2013 Thor Majestic: Drive Review, Part 2

Here's Part 2 of our RV adventure.

On the road again...just can't wait to be.... Photo: Cruise America

Royalty. Photos: REVolution

The interior was superb. The back bed, which was about queen-sized with a corner taken out of it to ease access to the bathroom and back sink, was very comfortable. It was covered in vinyl, so you didn’t get the privilege of sharing whatever previous renters left for you. But it was so high and there was a step that our puppies couldn’t jump up on it with us. That’s interesting considering how tall (they are) and capable jumpers they were. The dinette, which has four of the seven seatbelts, was folded down immediately, covered in sheets and blankets and made into two kennels for the dogs, kept apart by a separator that I made. It was perfect. That left a small bench that we piled our coats, leashes and other brick-a-brack on. There was no other seating and we’d just sort of perch somewhere when we ate inside. It wasn’t bad and it wasn’t uncomfortable. But the 30-footer that Cruise America would have allowed us a complete couch in place of that single seat, which might have been a tad more comfy. Still, I’d rather give up the five feet in overall length. There were also two dog beds on the floor, which made walking a bit tricky and I cut a board that we slid over the side entry step well. That was definitely worth the effort and eased our fears of the dogs accidentally falling down it. The floor was covered in soft, spongy, fake wood, vinyl and I can’t imagine anything else. We covered the floor with non-slip rugs and that’s exactly what I’d want in a motorhome that was ours. It made cleanup a breeze and once again you didn’t worry about who was in there before you and what sort of fungus was now among us.

You know you're having a good time when you spread all of your stuff all over the place.

No fault of the RV itself, the bathroom sucked (the door behind her in the picture above). It was extremely tight quarters, aggravated by the fact that the toilet was raised up off the floor on a step about 5 inches, most likely to clear the black water tank. It worked fine, but it was really uncomfortable to use (the room, dimension-wise) so we put a solid step stool (ha ha – I just wrote the words solid and stool), which helped. But then the roof was too low and the two stupid towel racks mounted to the wall in front of you were positioned perfectly to smash you one way or another. Were it ours, we’d get rid of those racks and toilet, remove the step and install a self-contained toilet (composting or otherwise). We didn’t attempt the shower; it looked doable but had yet another step up that would have meant even less headroom. I like the RV bathrooms where the toilet is sitting on the floor of the shower (yes, it gets wet but that won’t hurt it). That saves space that can be devoted to a roomier, uh, room. If you’re limber, a smaller person and a bit of a contortionist, the bathroom in our RV was okay. But if not, you better make sure you can use it without doing serious injury to yourself.

We never really used the kitchen appliances, the generator or the propane. If you’re living out of one of these, I can see how all of these would be essential and welcome. But there are so many alternative, self-contained alternatives to these appliances that I don’t think that’s the route I’d choose to take. I’d rather have a self-contained toilet that didn’t require emptying the black water tanks or dealing with an on-board propane storage tank. With what the research I’ve done has shown me, there are easily installed devices that would be easier to maintain, be completely off the grid (hook-ups of any sort not required) and they aren’t even all that costly. But we’re more about short-term vacations, so the need for the more hefty hitting stuff seems unnecessary and overkill. Score another point for building my own motorhome.