Thor Motor Coach Compass 23TB reviews

I lived in this unit for 3 months while we traveled and visited family. The Ford element of this model is, by far and hands down, the best experience I could have had. It handled like a dream in rain, ice and snow. The motor is amazing. The dependability of the unit totally surprised me. It is an amazing vehicle. We loved it. The only area of critique is the way they build them inside to save weight. It makes for a little flimsier experience. You need to be careful. It does start to get small, but you find your rhythm AND it isn't a Class B which is twice the price and even smaller. This unit parks almost anywhere. I had a spare tire mount and bike rack on the back. I would pull into a Pilot, etc. and find a spot with grass on the drivers side and room to back over in the rear and put out the slide. Slept well and was comfortable. A little overkill on the TVs but we used the sleeper one with a Roku stick. Worked beautifully. Overall, this unit comes highly recommended. I am very pleased with our choice and now that we are selling, am sad to see it go. Show less

Bought this unit brand new. Could fill a page with all that has gone wrong or just did not work. It is so sad that the quality of work is so poor. I really cannot believe there is any quality control on there units. Parts used, such as bathroom sink, tv switch control, bed slates, etc are just the cheapest money can buy. My unit had spent way too much time in the shop during the first year. Look elsewhere Show less

Well we have owned our Compass for almost a year and it now has approximately 15,000 kms, so I believe it is safe for me to make a fair review of my first year's experience with our new purchase.I had done a fair bit of research before buying the Compass and therefore was aware of some of the negative comments made by some other owners about build quality. First as previously mentioned in other reviews, the Ford Transit Diesel Chassis and power train is awesome. The 3.2 diesel engine has lots of power and I have taken it through the Rocky Mountains and along the Western US sea board through Washington and Oregon and then through the midwest USA. It runs smoothly and combined with the perfect size and balance of the coach component, it handles extremely well in even windy conditions. On our month long road trip, it averaged 21 mpg (imperial gallon) for our whole journey. I was really pleased with that. One reason we downsized from our Airstream trailer was the need to find an RV that my wife would be comfortable operating. She is really happy with this purchase and feels comfortable driving it through larger cities and less than ideal weather conditions. Having two drivers, makes the longer road trips that much more comfortable. It is a nice size for parking in typical shopping mall parking lots and any campground we came across. We are a retired couple so the unit is reviewed from the perspective needs of two retirees. It isn't too large a unit, nor too small for our needs. The motor coach is really just a two person unit with a nice sized queen bed and a sofa bed that would be OK for two small children. The fridge is large enough for extended boondocking and bathroom is the right size for us. All of the major appliances worked 100% with no issues. We had a 200 watt solar panel installed , using the factory supplied harness and it works flawlessly. The floor plan is exactly what we were looking for. The coach component is what I expected in terms of quality build. To be fair, I was spoiled with the previous two Airstream trailers we owned which are also Thor products. So I was somewhat a little disappointed but not surprised with some of the quality control issues that would have avoided many little problems. We had some smaller warranty issues like failed cabinet drawer bearings, a staple through a wiring harness, doors that needed adjustment, missing caulking along the power awning, a missing TV cable outlet and improperly installed TV antennae and falling "Compass" decals. Having said that, I repaired many things myself and the ones that needed dealer service and Thor warranty were dealt with quickly and properly. Thor has not been a disappointment (yet) to authorize repairs on anything that I pointed out to the dealership. There are certainly better built RVs out there with more expensive materials but we are really happy with the value for price and the handling characteristics, economy and power of the Ford Transit 350 HD. For some reason, this RV does not come with a spare tire (and jack), so I had to purchase a spare tire and rim and a hitch mounted spare tire bracket after the fact. Would I buy a Thor Compass again? With the budget I wanted to set aside for such a purchase, the answer is yes. Next year we will be taking it to the Yukon and into Alaska on a month long trip, and I am having no reservations about taking it on such a trip. Show less

First the good, I absolutely love the Ford Transit HD 350 Turbo Diesel chassis. We have averaged 17 mpg overall and have driven through mountains with no trouble keeping up with traffic. The bad, Thor Motorcoach has by far the worst build quality I have ever experienced. We have had cabinet doors fall off, drawer bottoms fall out, blockage in one of the heat ducts that appears to be a bent piece of sheet metal, water pump and lines plugged by what appears to be plastic shavings from drilling holes in the holding tank, gray and black tank drain handles were switched, tank heaters are falling off, and there was a birds nest of wires hanging under the chassis. Next time it'll be back to the guys in Forrest City! Show less