Thor Palazzo - anyone drive/ride in one yet?

[mikebrls]

people that have had rv's before don't mind it, or are used to it . This being my first Rv I am not used to the crown in the road = pitch in road for drainage .
being such a big vehicle they tend to drift with the crown of road and also when steady strong wind's hit the side of the rv " act's like a sail ".
like I said most are used to it and it's no bother and most likely if I did not get the trucenter i would probably get used to it my self in another few thousand miles,
for me the few extra buck's for a little bit more control where worth it for my situation . I did drive the coach for the first 3000 mile's with out the trucenter and it was fine just a little more work .

mike

[Butte64]

Speaking of driving, for those who have not seen it the free online driving videos from Lazy Days were a great help to me, especially the turning and parking parts.

RV Driver Confidence Course 1: Adjusting Your RV Mirrors - betterRVing! Experience better RVing.

[mikebrls]

Originally Posted by Butte64

Speaking of driving, for those who have not seen it the free online driving videos from Lazy Days were a great help to me, especially the turning and parking parts.

RV Driver Confidence Course 1: Adjusting Your RV Mirrors - betterRVing! Experience better RVing.

great info

[HDRoadking]

Originally Posted by Mynascar48

I've never blogged before, so I hope I don't commit a faux pas. My husband and I don't own a MH, but we are very impressed with the Palazzo. We hope to be ordering the 33.3 bunkhouse within the next few weeks. We are complete newbies to RVing. He is retired and I will be retiring in June and we want to take long trips across the US and we MUST take our 3 cat children with us, thus the MH. I am so excited I can't stand it. I appreciate all your posts about the Thor company and their products. Do y'all suggest that take a trip to Thor's manufacturing plant?

We are on our second RV. The first one was a Sprinter and now we have a 2014 33.2 which has the same size slide as the 33.3 you are looking at. We actually purchased ours in Elkhart from Total Value RV, but we're not able to visit the factory. We drove from Florida to Elkhart and back because we got a much better deal than we could get in Florida. We now have 3,700 miles without any major problems. We have a trip planned for late May to Gaffney, Sc to Freightliner for our first service and to go to Camp Freightliner. From there we will go back to Elkhart. We already have the appointment established even though we do not have any major problems. From there we plan to continue out West for parts yet to be determined. We think it is worth the trip to both places and besides when I used to take the Harley on trips it was always said " you got to have some places to go, or somebody to go no place with!" With the RV we got them both. Me the DW and the dawg are gowin the Elkhart.

[gmadams]

Originally Posted by Butte64

Speaking of driving, for those who have not seen it the free online driving videos from Lazy Days were a great help to me, especially the turning and parking parts.

RV Driver Confidence Course 1: Adjusting Your RV Mirrors - betterRVing! Experience better RVing.

This past January we attended the classroom portion of the course. There is a high demand to take the course and it is mainly offered to those purchasing their MH from Lazydays but all others are also welcome to attend. We will be retaking the classroom and driving portion on our return trip from the keys in February next year. I highly recommend attending at least the classroom part - best part is that it is entirely free!

[TheArnolds]

Originally Posted by Butte64

Speaking of driving, for those who have not seen it the free online driving videos from Lazy Days were a great help to me, especially the turning and parking parts.

RV Driver Confidence Course 1: Adjusting Your RV Mirrors - betterRVing! Experience better RVing.

DW and I attended the classroom portion of the Lazy Days driver course this past February when we spent a month at the Lazy Days RV park. It was very helpful but sadly the practical part was full so we could not do the driving part.

[TK IV]

Originally Posted by Butte64

Welcome and best wishes.

As you will see by reading all the posts there are some differences of opinion and some people have been more fortunate than others. We really like our Palazzo and have not had any significant problems. But we also do not have the large slide on our 33.1. We were also extremely careful. This is our first MH so I was very diligent in reading the manuals well before I picked it up. I also did a very thorough PDI before signing anything which was both inspection and training on the system. I made a video to review later.

There are several different systems to consider and things to know about such as air brakes, exhaust brake, adjusting air pressure according to weight, electrical systems, generator operation, wet bay procedures, etc. Thorough understanding will greatly increase you enjoyment so take your time.

As you may have already noted, this forum with various threads is an excellent resource and in many cases far better than the manuals. The Freightline manual is better than the Palazzo manual, BTW. Also, Camp Freightliner is highly recommended. Furtherore, you will want to join FMCA and the Thor Diesel Club for lots of great information. Membership in the Freightliner Chassis Owners Club is free the first year and has some benefits also.

You will see from others that other brands are "better" and I won't argue the point because if I spent $100K+ more than I did from the Palazzo I would expect it to be "better." But for value per price paid I don't see any better deal.

You asked about the campfire icons...it refers to the number of entries posted in iRV2. As you can see, I have made a few!

Safe travels and hope to see you in Myrtle Beach next April for the TDC rally.

We too are just starting out. Leaving Washington NC tomorrow for Raleigh to get some work done at CW and then to Myrtle Beach to stay at the Ocean Lakes Campground and then to Florida.

I sent the request to THOR for my TDC membership but have not received any notice that I am a member. I would like to join the fun at Myrtle beach in April. Can I make my reservation without a membership number?
Thanks,

[tcopeland]

Originally Posted by TK IV

We too are just starting out. Leaving Washington NC tomorrow for Raleigh to get some work done at CW and then to Myrtle Beach to stay at the Ocean Lakes Campground and then to Florida. I sent the request to THOR for my TDC membership but have not received any notice that I am a member. I would like to join the fun at Myrtle beach in April. Can I make my reservation without a membership number? Thanks,

We are in Jacksonville . Maybe we can get together at some point .
It takes sometime to get your TDC card. Have no fear, it will come.
You can make your reservation without a number. Let the desk know you are with the TDC rally.
We were at Ocean Lakes last week for our annual Xmas shopping trip. Super campground.
Hope to see you in April.

[TheArnolds]

Originally Posted by TK IV

We too are just starting out. Leaving Washington NC tomorrow for Raleigh to get some work done at CW and then to Myrtle Beach to stay at the Ocean Lakes Campground and then to Florida.

I sent the request to THOR for my TDC membership but have not received any notice that I am a member. I would like to join the fun at Myrtle beach in April. Can I make my reservation without a membership number?
Thanks,

If you send an email to Fred Barina [roadsailors@yahoo.com], President TDC he can check on your membership status.

Make sure you include your FMCA number. The TDC is an International chapter of the FMCA therefore you must be a member of FMCA to join the TDC or the Freightliner Chassis Owners Club.

[NY24]

Welcome Mynascar48 (and all other newbies)! I'm still looking to upgrade from my 17' Casita Spirit Deluxe travel trailer and, almost pulled the trigger on a Thor Tuscany 34 back in October. I've looked at several Thor DPs at several dealers. The choices can be overwhelming.

What I can speak for from direct experience is this: ALL newbies should find and attend an RV Boot Camp. Escapees RV Club ran the one I attended a couple of years ago but I understand other groups offer them too. A Boot Camp usually runs over a weekend; often just before a major RV Rally starts (but you can attend the Boot Camp and skip the rally). In Boot Camp, experienced presenters will take you through all the systems modern RVs have. You'll get to learn from other RVer's mistakes so you won't have to learn the hard way. Mistakes with RVs tend to be expensive! An added benefit is that you'll get to meet many other newbies (and not so newbies) and, get to see many different rigs. You don't have to be a member of Escapees to attend (but I've found Escapees to be a GREAT group). I expect in the next few years, I'll take a Boot Camp again as a refresher. Even if you don't yet have an RV, attending a Boot Camp would be a great learning experience and, help get you off to a good, safe start when you finally find your first rig.

RVing is a GREAT lifestyle; welcome to the "club"!

[mikebrls]

Originally Posted by mikebrls

people that have had rv's before don't mind it, or are used to it . This being my first Rv I am not used to the crown in the road = pitch in road for drainage .
being such a big vehicle they tend to drift with the crown of road and also when steady strong wind's hit the side of the rv " act's like a sail ".
like I said most are used to it and it's no bother and most likely if I did not get the trucenter i would probably get used to it my self in another few thousand miles,
for me the few extra buck's for a little bit more control where worth it for my situation . I did drive the coach for the first 3000 mile's with out the trucenter and it was fine just a little more work .

mike

UP date , just got home from 1400+ mile trip with the trucenter, It took a good few hundred miles to get used to how it works but all I can say is that it take's the white knuckle driving away in windy conditions .
The best way to explain it is lets say you would use 4 lbs of pressure on the wheel now with the trucenter you would be at 1 or 2 lbs of pressure .
since the road is always changing you still have very little movement in the wheel but nothing like with out it , when cruising you would hear and feel a big gust of wing hit the side of the coach with very little driver input after the trucenter is set . Great product

mike

[wstrace3]

Originally Posted by mikebrls

UP date , just got home from 1400+ mile trip with the trucenter, It took a good few hundred miles to get used to how it works but all I can say is that it take's the white knuckle driving away in windy conditions .
The best way to explain it is lets say you would use 4 lbs of pressure on the wheel now with the trucenter you would be at 1 or 2 lbs of pressure .
since the road is always changing you still have very little movement in the wheel but nothing like with out it , when cruising you would hear and feel a big gust of wing hit the side of the coach with very little driver input after the trucenter is set . Great product

mike

Thanks for the update!! I think that will be my next purchase. In the past several months I dont remember not driving on a windy day. Going to pick up coach at dealer tomorrow and have a two hour drive home in 20 mph north wind on I-10. No major repairs, just changing out some flooring where the bunk door bracket was rubbing. They bent the brackets up some so it wouldnt happen again.

On another note, we were east bound on I-10 west of baton rouge friday and crossed a palazzo heading west bound. First time we have seen another palazzo on the road and didnt know if it was any of you.

[rebane]

Originally Posted by Mynascar48

Thank you so much for responding! So excited to hear from someone who is driving the 33.3. I see you have a Jeep, too. We were leaning toward the jeep to tow. We are spoiled convertible drivers and want to get something we can enjoy with a rag top. How do you like your jeep? Also, what does the little fire icon stand for?

I am a ragtop fan, DW not so much. We tow a '06 PT Cruiser ragtop (manual xmission). Put it in neutral, release the handbrake and go.

[RKNOLA]

Originally Posted by wstrace3

Thanks for the update!! I think that will be my next purchase. In the past several months I dont remember not driving on a windy day. Going to pick up coach at dealer tomorrow and have a two hour drive home in 20 mph north wind on I-10. No major repairs, just changing out some flooring where the bunk door bracket was rubbing. They bent the brackets up some so it wouldnt happen again.

On another note, we were east bound on I-10 west of baton rouge friday and crossed a palazzo heading west bound. First time we have seen another palazzo on the road and didnt know if it was any of you.

That might have been us. We were on I-10 east coming back from our trip to the Grand Canyon but right past Baton Rouge we did turn around and head west for 1 exit so we could go to the Pilot Station for fuel. We then got back on I-10 east to continue heading home.
Long trip from Louisiana to Williams, Az to go to the Grand Canyon and then back to Louisiana. 3,281.6 miles round trip but the weather was great the entire trip!!
Too bad now I have to call Thor because our Slide malfunctioned again on the return trip!! This will be fix #4 for the slide!!