Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 11-15-2016, 02:49 PM   #1
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2016
Posts: 8
Thumbs up New 2017 and-a-HALF Coachmen Mirada 35BH

I am pretty sure we have literally the very first 2017-1/2 that came off the assembly line. That could either be good or bad. We've had it three weeks and have taken it on a local shake-down camp-out. All is well other than some VERY minor issues such as trim that came loose.

Here's the story leading up to buying this rig:

We shopped for about 4 months. During that time, we narrowed the search to Class A, then to a bunkhouse (we love to take the grandkids along), then to the Coachmen Mirada 35BH (we love the bath-and-a-half and the huge rear shower). Winnebago/Itasca has a very similar model, but it's quite a bit more expensive and we liked the look of the Coachmen better. We also like the Azdel well construction on the Coachmen. Although we liked the 2017 Mirada 35BH model, it had some minor issues that bugged us.

In talking to our local dealer, we found out that Coachmen decided to make some mid-year 2017 changes. He told us that he was going to the factory in a week and would come back with pictures and specs. He did just that! He had several pictures of one about three-quarters through assembly. He also gave us a partially completed new brochure. We were excited to see that they had addressed pretty much all of our "wants".

A greatly improved dashboard with a quick access top cover
Improved doghouse look and design with better soundproofing
A better-looking and improved design for the co-pilot computer tray
Wrap around co-pilot armrest with integrated A/C vent
A better choice (in our opinion) of exterior colors
Improved design on the couch
LED light strip under the awning
Metal cover over the awning

Those are all pretty minor things, but we decided to wait for the 2017-1/2 so we could get them. We were told that the first one would not be available until late November and would be shown exclusively at the November 28 to December 1 National RV Trade Show in Kentucky. Only after that would it be distributed to dealers. We saw online that MHSRV had a bunch on order, but they told us they would not receive any until after that show. We decided not to place the order quite yet.

Living in Southern CA, we decided to go to the Pomona RV show in October just for fun. We went on opening day. Boy were we stunned to see a new 2017-1/2 Coachmen Mirada 35BH sitting at the Dennis Dillon RV display. I don't know how they pulled that one off. Not only that, it was the EXACT colors and configuration that we would have ordered:

Full Body paint in "Mist" (new colors - blue, black, gray & white)
Stonewash interior fabric pallet
Dark "Cappuccino Cherry" wood
Drop down loft bed
Stainless Package which provides an 18 cu ft residential fridge
1000w Inverter with 6V batteries for the refrigerator
Auto-start for the generator
Upgraded front A/C to 15,000 BTU with heat pump

We had not gone to the show expecting to buy anything, but they told us the display unit was for sale and they were willing to deal, so we decided to negotiate a bit and see if we could get close to the price we wanted. Thankfully, we had done our homework and knew the best deal we could get on the original 2017, so then it was just a matter of how much more the 2017-1/2 was going to cost.

The negotiation went very quickly. We told them the price we wanted. They said "No". We said, "Then we'll just wait and order one". They said, "Hold on a minute, we'll check." THE Dennis Dillon walked up, introduced himself, said "Well, this one's going to hurt a bit, but congratulations!" as he signed the paperwork for the deal. We agreed to let them keep it for the rest of the show. They put a sign in the window that it was sold to us. We picked it up a few days after the show.
MailManX is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-15-2016, 07:35 PM   #2
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Western New York
Posts: 1,331
Congratulations on the new coach and enjoy. Hope to peek at the new models when I go and pick ours up at the factory service center. Was in a hurry to get back home on the drop off trip.
__________________
2014 Coachmen Pursuit 31BDP
2016 Ford C-Max Energi
1987 Chrysler LeBaron Convertible
FROG Member
FMCA Member #F438633 - Good Sam Life Member
Coachmens Owners Group Member
ResQfrog is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-15-2016, 07:47 PM   #3
Senior Member
 
crunchman12001's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Chagrin Falls, Ohio
Posts: 3,225
Congrats on your new rig. Enjoy.
__________________
2017 Salem Villa Estate 395RET-
2011 Coachmen Freedom Express 295RLDS- Sold
2015 F-250 FX4
crunchman12001 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-15-2016, 08:39 PM   #4
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2016
Posts: 8
PDF File of Paritally Completed Coachmen Brochure for Late 2017

Here is the file the local dealer obtained for me from the factory showing a bit of what to expect in the new models. It is a quick look at changes to the Pursuit, Mirada, Select and Sportscoach

http://www.preyerplanning.com/Coachm...-RVIA-SHOW.pdf

I found it interesting that the dash from the earlier 2017 Mirada is now being used on the Pursuit.

NOTE: The new dash picture for the Mirada shows the wrong seats. In fact, that picture is actually of the Select. The Mirada dash is the same as the Select. The Mirada seats, however, are the 2-tone seats from earlier in 2017.

Another interesting tidbit is that I've seen a few Mirada's advertised at dealers across the US that are a "mixture" of new and old with only SOME of the upgrades that ours got. If you are shopping for a 2017 or 2017-1/2, be wary of that. Apparently they are using up some stock with this mix-and-match method.
MailManX is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-17-2016, 11:56 AM   #5
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2016
Posts: 8
Photos of 2017 1/2 Mirada 35BH (PART 1)

Finally, here are some pictures of the coach that I took while it was on display at the Pomona RV show.




























MailManX is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-17-2016, 12:00 PM   #6
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2016
Posts: 8
Pictures of 2017-1/2 Mirada 35BH (PART 2)
















MailManX is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-17-2016, 12:05 PM   #7
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2016
Posts: 8
Pictures of 2017 and a half Mirada 35BH (PART 3)



















MailManX is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-17-2016, 12:10 PM   #8
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2016
Posts: 8
MODERATOR - Please Move to Coachmen MOTORHOME Section

MODERATOR REQUEST:

Please move this post to the Coachmen motorhome section. Due to a slip of the finger, I posted this motorhome in the trailer section.

THANKS!
MailManX is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
coachmen

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Forest River, Inc. or any of its affiliates. This is an independent, unofficial site.



All times are GMT -5. The time now is 12:50 AM.