location.

[pnichols]

dleslie125 wrote:
We looked in all the usual places (have had 5 MHs) and could not find them.

In our 2005 Itasca it is on the back wall of the main clothing closet.

[dleslie125]

Can you provide a reference or link. I'd like to read it and see what they have to say about where it should be located. We looked in all the usual places (have had 5 MHs) and could not find them.

D

[Dakzuki]

dleslie125 wrote:

WDW.BWV wrote:
We also liked the Axis, but the shower and lav configuration is poorly designed and became the deal killer for us. As I recall, the CCC was not too hot either. But I will say it was fun to drive for the trip we made with it as a demo at CW.

Thanks for the reminder. UVW (unloaded vehicle weight). At the Tampa show we looked for stickers and in the past they have not been difficult to find. This year found virtually none which made me wonder if the numbers were very low and they weren't fond of showing them.

Don

OCCC placards are mandatory by federal law.

[bobojay5]

We've owned 3 motorhomes over the last 10 years or so. 2 Sprinters and a Chevy chassis. The only one that didn't need to be aligned fairly quick in it's life span was the Chevy, although all 3 manufacturers recommended alignment within 5k miles of new.
I know on the Fords, a good alignment and some other improvements are pretty much mandatory if you want a "right" driving coach

[kiwidancer]

We love our Axis and do not have driving issues. My husband thinks the steering feels like his old Jeep Cherokee and has gotten used to it. That said, we do plan to have alignment checked after reading suggestions in various forums. I wanted to mention that, since there are so few of us Axis/Vegas owners at this point, you can find a lot more information over at the Thor Owners Forum. Hope it is okay to provide the link! http://www.thorforums.com/forums/

[johnnyrv]

We test drove three class c motor homes on the Ford 350 chassis. Two handled well and one had so much play it wandered all over the road and required constant steering correction. We chose one that handled well. I would not take delivery on a motorhome with handling issues. Don't let emotion and impulsiveness overcome your better judgement.

[dleslie125]

WDW.BWV wrote:
We also liked the Axis, but the shower and lav configuration is poorly designed and became the deal killer for us. As I recall, the CCC was not too hot either. But I will say it was fun to drive for the trip we made with it as a demo at CW.

Thanks for the reminder. UVW (unloaded vehicle weight). At the Tampa show we looked for stickers and in the past they have not been difficult to find. This year found virtually none which made me wonder if the numbers were very low and they weren't fond of showing them.

Don

[WDW_BWV]

We also liked the Axis, but the shower and lav configuration is poorly designed and became the deal killer for us. As I recall, the CCC was not too hot either. But I will say it was fun to drive for the trip we made with it as a demo at CW.

[dleslie125]

kgray, I'll be interesting in reading your report on drivability of the Axis. I agree that it is hard to justify the extra $20 for the 24V Sprinter. In Canada, because of the drop in crude's price and thus our currency the gap in list prices will be even wider.

I thought the layout was very nice. I now realize that I didn't give the Axis any time at the recent Tampa Super Show.

Towing is interesting. The Axis comes with an 8,000 lb receiver. The GCWR less the GVWR is 6,000 lbs so in theory it should be able to tow the 6,000 lbs. Our E450 has a GCWR of 22,000 lbs and GVWR of 14,500 so in theory we are good for 7500 lbs - BUT the receiver is rated at 5,000 lbs. What has to be considered is wheelbase extensions and frame rail extensions. Our E450 has been extended and I don't know what that does to the towing limit as it is not Ford that does the extension. (Ford does have what appear to be pretty tight upfitters rules though).

From what I can see with a wheelbase of 188 to 194 they will have extended the wheelbase as the E350's longest wheelbase is 176 inches. I sure do like the wheelbase to length ratios though - over .60.

So, do let us know how it drives. I'm kind of kicking myself for not taking a good look at the Axis and Vegas at the Tampa Super Show last month.

One headache considering either the Axis or Vega is the distance to the nearest dealer - way too far. From our point of view, Thor does a terrible job of product allocation.

Don

[kgray39011]

Ductape Dave wrote:
I believe they chose the E350 instead of the E450 is because the E450 chassis is 4.5" wider and The Axis is only 96" wide at the back. I checked one out at a show and did not like the flimsy bathroom double door and large windshield. I had an A and that would let in a lot of sun and more area to get stoned. After switching to a C I like the fact that I have a nice sun visor (overhang) easy windshield to replace, airbags and our own doors. I didn't like the fact the front dash was so far extended and hard to judge and see compared to the C. I did like the twin rear beds and couch though.

This is my first post here. My understanding on the E350 vs. E450 chassis is twofold, the E450 has a higher rear gear (4.56 vs. 4.11) and is a higher cost chassis. The E350 chassis has a 18,500 # capacity vs the 22,000 on the E450. This extra load capacity is from a heaver duty frame and the higher gear which would increase weight, cost and fuel consumption. The E350 still provides a towing capacity over 6,000 pounds, how much more towing does this unit really need?

My Wife and I recently sold our older Chevy Class C and were looking at a new Winnebago Navion 24V. At at recent camping show, we walked into the Thor Axis model and liked the layout better than the sprinter chassis class c. It is also nearly $20K less for a very similar layout. That $20K is a lot of diesel fuel.

We have not drove either model yet and scheduled a test drive for next weekend on both models at our local RV Dealer. I have read quite a bit about the driving characteristics of the Ford Chassis. It seems very common for the model to exhibit wandering due to improperly inflated tires and miss-alignment from the factory. I have also read where some people have added a "Safe-T-Plus" to assist with any push/pull effects, particularly on bumpy roads. has anyone else had anyone else had any issues here?

As a note: we did not like the Ford Class C Van because the engine hump was much more intrusive than our previous Chevy Class C. Particularly on the Passenger side where the foot room was very small.