Thor new coach Axis

[coachad]

What can anyone tell me about the Thor Coaches. What quality of their coaches. Anyone out there looked at the new Axis. I have looked at the Axis only in pictures. Small class A but something I'm looking for. Any help appreciated.

[mikeluce]

If anyone lays eyes on one - PLEASE give us a report when you get back.

Run the slide in an out, open all the doors, sit in the driver's seat and tell us how that funny window looks... 🙂

[lakings10]

Hoping one of these will be at the pomona rv show this weekend.

[mustang652]

Gjac wrote:
....Do you think that the poor quality is indicative of all entry level Thor products or just the Daybreak?

To answer the question, In my opinion, yes! First and foremost let me say that I am not a disgruntled first timer with buyer's remorse. My new Itasca makes the 6th unit I've owned since 1987. I'm not going to condemn the whole brand because of my bad experience with the Daybreak. Two of the units I've owned over the years were absolutely the bottom of the line, entry level for the brand. With some exceptions I understand that most of Thor's high end DP customers are really satisfied with their units. I follow more than one RV forum site and I am picking up on problems with the Ace, Daybreak and Challenger units. It's a combination of several areas, but mostly centered around extremely poor quality control and numerous slide problems caused by the new track system and poor installation. In addition to the major slide problems, I had a page of items that needed attention in the interior in addition to numerous graphics on the body that had to be replaced due to bubbles and two places in the front cap that the cabinet installer ran the screws through the cap. If I had to pick a person to handle all customer service problems whether on an RV or a new screw driver, Bill S. at Thor was really great and tried his best to get the parts and repairs accomplished in a timely fashion, but you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. I even offered to step up to their Miramar with extra cash applied to end the problem with the what I became to believe was a lemon. I did not make the final decision to dump the Daybreak until I was called to pick up the unit with repairs declared to be complete. The slide still had a twist as it opened and closed and I could hear a phase or RPM difference in one of the four slide motors. Enough was enough and dumping the unit cost me more than I really want to admit. My apologies to those whom I have offended. I have express my opinions not meaning to degrade your feeling about your units.

[koda55]

We have a 2008 Thor Four Winds DP. From the moment we drove it, we were hooked. No problems what so ever. We feel it is a well built RV. I cannot say about the Thor gasers. We had a 35 foot gaser on the f53 chassis and we had no problems with it.

[Effy]

Gjac wrote:

mustang652 wrote:
Based upon my experiences with a new off the lot 2014 Thor Daybreak XD34 prior to dumping the unit, it would not be on my list my list of recommendation. Of the 145 days I owned the unit, starting o/a 29 April 2013, it was in the shop for all but 17 days for major slide, and other repairs. Of the six units I have owned over the past 26 years it is absolutely the poorest quality unit I have owned.

Do you think that the poor quality is indicative of all entry level Thor products or just the Daybreak?

I don't. This might offend some people but I have been through every manufacturer's competitive offerings on entry coaches and they all have the same relative quality. They are all cheap at the intro level. Why I picked Thor was for innovation and stellar customer support. THey really stand behind their product. The Axis, (just like the ACE reveal a few years ago) is targeting a pretty niche market. Very little exists in this category that isn't a FRED. Price point seems to be in the high $60's which may mean high $50's or low $60's when the haggling is done. Something Thor is good at working with folks on. Next year, I bet each brand will have a small A on this chassis.

[taigarazz]

I saw the Thor Axis at Hershey. It was helpful to be able to see the Axis, the Forest River FR3 and the Winnebagao/ Itasca Vista/ Sunnstar all on the same day to compare. My impression was that I thought i would like the FR3 better than the Axis, but didn't. Just an overall impression. However, I bought the Sunstar for reasons of floor plan.

[qtla9111]

Maybe American manufacturers are seeing the light and following European manufacturers. I like what I see so far. We have a 24ft TT with two slideouts, living room and bedroom. I can see them coming out with a similar model. Queen walkaround bed with more closets and a dresser.

[hotbyte]

One site I saw said the $70K is an intro price and MSRP is in the $96K. Nothing said how long intro price would be in place.

[demoon]

Everywhere I have looked, the sell price on the Vegas/Axis is just under $70K.

[tderonne]

I think the obvious comparison is the Winnebago Via 25T:



Almost the same floorplan, 25' 5" vs. 25' 6".

The Winnebago is on a Sprinter based chassis, GVWR is 11,030 pounds, GCWR is 15,250 pounds. MSRP over $125,000 (Sprinter chassis really drives the price up?)

The Thor, as mentioned is on the Ford E350 chassis, GVWR 12,500 pounds, GCWR 18,500 pounds. MSRP $96,180 for one I found online. (The MSRP seems a little high, almost the same as an ACE, Forest River FR3, or a Winnebago Vista all of which are slightly larger Class A's.)

Is it a Via for 20% less, and maybe 20% less fuel economy? $20,000 buys A LOT of gas, even at today's prices.

[Gjac]

mustang652 wrote:
Based upon my experiences with a new off the lot 2014 Thor Daybreak XD34 prior to dumping the unit, it would not be on my list my list of recommendation. Of the 145 days I owned the unit, starting o/a 29 April 2013, it was in the shop for all but 17 days for major slide, and other repairs. Of the six units I have owned over the past 26 years it is absolutely the poorest quality unit I have owned.

Do you think that the poor quality is indicative of all entry level Thor products or just the Daybreak?

[mustang652]

Based upon my experiences with a new off the lot 2014 Thor Daybreak XD34 prior to dumping the unit, it would not be on my list my list of recommendation. Of the 145 days I owned the unit, starting o/a 29 April 2013, it was in the shop for all but 17 days for major slide, and other repairs. Of the six units I have owned over the past 26 years it is absolutely the poorest quality unit I have owned.

[mikeluce]

Gjac wrote:
I think if I was going to buy a Thor product I would look very closely at the Daybreak and compare it to the Axis, Vegas and Ace. What I like about the Daybreak is that it has full basement storage, 100 gals vs 42-50 of fresh water, 80 gals vs 50 of gas, 362 hp vs 305 hp for the Vegas and Axis, a longer wheel base, and probably more CCC although I could not easily find it on there web site.

It is also 5 foot longer... and being "small" is a big part of the Axis desirability for some of us.

In our case, the "upgrade" would be from a 2006 Roadtrek RS Adventurous (sprinter chassis). We love that we can park it in a single stall, but we'd like to get a little more room without getting to full-size (or near full-size) class A...

[gone2dadesert]

eabc5454 wrote:

My ACE has an 80 gallon gas tank - just ask my wallet!

I think your ACE is on an F53 chassis, thus 80 gallons of fuel capacity. An E350 chassis will not have that same benefit for a variety of reasons.

[hotbyte]

Here's a neat little blog post about a trip across country for an Axis and its sister the Vegas. Blog is on Thor site so it is very positive about it 🙂

RUV Road Trip

We are heavily considering downsizing to a smaller class C/B+, small class A or maybe even a class B. This one looks pretty tempting. One thing I question is the curve of the windshield...looks like lots of sun would be get in your eyes.