Thor Palazzo - anyone drive/ride in one yet?

[Glrtex]

I am a newbie to the RV world and have become very discouraged by my experiences with my Thor Palazzo 33.1 so far. I purchased the Palazzo on April 16th and I have not spent one night in it yet. It has been at a Service Center for a total of 7 weeks on two occassions.

I have had rodents entering the cabin, problems with the auxillary batteries and minor trim issues. The more serious problems have been a failed roof air conditioner and multiple doors and drawers opening while in motion.

While the idea of a residential refrigerator in a MH sounds good in practice, but it has not worked for me. The door to the fridge and freezer are constantly opening while driving down the road. Even the microwave door opens.

I had a cabinet door open behind the bedroom slide out (couldn't see it was open) and almost broke when ai tried to extend the slideout.

I know they are selling Palazzos as fast as they deliver them, so I cannot imagine I am the only one having these problems.

Does anyone know if there are retrofit external latches that could be used to secure the refrigerator doors?

In general, I found most of the manuals to be too generic to be useful. The Freightliner manual does a poor job of explaining how the Economy mode works or what the 2 digits number on the display mean.

I spoke with someone at Thor about the little switch at the top left corner of the windshield. He said, under no circumstances press the button. It has to do with the nightshade and is for service only. Why didn't they either hide it or put a warning tag on it?

I have not given up on RVing yet, but I am geting very close.

[gmadams]

There is a screw that should have come with your rig to secure the fridge door. If not, tell your dealer about it. You definitely need it to keep the doors closed to the fridge and freezer.

Some of your other issues with the doors seem to be that thou are not completely closing the doors.

[TheArnolds]

First off I am sorry you are having so many difficulties with your Palazzo! So far I have had a very positive experience. I just returned from a 15 day, 2000 mile trip and everything worked just fine. I have not found anything serious enough to take it back to the dealer.
In fact I am getting fuel economy better than expected (average 10.9, last fill up 12.3 – no toad).

I agree with gmadams about the drawers/door being closed completely. If I make a hard turn my silverwear drawer comes open but that is the only one and I am developing a fix. I found the frig locking screw in a kitchen drawer (about 3 inches long with a black knob on the end), it screws in-between the frig and freezer doors.

Like my last new RV I spent some time fixing loose screws and continue to find things that come loose due to road vibration. I do not get upset I just grab a screw driver.

I hope things improve and you get your Palazzo out on the road!

[George Lewis]

While looking at a Fleetwood Excursion yesterday, their residentioal frig has a screw between the freezer and regular door, but it has a wing on it and you turn it vertical to lock the doors during travel and horizontal to open the doors...much better than the Palazzo and such an easy fix.

[Freedom65]

I had seen the screw designed to keep the fridge door shut on the Palazzo in some videos. However, when I took delivery of ours I asked the person doing our acceptance check where it was. He said it didn't come with one. While I was skeptical, I noticed that the hole where the screw is supposed to go had a bolt in it (matching the other bolts in the fridge). While I still believe ours probably had one (and the maintenance folks at the dealer thought they should fill the hole), we have had no problem with the fridge door opening while we are driving. I have hit a few bumps that rocks the coach pretty good and it still hasn't opened. (Why the heck do they put speed bumps in RV parks? When I go over one sideways it really rocks)

[gmadams]

Originally Posted by Freedom65

I had seen the screw designed to keep the fridge door shut on the Palazzo in some videos. However, when I took delivery of ours I asked the person doing our acceptance check where it was. He said it didn't come with one. While I was skeptical, I noticed that the hole where the screw is supposed to go had a bolt in it (matching the other bolts in the fridge). While I still believe ours probably had one (and the maintenance folks at the dealer thought they should fill the hole), we have had no problem with the fridge door opening while we are driving. I have hit a few bumps that rocks the coach pretty good and it still hasn't opened. (Why the heck do they put speed bumps in RV parks? When I go over one sideways it really rocks)

I speak from experience. Our door came open and the ice tray in the freezer came flying out as well as some other frozen foods.

[tcopeland]

Originally Posted by TheArnolds

I am sure that Freightliner, Cummings, Allison, etc. have online manuals because I have read where other people have downloaded them but I have been using my paper manuals that came with my coach.
The air hose connector in the generator compartment is the manifold I mentioned where you can connect an air hose and attach other accessories like an air horn…my DW will not let me have one
The Camp Freightliner in Gaffney is at the Freightliner plant. Freightliner will conduct these classes at their plant or at the coach manufacturer’s plants. Elkhart is closer to my home in Ohio and the class is tailored to my coach. Some people have taken both and I may consider going to Gaffney and take the class again so I can see the Freightliner plant. In Gaffney you can even make a service appointment while you attend the class.
To be honest I did notice the small button up behind the windshield screen and I figured that it was an override in case the switch on the dash did not work and you need to raise the screen…just a guess but now I need to know so I will check it out the next time I go inside my coach. It is not for the satellite system. Everything is in the electronics cabinet behind the co-pilots seat.

Had a demo drive this pass weekend. I was told that the switch is to adjust the window screen. Understand it can be lowered while driving to use as a sun screen. The switch is to used to adjust for each driver.

[Freedom65]

Originally Posted by gmadams

I speak from experience. Our door came open and the ice tray in the freezer came flying out as well as some other frozen foods.

Even though I haven't had problems, I think I will work on a closure using some Velcro I have that is sticky on one side. I think I can make something that is out of sight and easy to put on when we move.

[gmadams]

Originally Posted by Freedom65

Even though I haven't had problems, I think I will work on a closure using some Velcro I have that is sticky on one side. I think I can make something that is out of sight and easy to put on when we move.

Let us know if it works. It would definitely be better than the way the manufacturer has it.

[TheArnolds]

Originally Posted by Freedom65

Even though I haven't had problems, I think I will work on a closure using some Velcro I have that is sticky on one side. I think I can make something that is out of sight and easy to put on when we move.

I do not find the manufacture provided door lock an inconvenience. Its design serves the purpose of keeping the door closed while making a turn. It is only used while driving and the only way it could be a pain is if someone is going into the frig frequently while you are driving down the road.

I did use Velcro on the microwave because unlike the frig it did not have a lock and one time the door came open and the glass turntable came out and hit the floor. Luckily it did not break.

[ScottTuma]

Hi I'm sticking my 2 cent worth in here. Did anyone try some of the child proofing gadgets on the market? I've seen things at Ikea made just for refrigerators to keep children out also child safe draw latches. This could be an easy and inexpensive solution.

[Freedom65]

Originally Posted by ScottTuma

Hi I'm sticking my 2 cent worth in here. Did anyone try some of the child proofing gadgets on the market? I've seen things at Ikea made just for refrigerators to keep children out also child safe draw latches. This could be an easy and inexpensive solution.

Thanks for the idea. I Googled child safety locks and discovered that Walmart carries them in the baby section. Bought 3 for under $10. Will put them on next time I'm at the RV

[HappyGuy]

Greetings,

I am currently still in the family stage of things. We originally opted to purchase a 24 foot Class C with the logic that hey, it can sleep the whole family, we can park it in the driveway, why do we need more? A few cold rainy days showed us why we need more...

So no I'm back looking at larger units and taking what I have learned from the Class C (affectionately called HaRVee or Kermit) and trying to apply it to the process. The class C is sensitive to getting blown around even after getting the air pressure right. Especially if the Toad is in tow. Prior to making the decision to upsize a track bar was on the wish list. Now that I'm looking for a larger unit I'm wondering about just how much I can make physics work for me. In other words, will a DP with its rearward and theoretically lower center of gravity make it more stable at speed and less apt to wag the tail when towing? Added mass will no doubt help but in the case of the Pelazzo, is the benefit of mass offset by the decreased length / weight of the coach?

I've been told that this coach has a tight turning radius but can anyone out there give me some close calls / tight turn stories or a comparison between say a past class C and this coach so I can get an idea of what I could expect if I made the switch. Unfortunately if I want this pusher I'll have to drive for it. The local dealers don't have one in stock.

Has anyone seen a 33.3 floor plan in person or better yet, owns one? I've seen them on the web but thus far I have been unable to find one. I'll be needing a bunkhouse for the kids and friends and this one seems to meet every need. Alas, I am not a fully seasoned RVer so I would really like to hear the nitpick details that you either love or hate about the coach. What were the things you had to add? I heard that there might not be a spare tire? That was a per peeve on the class C. While I realize that class A tire and wheel can weigh north of 200 lbs, I would want a spare on hand for emergencies or should the roadside attendant not have a tire to replace a blown one. Does this rig at least have a place to store a spare?

The last thing I want to do is regret this large of purchase a second time around

[Butte64]

Originally Posted by HappyGuy

Greetings,

I am currently still in the family stage of things. We originally opted to purchase a 24 foot Class C with the logic that hey, it can sleep the whole family, we can park it in the driveway, why do we need more? A few cold rainy days showed us why we need more...

So no I'm back looking at larger units and taking what I have learned from the Class C (affectionately called HaRVee or Kermit) and trying to apply it to the process. The class C is sensitive to getting blown around even after getting the air pressure right. Especially if the Toad is in tow. Prior to making the decision to upsize a track bar was on the wish list. Now that I'm looking for a larger unit I'm wondering about just how much I can make physics work for me. In other words, will a DP with its rearward and theoretically lower center of gravity make it more stable at speed and less apt to wag the tail when towing? Added mass will no doubt help but in the case of the Pelazzo, is the benefit of mass offset by the decreased length / weight of the coach?

I've been told that this coach has a tight turning radius but can anyone out there give me some close calls / tight turn stories or a comparison between say a past class C and this coach so I can get an idea of what I could expect if I made the switch. Unfortunately if I want this pusher I'll have to drive for it. The local dealers don't have one in stock.

Has anyone seen a 33.3 floor plan in person or better yet, owns one? I've seen them on the web but thus far I have been unable to find one. I'll be needing a bunkhouse for the kids and friends and this one seems to meet every need. Alas, I am not a fully seasoned RVer so I would really like to hear the nitpick details that you either love or hate about the coach. What were the things you had to add? I heard that there might not be a spare tire? That was a per peeve on the class C. While I realize that class A tire and wheel can weigh north of 200 lbs, I would want a spare on hand for emergencies or should the roadside attendant not have a tire to replace a blown one. Does this rig at least have a place to store a spare?

The last thing I want to do is regret this large of purchase a second time around

Good questions.

As a start you could go where it is convenient and test drive about any gas Class A then a shorter DP. I found it a world of difference.

Turning is surprisingly tight with the 55 degree wheel cut. The three cameras make backing and lane switching easier.

Major differences of opinion on spare. After my brothers experience I am getting one.

Jerry