2012 Thor ACE 29.2
- Thread starter Jan Stiskala
- Start date
The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an RV or an interest in RVing!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
OP
OP
Jan Stiskala
Well-known member
I hope you will enjoy like I do.
Team Whatever
New member
- Joined
- Jun 20, 2012
- Posts
- 2
We pick up our 29.2 tomorrow!! We've had our mind set on this unit for a few months and it's been helpful reading all of the discussions on this site. We'll report back after we have a chance to take a trip or two. Safe travels to all.
M & E
M & E
BCinTOR said:
I'm 5'2" and had a hard time during the test drive reaching the pedals. At this point, it is a deal killer for me. Could you explain your pedal extenders or show pics. How do they attach, where to purchase, etc. My dealer was talking about having the factory ( since we have to order it anyway) install a power seat with more forward movement. Haven't heard back so I don't know if he has found out anything about this possibility or not.
BCinTOR
Well-known member
These are the pedal extenders we bought: http://www.creativecontrolsinc.com/products/pedalmates.htm
Trek5 said:
Harry Joe
Active member
My wife and I just took delivery of a 2013 Thor 29.2. While driving the new unit back home the slide-out pantry kept sliding out. I put it in several times to no avail. I called Thor tech and he told me that the dealer needs to come up with a solution. The dealer said that they didn't have a solution. 2 rubber door stops jammed into the bottom doesn't always work. Anyone else have this problem and, maybe, a solution other that installing a big, ugly bolt latch?
The unit we test drove had that same problem. The pantry and the bedroom door kept opening during the drive. When we got back the dealer said those were easy adjustments. We purchased a different unit and it didn't have this problem. The pantry is actually quite stiff. Your dealer should be able to fix this. There is no reason it should slide out during travel. Have you tried calling camping world or giant recreation world to see if they can help?
Harry Joe
Active member
No, I just called my selling dealer (General RV in Wixom, MI). There's another a little closer that I'll try on Monday.
I'm also having trouble with the fact that the seats are not height adjustable--my wife's feet dangle over the seat edge. She drives it but with a big pillow behind her back and that doesn't inspire confident driving. I'm thinking of having about an inch and a half taken out of the seat column to lower it. That would make me more comfortable, too, as I'm 5'8" and don't feel as comfortable as I'd like. Anyone out there have the same problem and solved it?
I'm also having trouble with the fact that the seats are not height adjustable--my wife's feet dangle over the seat edge. She drives it but with a big pillow behind her back and that doesn't inspire confident driving. I'm thinking of having about an inch and a half taken out of the seat column to lower it. That would make me more comfortable, too, as I'm 5'8" and don't feel as comfortable as I'd like. Anyone out there have the same problem and solved it?
OP
OP
Jan Stiskala
Well-known member
Harry Joe said:
Yes Harry this is the problem with this slide out pantry. Good idea but not so good when slide out during the drive.
I sort it out with hook screwed inside pantry to side of the under sink cabinet and using brown ribbon to tie to handle of the pantry.
Our slide out pantry is also quite stiff. But our bedroom doors have been a problem time after time. First, we had to wait to take delivery because they needed to be fixed. Even then, when we did take delivery, the doors broke loose and my husband had to turn around before he left the lot to have them "fixed" again. This weekend we took our first trip and the doors broke loose again within an hour of our drive. We stopped at a Camping World along the way and they very graciously fixed them again, but he said it looked like a piece was missing and they may come loose again. They did. We want to take it back to the dealer next weekend to have them really fixed. It's annoying that the doors are getting banged up and have never worked properly.
Other than that though... we had a great first camping trip! Lots of fun and love the ACE! We put a thick memory foam matress pad on top of our bed (which also hangs over about 3 inches off the end making the bed longer.) It made the bed pretty comfortable and the kids had no complaint with their sleeping bags on the other beds.
Other than that though... we had a great first camping trip! Lots of fun and love the ACE! We put a thick memory foam matress pad on top of our bed (which also hangs over about 3 inches off the end making the bed longer.) It made the bed pretty comfortable and the kids had no complaint with their sleeping bags on the other beds.
Alfa38User
Well-known member
- Joined
- Oct 4, 2007
- Posts
- 6,678
The water pump switch is used to activate the pump to take water from your fresh water tank.
If you are hooked up, you don't need to turn it on !!! ;D
If you are hooked up, you don't need to turn it on !!! ;D
You can leave the water pump turned on when connected to campground water, but it won't run unless the campground water pressure drops below the pump turn on pressure. It won't do any harm to leave it on, but it mostly won't do anything 
We generally turn ours off (when we remember) when on the road so in the event of a leak developing we won't pump out all of our onboard water. We turn it on as needed.
We generally turn ours off (when we remember) when on the road so in the event of a leak developing we won't pump out all of our onboard water. We turn it on as needed.
BernieD
Well-known member
We always have our pump switched off when not dry camping or driving unless we are in a campground with low water pressure. Then we may turn it on when we take showers to improve the water flow.
I have wrestled with the rear bedroom sliding doors over and over. Part of the problem is that the track is made for a door jam that is level and they basically bent it around the curvature of the roof of the RV. That is one problem the other is that they are held on the bottom with really short screws in laminate wood so a hard bump or rocking of the RV just rips those little screws out everytime. I'm installing a velcro strap to hold the doors stowed tightly to prevent any jostling around.
My pantry is so tight there is absolutely no way that thing is sliding out, it takes the wife 2 hand and a groan to get it open
My pantry is so tight there is absolutely no way that thing is sliding out, it takes the wife 2 hand and a groan to get it open
DegoRed
Member
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.
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.
I am surprised to hear that your coach is so hot if you don't have the generator running the AC during travel. Once we get the thing cooled down we turn the generator & AC off b/c the front AC keeps us quite cool. We were freezing the dogs out during travel when we kept the AC running.
Sorry to hear about all your troubles. We had quite a few things happen on our first trip and it wasn't easy getting them fixed. We were told this would happen though. Everyone said when you buy a brand new RV expect problems the first year. Knock on wood we are doing good now.
Sorry to hear about all your troubles. We had quite a few things happen on our first trip and it wasn't easy getting them fixed. We were told this would happen though. Everyone said when you buy a brand new RV expect problems the first year. Knock on wood we are doing good now.
OP
OP
Jan Stiskala
Well-known member
I must say that I also have no problems like this. Sorry to hear about your troubles.
I also went to Camping world dealer on the road and they fix my pantry door that pantry is tight and don't slide out.
I have problem with bedroom doors and they adjusted the door so they stai latched during the trip.
All my problems was fixed under warranty. I still hear occasionally squeak behind my head during the slide movement when driving. But that is not all the time. I think that this is common and I have to live with that.
Over all, I would make same purchase again. Happy with my Thor.
Dego Red if I can ask? do you have 2012 model of ACE 29.2 or 2013 model?
Cheers Jan
I also went to Camping world dealer on the road and they fix my pantry door that pantry is tight and don't slide out.
I have problem with bedroom doors and they adjusted the door so they stai latched during the trip.
All my problems was fixed under warranty. I still hear occasionally squeak behind my head during the slide movement when driving. But that is not all the time. I think that this is common and I have to live with that.
Over all, I would make same purchase again. Happy with my Thor.
Dego Red if I can ask? do you have 2012 model of ACE 29.2 or 2013 model?
Cheers Jan
