MIDDLEBURY, Ind. — All new for 2007 is Coachmen Recreational Vehicle Company's Chaparral Lite™, a lightweight fifth wheel that is ideal for younger and first time buyers, as well as the more experienced RVer. Coachmen aggressively designed Chaparral Lite to give owners spacious living in a small package, all at a competitive price. The first feature to notice about the Chaparral Lite fifth wheel is its generous living space yet light weight. With three floorplans at, or under, 30 feet in length, the Chaparral Lite boasts a base weight well under 7,000 pounds. Many of today's half-ton pickups can tow this fifth wheel, making the drive to that favorite vacation spot extremely easy and affordable. Chaparral Lite’s MSRP starts at $27,500. Whether at the campground with the kids or tailgating before the big game, the Chaparral Lite fifth wheel draws attention. An industry-first digitized graphics package includes photo quality graphics for outstanding curb appeal. Dark-tinted safety glass windows are a great complement to the exterior appeal. The radius fiberglass wrapped front profile yields an aerodynamic and sleek look. With the huge unobstructed exterior storage there is no problem packing all the gear needed for fun times. The trailer's underbelly is fully enclosed and heated, making it ideal for multi-season camping. Inside, you’ll find the most luxurious appointments for a fifth wheel at this price. Swivel rocker chairs from Flexsteel® (on select models) and a plush residential style sofa add to the comfort of the living area. For increased sleeping space, a hide-a-bed sofa is an option. There is even an optional skylight in the living area to enhance the natural light inside the coach. Chaparral Lite also features a custom entertainment center with leaded glass doors, a plant ledge up top, plenty of storage space and a home theater system with CD/DVD player. Complete the package with an optional LCD television. In the galley area, seamless designer countertops are the perfect complement to the residential style cabinetry design and oil rubbed bronze hardware. Other residential amenities include cathedral cabinet doors throughout the coach, spice racks, a designer faucet and a large double bowl sink. A large eight-cubic-foot refrigerator is optional. Legacy Glazed Birch cabinetry is standard with Spicy Oak available as an option. Fabric patterns include Royal Blossom, Quarry Sand or Shimmering Bronze. Three lightweight superslide floorplans currently make up the Chaparral Lite fifth wheel line. The Chaparral Lite bunkhouse floorplan sleeps eight and the rear lounge and rear entertainment center floorplans sleep six. Coachmen's Chaparral Lite gives new meaning to the phrase "big living in a small package." It's all done at a price the family can afford.

Couple transitions from

weekend RVing to full-time

 

W

e experience our monthly weekend campouts with the Georgetown Rigs-A-Mortis RV Club as special treats, but for Elgin residents Dale and Paulette Olson, being in their RV is an everyday experience. For them, home is where the rubber meets the road, and on any given day the wheels may be turning.

referrelative="t">After several years as weekend campers, the Olson’s decided to go “full-timing.” First they traded in their “Class C,” an RV built on a truck chassis, for a “Class A” Newmar Mountain Aire, the ulti­mate in motor home elegance. They carved two acres off their property and built a 40’x75’ RV garage for the motor home with storage for a few “must-keep” possessions.

            Natives of Minnesota, the Olson’s moved to Central Texas in the early 1980s. In 1992, Mr. Olson officially retired from IBM, but went to work for Dell for another eight years. By 2000, there was no going back; the couple’s daughters were firmly rooted in Texas and their grandchil­dren, native-born Texans. Summer RV trips to Minnesota open up vistas to explore, but Texas will always be home, they said.

As the next step toward full timing, they moved into the motor home to test the lifestyle. They spent monthly weekends with Rigs-A-Mortis and joined Texas Boomers for additional gatherings, plus impromptu trips on their own. Between outings, they lived in the motor home on the property in Elgin. After several months, they found that full timing suited them both, so the Olson’s sold their home and the remaining 14 acres.

Reaching the point of no return, they opted for a 2006 road trip to a rally in Sevierville, Tennessee. They joined via IRV2.com, an Internet Web page where RV owners from all over the United States find others with like interests. For the summer rally they joined friends from previous Texas Boomers events. The Olson’s had never visited the Smoky Mountains National Park or the resort area of Tennessee near Gatlinburg, gateway to the park. The rally would be an interesting side trip, sort of the long way around to check in with family Minnesota.

The Olson’s summer a venture began July 14 when they moved their 37-foot motor home out of the garage and headed for Interstate 35. For the first social event, they joined two other rigs at the Little Czech Bakery in West for breakfast. From there, the rigs caravanned to Little Rock, Arkansas, where they joined five more rigs from Texas and continued the journey to Sevierville.

Rigs from all over the United States had registered for the rally on the IRV2.com Web page. Each paid a flat fee to cover stops along the way and seven days at the destina­tion. The package included catered meals, plus the hallmark of RV camping, one large potluck with every rig furnishing a dish. Additional offerings included a breakfast, an ice cream social and a raffle.

“Boomers are an eating club with an RV disorder,” said Ms. Olson.

Wherever RVs gather, rig upgrades domi­nate the conversation, so vendors offer sem­inars with the latest information. Mr. Olson attended the rally expecting to offer some services. Using portable scales for weighing his own rig, he offered other rig owners the opportunity to determine corner weights to adjust tire pressures.

“It is important to know how much weight each wheel carries in order to prop­erly inflate tires for each axle,” Mr. Olson said. “Improper air pressure can cause blowouts, and properly distributing weight also reduces tire wear and gives a better ride.”

He also helped other RV owners upgrade spark plug wires; install heavy-duty wires and re-gap spark plugs. Our RV club knows Dale Olson as our “computer guru.” A man of many talents, he travels with his laptop and a supply of CDs with updating patches for all Microsoft operating systems.

Planned activities at the rally left plenty of time for touring in the “toad,” the little car “towed” by the motor home. The Olson’s cruised the mountain roads in the park, confirming that the scenery from the

Blue Ridge Parkway

is indeed blue and that the Smoky Mountains hide behind a haze that looks like smoke but isn’t.

Our Rigs group knows Paulette Olson as the “dessert queen,” a recipe collector who furnishes fan­tastic desserts for our potluck din­ners. Besides networking to swap recipes, she also keeps an eye out for arts and crafts that she and her daughters can duplicate. She found Cades Cove a treasure trove.

“No place better to look for ideas than in the tourist shops along the route to the Smoky Mountains,” she said.

Public transportation now makes travel through the resort area easi­er, more comfortable and less expensive. The City of Gatlinburg runs trolleys that link tourist accommodations with Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge and major tourist attractions like Dollywood, as well as locations in the national park.

 

Couple averaged 7 miles per gallon

 

From Tennessee, the Olson’s went to Rochester, Minnesota, for the cooler climate and family visiting, before returning to Texas on August 13. In all, they traveled 3,300 miles, averaging seven miles to the gallon with prices between $2.59 and $319.

I talked to them soon after they returned from the big summer adventure, and just before they left for a Labor Day Texas Boomers rally in Burleson. We visited again in La Grange on the September Rigs cam-pout. Their next outing will be the Texas Renaissance Festival at Plantersville. They will be staying at Heavens, Landing RV Park in Conroe. In January they leave for Quartzsite, Arizona, and they have their names on a list at IRV2.com for a 2007 rally in Branson, Missouri. They consider themselves “semi-full-timers,” but it looks like full timing to me.

 

Joan T. Hollier

Paulette and Dale Olson with their motor home, their home at home as well as away from home.

 

    To join the monthly campout as a guest of Rigs-A -Mortis, a Georgetown Good Sam Club, e-mail rvclub@cox.net To join an area Good Sam club, call 915-38&0433 or e-mail mick@thegateway. net

 

MIDDLEBURY, Ind. — The all-new 2007 Wyoming™ fifth wheel from Coachmen Recreational Vehicle Company, LLC sparkles with high-end comforts. This is an RV designed to provide more features and rich benefits than any other fifth wheel in its price range.

Wyoming is aimed at the full profile, mid-priced laminated fifth wheel market and is a delightful product for first-time buyers and experienced RVers looking to upgrade. Three-quarter and one-ton pickup trucks are ideal tow vehicles for the Wyoming.

“You’ll realize this is a very special RV at first glance, inside and out,” said Dan Gill, product manager for Coachmen’s fifth wheel line. “The exterior design features an all new fiberglass front cap, imported high-gloss sidewalls and an industry-first digitized Wyoming graphic. The interior absolutely wows you as soon as you walk in, featuring upscale residential cabinetry and appointments throughout. This is a fifth wheel that will attract a lot of attention from smart, value-driven RV buyers."

Wyoming comes in four all new triple-slide floorplans, each with the unique Turn-Rite™ front cap. This cap is notched on the sides, allowing up to a 90-degree turning radius even with a shortbed pickup.

This fifth wheel sports 16-inch tires with E-Z Lube® axles. Tank capacities are enormous — 60 gallons fresh water, 80 gallons grey water and 40 gallons waste water. The pass-through exterior storage is also huge with up to 92 cubic feet of capacity. The underbelly and gate valves are fully enclosed and heating, making Wyoming an ideal RV for multi-season camping.

Inside, Wyoming has upscale residential appointments that will spoil RVers wherever their travels take them. Decorative wood accents, crown molding in the kitchen area and oil-rubbed bronze hardware and fixtures highlight the upscale cabinetry throughout the coach. There are two cabinetry selections — Legacy Glazed Birch and Brazilian Cherry. Optional decor patterns wonderfully compliment the interior of this RV.

Wyoming also sports an industry leading 80-inch residential sofa/hide-a-bed that folds out to a true queen sized bed. A designer entertainment center features leaded glass doors, a home theater system and an optional 27-inch television and fireplace.

Step from the kitchen to the upper deck through the generous 26-inch wide passage way (compared to the 22-inch industry standard) into Wyoming’s innovative bathroom and bedroom. His and hers dual lavatories are on either side of the room and the large radius shower has a marble style tub surround. A residential style vanity mirror and lav base completes the package. This is luxury living.

In the bedroom, nightstands with power outlets are located on either side of the standard residential size queen bed. A king bed is an available option. Across from the bed, is an innovative padded sitting bench under the oversized window. A residential styled dresser and huge wardrobe closet provide plenty of room for your apparel.

“Wyoming is designed to be the most value driven coach at its price point,” said Gill. Wyoming’s base MSRP starts at $43,200. Value, yes. Luxury, certainly.

Coachmen Industries, Inc., through its prominent industry subsidiaries, is one of America’s leading manufacturers of recreational vehicles, systems-built homes and commercial buildings. The Company’s well-known RV brand names include COACHMEN, GEORGIE BOY™, SPORTSCOACH and VIKING. Coachmen’s ALL AMERICAN HOMES® subsidiary is one of the nation’s largest producers of systems-built homes, and also a major builder of multi-family residential and commercial structures with its ALL AMERICAN BUILDING SYSTEMS™ products. Coachmen Industries, Inc. is a publicly held company with stock listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker COA.

This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which are inherently uncertain. Actual results may differ materially from that projected or suggested due to certain risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to, the potential fluctuations in the Company’s operating results, the availability for floorplan financing for the Company’s recreational vehicle dealers and corresponding availability of cash to Company, rapidly increasing costs of product components and raw materials that may not be able to be passed through to buyers, uncertainties and timing with respect to sales resulting from recovery efforts in the Gulf Coast, uncertainties regarding the impact on sales of the disclosed restructuring steps in both the recreational vehicle and housing and building segments, the ability to sell and close the operations for sale as described, the accuracy of the estimates of the costs to remedy the disclosed recreational vehicle warranty issues, the availability and the price of gasoline, price volatility of raw materials used in production, the Company’s dependence on chassis and other suppliers, interest rates, the availability and cost of real estate for residential housing, the ability of the Housing and Building segment to perform in new market segments where it has limited experience, adverse weather conditions affecting home deliveries, competition, government regulations, legislation governing the relationships of the Company with its recreational vehicle dealers, consolidation of distribution channels in the recreational vehicle industry, consumer confidence, uncertainties of matters in litigation, further developments in the war on terrorism and related international crises, oil supplies, and other risks identified in the Company’s SEC filings.

Baseball Great and Yankees Broadcaster Jim Kaat Loves to Travel in his RV

RESTON, Va. (September 22, 2006) — Jim Kaat has devoted the past 50 years to major league baseball, first as an All-Star pitcher, and now as a broadcaster for the New York Yankees. He also has another passion: traveling in his state-of-the-art recreation vehicle.

The former king of the hill is now the king of the road. “I’ve gone from being a major league pitcher to a major league RV owner,” says Kaat. “I’ll travel roughly 5,000 miles in my RV this year. It’s a great way to see America, and as relaxed a way to see the country as there can possibly be.”

When the Yankee season ends, Kaat, his wife, Mary Ann, and their two cats, hit the road in their 36-foot motorhome, and by the end of the year will have visited at least 20 states.

“You can’t beat the convenience and comforts of an RV,” says Kaat. “It really takes the stress and hassle out of traveling.”

The RV makes it possible for Kaat to combine his love of travel with golf. “I’ll play many of the top courses during our trips,” he says. “The nice thing about the RV is that we have our home with us. We don’t have worry about reservations and losing our golf clubs or our luggage. We keep everything we need onboard and we’re ready to go at a moment’s notice. And we don’t have to leave our cats behind.”

The Kaat’s motorhome has a living room and bedroom that both slide out with the push of a button to create extra space. “I love that feature,”says Kaat. “When we pull into a campground and put the slides out, we have all the room we need. I also have plenty of storage space for my clubs.”

Kaat appreciates the freedom and flexibility RVs offer. “RVing allows for impromptu detours,” says Kaat. “If something looks interesting, we can go exploring because we’re not on a set schedule. And if Mary Ann and I get tired while we’re on the road, we’ll take a break and have a snack in our climate-controlled motorhome.”

The Kaats also enjoy spending time at RV campgrounds as they travel around the country. “We’re real campers,” says Kaat. “When we pull into a campground, we love to roll out our awning, set up our lounge chairs and cook on our grill.”

From 1959-1982, Kaat won 283 games in the big leagues pitching for five teams. His best season came in 1966 when he won 25 games for the Minnesota Twins. He was an All-Star three times, won 16 Gold Glove awards and earned a World Series ring with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1982.

Kaat discovered RVing through baseball friends Bob Gibson and Bill White, who are avid RV owners. “They got us interested, so we rented an RV for a couple trips and found out about all the benefits and decided to buy our own,” says Kaat.

As a professional athlete and Yankees broadcaster, Kaat is a frequent traveler. But he’ll tell you his most memorable trips have been in his RV.

Order a free RV “getting-started” DVD or CD-ROM at 1-888-Go RVing or GoRVing.com. Surf the website for lists of Go RVing dealers and campgrounds in your area, as well as RV shows, publications, rental sources and clubs. Or write to: RVIA, P.O. Box 2999, Dept. P, Reston, VA 20195.

RVIA (rvia.org) is the national association representing more than 550 manufacturers and component suppliers producing approximately 98 percent of all RVs made in the United States.

Family Takes RV to All AFC Stadiums

RESTON, Va. — Recreation Vehicle Industry Association’s (RVIA’s) newest media spokespersons, the DiEugenio family, will promote RV tailgating and family RV travel as they embark on a tour of NFL football games for the 2006-07 season. The tour will continue through the Super Bowl with stops in major media markets like Houston, Kansas City, Pittsburgh, New York, Miami, Cleveland, San Diego and other cities with AFC football teams.

Jay and Karen DiEugenio, along with their three young sons, Nick (14), Luke (12) and Frankie (5), pursued a lifelong dream of tailgating at NFL games around the country last year. They visited all the cities with NFC teams in their RV and published a tailgating cookbook called I Got Your Tailgate Party Right Here.

Along the way, the DiEugenios discovered the many rewards of RV travel. “We got to experience our favorite hobbies—football and tailgating—together as a family,” said Jay DiEugenio. “Our family really bonded as we discovered America, met interesting people and wrote our cookbook.”

The DiEugenios enjoyed their RV travels so much that they decided to visit all the AFC stadiums for the 2006-07 football season. This year’s tour will be substantially upgraded with laptops, digital video and still cameras. The RVing family will have an active blog and vlog on their YourTailgateParty.com website, with links to the GoRVing.com website. The kids will be “road schooled” during the trip with schoolwork and encouragement from their local school district.

RVIA’s marketing communications agency, Barton Gilanelli, will arrange media interviews with the DiEugenios during their NFL tailgating tour. They will promote GoRVing.com in every interview as the best resource for families interested in RV travel. They will also discuss the advantages of tailgating in an RV and the many discoveries they have made while touring America by RV.

Fleetwood RV is providing the DiEugenios with a 2007 Bounder Diesel Type A motorhome for this NFL season. Amenities includes slideouts and a satellite dish-ready 26” LCD TV with home theater sound system.

“RVIA has had great success promoting RV tailgating with Commissioner of Tailgating Joe Cahn in years past emphasizing the tasty food and community spirit tailgaters enjoy,” said Gary LaBella, RVIA’s vice president of public relations and advertising. “The DiEugenios are adding family togetherness to the RV tailgating recipe as they’re interviewed in stadium parking lots before games and on the road.”

RVIA (rvia.org) is the national association representing more than 550 manufacturers and component suppliers producing approximately 98 percent of all RVs made in the United States.