Kodiak 290 BHSL VS Freedom Express 292BHDS

[Bill and Cheryl]

We are debating between the Kodiak 290BHSL and the Coachmen Freedom Express 292BHDS.  Does anyone have any comments on either of these?  We want something around 33 feet long, that is less than 10'9" tall, and have narrowed it down to these two.  Our concern with the Kodiak is the terrible bunk mattresses: probably only an inch thick.  Since there will be adults sleeping there sometimes, this won't work, and replacing them looks like an expensive option.  Our concern with the Coachmen is it's now owned by Forest River, and we aren't especially impressed with our current Forest River Rockwood, so are uncertain if we want to go this route, either.  Would appreciate any comments on either of these two trailers.  Thanks!

Bill and Cheryl

 

[ChristineB]

We just picked up our new 2013 Coachmen Freedom Express 292BHDS (last Thursday)!  We love it!!!  It is the perfect floorplan for us.
I just looked at some pictures of the Dutchmen Kodiak 290 BHSL and the floorplans are very similar. But its not really fair to compare the one I saw online to mine because the dealer is the one that chooses the options or upgrades to put in it. We looked at a 292BHDS at a different dealer a month ago and it had a jack knife sofa which I didn't want but the one we bought has a full sofa bed. 
I learned from reading posts on this site, that basically they are all built the same and they all have the same third-party components like refrigerators, furnaces, air conditioning, etc.  And warranties are in place to look after the big and little things of the trailer; the main thing is the floorplan!
Good luck with your purchase!!  Let us know what you get.

 

[Bill and Cheryl]

Thanks, Christine.  Right now we are leaning towards the Freedom Express; we looked at one on Saturday (Liberty edition) and it is really nice.  It has the sofa hide-a-bed, and the outdoor kitchen. When we started looking, my husband thought the outdoor kitchens were a waste.  Now he likes the bigger one on the FE rather than the smaller one on the Kodiak.  And our son said, "why don't you look for one without any kitchen? All we ever eat there is breakfast anyway." 
Are the bunk mattresses decent enough that adults could comfortably sleep there?  Assuming we WANT to bring along our smart-aleck kids, anyway, lol?

 

[ChristineB]

Hi Cheryl, the outdoor kitchen was a MUST on our list. We had a 2011 Coleman pop up that had an outdoor stove and we used it ALL the time. I probably only used the inside stove once. I like the large sink and the large faucet too (not something that all brands have; some have tiny sinks and bathroom-sized faucets).  My husband loves the outdoor kitchen - we call it the "Man-Kitchen". He has already loaded it up with paper plates and plastic cups and cutlery!!  He loves the idea of the beer and canned pop in it's own fridge - no more messing around with coolers and ice!!!  One thing about ours is that it came with a Coleman portable barbeque which we don't need, so just tonight we went out and bought a Coleman portable stove to put in the place of the barbecue.
Funny you ask about the mattresses on the bunk beds because the mattress we had in our popup was awful (I didn't realize how bad it was going to be when it was brand new), so for the bunks, I will unzip them and take a look at the foam and make sure it is ok.  This wasn't a show stopper for us because I found a really good foam shop that I was going to get to replace my Coleman mattress with and if I need to replace them later, I will; but for now, for young grand kids, they are fine.
The weight restriction on the top bunks in the FE is lower than some other brands.  It is 220 pounds while other brands range from 200 to 300 pounds. Again, not a show stopper because they will be for our grand kids, but my son-in-law already laughed that he can't sleep in the upper bunks. I think he was happy about that!
Good luck with your decision. Let us know what you get!!

 

[Bill and Cheryl]

Christine, I love the "Man Kitchen" term; it's the perfect description!  I think the bigger outside fridge is one of the selling points of the FE; it will free up some space in the indoor fridge when all the drinks are outside!  I like the idea of adding a Coleman stove instead of the grill, also.  Bill likes to cook breakfast when we camp but makes a mess:  with the Man Kitchen, it will all be outside.  I noticed the lower weight limit on the bunks, but that's not an issue, my husband is the only one who won't fit.  I'm thinking I might end up there if his snoring drives me crazy, though!  We are going to look at it again tomorow.  I've looked at every onlin video and photo I can find, and it looks like the bunk mattreses are reasonably thick.  Now to find out if we cn fit our granddaughter's play pen between the bunks!

 

[summersquash]

We have a new 2013 Kodiak.  We like the layout and how easy it is to hook to and set up, but sadly we have had lots of issues with the construction.  We would not buy another Kodiak.

 

[Marc L]

If you always camp with power, a 2 burner electric hot plate is a nice alternative instead of the coleman stove.

 

[TTtravelin]

We purchased the 2013 Freedom Express 292BHDS this month and took it to Yellowstone for about a two week vacation.  There are definitely things I like about it.  The sliding hard doors on the bedroom are nice and we like the decor.  We also like that it has the highest rating of air quality for low formaldehyde and VOC's by the TRA Certification especially since we have an infant and didn't want to worry about air quality on vacation.

On the negative, it only has three bunks due to the size of the outdoor kitchen and we have four children.  It would be really nice to have four bunks so that everyone can have their stuff out of the way.  We put the infant in a bassinet in the sleeping area on the dinette but with naps it seemed like things were always in the way.  A fourth bunk would have been really nice.  Also the Outside Kitchen didn't seem like it needed all that space.  We had plenty of cupboard space and the refrigerator was good size but it didn't really need to be, especially because the refrigerator only runs on 110.  It seems like they would at least make it run on 110 and 12 volt as well, so you could utilize the space while you were going down the road.  The sink faucet head was also to close to the edge of the sink so that anyone trying to wash their hands would get water on the counter top between the faucet and edge of sink.  Poor design but I can change this item out for a different faucet with a head that extends farther.

Overall we like the trailer but would trade out the larger outside kitchen for the half size Kodiak kitchen in order to get room for a fourth bunk.  I like what I have seen of the Kodiak but they wouldn't give me any assurance on indoor air quality.  I am interested to know what problems the person that posted earlier with the Kodiak had that made you not want to own one.  Also would consider trading for a Kodiak if it has four bunks. Let me know.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Your refrigerator works on LP gas as well as 120v electric, providing a means to keep food cold when traveling or parked without access to shore power. You probably do not have sufficient battery capacity to run a  fridge for very long on 12v power - it would take a lot of juice to do that!

 

[Marshall212]

We purchased the Kodiak 290BHSL and love it. We have had no problems. It is a 2013 model and we have used it for about 6 months now. I would have no difficulty in recommending this model.