Coachmen Freedom Express 246RKS

Flatfoot-Rogue wrote:
I quote Coachman's web site about Aluminum framing for the 2016/17 line up and you show a pic and talk about an older model.. Hmmmmmm That like saying that a 2015 F150 is the same as a 2016 F150 because they both are made by FORD and say F150 and will have all the same body issues. We all know that that is not true as the 2015 is steel construction and the 2016 Aluminum so they can't and will not have the same body issues. The OP asked about a NEW 2016 Coachman. Coachman is saying that their NEW trailers starting in 2016 and moving forward have an Aluminum Cage construction so who cares about the problems that their wood cage construction had. If you don't like this explanation take it up with Coachman, They are the ones stating that they are changing their manufacturing process.

My 2014 Freedom Express does have a full aluminum cage frame so where you're getting the idea it doesn't or that that new 2017s are significantly different construction that earlier models is a mystery. :h I just returned from a visit to "my computer guy" for an issue I was having with my MacBook Pro and since I was passing right by my Coachmen dealer on the way home I dropped in and spoke to the same tech who had pulled the original wall off a 2014 Freedom shown in the pic I posted yesterday. As luck would have it that trailer was still in the shop as the tech had since installed the new replacement wall and allowed it to sit overnight for the adhesive to dry before reinstalling all the trim today. I examined the original wall and can tell you it definitely was luan wood with a fiberglass bonded to it ... AND the new replacement wall which was shipped from 2017 stock just last week was exactly the same. You can disagree all you want but I saw both these 2014 and 2017 walls with my own eyes and they are not Azdel and the framing to which the wall panel is affixed are wood studs. Logically it would make sense that Azdel could be an improvement Coachmen could make with the rear wall but the tech said there's no way it could be used on the front wall as Azdel just won't bend that much without cracking. FWIW, this same tech replaced an Azdel side wall last summer on a Freedom and unlike the end or front walls the side walls are a complete assembly - outer fiberglass skin bonded to Azdel, that composite panel is affixed to the aluminum sidewall frame assembly with insulation between the framing (of which there is very little), and the interior wall paneling affixed to the framing. The entire assembly goes in as one piece - a major job, unlike replacing the rear or front walls which are just a composite skin of fiberglass and wood glued to wood framing. Before I left I asked the tech to let me know when he might pull the rear (or front) wall off a 2017 Freedom and let me know if he notes any significant differences, which as of now he says he has no reason to believe there is.