thor is a big company with several rv manufacturers under their umbrella, sort of like when GM used to make saturn, pontiac, olds, chevy, etc. I think coachman and four winds are two brands under the thor umbrella. in the economic donwturn of 2008, a lot of manufacturers either went out of business or were bought up by larger companies like Thor. For more info there is an RV review guide u can get off the net. Its a little expensive but gives a good overview of the various manufacturers and their reviews. i dont have any financial interest in the rv review book. U can just type in RV motorhome reviews in the search engine and it should come up.
Specifically the ACE is a smaller class a which was made popular in Europe. You can now get class A's 30 ft or less in diesel, gas, or on a class B sprinter chassis. For a family though, I prefer a class C.
sjn7708 wrote: remember bunkbeds have a weight limit of about 100 lbs so kids will outgrow. I think a class c has more sleeping room. I didnt want the bunks because I was afraid my kids would roll out of the top bunk and fall out. same with the cabover area. I like the u dinette because as opposed to a reg dinette, the u dinette will actually sleep an adult when folded down to a bed. the reg dinette and the standard couch will usually only sleep kids or small adults. my wife and daughter sleep in the rear queen bed. my son and i sleep on the dinette or in the cabover. dont beleive what the manufacturer or salesman says about how many people a unit will sleep. get in each sleep area and lay down and see who fits where
sjn7708 wrote: remember bunkbeds have a weight limit of about 100 lbs so kids will outgrow. I think a class c has more sleeping room. I didnt want the bunks because I was afraid my kids would roll out of the top bunk and fall out. same with the cabover area. I like the u dinette because as opposed to a reg dinette, the u dinette will actually sleep an adult when folded down to a bed. the reg dinette and the standard couch will usually only sleep kids or small adults. my wife and daughter sleep in the rear queen bed. my son and i sleep on the dinette or in the cabover. dont beleive what the manufacturer or salesman says about how many people a unit will sleep. get in each sleep area and lay down and see who fits where
We are the lucky owners of a 2012 Thor ACE 29.2 and love it!
We have had many RVs over the years from a PUP to travel trailer and our last one was a Class C.
We have 2 kids 7 and 12 and have to say the ACE has more room than we need. I cannot speak about the 29.1 floor plan but our 29.2 has so much room when open. The slide is huge and opens up the entire coach.
We would never go back to a Class C. The Class A gives us so much more room with every inch of floor space available. With a class C you lose the front cab and engine area. Class A gives you use of all space and 2 extra seats that spin in the front.
The ACE is only 1 foot longer than our Class C but we have so much more room and feel very open and uncramped. Traveling is great, especially for the driver. The leg room does not even compare to the cramped Class C and the visibility while on the road is much greater. The handling is also an improvement.
The front bunk can remain down while traveling if you need or want to keep the bed made all the time, but we chose to keep it up and the kids use sleeping bags. It takes 2 minutes to set up the bed.
Having owned both and having kids of my own and traveling quite a bit (including to Florida and back every winter from Rhode Island) we would say definately go with the ACE. The price is right (right around $70K) and it is a great coach with so many great features for families.
2012 Thor ACE 29.2
SOLD-2006 Jayco Greyhawk 27DS
Towing 2006 Honda Odyssey Touring Edition
on a MasterTow 80HDS
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