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Coleman/Coachman

Started by topcat7736, Jan 30, 2004, 05:41 PM

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topcat7736

Quote from: jpreiserWhat kind of pop up do you have now?

We still have our 2001 Coleman/Fleetwood. (What's left of it.)

Y-Guy

Growing up I always thought of Coleman & camping, and quality.  I felt our Niagara was a good camper, never had any problems with it and thought the fit and finish of the interior was the best I saw.  Smooth corners and quality products gave a good impression.  Was this Coleman quality or Fleetwood?  I really don't know I never saw one of the old original Coleman pop ups.  The camper served us well.  But when the roof issue came up it ticked me off that they were not taking care of their customers, we've all read the various horror stories of second owners getting stuck.  Yes the warranty was clearly stated, but that's where a good and average company differ.  Coleman/Fleetwood showed me they didn't care about the poor product design but more about their bottom line.  Though the impact didn't hut our family and sure didn't hurt the resale of my Niagara I would be hard pressed to ever by another Fleetwood product again.

The Coleman name to me doesn't mean as much as it used to either.  I recall the quality Coleman stoves and lanterns, the off brands were always cheaper and poor quality.  Today though the Coleman name appears on anything from space bags to hot tubs.  The brand that I once counted on for quality camping supplies is now just a name, nothing more.  Its marketing its past history of quality.

I will always buy what I feel is the best product I can for the dollar.  The past with the Coleman/Fleetwood only reinforced the need to look deeper.  I wish Coachmen all the luck and hope they come up with a great product I also hope the various Coleman er I mean Fleetwood dealers all the best, their livelihoods are depending on Fleetwood being able to market without the name now.

B-flat

We looked at a Coleman camper before we bought our Starcraft.  Thanks to all the posts on this board, I saved myself a lot of time, aggravation and money by knowing exactly what to look for.  I even pointed out to the Coleman owner that he had terrible roof sag and why I would not buy his camper.  He began to tell of his troubles with it when he learned I would not be purchasing.  It also had that squishy chipcore floor.

LKaskel

It's always interesting to see so many different opinions when manufactures are discussed.  I would like to think that any major manufacture would build a

jawilson

Quote from: Y-GuyThe Coleman name to me doesn't mean as much as it used to either.  I recall the quality Coleman stoves and lanterns, the off brands were always cheaper and poor quality.  Today though the Coleman name appears on anything from space bags to hot tubs.  The brand that I once counted on for quality camping supplies is now just a name, nothing more.  Its marketing its past history of quality.
All there stuff, with the obvious exception of the campers, is probably made in China now, just like everything else. Unfortunately, Coleman is merely a name now -- it carries no additional weight with me any longer either.

jstaddwtr

Coleman/ Fleetwood is long overdue for a class action suit regarding their roofs.  

It is incredible that you can walk on a lot and not be given full disclosure about the roof problems even today. And we wonder why this segment of the market is not growing to expectations....

It used to be that you could depend on brand names but for the most part, those days are gone.  Coleman and Fleetwood owe the public alot more for putting out a defective product.  Every brand has issues but the coleman roofs are inexcusable....and the way they have handled it is even worst.  

They even have owners convinced that paying for shipping to replace their defective product is fair.  I am not a litigious person but these guys have it coming.

mike4947

A new link to another news item release 2/12 http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=SVBIZINK4.story&STORY=/www/story/02-11-2004/0002107806&EDATE=WED+Feb+11+2004,+02:35+PM>The plot thickens AGAIN, and AGAIN and AGAIN
 
Remember now this is a different judge and court than the ruling earlier this week, so now there's got to be a "meeting of the minds".

B-flat

Sooooooooo, who's going to be responsible for repairs under warranty, Fleetwood or Coleman?  It would seem like that Fleetwood ought to repair the ones under their manufacture using the Coleman name.  Then again, the court is going to rule on the use of the Coleman name or for  interfering with Coleman in any way.:confused:

mike4947

Of course Fleetwood is responsible for any and all warranty claims. Don't forget the only thing that Coleman (American Home Products) has to do with the trailers is licensing the NAME to Fleetwood. All production, sales, marketing, advertising is done by Fleeetwood, who's only involvement with Coleman is to pay a fixed royalty payment on each unit sold/produced depending on how the license is written.
Coleman stopped producing trailers in 1989, when they turned the production facilities over to Fleetwood.

B-flat

It sounds like Coleman wanted the name back and that they were aware of the breach of agreement and so forth.  I wonder if they were also aware of the quality issues and the roof sag.

tlhdoc

Quote from: B-flatSooooooooo, who's going to be responsible for repairs under warranty, Fleetwood or Coleman?  It would seem like that Fleetwood ought to repair the ones under their manufacture using the Coleman name.  Then again, the court is going to rule on the use of the Coleman name or for  interfering with Coleman in any way.:confused:

Fleetwood is responsible for warranty work.  Fleetwood made the trailer not Coleman (unless you have an older trailer that was made by Coleman).


brainpause

Quote from: jawilsonHere's the latest...
http://www.southbendtribune.com/stories/2004/02/12/business.20040212-sbt-MICH-B10-Fleetwood_set_to_sue.sto

Couldn't read the story. Says Subscription required.

Larry

deniski

well... after this discussion, I guess I'm just glad that when we were looking for an older coleman popup we found a pre-1989 version!  It's been great, no problems whatsoever.

jawilson

Quote from: brainpauseCouldn't read the story. Says Subscription required.
That's very strange. I read that story the day I posted it, and I sure don't have a subscription. But I can't get to it now either.  :(