Coachmen quality?

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zorro623 last posted on Aug 11, 2009 and hasn't been heard from since. 

Probably bought the Coachmen and possibly never had a problem that he would have to ask for help on. 

 
We owned a 1999, 31' Coachman Santara Class C for 18 years.  It served my family well over those years and took us on many vacations and was great for all of our out of town sports events.  In retrospect there were a few things that were not as well made as i would like, but I never knew anything better, not having owned any other RV. I patched my roof to avoid leaks and remember my manual jack falling apart once while driving, but otherwise I think that the things that failed could have failed in any RV, including dead coach batteries, tire blowouts, brush failure in the generator.  I paid relatively little for this and when I went to sell it last year I had 6 people anxious to buy it.  I sold it in less than 24 hours.

My Itasca has many features that this Coachman never had, fancier toilets and many things seem to be better made, but when i comes down to how it was made it still made from rather flimsy materials.  There are many more electronic systems than have higher complexity for added convenience, and to better help me find and avoid problems, but in the end this RV also has things going wiring with it just like that Coachman.
 
Wow.. An OLD OLD post resurfaces... LOL
You can add us to the list of satisfied Coachmen owners (traded it in on our Outlaw)

Ours was a older (1994) 31 foot class A Santana with Chevy 454 motor.
We got it with under 50k miles on it and drove it for almost 3 years and it had 100,000 miles on it when we traded it in.
Like any MH of that age it had a few problems now and then, but for the most part we were very happy with it and we loved the layout
of it and got complements on it from many other owners.
  Yep, no fancy countertops or high dollar fixtures, but it was a good solid platform and served us well for what we intended its use.
MH's are not like houses.. They get used and depreciate...  Why spend tons of money more that will not work any better and will still go down in
value.
  Would I buy a Coachmen again ?  Yep in a heartbeat..

Bob
 
Quality in an RV is always a difficult discussion. They ALL suffer from random assembly line defects, regardless of brand or price. And many models have design shortcomings, either due to lack of foresight or expediency during the manufacturing process. And then there are the differences in materials and workmanship that derive from the price point the rig will sell at.  That latter is where the mid and higher end models usually come out ahead, but they can and do still suffer from the other two areas of shortcomings.

Quality is also somewhat a matter of perception. Some people may find inexpensive cabinetry or flooring objectionable, while others will never notice it. And lesser quality materials may still hold up for many if the usage is light duty, especially with good care.

Coachmen models have gravitated to the low end of the retail price range, and that inevitably means some skimping in materials, cabinet work, wiring and plumbing, at least in comparison to higher priced brands. That doesn't make them bad, but there will be differences other than just fewer amenities. In fact, in new rigs the superficial amenities will be very much alike their more expensive cousins, since few builders want to skimp on visible things the buyer can easily notice.
 
Love, love, love our Coachmen!  Through no fault of the motorhome, ours is up for sale.  It will be a sad day when it leaves our family. 
 
This past December 2016 we purchased a 2005 Coachmen Santara 3690ts.  20K miles on it.
Granted we haven't traveled much in it yet  (600 miles).  But thus far we love it.

What we like:
1)  Full body paint makes it look like a more expensive DP.  Ours doubles as a mobile unit for our media and it shows extremely well.
2)  Layout with walk thru bath and double slides in king bedroom is great.
3)  Lots of storage.
4)  Chevy 8.1 vortec is easy to get serviced at many garages.
5)  Interior was dated so we installed new vinyl plank wood flooring in galley and some back splash.  Looks fantastic.

Things that make us go hmmm...
1)  Plumbing controls on exterior switch system somewhat confusing.
2)  No stereo speakers in front cab/dash. (I'm fixing this by installing a/b switch and new spkrs under dash.)

You can see our Coachmen on our Facebook page at "RV Life With Team Ferrell"
For our needs and budget we needed a class A in the $30-40K range and the Santara was the best unit we could find at the time.
Sure there were and are things that needed updated or repaired but none was Coachmen's fault.

Coachmen service has been good to work with over the phone.  The dealer who sold it new in 2005 has also been good to help us over the phone.  I'm impressed with that since we didn't even purchase from him but  he knows the rig well.

I think in the end the keys are:
  1)  purchasing in a range you are comfortable.
  2)  Good manufacturer support  (even after warranty)
  3)  Good dealer support (new or  used)
  4)  purchasing a unit that fits your needs.
Edit: Link in profile.
 

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