Wasn't sure I was going to document our experience, but after reading other threads of owners with issues with their new RV's, I decided I should make the effort.
After researching models and features, my wife and I decided on the Coachmen models constructed with Azdel, for long term durability for our first ever RV. Looking at various models, my dw decided she wanted the model with the outdoor kitchen, so instead of the 31's or 33's we went with the 30FW. Nice open layout, lots of counter space in the kitchen, walk around queen bed in back and the outdoor kitchen and entertainment system. Took delivery right after the first of the year, did a nice whirlwind walk through and drove it off the lot looking forward to all the tweaks and addons to come.
Our first dose of reality came on our maiden voyage to Carlsbad State Beach the weekend after we brought it home. Once getting on the site and leveling per the instructions from our walkthrough, (love those automatic levelers!) I extended the slide and set up camp for the night. Should note this thing has a monster 24ft slide that runs from the back of the drivers seat to the rear wall of the bedroom....its huge! Anyway, the next afternoon I decided I wanted to make an adjustment to how we were parked in our space, so I start to roll in the slide, only to have it stop dead after retracting about 3 inches. Got the dealership service dept on the phone, (big mistake, in their expert opinion the problem was because I wasn't holding down the button correctly), and asked for help in what to do next, and was told "we dont offer that kind of service", try Coachmen and was hung up on. It is now 4:45 west coast time on a Friday. After much googling, I was able to come up with the emergency Coachnet phone number, (our account had not even been set up yet, fortunately they had the VIN in their system), got a tech on the phone the next morning and was walked through the procedure of finding the control unit underneath in the utility bay and did an emergency retract. Since this model is barely usable with the slide retracted, we called it quits and headed home, and the next week made an appt with dealership service dept for repairs. After some words with the dealership owner over how his people handled the situation, they looked at the error codes on the slide controller and replaced the slides rear motor, and 3 weeks later we had the motorhome headed home again.
More saga to follow......
After researching models and features, my wife and I decided on the Coachmen models constructed with Azdel, for long term durability for our first ever RV. Looking at various models, my dw decided she wanted the model with the outdoor kitchen, so instead of the 31's or 33's we went with the 30FW. Nice open layout, lots of counter space in the kitchen, walk around queen bed in back and the outdoor kitchen and entertainment system. Took delivery right after the first of the year, did a nice whirlwind walk through and drove it off the lot looking forward to all the tweaks and addons to come.
Our first dose of reality came on our maiden voyage to Carlsbad State Beach the weekend after we brought it home. Once getting on the site and leveling per the instructions from our walkthrough, (love those automatic levelers!) I extended the slide and set up camp for the night. Should note this thing has a monster 24ft slide that runs from the back of the drivers seat to the rear wall of the bedroom....its huge! Anyway, the next afternoon I decided I wanted to make an adjustment to how we were parked in our space, so I start to roll in the slide, only to have it stop dead after retracting about 3 inches. Got the dealership service dept on the phone, (big mistake, in their expert opinion the problem was because I wasn't holding down the button correctly), and asked for help in what to do next, and was told "we dont offer that kind of service", try Coachmen and was hung up on. It is now 4:45 west coast time on a Friday. After much googling, I was able to come up with the emergency Coachnet phone number, (our account had not even been set up yet, fortunately they had the VIN in their system), got a tech on the phone the next morning and was walked through the procedure of finding the control unit underneath in the utility bay and did an emergency retract. Since this model is barely usable with the slide retracted, we called it quits and headed home, and the next week made an appt with dealership service dept for repairs. After some words with the dealership owner over how his people handled the situation, they looked at the error codes on the slide controller and replaced the slides rear motor, and 3 weeks later we had the motorhome headed home again.
More saga to follow......