2012-ACE Maiden Voyage

[sanfordturbo]

Purchased our ACE 29.2 from Albany RV in New York this past weekend and drove it home to Atlanta Georgia.

The only complaints we have are related to fit/finish and noise. All of the window installations are flawed. The Aluminum frames that case these windows are bent, crooked, and seem "wrong". One window would not lock. Took forever to finally get the window to slide back enough to latch. The driver side window rattles with buffeting wind that streams around the coach. Bumpy roads don't make the glass rattle. We were on smooth surface roads and the window only rattled when a vehicle passed or if I increased speed over 70mph. Light hand pressure on the inside of the window stopped the noise completely. I guess I will see what Thor says, but I'm sure i will come up with a simple solution myself. I'm thinking about cutting up strips of Moleskin used for blisters and putting them in the window tracks to stabilize the window.

The engine noise on this machine is insanely loud. I think I will rip up the carpet and install Dynamat sound proofing or something. Same goes for the noise level when the generator is running with the V10 off. I found several posts on creating a noise box around the generator. My only concern is creating too much insulation and baking the thing to death. Maybe some Dynamat around that thing would help.

The slide behind the Driver was thumping up in New York. It magically stopped on its own. I've read the posts on this forum about the shower curtain rod thing. I may have to go down that road if it comes back.

Driving the ACE is a work-out. Perhaps because I am a newb? After 16 hours behind the wheel of that thing, I worked out all the kinks.

Gas mileage is as expected with a V10 and tons of vehicle. . . poor. Getting that thing into a gas station made for cars was fun. Pulled it off without too much trouble. Thank goodness for the rear backup camera!! Definitely pull into the station with the gas pump on the driver side. The offset fuel port is closer to the driver side by a foot or two. It would have been nicer to have it on the side of the vehicle, but the layout kinda prevents this with the slide and storage setup.

The door to the ACE was nearly impossible to open. The dealer indicated that they were unable to get into the thing once and had to replace the lock assembly entirely. The new one wasn't much better. The mechanic ended up grinding some of the metal off on the latch to line it up perfectly. We don't have issues now. Another fit and finish thing. Whomever inspected this thing was blind and deaf. I think there is a sticker in the home that has the inspectors initials. Maybe I'll post their initials?

Played around with the auto-leveling jacks. Pretty slick setup and worked just fine. Glad it works. . . for now.

Parking brake indicator light on the dash is jacked up. When parking, I fully depress the parking brake pedal. The red light on the dash lights up like it should. When I get under way, I release the brake. It pops up properly, but the light doesn't go out. As I roll forward, the alarm sounds that the brake is engaged. Which it isn't. So, I have to go thru this repeat of engaging and disengaging the brake. After 3 or 4 repetitions, the light goes out and no alarm when in motion. [moderator edit]

The passenger side running light (yellow one) does not work. I missed it during the walk thru at the dealer during the day time. I have no idea what is wrong with it. I'll probably head out this weekend and see if the bulb/led is dead and replace it.

Winterizing will also take place this weekend. Hope all the pumps and stuff work. The Winegard in-motion sat dish will need to be configured to work with my Dish Network receiver. I had the dealer install one for me. It whirls around and makes a ton of noise while trying to lock in on the satellites. It should only take 30-60 minutes to get the thing configured properly... i hope.

Bought a MAXXAIR vent cover to install over the bedroom air vent. Should be a simple install this weekend too. Hope I don't find any issues up there while I'm installing it.

Thats all for now. Overall, we are pleased. Didn't expect a perfect unit, but for this kind of money, it should be.
I'm sure to use this forum a ton in the coming years.

[Rmiscoord]

Congratulations and I wish you have a great time, a merry Christmas and happy New Year.

[anotherone]

welcome to the world of Thor. Its a shame you cant go through everything with a fine tooth comb before storage so you could let the dealer do warranty work during down time.

[ToledoCharli]

I was fortunate in taking several short trips on our ACE. I agree as does everyone with a MH costing less than $400k that fit&finish is woefully lacking. Attitude about issues will help minimize some of the mental anguish and a responsive THOR repair facility will also help. I had told myself to be prepared for noise and other than the rattle of the slide behind driver seat I'm ok. I believe you are correct in being concerned about just how well you insulate the genny for noise so as to not overheat. Flat roads 58mph we maybe occassionally saw 8mpg, certainly not in the mountains. Main door not an issue however when seated at dining table we noticed gap between screendoor and main frame. New screen door and now all is sealed bug tight. Like yourself we are basically pleased with the ACE and look forward to Wilma providing us with numerous pleasurable trips. I can tell you have reviewed previous posts so hopefully you gleaned some helpful info. Please continue to post anything new and keep us informed on your ACE. Merry Christmas

[sanfordturbo]

Thanks for the replies. Been reading tons of manuals over the past few days to prep for the weekend work on the ACE.

Finally catching up with sleep from the marathon road trip. I believe I will try and limit the drive times to about 8 - 10 hours from now on. Huge difference driving the ACE for 16 hours compared to the car.

Forgot to mention in the original post about the GPS unit failing on me. It was a cheaper unit that I picked up on Woot. Decided to go with CoPilot HD North America on my iPad2. It has an RV mode just like the Rand McN units. Picked up a windshield mount for the iPad2 today. Figured that I've already dumped a ton of cash into the iPad already. Why spend another $400 on a dedicated GPS unit with a 7" screen when I can spend $30 for maps and use the iPad 10" screen. We'll see how that turns out.

I've also decided to purchase the Jensen Audio REMOTE CONTROL. It is a PITA trying to change channels from the "Captains Chair" while driving. I dare not take my eyes off the road. I'm also going to pick up an iPod cable for the Jensen. Too bad the manual indicates the older iPod compatibility. Glad I didn't chuck my older iPod. It will become a dedicated ACE iPod now!

[ShadowT]

Welcome and happy reading. I have the glass rattle too. I used a bit of clear silicone sealant in the track to keep the window vibration down. My Winguard In-motion Satellite takes a long time locking up if not in use constantly. If stopped, I turn it off after peak signal values display on the TV. It dithers at the direction and dose not settle down. I'll have it checked in the spring.

Write you thoughts here and we will gain from you as well.

Use medium grade gas for higher mpg.

[padre44]

Another poor quality motor home report!

[Towertime]

How did the Winegard in-motion sat dish work out? I picked up my ACE about 3 months ago and I'm thinking about adding it or the SK-1000 Travler. Do you know what kind of dish provisions (if any) were on the roof? The Thor specs indicate satellite prep; whatever that may mean. I also noticed some of the same noise issues on the trip from Dallas back to Savannah. I added some velcro under the dining booth seats and the stove topper that have helped somewhat.

[Tv Boy]

Sandfordturbo,
Does thor have an actual ACE manual yet?
We have the same driver and passenger window issues, especially in a strong cross wind

[gmadams]

Here is what they have online for the ACE:

Document Archive | Thor Motor Coach RV | Class A, Class C, Class B+ Motorhomes

[sanfordturbo]

No. The book in the ACE was for every other unit they make, but not for the ACE. While the downloadable book now has ACE up at the top with the other models, there does not seem to be any specific info for the ACE in it that actually helps me find stuff in the motorhome. Very generic info in the books, both online and printed.

I did manage to get my vent cover installed and my in-motion sat dish working over the weekend. Pumping black water out today. I think i have read enough to figure it out. After black/grey water is out, i will try to drain the water and put in anti freeze. Have not looked hard for the siphon pick up yet. Might need to head to the hardware store first for fittings.

Wish me luck!

[sanfordturbo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Towertime How did the Winegard in-motion sat dish work out? I picked up my ACE about 3 months ago and I'm thinking about adding it or the SK-1000 Travler. Do you know what kind of dish provisions (if any) were on the roof? The Thor specs indicate satellite prep; whatever that may mean. I also noticed some of the same noise issues on the trip from Dallas back to Savannah. I added some velcro under the dining booth seats and the stove topper that have helped somewhat.

I had the dealer install it for me. They had to drill and seal the mounting junk on the roof. Nothing was up there for a dish. Then they ran the wires back to the HD antenna area and fed the sat cables down the same hole as the antenna. They put all the switches, booster box, and coax hookups in the cabinet above the sofa. Did an ok job installing it. Had to climb up there, remove the winegard cover and flip some dip switches to put the unit in dish-network mode. Thing came ready for direct-tv. After about 5 minutes of whirling around, the thing settled down and went quiet. The dish network box got a lock and was happy and ready for activation. I assume all is good. No need to activate now. I will do that a few weeks before we hit the road again.

[sanfordturbo]

Here is a photo of the Sat Dish and HD Antenna wires. The Sat dish is in front of the big black A/C unit in the upper left of the photo. They taped the coax and power cables to the roof and fed them back to the HD Antenna wire hole.

[sanfordturbo]

These photos are for the Maxx Air II vent cover installation. It was easy to do, took about 15 minutes. I'm buying two more of these things. One for the vent above the kitchen and one for the vent above the bathroom.