first motorhome
Hi all, I am in the process of buying my first RV. We plan on using it 1-2 times per month if we're lucky. We can afford max of ~$45K and are looking at 26' - 31' 2005 and newer (has to have Ford p...
Forum Discussion
We bought a 2007 Coachmen Freelander in Feb 2010. I think the Leprechaun is supposed to be a level above that one? Ours was new from dealer having sat for several years. That concerned us, but it came with the original Chevy and Coachmen warranties and we felt the price was right so we bought it. We were dead set on this particular model that was only made for one year, so we were comparing across several available throughout the country at that time (never found one locally). This particular unit had the fabric we preferred and was probably easiest to get to for us (it was in Indiana), so that factored into the decision as well.
We knew we were buying an entry level unit, but we wanted the floor plan (and appreciated the "entry level" lack of carpet for camping w/two big dogs!). We wanted the Chevy front and had plans to store it inside so while the "perfect" roof would be nice (is there really such a thing on an RV?), we valued the floor plan and chassis above everything else since that's what was going to make it comfortable and therefore fun for us.
In terms of quality, we've found some dumb/sloppy things like screws rolling around in empty areas (like the dead space for electrical wiring beneath cabinets); or when we open up an area (e.g. remove all the drawers or take out a panel that wasn't intended to be removed) we find sawdust.
We had some pipes shake loose and start to leak. This is the first RV I've personally owned, so I don't know if that's a standard thing to keep an eye on due to the rigors of driving a house down the road or not.
We had a crack in the ceramic ignitor shield for the furnace that kept it from working correctly (and was tough to diagnose), but it seems like that's the furnace manufacturer, not Coachmen.
We had one weird thing with the chassis that I probably won't describe correctly, but it was essentially to do with the drive shaft being extended when the frame was stretched. It caused a scary rubbing/grinding sound that took a while to sort out (and DH is the one who ultimately fixed it).
I'm trying to think if we've had anything just flat our break or that's really disappointed us. I can't think of anything...
Other than the above, what we've changed has been to suit our preferences. And we've been REALLY happy with our coach. We sealed everything up pretty much right away, but after reading practically everything on this forum for several years before purchasing, I would have done that no matter which brand we settled on. We went into this expecting that our DIY skills would likely be handy and they have been. I wouldn't want an RV if I thought I couldn't diagnose/fix 80%+ of unexpected occurrences (unless I was rich and had all the time in the world, I suppose). Despite that, most of what we've done has been add-ons, not fixes.
We knew we were buying an entry level unit, but we wanted the floor plan (and appreciated the "entry level" lack of carpet for camping w/two big dogs!). We wanted the Chevy front and had plans to store it inside so while the "perfect" roof would be nice (is there really such a thing on an RV?), we valued the floor plan and chassis above everything else since that's what was going to make it comfortable and therefore fun for us.
In terms of quality, we've found some dumb/sloppy things like screws rolling around in empty areas (like the dead space for electrical wiring beneath cabinets); or when we open up an area (e.g. remove all the drawers or take out a panel that wasn't intended to be removed) we find sawdust.
We had some pipes shake loose and start to leak. This is the first RV I've personally owned, so I don't know if that's a standard thing to keep an eye on due to the rigors of driving a house down the road or not.
We had a crack in the ceramic ignitor shield for the furnace that kept it from working correctly (and was tough to diagnose), but it seems like that's the furnace manufacturer, not Coachmen.
We had one weird thing with the chassis that I probably won't describe correctly, but it was essentially to do with the drive shaft being extended when the frame was stretched. It caused a scary rubbing/grinding sound that took a while to sort out (and DH is the one who ultimately fixed it).
I'm trying to think if we've had anything just flat our break or that's really disappointed us. I can't think of anything...
Other than the above, what we've changed has been to suit our preferences. And we've been REALLY happy with our coach. We sealed everything up pretty much right away, but after reading practically everything on this forum for several years before purchasing, I would have done that no matter which brand we settled on. We went into this expecting that our DIY skills would likely be handy and they have been. I wouldn't want an RV if I thought I couldn't diagnose/fix 80%+ of unexpected occurrences (unless I was rich and had all the time in the world, I suppose). Despite that, most of what we've done has been add-ons, not fixes.
