Thor Motor Coach Compass Reviews on RV Insider (7)
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I've read a number of negative reviews about the Compass. Some have been constructive and helpful, and some have simply been vindictive. Now, I'm throwing my counter point into this ring, with a different perspective about the Compass and about RV ownership. On the Ford side of this equation, our Compass has been a home run. We love the Transit's smooth ride and the diesel's power and breaking when driving through the mountains. Fuel economy has been in the 13-14 mpg range consistently. It's a breeze to park, the transmission in manual mode is very helpful down steep inclines, the AC easily handles the nastiest summer heat and our bony asymmetrical senior citizen rears are not fatigued after hours of driving in it. We've had No issues, whatsoever. On the Thor side, it's also been very good and the rig is precisely what I expected it to be. I've owned several trailers and boats and I've scratch built and restored more than a few, so I understand how these things are built and why they are affordable for the average guy or gal to buy, and I haven't had one negative surprise yet with the Compass. Yes, I've zip tied wire harnesses under the coach, fixed a mud flap issue, re-set a few of the cabinet doors and tightened up 50 screws. Yes, I've removed ceiling AC vents and vac'd out the Styrofoam particles, I've traced a screwy ckt to a defective fuse block holder, and I've replaced an HDMI cable that was badly routed under the chassis by the factory. When I've called Thor, they have been responsive and accurate. > It's no big deal < That's a good attitude to have when you own any RV because it's a bucket of bolts that moves in formation down the highway, and sooner or later you're going to need a tool kit and a book to find the loose ones. Or plan on writing checks. I didn't pay six figures for it and I didn't expect it to be flawless, nor do I drive back to the dealer every time it squeaks. If you're looking to buy a RV, then by all means do your homework and download a check list and plan on spending a half-day or more inspecting it. But also be realistic about how these things are made and priced affordably and be prepared to do some basic maintenance on it. Try to keep your high expectations in check, and just learn to enjoy the work as part of the whole RV "thing". You might as well, because you won't escape it. The rest of my efforts on our Compass have been focused entirely on making fun improvements to it and tricking it out with electronics, communications gear and making some of its systems easier to work with. Right now I'm building a custom cargo carrier with 18 sq' of stowage and a slide out BBQ grill. Then I'm doing a makeover for better hose storage with faster hook ups. So I'm really quite satisfied with my informed purchase. It's a helluva a lot of fun, it's very reliable, it's affordable, we get compliments on it everywhere we go, it allows us to spend more time together and it all performs quite well. And that's what this is all about, getting out, enjoying a slice of life and getting home safely.

the concept is great, and my wife loves the floor plan. as for the "workmanship and quality control", they don't exist, the wiring under the unit was a mess,some of it wasn't hooked up,and some was to the wrong place. The mud flap was tied up with a plastic zip tie which was also holding up tail pipe for the generator, when the pipe got hot everything fell to the ground. the gray tank for the shower had the cut out piece at the top of tank fall in tank and ended up restricting the gate valve emptying the tank. the vent for the plumbing was restricted from working because some filings and putty were dropped in from the top making it impossible for the sinks to drain when both were full. the 7 way plug used when pulling a trailer was dangling by a wire, as was the propane hookup for a grill blowing in the wind, these are just a few the things I have addressed, dining room table great idea but total junk I completely overhauled it. I understand it is like an earth quake on the road things shake loose, I've had a number rvs', but I don't think I have ever seen kind of workmanship. I'm extremely disappointed. As far as the FORD TRANSIT goes, the motor is great power and mileage are super,however we are having lots of trouble with the exaust filter, we have been to 3 big FORD dealer ships, one of them we went to, made the comment this is the first one I've seen in an RV you are not supposed to let them idle with a "CHUCKLE". It is a lot of money to spend on something new for a good time, of 11000 miles in a year 3000 were a good time, we are seriously thinking about trading it in, talk about a waste of money!!!! Don't buy anything RV wise that has THOR on it, there is way too many of us having the same problems.

Just don't buy. We spent more time getting this unit fixed than we spent in it. Totally waste of our money and Thor does nothing. They don't even return calls. We ended up having to trade in after only 6 months at a loss of 20k. DO NOT BUY THOR.

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.

So many things have gone wrong with our motorcoach I am so dissatisfied and really upset. I feel that this company makes motorcoach with shoddy workmanship and then just passes it on the consumer we have a problem with our water trim falling off,slideout broken 3 times. have spent more time getting it fixed than on vacation. also trying to get an appointment to get your unit fixed is nearly impossible we had to wait 3 weeks one time an 19 days another. I want to cry. I feel we wasted so much of are hard earned money on this lemon. I really like the layout but the workman ship is so bad. no one wants to help at Thor because they can't because there is no one has any control. I know no one cares about our issues and writing this isn't going to help get my motorcoach fixed.

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!

We have had a lot of problems with our coach. It has been in the shop more than with us. In part due to dealer's poor process for warrenty work. We have owned 5 RV’s over the last 25 years and this is the worst for quality. Now it is out of warranty and we still have problems we will be paying for. You are told to take the coach to Ford for engine problems but most won’t work on a motor home. Not a unit I would recommend to any one.