Brookstone Lemon

[MissBHaven]

We too were excited about our new 2011 366RE Brookstone 5th wheel. However.....we made the big mistake of not going too far from home the first year we had it. The biggest mistake was buying this piece of junk....We did the usual stuff, checking everything we could out and handed in our list of things that needed to be repaired. This was the reason we didn't go too far from home with it.
At the time of the purchase of the 5th wheel, we also brought an extended warranty.
We had issues with the chairs that came with the unit, landing gear, vacuum cleaner, ceiling fan, outside speakers, TV in bedroom didn't work, microwave not vented to outside,livingroom TV installed too low (have to stand almost right over the TV for the remote to work, back up camera quit working, table was too long...getting damaged from the handles on kitchen cabinet when slide was in.
In August 2012, we went on a 3 month trip thinking that there shouldn't be any more problems. Boy....were we wrong. We had barely travelled into the States, when our tire monitor alarm went off. I am so glad that we had one of these as we could of had alot of damage done to the trailer or worse as we were travelling on the interstate. As it turns out....the aluminum rim had developed a crack causing a flat tire (less than 1000km on trailer). Another tire developed a large bubble on the inside sidewall....again we were saved by the tire monitor from any damage etc. This was also on a busy interstate highway.Found out that none of this was covered undered the extended warranty...only mechanical. We ended up replacing all of the original tires ...E rated (including the spare & rims) with G rated.
Landing gear motor started tripping breaker in remote control/switch panel every few inches of lift until it tripped permanently and would not reset...none of the switches work (landing gear, rear stabilizer, awning, slides. Had an RV Tech come to the campground, but he was unable to do anything.
Landing gear motor trips internal breaker as it overheats.
The Norcold fridge quit working and set off the "Li op" code. Had to call out another RV Tech who reset it. Told us that he has fixed lots with the same issue. That they are not installed correctly and cooling fans blowing air everywhere except where they should.
Propane valve makes a noise when the furnace is on....you can hear this inside the trailer. Also, could not get the propane from the drivers side tank.
The water pump will not draw water from the tank when between 1/2 and 1/3 full. It just runs continuously. Just told today from Woodys RV in Calgary that this is a design flaw. We just found out about this issue last week when we camped at a campground that didn't have water. We were told that if we had noticed it in the first year, it would of been covered under the warranty. They wanted $400.00 to fix it. Also....on this trip....the fridge quit again.We have complained twice to Coachman about some of these problems but have never even had a reply except to say it is out of warranty now too bad!. Coachman should have paid to have the defective stuff fixed. Trailer is in Woody's being repaired again, we are waiting to see what if anything is covered under the extended warranty or if the dealer has a concience and will repair any of it. Not holding our breath.
Will post an update when we find out.

Am I bitter about all this.....you bet....
Feel free to message us if you need more info.

[NC_Hauler]

Coachmen is a division of Forest River. I thought Coachmen went out of business, then Forest River purchased them....so who is responsible? Forest River or Coachmen? I had an 04' 37' Coachmen Somerset 3 slide that was great, had it for almost 3 years, it was a great 5er, but it was actually manufactured by Coachmen while they were still a separate entity, not affiliated with Forest River...not knocking Forest River, just curious as to who is really liable for the issues with the Brookstone.

[sandtsherman]

ddschuman wrote:
So far so good with our Coachmen. We have gone on long trips and short trips without any major issues. I think we will just knock on some wood and keep camping because we are plenty satisfied with our purchase at this time. I couldn't find anything good or bad when researching before purchasing and the model we bought just came out in 2013 so we will see. Sorry you are having such troubles. I hope you are able to get things resolved and can enjoy camping again.

We bought a Coachmen 327RLKS and it has been good so far.

[richfaa]

Won't make you feel better but that could be any brand..

[Bandaid]

Another disappointed Coachmen owner here. Our 2011 lemon has been back to the factory twice for warranty work and it still has problems. To date, the list is forty three problems and still growing. As the previous poster said, there is too much incentive to push units out the door and leave the problems to the dealers to fix. Very poor quality control at the factory!
Over the past three years, I have had to make repairs to the trailer every time we have gone out. One major problem was discovered by a Forest River dealer, who was doing warranty work right after our first trip. I had noted the bedroom slide did not appear to be aligned correctly. When they checked, they found the ram that operates it had twisted in it's mount, due to the jam nut not being tightened, causing a fitting to break and leak red transmission oil onto the carpet, under the bed. Had they not found this, it would have eventually ruined the carpet and leaked into the basement area! Fortunately, under warranty, they were able to have a professional come in and clean the carpet.
We also had a faulty aluminum rim on the rig. Someone, either at the factory, the driver who delivered it to the dealer, or the dealerships driver, who picked up the unit from the wrong dealership, put a can of stop leak into the tire. It did not hold/ stop the leak, as the wheel would loose up to fifteen pounds of air per day! The tire and rim were replaced and I had the old one repaired and now carry that as the spare.
Should I mention the black tank valve stuck open twice! Poor engineering on the part of Coachmen. Problem, trying to make a solid wire cable bend around a one inch radius corner! The valve was repositioned and problem was cured! Why can't the factory engineers figure this out

Bandaid?

[Winged_One]

Sorry to hear about your problems with your Brookstone. Ours has been good to us since we went through the typical teething of mass produced trailers.

Some of your issues are sub's related. Sub's that provide the same substandard equipment to almost all the manufacturers. Like our Comfort Air kitchen vent fan. Original and 2 replacements squeaked. We finally went with a Fantastic fan.

Others are definitely Coachmen quality issues. If you search, you will see my write up on visiting the Brookstone (and Chaparral) assembly line (after we had already purchased). Too much incentive to get it done fast and not enough quality control people. I hope you can get the issues worked out.

[blkdodge]

We were going to buy a Brookstone and after reading and talking to some folks that had them we decided against it. Trim, tank issues delamination just to name a few. McMahon's was another big deciding factor.

[ddschuman]

So far so good with our Coachmen. We have gone on long trips and short trips without any major issues. I think we will just knock on some wood and keep camping because we are plenty satisfied with our purchase at this time. I couldn't find anything good or bad when researching before purchasing and the model we bought just came out in 2013 so we will see. Sorry you are having such troubles. I hope you are able to get things resolved and can enjoy camping again.

[mwebber78]

elkabong wrote:
First trailer I ever bought was a Coachmen. If it hadn't been for duct tape and silicone, I would have left parts of that trailer over every state I where I traveled.
I swore I would never buy another Coachmen and have held to that promise. I am sorry for your problems, but also have to say I am glad to know I made the right decision.
Hang in the partner. And I hope you have a good dealer.

Ken

When I first started camping a decade ago I got some good advice from some more "sage" campers then myself and a few ex-dealers: stay the heck away from Coachmen and Fleetwood. Both companies nearly folded and were later brought back by Heartland (Old Fleetwood towable brands) and Forest River for Coachmen. I'm truly sorry that you haven't had resolution to all your issues, I hope it doesn't sour you on camping. Best of luck.

[Cummins12V98]

I met a couple last winter at the Thousand Trails in Palm Desert, CA that happens to be next to McMahon's RV. They had at least a 36' Brookstone, they were parked next to us. I was talking to the husband about our Ram trucks and the wife came out then we talked about their RV. Next thing I know I am in their rig and being told what a POS it was and McMahon's were not taking care of them. Trim falling off, staples in water lines that ruined the sub floor, the wrong door and trim on the toilet for the model and many more problems.

They are a nice looking RV but if their's is the standard then look out!

[elkabong]

First trailer I ever bought was a Coachmen. If it hadn't been for duct tape and silicone, I would have left parts of that trailer over every state I where I traveled.
I swore I would never buy another Coachmen and have held to that promise. I am sorry for your problems, but also have to say I am glad to know I made the right decision.
Hang in the partner. And I hope you have a good dealer.

Ken

[powderman426]

I heard you the first time.

And its Coachmen, not Coachman.

Sorry you had problems.