Thor Majestic 23A

[Malone]

Hi there-

Any thoughts or comments on 2015 Thor Majestic 23a please?

Were they made specifically for Cruise America? They seem to differ from 23U.

How do they drive on dirt roads?

We are looking at one for sale by a local rental company. 111,000 miles.

Thanks for any input!

[pnichols]

klutchdust wrote:

RCMAN46 wrote:

ndrorder wrote:
Chevy vs Ford chassis will make a difference on how it handles dirt roads.

In what way will it make a differance if it is a Ford vs Chevrolet?

This should be interesting.

It's simple whether Ford or Chevy is the best chassis to be under a motorhome's coach: Which one is best is the one that has the most facilities throughout the areas where you plan to travel - that will do unexpected repairs when on your RV trips."

It's a no-brainer. 🙂

P.S. I chose a Ford E450 to be transporting our Class C's coach.

[klutchdust]

RCMAN46 wrote:

ndrorder wrote:
Chevy vs Ford chassis will make a difference on how it handles dirt roads.

In what way will it make a differance if it is a Ford vs Chevrolet?

This should be interesting.

[RCMAN46]

ndrorder wrote:
Chevy vs Ford chassis will make a difference on how it handles dirt roads.

In what way will it make a differance if it is a Ford vs Chevrolet?

[mikebreeze]

I have had a Majestic 23A for 9 years now. It's a 2006, had 136,000 miles when I bought it in 2012, has 153,000 now. I've taken it to 5 different states, over 100 campgrounds and have had, up untill just recently, minimal issues.

I haven't taken mine off road but I have driven on some dicey roads. It has handled well and dust inside the rig has not been an issue. This year I have had some major repairs done to it such as headers and rear brakes. I'm also going to have to have the stairs repaired/replaced and the generator serviced soon. My goal is to get 10 years out of it and either buy a newer rig or get out of RV'ing.

[PatJ]

We have a 2019 23H "Freedom Elite" which is Camping World's version of the Thor 23U, which we purchased new in 4/2019.

We have many miles on gravel roads and very well maintained dirt roads with no issues. I do not think this unit would do well at all on soft dirt/sand roads, mud, or even slightly off-camber. I see an issue with overhang and clearance, even though this is a relatively short rig with a proportional wheelbase it is still relatively low compared to a (CC/LB) pickup. Tail dragging being the biggest weakness IMO. I don't see how brand could affect its handling or capability assuming length and wheelbase being equal (minus an optional locking differential or something, which as far as I'm aware no class C manufacturer offers.) My Ford chassis has F and R sway bars standard.

This is my third RV and by far the tightest so dust hasn't been a major issue for me so far. But pnichols' thoughts on dust mitigation are definitely worth considering and we will for sure be trying that in the future.

[pnichols]

Malone wrote:
Hi there-

Any thoughts or comments on 2015 Thor Majestic 23a please?

Were they made specifically for Cruise America? They seem to differ from 23U.

How do they drive on dirt roads?

We are looking at one for sale by a local rental company. 111,000 miles.

Thanks for any input!

We don't have a Thor Class C. Ours is 24 foot Itasca (made by Winnebago) Class C that we take slowly and carefully on dirt roads.

Remember that unlike much lighter 4X4 "offroad" vehicles, a Class C has way better dry surface traction on it's rear drive tires due to the raw weight back there. Of course on wet/slippery road surfaces, both a Class C and 4X4 vehicles can slip and slide around, plus get buried up to their axles.

We have installed larger than stock diameter tires on our Class C in order to provide more ground clearance on dirt roads. We cross road washout areas as much as possible at an angle in order to prevent rear tail dragging.

It's easy to keep the interior clean when on dirt roads: Keep the cab heating/cooling system set to "interior" air flow so only inside air is recirculated - with no outside air being drawn in. Keep all windows and roof vents closed - except for one roof vent with a reversible vent fan in it. Set this fan to blow in on low speed. This sets up and maintains a slight pressure in the coach interior so that no road dust can enter any small holes and cracks anywhere - this works like a champ because (nearly) no outside air is actually brought in because everything is closed up. (What little air is actually brought in due to leakage out holes and cracks is clean air from up high above the roof.) The fan is merely "trying" to force air in, so what results is the maintaining of a slight amount of air pressure in the interior at all times.

[Booner]

There is so much information on the Majestic 23A in the thread IAMICHABOD referred to, as well as other Cruise America models, that I highly recommend you read. The thread should put most of your fears of buying a used rv with plenty of miles on them to rest.

My 23A from CA had 128,000 on the odometer and I haven't had any problem worth mentioning. I did replace the shocks and steering stabilizer on it as my first major purchase, and I would recommend you do the same. I also added a wireless backup camera because you have a huge blind spot behind the unit.

re: driving on gravel roads-
You're driving a big, overweight vehicle on a rough surface so take you time and avoid thinking it's capable of off-road use. The biggest problem I've encountered is dust getting into the unit. How the unit is attached to the subframe leaves a lot of gaps that the dust will find a way into. I've spent plenty of time underneath the unit plugging these gaps with caulking, expanding foam, and spray on truck bed liner. I've eliminated most of the gaps and the dust incursion is almost nil. This is a fairly typical problem of most rv's, but I think it's time well spent.

The 23A is a base level RV, and I'm good with that. I have no problems recommending a former CA rental to anyone, the miles on the unit don't bother me. The engine and chassis on these units are good for 1/2 million miles if they are maintained, and in my opinion, the rental companies do a better job of maintaining them than a private owner.

[ndrorder]

Chevy vs Ford chassis will make a difference on how it handles dirt roads.

[IAMICHABOD]

You may have a lot of your questions answered about the Majestic by asking on the Former Rental Owners thread,there are many many Majestic owners there that would help.

Click Here for that thread.

[bobndot]

X2, limited ground clearance is the only issue I have driving on dirt.

Hard-pack dirt is fine if its a maintained road without unfilled potholes. If the road is wet and muddy you have to remember its not a 4x4. Don't get yourself stuck in the middle of nowhere without cell service or a sat phone.

My 'C' is a 24' model and I need to be aware of steep dips on some roads, dirt or paved. The long rear overhang behind the rear axle can sometimes drag if the conditions are steep enough, like some driveway aprons.

[DrewE]

All the "Majestic" models are ex-Cruise America (or possibly Cruise Canada) models, made to their specifications. They may be similar to other models, of course, but will differ in various details.

Driving on dirt roads should be not much different from most any other model with similar weight, length, and wheelbase (on the same chassis). They may tend to hold up a bit better to vibration and shaking, being built somewhat more sturdily than some others, but of course that has to be balanced against the amount of use that they've already had. Generally speaking, maintained dirt roads should not be a problem if driven at appropriately slow speeds and if there are not low overhanging tree branches. Off-road trails requiring four wheel drive are, of course, an entirely different matter, and a standard class C motorhome is definitely not the vehicle of choice there.