2006 Coachman Class C-Good choice?? Help!

[rv1000]

???  Looking at Class C motorhomes in the Length of 24 to 27'.  Coachman seems to have the best frame extentions of all brands inspected.  The floor plans seem to fit our liking.  I am concerned about the quality of a Coachman vs a Winnebago or Itasca. I have seen a few things in Coachman units that were not right, such as cabinets that aren't match evenly to adjacent panels.
  We are looking at the 2006 models with the Ford V-10 (3 valve) and 5 speed trans. PLEASE let me know anything Good or Bad.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

I have no personal experience with Coachman, but they are not renowned for fit & finish or quality of materials.  They generally target the low-price market and have to economize somewhere.  On the plus side, I haven't heard of any unusual problems either.

Personally I would be more inclined towards the Winnebago/Itasca products or perhaps one of the Fleetwood C's, a Gulfstream or a Bigfoot.  If your budget can handle it, a Lazy Days is probably the premier brand and Born Free close behind. These cost more, but you can usually recover a portion of it later when trading or selling.

 

[Wendy]

We had a 24' Coachman Class C for almost 15 years. It was what we could afford when we bought it and it was a floorplan we liked. And in 15 years, the only problems we had weren't related to Coachman....refrigerator (Dometic) leaked and stained the wood beneath, generator (Onan) went out and needed a $400 part, threw a fan belt 1/4-mile short of Eisenhower tunnel, dent in side where we were attacked by a grocery cart, etc. We didn't get a lot when we sold it earlier this year ($5,000) but it had 150,000 miles on it and we live in the middle of nowhere. If I had had my way, we'd still have it but Mike wanted something newer and bigger and I do love the Winnebago.

Wendy

 

[kendall]

My Brother bought a new class "B" coachmen and he hates it. I've never heard a good word about Coachmen from anyone.

 

[rv1000]

Thanks for all the input.  After looking around and visiting many coaches, there is a clear difference in quality, fit and finish of the C-Classes. Winnebago or Itasca, both equal in quality and made by the same company, rise above there others. Next would be Fleetwood Products (C-class) seem to have there very good points and quality fit and finish seem relatively good.  Coachman and Jayco failing the fit and finish area poorly.  Coachman does do several thing right, they are: frame extentions are top notch so if towing is important and quality second, this would be the coach.  Extensions are welded onto the standard chassis and match the same size as the rails.  All other C-class frame extensions that I have seen have smaller c-channel welded to the 6" main frame channel.  All of the Jaycos that we inspected had many areas of side panel bubbling.  The fiberglass shows many areas that are very rough. All of the decals were blistered and bubbled.  Here in So. Cal it has been very hot lately but none of the other coaches brands showed this condition.  In all, my conclusion is that the feedback from you all that responded to my inquiry, gave GOOD, SOLID ADVICE.  Thanks again for you help.

This comparison only dealt with c-classes that were priced in our range of $50k to $75K.

 

[Terry A. Brewer]

>>This comparison only dealt with c-classes that were priced in our range of $50k to $75K.<<


In that price range you should also look at Lazy daze, unless you want slides. They are built & sold in the Montclair area? http://lazydaze.com/.


Terry
At Clark Fork, ID

 

[RobR]

After several years of research and consideration, we recently (two months ago) replaced our '92 Fleetwood Jamboree (22.5ft Class C) with a Lazy Daze 26.5 Mid Bath. For us, the paramount consideration was quality. We had nightmares with leaks on our Fleetwood; it was a major issue on an ongoing basis. We did extensive research and found that Lazy Daze stood head and shoulders over the rest of the pack in quality. Check out customer review web sites; I couldn't find a bad review about LD. RV Consumer group rates it very highly. The company is somewhat staid in its ways. They feel strongly they know how to build the best RV and will tell you to buy elsewhere if you ask them to violate their tenets that yeild quality. Things such as basements, slide outs, roof pods, etc.; they simply won't do. LD is also one of the few manufacturers that pays VERY close attention to weight - total and distribution. You won't be over weight the minute you fill the tanks and climb aboard.