Random questions for ACE 30.1 owners

[1943D18]

We are still in researchm mode, so....Some random questions For 30.1 owners....

Curious if anyone has mounted a DVD player in the vicinity of the living area TV and if so, where? Seems to be ample room behind the TV cabinet, but of course it would need to be exposed in order for the remote to work.

Also - is there a cable connection anywhere outside on the camp side to hook up a TV?

The water heater...is it gas only? Seems like most coaches include water heaters these days that operate on both electric or gas.

And lastly...the drop down bunk up front - on the unti we looked at, it didn't appear to have any outlets up there of any kind to hook up a light, or charge a cell phone, or whatever. Kind of a bummer, but not a huge deal I guess.

It seems the ACE's offer pretty decent value for the buck, all things considered.

Appreciate any and all comments.

-Mike

[sanfordturbo]

While i do not own a 30.1, I crawled around in one a few weekends ago to see how it compared to my 29.2.

There is plenty of space behind the TV for a dvd player to live. I use my overhead cabinets above my sofa for my DVD, Dish Receiver, and xbox360 in the 29.2 and was very jealous that the 30.1 had enough space for additional a/v junk behind the TV. I would purchase one of those IR extender / relocation things off the internet. Some are very small and only requiring a small hole to drill into the cabinet.

I believe there is a cable TV input on the driver side towards the back of the vehicle. I noticed that the 30amp service was relocated in a different location than my 29.2 and barely remember noting that the cable TV input was in the same spot as my 29.2. I'm sure it has a lot to do with where the bedroom TV is located in the bedroom closet furniture. They didn't move the Cable TV input jack to the very rear of the vehicle like the 30 amp service.

The 30.1 has the same GAS water heater that my 29.2 has. I don't know if you can "switch" it over to electric.

The drop down bunk is identical to my 29.2. There is no power up there. When camping, I typically run a power strip from the laptop desk 110v duplex outlet up to the top bunk. There is a small gap that allows you to do this. Just remember to pull the power strip out before you fold the bunk out of the way!!

While I did like the bedroom slide and rear window, I hated the lack of storage in the 30.1. My wife and I both agree that if we were making the purchase decision again, we would still choose the 29.2 over the new 30.1 . . . mainly because of the storage.

Hope this helps.

[1943D18]

Originally Posted by sanfordturbo

While I did like the bedroom slide and rear window, I hated the lack of storage in the 30.1. My wife and I both agree that if we were making the purchase decision again, we would still choose the 29.2 over the new 30.1 . . . mainly because of the storage.

Hope this helps.

Thanks much for the thoughts. Everyone rates factors differently in choosing a floorplan - the storage aspect is *the* primary reason my wife likes the 30.1 over the other floorplans. It has the most closet / bedroom storage by far, BUT you give up commensurate storage space down below.

Thanks again,
Mike

[SkipRD]

Brand new to this forum, so hopefully this will work.

We've owned our 2013 ACE 30.1 for about 7 months and love it. For us, there were several critical issues that inclined us toward the 30.1 over other ACE models, mostly: (1) being able to use the kitchen, dinette, head, etc., without extending the slides; (2) having the TV directly across from the couch (so as to avoid permanent neck crick-itis; and (3) having enough counter space in the right places to meet the meal preparation requirements of the DW. With other priorities, obviously, other models may be better suited. I also note that some buyers are concerned about the reduced amount of basement storage on the 30.1. It seems like a matter of one's personal practices while on the road, but we came from a 27' travel trailer, and we have more storage space than I can possibly imagine ever using. We are fully loaded for a week-long trip as I type this, and most of the basement storage volume is empty. (We're also WAY under GVWR.) Of course, YMMV.

One other point. We had a couple minor issues come up after delivery, and Thor's customer support has been stunning. Just two examples: I was trying to figure out how the plumbing system worked and the rep, while we were on the phone, scanned in the plumbing diagram from the service manual and e-mailed it to me while we talked so as to aid the discussion. On another instance, the hydraulic levels stopped working. I called support and the rep walked me through the troubleshooting process, one step at a time, staying on the phone for about 45 minutes with me, until we located the problem (a bad crimp on a connector behind the leveler control panel).

As to your questions:

Curious if anyone has mounted a DVD player in the vicinity of the living area TV and if so, where? Seems to be ample room behind the TV cabinet, but of course it would need to be exposed in order for the remote to work. Yes. Installed a Blu-Ray player with WiFi behind the RV, and no need to have it exposed with an IR extender to allow the remote to work. A Verizon MiFi allows the BD player to receive internet content, which we use to watch movies etc. from Amazon Prime, Netflix, etc.

Also - is there a cable connection anywhere outside on the camp side to hook up a TV? No. It might be possible to run one, though. The storage compartment under the center of the awning is directly beneath the TV cabinet and open to the other side of the unit. One way or the other, running a length of coax should be possible.

The water heater...is it gas only? Seems like most coaches include water heaters these days that operate on both electric or gas. So far as I know, it's gas only.

And lastly...the drop down bunk up front - on the unit we looked at, it didn't appear to have any outlets up there of any kind to hook up a light, or charge a cell phone, or whatever. Kind of a bummer, but not a huge deal I guess. Correct, no power up there. I've wondered if it would be possible to run something up through the front pillars, but I haven't investigated the issue. I did run power to the doghouse so as to give me a place for chargers, etc. See the description on my blog: BLOG.SKIPRD.COM: Electrifying add-ons....

Hope that helps. Feel free to PM me if I can provide anything else.

Skip
2013 ACE 30.1

[1943D18]

Thanks Skip! All the great info is appreciated. For us there is no question that the 30.1 is the best floorplan for us. We currently have a Jayco Melbourne with a whopping 18 CF of "basement" storage (ie. none) so ANY class A we get will be an enormous improvement.

One question from my DW to yours....she wants to know how if she is happy with the small-ish round sink?

We recently came across the new Coachmen FR3 which shows lots of promise, and they've done some things that we would have hoped Thor would include in the ACE, but it may be some time until they are available, and no idea yet on what price point they'll come in at.

Thanks much for your thoughts.

Mike

[SkipRD]

Originally Posted by 1943D18

Thanks Skip! All the great info is appreciated. For us there is no question that the 30.1 is the best floorplan for us. We currently have a Jayco Melbourne with a whopping 18 CF of "basement" storage (ie. none) so ANY class A we get will be an enormous improvement.

One question from my DW to yours....she wants to know how if she is happy with the small-ish round sink?

We recently came across the new Coachmen FR3 which shows lots of promise, and they've done some things that we would have hoped Thor would include in the ACE, but it may be some time until they are available, and no idea yet on what price point they'll come in at.

Thanks much for your thoughts.

Mike

The DW has remarked that the smallish, oval sink is one thing she's not crazy about. It's not well suited for washing larger pans, and even an ordinary dish rack doesn't fit very well. For now, it'll do, but replacing it with a larger and more rectangular alternative is on the the DIY list for a project someday.

Keep up posted on your search!

Skip
2013 ACE 30.1

[1943D18]

At this point, our primary concerns with the ACE are what seems to be the widely reported problem of noise / knocking / squeaking in the slide behind the driver, and the condensation that forms in the overhead "eyebrow" area in cold weather. DW could probably tolerate the smallish round sink until I could replace it with something larger, but the first two issues are a bit worrisome. Not sure they are deal breakers, but...could be.

[SkipRD]

We had the problem with the squeak/rattle in the slide. It was repaired under warranty. There appear to be two possible fixes: one involves shimming the drive motor (I think), the other involves relocating the track slightly. Thor is well aware of the problem and I suspect units shipped after last summer don't have the problem, but it would be a simple matter of checking the unit prior to accepting it and, if present, having the dealer do the fix as part of the PDI.

Although we have camped in really cold weather (20's), we haven't had the condensation problem. Thor's customer support is so good, though, that if the problem ever arises, my guess would be that they'd handle it like they handled the squeak/rattle problem: "Yes, we're aware of the issue. Get it to a dealer. The fix is ... xxx ... . We'll fax the dealer the service bulletin and it's covered under warranty." Still a bit of a hassle, but for me such things are not deal breakers until the wheels fall off. (Admittedly, though, I tend look at such things from a boating perspective, in which everything is always breaking and it's just part of the experience until you sink, at which point you're dead. So, for me, if I'm not dead yet, it's a "minor problem." I guess that means you shouldn't rely on my perspective as to whether something is a deal killer or not.)

Skip