Anybody recently purchase a new Coachmen Freelander 21qb?

[Newbiecampers]

Curious if anybody that has recently purchased a new Coachmen Freelander 21QB (chevy chassis) class c would be willing to share what kind of a deal ($$) they were able to get on it.

Pretty sure we are going to proceed with the purchase of a new one, and was wondering what the bottom line deal seems to be these days.

Personnal messages are fine if you don't want to discuss on the open forum.

Appreciate any help. Looks like our search may be nearing an end finally.

And yes, I agree that a good used unit would have been better financially, but every time we found a great used unit it slipped through our hands for various reasons, and we are now out of time if we are going to proceed with this.

[ctilsie242]

I looked at that, and there are a few things I would consider doing as upgrades.

Adding an accumulator tank like a Shurflo 182-200. This helps, as last time I checked, the water pump is a fixed speed, so the water pump short-cycles less when taking a shower.

Adding a spare tire, like mentioned above.

I wish I knew a way to deal with the trim, because on that model, as it doesn't have a fiberglass front to protect it from driving water, if something isn't done, cabover water intrusion is practically guarenteed. Eternabond tape comes to mind, although that is ugly.

[GrouchyOldMan]

Newbiecampers wrote:

pnichols wrote:
50 gal fresh water capacity for that size Class C is almost the largest there is ... only Lazy Daze beats it with a 60 gal capacity in their similar size.

Now, to go with that great fresh water capacity ... can you fit two coach batteries in it's standard coach battery compartment?

Is your new rig on a Ford E350 chassis?

Yep. Already had a second coach battery installed in the battery compartment to help with the boondocking.

It is a Chevy 4500.

==============
My first post here so *yipes*

Congratulations on your 21QB purchase! My wife and I bought our 2016 21QB about the same time you did and after a few thousand miles we are delighted with it. We also got the Chevy 4500 and it drives like a dream; plenty of power and no wandering around in the lane.

I just installed two new batteries, 12V, 80Ah, AGM bats wired in parallel with a couple of #1 cables. I'm asking around to see if anyone can provide info on the battery charger built into the Freelander. The pathetic "Users Guide" is generic to all the Forest River Class C vehicles so it's useless in this area.

I also coughed up a few ducets for a spare tire on the theory that if we ever have a problem the Good Sam folks will likely be able to get us back on the road if we already have a good spare.

One other tip I have to offer is the upgrade for the TV antenna. Winegard offers a RVW 205 Sensar IV replacement head for about $50 that makes a huge difference. I did a test with the old antenna and received 32 channels, then made the switch and without changing anything else I picked up an additional 20 channels. The change took about five minutes. That saved me from having to find a Sports Bar to watch the last Patriots game!

Regards,

-Grouchy

[cbigham]

After checking the 23u Thor and the others, this does not seem like a bad little unit if u want no slides..

[Newbiecampers]

pnichols wrote:
50 gal fresh water capacity for that size Class C is almost the largest there is ... only Lazy Daze beats it with a 60 gal capacity in their similar size.

Now, to go with that great fresh water capacity ... can you fit two coach batteries in it's standard coach battery compartment?

Is your new rig on a Ford E350 chassis?

Yep. Already had a second coach battery installed in the battery compartment to help with the boondocking.

It is a Chevy 4500.

[pnichols]

50 gal fresh water capacity for that size Class C is almost the largest there is ... only Lazy Daze beats it with a 60 gal capacity in their similar size.

Now, to go with that great fresh water capacity ... can you fit two coach batteries in it's standard coach battery compartment?

Is your new rig on a Ford E350 chassis?

[Newbiecampers]

Expyinflight wrote:
We looked very seriously at the Freelander before purchasing our Winnebago Spirit 25B.

Things we did not like on the 21qb:

The cab over mattress was very thin.
The dining table on poles was unstable.
The kitchen sink is only a single bowl.
Didn't like the step up to the bed and bathroom.
No heat or a/c ducts in the bathroom.
No ducted a/c unless you go larger.

Yep, agree on the table poles now that I have it. Kitchen sink is only one bowl, and it is shallow. Step up to bed we do not care about. Our's actually does have a heat duct to the bathroom, but no A/C duct. Non ducted air: I knew that going in to it and I would definitely prefer ducted. But the price point made losing out on some of those items ok.

Other things I noticed that were lacking compared to others is: gas only water heater, no electric element (but the gas sure does heat up fast). 2 way vs 3 way fridge. A few other small things like that.

I like the 50 gals of water for boondocking, we like the floorplan, the banana shaped dinnette is very large and is actually usable for an adult-sized person if made into a bed. I also like the huge storage area in back with the big door.

We'll see how it all works out on our trip.

[Newbiecampers]

Hi all,

Thanks for the responses and sorry for the delay in getting back to you. I just got back from a last-second whirlwind of puchasing and bringing back said type of motorhome.

Ron: Yep. Definitely going to need to be watching the seams. I was paranoid about it before even purchasing. We have already obtained covered parking in the storage lot (plus it is the end unit with a wall on one side). I wanted an RV with the fuller fiberglass cabover, but no decent used option presented itself, and new was more than we wanted to pay. FYI I thoroughly reviewed the post you have presented to others about the quality differences. Thanks for those. Also, the front of the 21qb does actually appear to be fiberglass. I looked behind a trim piece up there and saw the back of the fiberglass. It just does not go any further back than the seam at the front edge.

klutchdust: We did end up buying from a somewhat large volume dealer. The price we got was a good chunk less than any advertised price we saw anywhere. And it ended up being only roughly $3500 more than what a lot of people/dealerships were asking for a 2 year old used unit of the same model, and in some cases it was less than what people were asking for a used one. 3500 more for new with warranty seemed to make more sense to us. Yes, we did skip any type of extended warranty, as I usually do. Also, I wish I shared your love of buying cars/the process. I am no good at it. There were a few issues on this whole RV decision making/buying process that exemplified that. It definitely should have gone better in various aspects.

[Healeyman]

tjfogelberg wrote:
mhrsv.com is a good place to get comparative pricing. (Big dealer in Texas).

That URL is actually MHSRV.com

MotorHome Specialists RV is 1/2 hour south of Ft. Worth, TX, in Alvarado, TX. We bought ours there.

Tim

[Expyinflight]

We looked very seriously at the Freelander before purchasing our Winnebago Spirit 25B.

Things we did not like on the 21qb:

The cab over mattress was very thin.
The dining table on poles was unstable.
The kitchen sink is only a single bowl.
Didn't like the step up to the bed and bathroom.
No heat or a/c ducts in the bathroom.
No ducted a/c unless you go larger.

[tjfogelberg]

mhsrv.com is a good place to get comparative pricing. (Big dealer in Texas). The 21QB could be compared to the Minnie Winnie 25B. A 2017 MW 25B is listed new for $58,000 at rvtrader.com.
The 25B has a couch in addition to the dinnette.

[klutchdust]

Pricing depends on the dealership. When purchasing a vehicle you need to research and price compare from different dealerships. One size does not fit all. A high volume dealer is where to go and fly there if you have to. Going into a dealership whether car plane or rv you really need solid facts and figures. Go online, type your idea in ad see what it is across the country. Then go into your friendly dealer with some price comparisons. Extended warranties ,for me, are a waste of thousands of dollars. Bank your money and pay yourself, you will be so much farther ahead, yes it only adds X dollars to the payment but read about warranties before you buy, too many loopholes, too many.

I love buying cars, just bought grand daughter one and drove off with a deal that beat all the advertised car buying tips.

[ron_dittmer]

You get a lot for the price paid brand new.

It seems a bit deceiving to call it a 21QB (21 foot with a rear corner queen bed) when it measures just about 24 feet long. They should have called it a 24QB. 🙂

Of coarse with that type of house construction, you need to be very disciplined inspecting the seam work after every trip, and before extended uncovered/unprotected storage.

[routeforty]

We've had our eyes on one too. General RV has one listed for $53500. My research has shown them to be in the middle 50's. Going to look at Hershey next month. Would like one a little bigger but the payload goes way down with length. Gary