Coleman CT260 question

[lsirbuly]

I am looking at a CT260 Coleman tt. Anyone have this trailer and what do you think of the quality? I am also looking at Jayco's Jayflight 25bhs and and Forest River's Salem 27BHS.

We are going to be first time travel trailer buyers and I just don't know which one to pick.

We have a Dodge truck, 1/2 ton...hemi....with a 9300 limit.

Thank you so much for any help. Linda

[DriVer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lsirbuly I am looking at a CT260 Coleman tt. Anyone have this trailer and what do you think of the quality? I am also looking at Jayco's Jayflight 25bhs and and Forest River's Salem 27BHS.

Linda, Take a close look at the fit and finish. If it meets your standard for quality this is the unit I would go with.

[maryk2u]

RUN, as far and as fast as you can away from the CT260. We purchased a CT240 in June 2010. BIGGEST MISTAKE we ever made. This is the worst piece of junk we have ever owned, and we wouldnt give you a plug nickel for camping world sales or service either.
If we had a do-over, should have gone with the Jayco. Owned one in the past and had no problems. The only issue with the Jayco for us, was the weight of the unit.

[Superslif]

The Coleman is really a re-badged" Thor / Dutchman product. Campingworld bought the Coleman name and had Thor re-badge one of their trailers with the Coleman name and added a few $$$ for the new decal......

They (Campingworld) did the same thing with the Thor / Dutchman Aerolite / Cub's / Kodiak's / Freedom Spirit. All the same Thor product built on the same production line with different decals. The problem is: 5 or 6 years ago Aerolite's hybrids (Cub) had 10-12 floorplans. same as the Kodiak's. Now, the last few model years there is lucky to be 3-4 floorplans, in 3-4 decal configurations and model names. Still comes down to 3-4 floorplans.

[maryk2u]

I believe that, Superslif. The reason we picked the ct240 was that we couldn't find that floor plan with any other manufacturer than Dutchman under their name or the Coleman name. The headaches we have had since purchasing in June 2010, have vastly out-weighed how much we liked the floor plan! Have you noticed many issues being reported with coleman/dutchman or did we just get a lemon? Your thoughts and anyone else's would be appreciated.

[RVhauler]

Run as fast as possible from any forrest River product IMO. Used to deliver a lot of them from factory to dealer and many had delivery problems straight from factory

[maryk2u]

Thanks for the info, RVhauler. One brand new $30,000 fixer-upper in a lifetime is enough, in my opinion. I understand what you are saying, we pulled out the converter last weekend tracing wires to our 2nd cd/dvd/mp3 player which wasn't working, and found a hole melted through the top of it. The cooling fan was defective and not working, and the converter could have burned the whole thing down. To bad it didnt, it's insured! Husband replaced the cooling fan with a new one and problem with cd/dvd/mp3 player not working was the idiots at campingworld never removed the shipping screw or the tag it went through in the back that says"WARNING Please remove this shipping screw before installation. If the screw is left in place, the CD mechanism will not operate." DUH. I could go on, but I think you get the picture!

[Superslif]

Our Aerolite Cub (hybrid) is made at the same plant as the Colemans. Maybe back in 05' they had better quality control. We have camped 300+ nights in our 05' Cub with only a few very minor do-dad's....I would buy another...if only they produced a floorplan we liked......When we bought ours they had 10 floorplans for the hybrids and 12 floorplans for the regular Aerolites. Now there are maybe 3 hybrid fp's.

[maryk2u]

I'm glad that your trailer is apparently much better quality than ours. I wouldn't wish the amount of time that we have already spent fixing stuff instead of camping on anyone! I tried to create a photo album, but failed miserably....I had downloaded some of the pics to photobucket, if you want to take a look at some of the issues. I'll try again with the photo album here, but I am out of time for now...headed to the NASCAR race in the morning .

2010 Coleman CT240 pictures by maryk2u - Photobucket


Happy Camping to all!!!
MK

[Superslif]

I took a quick look at your pix's...."fit & finish" items in your unit should have been taken care of at the factory.

We also had sawdust in some of the cabinets too. After 6 seasons and 300+ nights, all cabinet doors and hardware is as new....I have not had anything fail like: loose moldings, hinges, door handles, water leaks, de-lam on cabinet doors or walls.

I have had to change both roof vent covers. I think because of UV rays causing the plastic to crack. Had to re-glue a piece inside the shower faucet, had to make a brace to support the folding door step stronger. A month ago was the first time I did some spot caulking around a few areas. But over-all 100% satisfied with what we spent at this "price point". Our next purchase would be another hybrid or a higher level 5er (Carriage Cameo). Our tow vehicle is pushing 6 years old (36k miles). Have a 7/70 extended warranty on it. Not sure what direction to go. Either a new Toyota V-8 or a full size diesel truck for what we really want..???? Cameo 35SB3

[maryk2u]

I think I saw that exact floor plan, 35sb3, at the track this past week. It is a great floor plan...LaMesa RV was having an RV show, it may have been a Carriage.
You are correct about the UV rays affecting the plastic...we live in the desert, and the heat and uv can really dry it out quickly.
It sounds like you drew the lucky straw when it came to rv purchases. I'm glad you havent had the issues we have had.
It never ends with this trailer....Sunday I went to close a drawer and it wouldnt close...discovered the latch had come off of the cabinet, and was stuck in the "closed" position on the bottom of the drawer. Hubby says the screws were stripped out...
I think you should be able to expect quality workmanship at any pricepoint. The materials may not be as luxurious as an expensive coach, but they can still be put together with some care, and not slapped together--In my humble opinion, of course!!

[Superslif]

Before our Cub, we had a Coleman popup we had bought new. I remember there were some trim pieces and other items where it seemed like the work crew went on break, and forgot where they left off screwing or glueing things together.

Where the table sits when it was used as a bed, the cleet had 5 or 6 screws on one side and 2 screws on the other. So what happened, the first time the table was used as a bed, the side with 2 screw broke off and the table fell to the floor and broke in half. Of course the dealer made good. Upon inspection by myself, I found the whole seating area base was missing screws. I ended up doing it myself, knowing it will be done right. I ended up replacing the drawer slides also. The factory ones were junk....

[maryk2u]

We also are of the mind that if you want it done right, you have to do it yourself. We will not be taking ours back for any additional warranty work. The kitchen table and dvd/cd/mp3 player (shipping screw) had been replaced by Camping World, and the pics were the result of their quality warranty service.
After working in a manufacturing facility for many years (ofc furn), I know what good quality and workmanship consist of....and both the trailer manufacturer and dealer could take a lesson....'cause this ain't it!!!!
We will get it all fixed up the way we expected to be when we purchased it, and be able to go out and enjoy camping again.
I guess I should quit my "b*&%^ing" and dwell on the blessings I have been given. It is that time of year.
Happy Thanksgiving to All!
MK

[mountainborn]

We recently joined/found these forums and while catching up on the reading, we couldn't help but notice this Coleman thread.
We have been living full time in a Coleman CT325, 36' with 3 slides, since April of 2010. The Camping World where we made the purchase, also installed 500 watts of solar and a battery bank as well as a few other things, such as a Winegard roadtrip satellite dome.
Last year we pulled it 16k miles on all types of roads, including some very wash boarded dirt, forest service roads where we were off of the grid, for over 110 consecutive days.
We spent two weeks in below freezing weather with some days actually having 8* temperatures and a wind chill down in single minus digits.
Our fit and trim have been noted to be pretty much ok, with small things that weren't worth stopping at a dealership for, taken care of by us. Those things were items such as an extra finishing staple here and there.
We found a simple thing or two that we changed as a matter of personal preference, but not out of necessity.
We know and understand that our Coleman is a rebadged Thor, with a Coleman spin on it, and that's cool with us. We just wish that we had waited for the Coleman 40' with 4 slides to come out ! He, he.

Note the icesicles hanging down by the Texas safety inspection sticker. Obviously the photo's date is wrong, but it was taken in December of 1010, at Campbellsville Kentucky where we were workamping for Amazon.com