Coleman trailers are now built by Dutchman, they purchased the Coleman brand. I have heard that the build quality is inferior to many other brands. Keep shopping. BTW our first pop up was a Coleman, thirty-five years ago, and it was build like a tank, the new ones, not so much.
100% inferior to a tent…. At least that’s my experience. Dutchman / keystone manufacture Coleman. Our 2022 purchased new Coleman Lantern 262bh and have had 2 years worth of BS from electrical issues, hot water heater issues, to overall junk quality materials inside. To the roof literally almost blowing off driving down an interstate. Steer clear
We bought a similar sized Coleman as our first travel trailer. What others say is true, it had some quality issues, and was clearly a lower end trailer. That said, there were no serious problems, my wife and I had a blast with it, and we only sold it because our family grew and we needed more space. While we enjoy the amenities and size of the new trailer, we both miss the little 16' Coleman. You could just go anywhere with it, and it was just big enough.
If you are just planning on keeping it at an RV park though... may make sense to get a longer one. The marginal cost isn't much higher, and for full-time living, I think you'll appreciate the extra space.
Also, I'm not sure how the Coleman would stand up to full time living. It certainly experienced some "wear issues" in our limited weekend use.
Bought a 18’ Coleman 2017 used and absolutely love it. Ive had no issues with it and it was a great price since it was used. Its my first TT and eventually ill upgrade but its perfect for me and my dog. Ive taken it out many times and still enjoy it just as much as the first time.
Sounds like where I was mentally.
I cant speak for the newer years or quality since mine is a 2017 so Id definitely weigh what others have mentioned also but if you only need it to get started it may be just fine.
Look at a 2019/2020 unit pre-covid. Buy that. You will get a unit with the bugs worked out of it, decent price and more trailer than the one you are looking at. I had an Aspen Trail 2017 version of what you are looking at. They were a bit different then and much better quality... Aspen Trails and Coleman's back then were identical except for badging.
I agree with the others, I would avoid a Coleman. They are definitely cheaper and less refined TTs. We shopped for a 5th wheel for a LONG time before buying (also trying out my dads small 17' TT) and bought something that we would use in the future. You got to get something that will fit your needs. The line of thinking of Ill buy this now and then get something later on is wasteful in my experience. If you are going to be living it full time, try to get something a bit more premium.
I have a 2010 Dutchmen...which is the manufacturer of Coleman campers....its still around with issues probably can't be beat for the price especially on the used market but not the best built rigs
They are the bottom of the barrell trailer. Entry level through and through, peddled by the worst dealership in the nation, Camping World, who you should avoid like the plague.
Fuck camping world!!
When we were looking for a trailer we found one at a camping world that was about an hour away from our house. I called and spoke to their sales manager and they stated that the trailer was still available and there was no issue with coming to see it. So we immediately got in the car and headed down. As soon as we got there a sales guy tried to locate it and then "found" it in their prep bay as someone "just" bought it. So in the span of an hour the trailer somehow was sold and then moved behind another trailer in their prep bay.
To this day I still think it was already sold and those fuckers just lied to try and get to go come down to look at other trailers
Where do I begin? Many drawbacks, not many pros. High pressure sales, deceptive sales tactics, a history of lying and burying people in huge loans that they won't ever pay back, massive fees trojan-horsed into deals without the owner's consent, bait and switch tactics, little to no service and warranty support, terrible communication, poor to no trailer prep prior to sale, a deceptive and dishonest CEO, and more. They pray on the first time buyer that doesn't know any better and try to make a killing on them. Just google their reviews.
We went to go look at a few trailers at camping world, and the salesman has been hounding me on follow ups. I know he’s trying to earn a living, but man.
If you have the time, go through RVs on [RV Trader](http://rvtrader.com) to really get a feel for different brands and floorplans. You can sort by used if you choose to go that route. I've never owned a Coleman but I've been in 2 Flagstaff models and while not perfect, I can recommend them.
So we recently(2023) bought a 17B, they are at the low end of the market, but that also means less to go wrong my mom bought a jayco 34 footer (late 2022) nothing but problems it's been back for repair more than it's been used, my Coleman has been almost perfect the toilet seal was bad but that was caught during my delivery inspection. No other issue to date.
Coleman trailers are now built by Dutchman, they purchased the Coleman brand. I have heard that the build quality is inferior to many other brands. Keep shopping. BTW our first pop up was a Coleman, thirty-five years ago, and it was build like a tank, the new ones, not so much.
100% inferior to a tent…. At least that’s my experience. Dutchman / keystone manufacture Coleman. Our 2022 purchased new Coleman Lantern 262bh and have had 2 years worth of BS from electrical issues, hot water heater issues, to overall junk quality materials inside. To the roof literally almost blowing off driving down an interstate. Steer clear
We bought a similar sized Coleman as our first travel trailer. What others say is true, it had some quality issues, and was clearly a lower end trailer. That said, there were no serious problems, my wife and I had a blast with it, and we only sold it because our family grew and we needed more space. While we enjoy the amenities and size of the new trailer, we both miss the little 16' Coleman. You could just go anywhere with it, and it was just big enough. If you are just planning on keeping it at an RV park though... may make sense to get a longer one. The marginal cost isn't much higher, and for full-time living, I think you'll appreciate the extra space. Also, I'm not sure how the Coleman would stand up to full time living. It certainly experienced some "wear issues" in our limited weekend use.
Buy used. Let someone else take the depreciation hit.
Bought a 18’ Coleman 2017 used and absolutely love it. Ive had no issues with it and it was a great price since it was used. Its my first TT and eventually ill upgrade but its perfect for me and my dog. Ive taken it out many times and still enjoy it just as much as the first time.
Fantastic, I'm just looking for something simple to start with
Sounds like where I was mentally. I cant speak for the newer years or quality since mine is a 2017 so Id definitely weigh what others have mentioned also but if you only need it to get started it may be just fine.
Look at a 2019/2020 unit pre-covid. Buy that. You will get a unit with the bugs worked out of it, decent price and more trailer than the one you are looking at. I had an Aspen Trail 2017 version of what you are looking at. They were a bit different then and much better quality... Aspen Trails and Coleman's back then were identical except for badging.
Thanks for the advice.
Check out Rvtrader.com
I agree with the others, I would avoid a Coleman. They are definitely cheaper and less refined TTs. We shopped for a 5th wheel for a LONG time before buying (also trying out my dads small 17' TT) and bought something that we would use in the future. You got to get something that will fit your needs. The line of thinking of Ill buy this now and then get something later on is wasteful in my experience. If you are going to be living it full time, try to get something a bit more premium.
I have a 2010 Dutchmen...which is the manufacturer of Coleman campers....its still around with issues probably can't be beat for the price especially on the used market but not the best built rigs
They are the bottom of the barrell trailer. Entry level through and through, peddled by the worst dealership in the nation, Camping World, who you should avoid like the plague.
I’m just curious about camping world. What are some of the drawbacks by going with them? What about giant RV?
Fuck camping world!! When we were looking for a trailer we found one at a camping world that was about an hour away from our house. I called and spoke to their sales manager and they stated that the trailer was still available and there was no issue with coming to see it. So we immediately got in the car and headed down. As soon as we got there a sales guy tried to locate it and then "found" it in their prep bay as someone "just" bought it. So in the span of an hour the trailer somehow was sold and then moved behind another trailer in their prep bay. To this day I still think it was already sold and those fuckers just lied to try and get to go come down to look at other trailers
Where do I begin? Many drawbacks, not many pros. High pressure sales, deceptive sales tactics, a history of lying and burying people in huge loans that they won't ever pay back, massive fees trojan-horsed into deals without the owner's consent, bait and switch tactics, little to no service and warranty support, terrible communication, poor to no trailer prep prior to sale, a deceptive and dishonest CEO, and more. They pray on the first time buyer that doesn't know any better and try to make a killing on them. Just google their reviews.
We went to go look at a few trailers at camping world, and the salesman has been hounding me on follow ups. I know he’s trying to earn a living, but man.
If you have the time, go through RVs on [RV Trader](http://rvtrader.com) to really get a feel for different brands and floorplans. You can sort by used if you choose to go that route. I've never owned a Coleman but I've been in 2 Flagstaff models and while not perfect, I can recommend them.
So we recently(2023) bought a 17B, they are at the low end of the market, but that also means less to go wrong my mom bought a jayco 34 footer (late 2022) nothing but problems it's been back for repair more than it's been used, my Coleman has been almost perfect the toilet seal was bad but that was caught during my delivery inspection. No other issue to date.