Coachman quality

[blknomad]

I am searching for a 35ft or so pusher. It seams that the Winneybago 36m is made of gold so I'm branching out and looking at a Coachman cross country. How is their quality compair to the winneys? Also will the 300horse cummins be enough for that size coach? Any input will be appreciated before I spend $100K.

[RayChez]

shaneperch wrote:
Why not buy a 5 year old coach that is top quality and not have to pay nearly as much. if it is your first and last coach you will ever buy, get the Winnebago. that is what I would do. the 300 HP engine is most likely a "B" series cummins or a C7 Cat both of which are NOT sleeved. the 350 HP could be a cummins "C" series or a Cat C9 which IS sleeved. Go with the Winnie or go with a used coach. I wish I could afford a 20 year old Prevost. I would go with that without a second thought.

Sleeved or not those engines will last half a million miles, and just for your own information, they do have kits to install sleeves on those engines.

[shaneperch]

Just get a used high end coach with the most power you can get and never look back. As per sleeves. If I spend a boatload of hard earned money, I would expect a sleeved engine whether I keep it for two years or two decades. Sleeves are an issue with me. sorry. I want a sleeved diesel.

[LongWeekends]

We have an '04 Coachmen Cross Country that has the 300HP Cummins. I am guessing that this is older than you are looking for but I can speak to their quality from my experience. In almost two years of owning and using this coach, we have zero complaints and zero problems. Everything works as it should and still looks great. The engine? Well...more is always better IMHO but it does just fine even towing. A long grade will slow us down for 5 minutes but the other 98% of the time it cruises along at whatever speed I desire...usually 65ish.

We didn't have a budget of $100k at the time and I don't think we use it enough to justify that expensive of a rig for us. All of this said, if $100k was my budget, I don't think I would buy a Coachman. Not because Coachmen is bad but rather because you can get a REALLY nice, much higher end coach for that that money if you shop used.

[Bumpyroad]

IMHO coachmen and winnebago are not in the same universe. for starters the winnie will have a fiberglass roof, will the coachmen?
bumpy

[ferndaleflyer]

My 38ft Winne Luxor DP has a 325 Cummins and I pull a 32ft trailer behind it over the eastern mountains with no problem at 55mph......without the trailer set the cruise on 70 and ride.....Remember you can buy a top of the line DP used for less than an entry level new one. You won't be sorry.

[Maladjusted]

I have a Coachmen SportsCoach (2013 385DS).

It has the ISB 340 hp motor. I don't care that it is "not sleeved" as I will never keep it long enough to see the benefit during a rebuild!

It pushes the coach nicely. Can I do 100 mph up a 6% 3 mile grade? No. Will it get me up and over? Yes.

I get 10.5 mpg hand calculated (miles driven / gallons used).

As far as quality... My coach came with some really nice amenities for a "lower level" coach.

Polished tile floor throughout
Dual Pane windows
8kw Gen
Outside Entertainment Center
Solid wood door cabinets
Auto Leveling Jacks
Rear and side cameras
17' Power Awning
Full width basement slides

I have had no issues with the quality of the build... I have had some minor issues with both the Cummins engine and the Freightliner chassis... both resolved quickly.

The cost of my coach was at least half of what a "higher end" coach would have cost. Funny... I don't see the people in the high end coaches having double the fun.

To each his own.

Mal

[shaneperch]

Why not buy a 5 year old coach that is top quality and not have to pay nearly as much. if it is your first and last coach you will ever buy, get the Winnebago. that is what I would do. the 300 HP engine is most likely a "B" series cummins or a C7 Cat both of which are NOT sleeved. the 350 HP could be a cummins "C" series or a Cat C9 which IS sleeved. Go with the Winnie or go with a used coach. I wish I could afford a 20 year old Prevost. I would go with that without a second thought.

[1711tab]

A lot of older coaches (even American Eagle's were 300HP) were under powered in my opinion... I base my opinion on owning a trucking company for 30 years... I sure wouldn't buy anything less than a 350HP engine in it... That's from million's of miles experience (accident free) behind the wheel...

Others will argue with my opinion / answer for sure but I like climbing hills & mountains faster than a snails pace and running the speed limit...

[Sully2]

blknomad wrote:
I am searching for a 35ft or so pusher. It seams that the Winneybago 36m is made of gold so I'm branching out and looking at a Coachman cross country. How is their quality compair to the winneys? Also will the 300horse cummins be enough for that size coach? Any input will be appreciated before I spend $100K.

Why not buy a late model used rig? Much higher quality for lots less $$$

[rr2254545]

You get what you pay for - for instance my 36M has a 360 HP engine not a 300.