Tech says coachmen it dog poop

[Wonder05]

Ok, I figured I post this here since you Would know more.

My parents were going to look at a used Chapparel lite 2016 28bhs
Or possible other coachman
But they went to a dealer (not the one with this rv but others)
They have coachman freedom express Se they showed 2019. As they only carry those and clipper and pop ups
But then ...

Well I’ll just copy and paste from here.
“The technician we are confident in the technician and was their technician who is responsible for them... he told us which ones are real crap trailers and showed us some slide info to watch for too.

It’s wasn’t an independent who strolled on the lot he was there to answer technical questions that sales people are clueless about

He recommended steering away from coachman as he and his coworkers refer to them as dog s..t. With the picture of the dog on their trailers”
He spent a good hour
Impressed my parents who don’t know anything about trailers.

Now red flags go up. What Rv dealer can spare a tech? Aren’t they very busy?


And my parents are hounding me this morning. Two Keystone trailers.
New 2820bh Summerland 2018
And a Used 2016 hideout 28bh.

[Wobbles]

Keep shopping... Keep shopping... Keep shopping...

[Flybob]

Originally Posted by Wonder05

Well I’ll just copy and paste from here.
“The technician we are confident in the technician and was their technician who is responsible for them... he told us which ones are real crap trailers and showed us some slide info to watch for too.

.

The RV industry is experiencing a growth period they can not keep up with and as a result there are bound to be some issues with any new RV. I would not put a lot of faith in what this guy said as most dealers have an agenda and will tell you anything to get your $. If the used unit they are looking for is in good shape, they might be happier with it as many of the issues should already have been worked out. Don't count on warranty on new units to be your savior as service centers are backed up and your new toy could sit on the dealer's lot all summer waiting for repairs.

If your parents have not joined the forum, I suggest they do then do some research and familiarize themselves with what to look for and what questions to ask. If you go into this uninformed you could be disappointed.

A few pointers for them.
Research online before going to a dealer
Ask questions here years of experience.
Do not sign anything until you go home and think about it.
Research the towing capabilities of your proposed tow vehicle
Many dealers will lie to make a sale.
If you can find someone in the area that has experience, ask them to look at the unit with you



I have a 4yr old Coachmen FE and have never had any issues.

[wmtire]

Originally Posted by Wonder05

Well I’ll just copy and paste from here.
“The technician we are confident in the technician and was their technician who is responsible for them... he told us which ones are real crap trailers and showed us some slide info to watch for too.

It’s wasn’t an independent who strolled on the lot he was there to answer technical questions that sales people are clueless about

He recommended steering away from coachman as he and his coworkers refer to them as dog s..t. With the picture of the dog on their trailers”
He spent a good hour
Impressed my parents who don’t know anything about trailers.

Now red flags go up. What Rv dealer can spare a tech? Aren’t they very busy?

Yeah, I am kinda with you on that one. What dealer has a tech free for an hour just to try to make a sell (It would be different if it was after the sale and doing a PDI). That sounds likes a salesman job, and makes me wonder if this guy is a salesman working in coordinated effort with the others.

[youroo]

Wonder05 is this the same 29BHS that You were looking at on 6-1-18? Now your parents are buying it? I thought you All "4 Adults and 3 kids" were going to use this unit? Youroo!!

[Kf4mnc]

Originally Posted by Wonder05

Ok, I figured I post this here since you Would know more.

My parents were going to look at a used Chapparel lite 2016 28bhs
Or possible other coachman
But they went to a dealer (not the one with this rv but others)
They have coachman freedom express Se they showed 2019. As they only carry those and clipper and pop ups
But then ...

Well I’ll just copy and paste from here.
“The technician we are confident in the technician and was their technician who is responsible for them... he told us which ones are real crap trailers and showed us some slide info to watch for too.

It’s wasn’t an independent who strolled on the lot he was there to answer technical questions that sales people are clueless about

He recommended steering away from coachman as he and his coworkers refer to them as dog s..t. With the picture of the dog on their trailers”
He spent a good hour
Impressed my parents who don’t know anything about trailers.

Now red flags go up. What Rv dealer can spare a tech? Aren’t they very busy?


And my parents are hounding me this morning. Two Keystone trailers.
New 2820bh Summerland 2018
And a Used 2016 hideout 28bh.

I am not sure what you are copying and pasting from, but if that was sent to me from a shop, I would have more questions. It is hard to make sense of what was typed.

As with the other posts. If the only way they can make a sale is to talk down the other brands, that isn't the place I would want to buy from.

I will also add, I have a Coachmen Catalina. It has had its fair share of problems, but I also have 30K+ miles on it as well. Which I would argue is more than the average RVer who doesn't full time, and/or is retired puts on their rig in 5 years. The biggest issues I have had are 1) a bubbling roof, which in hindsight, I probably should have left alone. 2) Cracked from at all 4 leaf spring hangers. The roof was fixed under warranty while on the road, and the frame I took to a frame shop and had them reinforce it. Time will tell.

All that said, buy what you like and expect things to break. Campers are not like brick and stick houses. They do not gain value over time. They are depreciating assets, and buying anything expecting anymore is setting one up for failure.

[Wonder05]

Sorry, the copy and paste was the part in quotations were from my parents.

My dad has now informed me this was their open house they do annually . They are number 1 in the state. He said he even pointed out problems to look for in the keystones as well.
I’m like 90 day warranty seems worthless if your going to go on a waiting list.

29bhs was a Jayco

No it’s not the used chapparel lite. They haven’t went to look at that

Dad is kind of against fifth wheels because the loss of truck bed space, height too high for going past trees? And of course cost.
Used would be the only way they could go fifth wheel.

It’s the keystone hideout 28bhs 2018
They liked a 28bhbe Jayco 2018 and are looking at similar with u dinette and bunks.

[Wonder05]

Originally Posted by youroo

Wonder05 is this the same 29BHS that You were looking at on 6-1-18? Now your parents are buying it? I thought you All "4 Adults and 3 kids" were going to use this unit? Youroo!!

That’s the chaparral lite 29bhs used 2016 which they haven’t looked at and yes, it’s 4 adults and three children under 6.
Kids would gladly play in their bunks (they saw the double and climbed right in and they loved them of course. They haven’t even went to look at it as dad worries that fifth wheels are too high to camp locally (pa) cause of trees. And how it might effect the truck bed. And cost

[lazyjj]

I own a 2016 Coachmen 28BHS. From the time I purchased in July 2015 until one year warranty expired it went back 2 dealer 7 times. It went back once after warranty expired to have AC replaced under Domestic warranty for the second time. Got all issues resolved and never was without trailer for more than a week. I have a good relationship with the service manager and trust him. Saying that I also owned a used Keystone and the decals flaked away like snow as well as other minor issues. They are all similar in build time and quality. Built way too quickly and when you look across brands the equipment used and the materials are pretty much the same. Unless you can spend 120,000 for a custom rig built to your specs then you cannot expect much more for your money. Owner ship of an RV is not for the faint of heart. It also helps to have a little bit of do it yourself ability. They are a lot of fun but require a lot of maintenance to keep up.

[Jim in Halifax]

My last TT was a Coachman purchased in Ottawa, Ontario,Canada during a family visit and had it for two years...Traded for a 5er!!!!... never had to have any work done by any dealer during those 2 years!!!!!!

[Lacrosse40]

It first try was a voucher freedom express. LEMON! The sets of Windows and still leaked, damaged floor and walls. Coachmen was not helpful and Just said they would replace the windows again. Don't walk, RUN away from all Coachmen products!

11 payments and we traded it for a primetime lacrosse.

[ResQfrog]

Sounds like a Keystone person giving them a sales pitch. Did that person tell them they all use the same component manufacturer. So if Coachmen slides are bad so are theirs. Lippert components sells to almost all the builders under several different names that they have purchased over the last several years.

[Mr. Dan]

Originally Posted by Lacrosse40

It first try was a voucher freedom express. LEMON! The sets of Windows and still leaked, damaged floor and walls. Coachmen was not helpful and Just said they would replace the windows again. Don't walk, RUN away from all Coachmen products!

11 payments and we traded it for a primetime lacrosse.

Can you explain what you mean by the two highlighted things? We're not following.

[Wonder05]

Originally Posted by Mr. Dan

Can you explain what you mean by the two highlighted things? We're not following.

I was wondering that myself. Yes, please explain.

[Lacrosse40]

I hate spell check. Not sure why it's highlighted.....

Our first TT was a Coachmen freedom express. LEMON! Three sets of Windows and it still leaked, damaged the floor and walls.

[slottere]

Originally Posted by Wonder05

Ok, I figured I post this here since you Would know more.

My parents were going to look at a used Chapparel lite 2016 28bhs
Or possible other coachman
But they went to a dealer (not the one with this rv but others)
They have coachman freedom express Se they showed 2019. As they only carry those and clipper and pop ups
But then ...

Well I’ll just copy and paste from here.
“The technician we are confident in the technician and was their technician who is responsible for them... he told us which ones are real crap trailers and showed us some slide info to watch for too.

It’s wasn’t an independent who strolled on the lot he was there to answer technical questions that sales people are clueless about

He recommended steering away from coachman as he and his coworkers refer to them as dog s..t. With the picture of the dog on their trailers”
He spent a good hour
Impressed my parents who don’t know anything about trailers.

Now red flags go up. What Rv dealer can spare a tech? Aren’t they very busy?


And my parents are hounding me this morning. Two Keystone trailers.
New 2820bh Summerland 2018
And a Used 2016 hideout 28bh.

I hate to be a skeptic, but this poorly worded slam on Coachmen from a Keystone owner seems a bit suspect. We just returned another trouble-free three-week trip (& 2,300 miles) in our 2016 Coachmen Apex 249RBS. Is it perfect? No. Do I have to check systems & make tweaks/adjustments? Sure! Would I buy another Coachmen Apex? Absolutely!

I appreciate hearing thoughtful perspectives from FR owners on this forum about legitimate compliments or complaints. However, throwing Coachmen products "under the bus" because some tech's alleged offhand comments appears unwarranted here.

[brandon 2]

Techs and Dealers who bad mouth another produce are bad news. They have no manners and are only interested in their own self interests. Talk to other owners is the best and see what, if any issues they had.


We have no use for people who use intimidation to make a sale. This is a disgusting sales tactic.


Brandon 2

[formerFR]

early in 2014, when we announced we were buying an 'RV' and going full-time, my Dad made a simple, but profound statement: "just don't buy a Coachmen, they are not built very well"...

well, guess what? the FIRST ClassA RV we looked at and seriously considered buying was a Forest River Coachmen Mirada! It was a terrific coach, looked good, and had the amenities I thought we were looking for. While we didn't eventually purchase that coach, I've transported several different Mirada and Mirada Selects from the factory near Bristol, IN to dealers in TN and GA, and really love the fact that Coachmen has apparently come 'a long ways' from those 'less than desireable' 70' and 80's that my father remembers and is stuck on. He apparently has not seen the 'new' models!

[d50erock]

I love our 2017 312BHDS FE LE. Only back to the dealer once for new front decals that were peeling. If I had it covered over the winter that year I am sure it wouldn't have happened. My 1st Coachmen was a 1966 Citation and that too was a tank and I had no complaints, so as far as my personal experience goes I can only say great things about Coachmen. One thing to consider is most of the equipment installed is not Coachmen built. Structure, fit and finish is what Coachmen does.

[DreiHunde]

Very happy with our Coachmen and plan on buying another. This fall hopefully.