We are our on our first trip with our 29.2, so far we are 1,538 miles into our first run. We have had several issues along the way, fortunately the master bedroom doors were not among them.
We are however, pretty disappointed with Thor. While I guess we should not be surprised, they have been pretty worthless overall. We now understand, that if there is any problem, Thor's answer will always be, sorry its not our problem.
Our MH came directly from Thor to Dealer for a few hours, then straight to us.
When we received our MH from the dealer, the front (cab) AC was not working. This dealer told us straight away, this was not something they could fix. We contacted Thor, they in turn called the dealer to brow beat them into fixing the issue. Dealer just kept saying same thing, we are not a Ford Dealer/Repair facility, it has to go to a Ford Dealer to get fixed. Finally Thor gave up on Dealer, and sent us to another Dealer (Camping World).
We get to Camping World, service guy says same thing, we are not a Ford Dealer, we can't fix this. Once again, back on phone with Thor, they are completely lost at this point, trying to find another dealer in their database. The thing that kept pissing me off the most, Thor kept trying to find another MH dealer to send us to. We already had to drive 1 hour to go to Camping World, only to strike out. Now Thor wants us to drive another 2 hours to another dealer. Thor must just think we have all the time in the world to just drive wherever to fix their issue.
After talking with service guy at Camping World, he tells me where he would go if it was his MH. We end up going to a Ford Dealer that specializes in Ford Commercial vehicles. We get to the Ford Dealer, they are of course loaded up with customers, so we are in a wait and see mode. After two days, Ford Dealer finally gets to look things over, but now is where the fun begins. Since the compressor is Fords, but the condenser is NOT Fords, it is something that Thor installed, we have a Mexican stand off. Ford is saying we can't fix or repair this system under warranty because this is not our stuff, Thor is saying Ford needs to fix this all under warranty because its their stuff. I am stuck in the middle going, I dont care who's stuff this is, I just want AC to work.
After a lot of back and forth phone calls, was able to finally get some headway. Ford Dealer says he can fix system, but can't do it as a "Warranty" repair, meaning someone has to pay for the repairs. Thor is saying OK, just have the Ford Dealer bill us. Ford Dealer is saying, if we fix it, we need to get paid upon completion, we are not going to bill then wait to get paid. What a cluster *&$^. I finally say, look just fix the AC ill pay, and sue Thor if I have to get reimbursed. Turn out after all the posturing and back and forth, system was out of Freon, just needed to be charged. Ford Dealer did so as a "covered warranty" repair.
With AC fixed, now we can get all the pre-trip stuff done. First thing up, installing brake controller, 7 pin plug, and new hitch. Ford puts the quick connect plug on the steering column, so installing the controller is very easy. Installing the 7 pin connector, this is not so easy. Ford runs all the wires necessary to hook up brake controller & 7 pin plug, Thor however in their wisdom decides that we the consumer does not need a 7 pin connector which is a standard on every pickup & trailer made now a days, so Thor cuts Ford's factor wiring off prior to the hitch in the back of MH. Was able to find the Ford wiring, and was able to extend it to back of MH and installed 7 pin connector. Have zero idea why Thor cuts this wiring short, because they don't cut all the wires, just the Brake wire, they keep 4 of the wires in place (RT, LFT, Running, Ground). The cost to Thor to put a 7 pin connector in lieu of the 4 pin connector is zero, so why not go with 7 pin which pretty much every trailer comes with.
Generator motor has 25 hours on it, so decide to change oil before our trip so don't have to worry about it while on trip.
Finally all rigged up, we hit the road. First day, we put in about 400 miles, zero problems. Generator runs sweet for entire duration of drive.
Day 2, we leave RV park early and hit the road, 10 miles down road, Generator quits running. NO luck getting it to restart. At first fuel stop, check oil, etc. All is well but generator will not run while driving down the road. So while driving down the road, 104 degress outside, coach is very hot and no interior power. We are once again on the phone with Thor. No surprises here, Thor says its not our problem, we need to contact Onan.
We are on the phone with Onan, they say we need to go to one of their authorized service centers. Since we are on the road enroute to YNP, the odds of us finding a dealer is pretty slim. We call all the ones we could find along the way, they are all busy and none say they can have it fixed or even look at it on the same day we bring it in, all say it will take them a few days to look at and or repair. Basically, were screwed.
Fortunately, I was able to find out in another forum, that several ACE owners are having same problems we are having. Several of us have been trying several different trouble shooting methods in an effort to solve the mystery. We end up getting to our destination this day and got all set up. Since I am a very good mechanic, I figure would give it a shot fixing generator myself. Turn generator on, it runs fine, ran it for 2+ hours, zero problems. Now I am really scratching my head.
Next morning, we hit the road again, generator makes in maybe 10 minutes, then shuts down again. Since there are several us with this same problem, we are going all going back and forth with solutions and possible diagnosis of issues. Several others have pulled spark plugs, seems that most of the spark plugs are showing signs of over heating. I have not pulled my spark plug yet, but I concur that generator is getting way too hot. After several attempts to run generator while driving, with various loads each time, generator always shuts down after about 3 min of use. Looking at the generator placement, it is so close to engine/transmission/exhaust a clear picture starts to form. These Onan generators are used in a lot of MH's, and none seem to be haveing the same problems that ACE owners are having.
Since there is no shielding to protect generator from all heat created from driving, these generator already run hot by themselves, but having all the heat from MH increasing the temp/operating temp, it appears that these units are over heating. Some ACE owners are reporting bay door warping as a result of heat.
With no generator, traveling in this MH sucks bad. Kids are pissed, they have no XBox or TV, wife is pissed coach is hot, im getting pissed because everyone is pissed and complaining.
Other small issues, mirror above driver is pretty worthless, im 5'9" tall, and all i can see clearly is the ceiling, not sure how someone is supposed to use this as a conversation mirror.
Thor when they assembled the MH, neglected to attach one of the waste lines. Sewer line where comes out of coach, but prior to macerator pump was not attached. Was in place, but hose clamp was not tightened. My guess, assembly guy at Thor put hose on, but forgot to tighten hose clamp. First time after three days of MH use, we decide to dump while at Royal Gorge, CO. We pull the necessary handles, run macerator pump, etc., after a few minutes, we think we are now emprty. Walking from left side over to right side of MH, just before I step into coach, notice water dripping out of bay door next to coach door. I make the mistake of opening door.
A tidal wave of all that is nasty pours out of bay door. Turns out since waste line was unhooked, about half of waste filled entire bay full. Ended up with raw sewage all over me (shirt, shorts, shoes, etc.), boy did I stink. Get our water hose, hose out bay, clean everything up, find hose that was not connected, put on, tightened hose clamp, all appears well now. How do these guys not test this stuff before it leaves the factory?
Others have commented on pantry door, ours is very hard to open, so does not slide open like other have reported. However, our canned goods fall while traveling, and get stuck between pantry door and cabinet wall, so we can't open pantry door. We end up having to fish your arm in there and pull out can which is causing door to bind/pinch, then we can open door. This has happen pretty much every time we have driven, so going to have to figure out how to rig up something to prevent this from happening in future.
We did buy the silverware holder deal that was linked earlier in this thread (Target one). It does NOT FIT. Even if you take out the slide/extension part, does not fit. When we put it in the drawer, the drawer exploded, sides fell off and bottom fell out because the side are what holds bottom in place. Other than pissed at Thor's poor construction, was easy to fix. Got my nail gun & glue out, put drawer back together.
Sorry for the rant, but overall we like our MH, if had to do all over again, would still buy this MH.