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Thor Compass 23TE AWD Class C RV review

Tony Barthel

Today’s RV review is of the 2023 Thor Compass 23TE Class B. This relatively compact Class C RV answers a lot of the questions I’ve gotten from you and is a nifty package at just 23’ 7” in total length. It also feature all-wheel-drive and the various things that elevate a motorhome slightly above a typical camper van. 

But there are also some significant down sides as well. Let’s take a look. 

Thor Compass 23TE

Based on the Ford Transit AWD chassis, the Compass line actually comes in three sizes with the 23TE being the smallest in the lineup. This motorhome features a single slide room that incorporates a Murphy bed at night and couch by day. 

I like the fact that Thor purposely put wood slats under the bed to prevent that space from getting mold. This also improves the sleeping experience in the bed so it has two benefits. 

Being a Class B RV this rig offers a number of things you wouldn’t be likely to find in a towable RV. For example, it comes with a 4Kw gasoline generator. But many towables nowadays come with a 12 volt refrigerator whereas I’m seeing propane-electric fridges or, even worse, residential refrigerators in motorized rigs. 

Fortunately Thor has chosen a 12 volt refrigeration system here and done a really interesting thing. Instead of one big box for both refrigerator and freezer, this unit has a 12 volt refrigerator only and then a 12 volt drawer-style freezer. This is certainly an unusual way to accomplish this and I think I like it. 

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Advantages

When you look at the overall size of this rig it should fit well into a standard parking space or into someone’s driveway. I like that - you can moochdock in a friend’s driveway or stay in just about any state or national park campground. 

The size also makes it very maneuverable - it’s shorter than some full-sized pickups. But you get all the stuff you’d expect in a motorhome. 

There’s a full kitchen and a really great bathroom. 

Kitchen

The kitchen stretches along the camp side of this coach and has a surprisingly decent amount of counter space. The counter is in two heights with a lower section being where there’s also a TV on a televator. I like this solution quite a bit and Thor has placed it directly across from the couch and the bed. 

Depending on your cooking style you may love or dislike this kitchen. It features a two-burner propane cooktop and a convection microwave. There’s no traditional oven but that’s not a bad thing. 

While it may be a disadvantage not to have a propane oven in some RVs, it would be less so here as there’s a gasoline generator aboard as well. This would also make-up for the fact that there’s a scant 100 watts of solar on the roof. I doubt that that would make up for the consumption of both the refrigerator and the freezer which are separate units. 

But you can top off the batteries with the generator so it’s not that big a deal, really. 

On the road side is that fridge and freezer combination along with a rather large cabinet space. You could use this as a pantry or a closet but you would have to decide. 

There’s also a decent amount of overhead cabinets and all of those have an adjustable shelf in them, so I would say storage space isn’t bad at all for a rig of this size. 

Sleeping/sitting

I know that just the thought of a Murphy bed is going to put off a good number of campers. To make matters worse, it’s an RV queen-sized mattress measuring 60” X 74” (a traditional queen-sized bed is 60” X 80”). Depending on your height, that could be a bummer. 

As for the Murphy bed we had one in our first Rockwood Mini Lite and we didn’t mind it at all. Our solution was to put an RV Super Bag on it. These aren’t inexpensive but we’ve had ours now for six years and it literally looks as good as the day we bought it. 

I like how Thor has put this Murphy bed arrangement together. There bed doesn’t have to fold in half so you could put a mattress more to your taste. We put a GhostBed RV mattress in ours and like it so much we wanted one for our house. 

Thor also uses a base for the bed that is comprised of numerous curved wooden springs. This does two things - it makes the bed much more comfortable but also allows for airflow under the mattress so that mold doesn’t build-up there. I really, really like this solution. 

Check out our article on the RV Super Bag

Check out our article on the Ghost Bed RV mattress. 

During the day there’s a couch in the space and converting from sit to sleep is really simple. Just take off a couple of back cushions and pull the bed down. Done. Easy. 

That couch is also where you’ll be eating and there’s a table that mounts to a pole mount in the floor. I wish there were two Lagun-style tables instead, but there aren’t. At least the pole tables are reasonably stable. 

Across from the couch/bed is a TV on a televator and I also really like this solution. 

Another plus is that the televator and most of the other functions and information about the RV can be found in one place. Well, two really. There’s an information panel at the entryway where you can control the lighting, the televator, the climate control and get tank readings. 

You can also link this to your smart phone or tablet so all that functionality can also be in the palm of your hand. You could be in bed, raise up the TV, turn down the lights and you’re set. Heck, you could be on the toilet and raise up the TV and turn down the lights if that’s your thing. 

Bathroom

And since I brought up the bathroom, sort of, know that the bathroom in this rig spans the width of the back of the camper. It’s a remarkably large and very spacious bathroom, especially considering the size of this camper. I like the shower curtain with the bowed rod and the layout of the whole space is really good. You could actually change clothes in here. 

Another nifty thing is that this rig comes with a tankless water heater. The advantage of those is that, as long as there’s water and propane, you’ve got hot water. So rather than be limited to six gallons of hot water, the supply is relatively endless. That means two people can take showers in succession. 

There’s also plenty of space around the toilet, which is a plus. Especially if you’re fiddling with your phone and controlling the lights and such. But there’s a down side. 

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Challenges

A few things bothered me about this rig. Since we were just in the bathroom, let’s start there with a plastic toilet. Come on, Thor, this is a $150,000 rig. You can do better. Plastic toilets are so entry level. 

While I’m complaining, know that the slide room in this uses a Schwintek mechanism. While there are plenty of people in plenty of places complaining about this type of system, I don’t think they’re inherently bad. 

But you can get them out of time if you open the mechanism part-way instead of extending the slide the whole way in one shot. I think with the Murphy bed in there some campers might feel the need to only extend the slide room part-way and that’s not a good thing. 

Also, the bed cannot be lowered when the slide room is in. Well, you could lower it but you’re going to damage the cabinetry opposite the bed. So no stealth mooch docking in here - if you’re sleeping the slide room is extended, period. 

I think it’s plain dumb that the driver and passenger seats don’t swivel to face the interior of this rig. It would be great to sit at the couch and have a couple of guests in the front seats and in so, so many of this type of rig that’s possible. Not here. That’s quite an epic fail, Thor. 

Conclusions

A few more things I like about this rig include the armless awning. While most awnings have arms that extend down the side of the coach, this one does not. Again, this points to a higher-end coach which is then completely negated by that lousy plastic toilet and the seats that don’t swivel. 

Another nifty thing about that awning are the lights which are in the arms themselves. This is a great solution. 

Another big plus is the warranty on this which is six years on the lamination. That’s very generous. 

Compared to most Class B RVs I would snap this up in a heartbeat. This offers more features, more space yet almost the same drivability as a Class B. It is a bit wider, but not ridiculously so. You could easily park in a normal parking space while you’re at the grocery store. 

Another good thing is that everything, but the bed, is accessible with the slide room in. So you can take the groceries and put them into the fridge with the slide in. You can also access the kitchen and the bathroom as well. 

With a few minor changes this could easily become one of my favorite little Class C motorhomes. There’s so much right with this rig, but the things that aren’t are such glaring omissions that it would be simple for Thor to resolve them. 

Also know that if your local dealer doesn’t have the Thor Compass the Thor Gemini is effectively the same rig.

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