Question about Coachmen and its Forest River Connections

[Toddavid]

Curious to see that Coachmen is not a brand listed on the Forest River main webpage.

But when you go to the Coachmen site, it states that it is a division of Forest River.

How does the warranty service work? Do I need to bring the unit to a Coachmen dealer, or can anyone in the Forest River dealer network handle warranty?

Todd

[ekrus]

Coachmen is listed on the Forest River homepage (forestriverinc.com) --
first entry in the "Recreational" column. As to getting warranty service, your first step should be to contact the dealer where you bought it.

Hope this helps,

[wmtire]

Originally Posted by Toddavid

Curious to see that Coachmen is not a brand listed on the Forest River main webpage.

But when you go to the Coachmen site, it states that it is a division of Forest River.

How does the warranty service work? Do I need to bring the unit to a Coachmen dealer, or can anyone in the Forest River dealer network handle warranty?

Todd

It's possible you were searching the Forest River RV site and not the Forest River Inc one.

I know it's confusing but Forest River RV is a subsidiary of Forest River Inc.

Coachmen is also a subsidiary of Forest River Inc....but not Forest River RV.

This link will show you the Forest River Inc subsidiaries.....including Forest River RV, Dynamax, Shasta, Prime Time, Palomino, and Coachmen.

http://www.forestriverinc.com/recrea..._vehicles.aspx

[Toddavid]

Originally Posted by wmtire

It's possible you were searching the Forest River RV site and not the Forest River Inc one.

I know it's confusing but Forest River RV is a subsidiary of Forest River Inc.

Coachmen is also a subsidiary of Forest River Inc....but not Forest River RV.

This link will show you the Forest River Inc subsidiaries.....including Forest River RV, Dynamax, Shasta, Prime Time, Palomino, and Coachmen.

Forest River Inc., A Berkshire Hathaway Company | RVs, Park Models Trailers, Commercial Buses, Commercial Trailers, Pontoons

Indeed I was! I was looking at Fifth Wheels linked to this page, and did not see Coachmen:

Fifth Wheels by Forest River - Forest River, Inc.

Thanks for the clarification.

So, what's the chain of command on warranty service, if my local Forest River dealer does not sell Coachmen?

[glsimms]

And sadly, we Coachmen owners are not eligible for FRs 2nd year warranty option......

[jking46]

And sadly, dealers are not obligated to perform warranty work on units sold by another dealer. Best bet is to contact your selling dealer.

[Wilco]

You might contact Coachmen RV - Manufacturer of Travel Trailers - Fifth Wheels - Tent Campers - Motorhomes and see if they can answer your question.

[Dixiedawg80]

I'll second Wilco. I had some warranty questions and found the folks at the factory to be super!

[frankraney]

Coachman was bought out by Dr back in 2012 or 13. Coachman was going broke because of bad production....F had always been a top rated unit, and hopefully will get Coachman a good name again. I bought a Coachman in 2013 and had some problems with it and worked with Joe at Dr service and got things fixed..... Been a great unit for me.

[Kenz]

I believe the sale was closer to 2007-2009. My 2011 Coachmen Northridge was littered with forest river paperwork. And I second the warranty info. Local dealer didn't have what we wanted, so bought from dealer 3 hours away. Local dealer would not do any warranty work as I did not purchase from them. Nothing like the auto industry.

[bikendan]

FR acquired Coachmen late 2008/early 2009.

[Crabman]

Originally Posted by bikendan

FR acquired Coachmen late 2008/early 2009.

Yes that's when they were bought out and I think like many others they were a victim of the financial crisis more then anything else. Those were very lean years for the RV industry, layoffs were common and plants were shuttered.

[Kenz]

Yes it was a product of industry turn down. If I remember right, there was only one family member on the board and she retired. They decided to sell off the mobile home and rv divisions and focus on a handicap accessible van concept. Not sure it flew or not. Not sure if the original rv business would of survived or not on its own, but it's name and history made it a desirable purchase. The cool thing that FR did was leave it as is own business, operating under the forest river corporation. Whether the Shasta and Georgie Boy brands stayed under the coachmen brand or are strictly FR I don't know.

[slottere]

Not sure about who's responsible for what but bought a 2016 Coachmen Apex 249RBS from Carolina RV in Myrtle Beach & have nothing but good things to say about the unit & the dealer.