Coachmen: New Product - Cross Trek Class C

[Michael1955]

Anyone check out the new Cross Trek Class C RV Product Line by Coachman?

They're offering some very interesting innovations.

- No Generators, all House Battery with some solar recharging capability

- HUGE Cavernous Exterior Storage Bay (up to 130 CF)
With built in tie downs, hooks, shelving and nets
Spacious enough to store Bikes inside.

- Removable inside TV with quick hook-up for outside viewing

- Wi-Fi Ranger for greater internet connectivity

- Also, 3-way Refrigerator is standard I believe

Coachman's customary XL Propane and Fresh Water capacity too.

Models available on Ford 350, Ford Transit or Chevy chassis.

If they only offered a Fiberglass Roof I'd be very tempted, but they still only offer
the TPO which I'm not a fan of. Just watching the Coachman Video for TPO maintenance
is enough to turn me off.

Overall, an exciting product line that 'Active' RVers that like to tote a lot of Outdoor Gear,
will likely enjoy.

[Teamfoxy]

Transit and E-350 chassis will likely have an overloaded rear axle if you load up that large rear cargo area. Maybe OK for weekend warriors, but I would go for the Leprichan on an E-450. TPO roof does not bother me. The fiberglass roofs have blown off a number of Winnebago products including our previous Itasca. All roofs need to be inspected and maintained regularly.

[Kirk17]

Hello,

Purchased a Cross Trek 22XG this summer. I picked the Cross Trek once I understood about the generator free configuration. I am a fan of the setup when it works. I like the versatility of the configuration where the main bed folds for cargo. I want to use it for remote and hook-up camping. So far neither will go well. I have had significant issues with the model. The microwave almost fell out. Every non-Ford window and hatch will leak. We don’t get a lot of rain here, but the seals seem to keep out very little. The electrical system has huge issues. it does not charge when driving or plugged in. if I run the refrigerator (it is only electric) I may not have enough capacity for anything else like heat. If I run the microwave to heat a potato, that will almost completely drain the battery. I am surprised the model does not have an oven. I was hoping to find other support on the forum to help with using it successfully. Service has been very difficult to contact, and they have no ETA for repair on the issues. I contacted Coachmen today, and I hope they can help. I hope I can get a service manual or something like. The manual (app) does not pertain to my model and is unable to answer any questions. I am hopeful I can get the electrical system to work as advertised, but I will likely need to address every component.

Hopefully I can hear from other owners to benefit from their experience. I suspect my warranty will be expired by the time I get the current issues fixed. Minor warning. The configuration is complicated. To maintain these components it would be helpful to know where each is located, and how they are connected. The manual has very little helpful information.

[Clay21XG]

Kirk,

I have the 21XG so far and love it...but I've noticed a lot of the same problems. The microwave draws a huge amount of power, is mounted very poorly, and I really only use it to make coffee, etc. I have 2 solar panels on the roof and noticed they never charge above 70%, and when driving the same happens - the batteries never fill up unless plugged in to shore power.
I really hope we dont have the same issues when it rains, but I have noticed there are many gaps that need to be filled with either more insulation or caulking, notably around the door frame, handles, and all the electrical/water mounts screwed into the outside.

My biggest frustration is the lack of a cohesive manual. I have the same issue with the coachmen app and manuals scattered all over, with nothing that specifies or pertains to our specific rig. I've spent many hours teaching myself where and why things are the way they are, but i'm still nowhere near comfortable enough. I really don't want to have to take it in myself and pay to have each component looked at.

If you do hear back, please let me know! I am also going to try to contact them and speak to someone about these issues, or maybe get some kind of resolution.

All that aside - It's a great RV to drive, especially the 21XG on the Transit chassis. My wife and I really enjoy it, but we haven't been brave enough to take it boondocking until we can figure out the power and electrical problems.

[Kirk17]

Clay,
Hello. It is good to meet you. I agree about the manual. It is mostly filled with data that does not pertain to my version. I did reach out to Coachmen last week, and initially was quite positive. They were going to call the service group from my dealer. They discovered the dealer didn’t register my warranty. I was hopeful that the dialog was going somewhere. They haven’t responded since Wednesday. I was trying to troubleshoot the charging while driving issue, and AC overloading the inverter. I was beginning to think I could perform some upgrades to help each situation. I watched a RV solar install video, and they placed a module that would assist with the AC power up. I was also thinking that maybe the vehicle needed a larger alternator. I can get behind upgrades. I probably won’t do them all at once but it is nice to have a plan.

I like the design. I camped once, so far, and was quite pleased with the how it functions. I was off-grid on public land, and had a lot of battery. I think it will work quite well with a few tweaks. I am really concerned with the leaking. Hopefully my dealer service can figure that out.

Thanks,Kirk

[JM in VA]

Hi! I am about to buy a 20XG as my retirement, tool about the country vehicle. The big selling points for me are: 1) that garage and 2) the Transit chassis. I have every confidence in the vehicle the house part...well, I am anticipating problems.

Still this is THE vehicle to facilitate my post-retirement career of driving around the country teaching shooting classes. (At least until I can upgrade to an LTV Wonder!)

[JM in VA]

I took delivery of the unit last Thursday and I am experiencing the same problems listed above...the batteries aren't charging from either the solar unit or the extra alternator. I'll be working in the unit today, but I am anticipating calling Coachmen on Tuesday for a "discussion."

[dceggert]

Originally Posted by Michael1955

* Snip

If they only offered a Fiberglass Roof I'd be very tempted, but they still only offer the TPO which I'm not a fan of. Just watching the Coachman Video for TPO maintenance is enough to turn me off.

* Snip

I believe they are using the CrossFlex PVC roof which is a flexible membrane like TPO but supposedly much tougher for puncture and tear resistance. Also, the Azdel construction for rot-resistance and no delamination.

It is good to see someone exploring new ideas in the floorplan department!

[JM in VA]

Originally Posted by JM in VA

I took delivery of the unit last Thursday and I am experiencing the same problems listed above...the batteries aren't charging from either the solar unit or the extra alternator. I'll be working in the unit today, but I am anticipating calling Coachmen on Tuesday for a "discussion."

All seems well now, which is a huge relief!

[roo rambler]

we found out some of the problems with the cross trek charging system first hand. for one, when coachman got the chassie from ford, they put an isolator in for the charging system, not knowing ford already had one installed. therefore there are 2 isolators the alternator has to go thru to get charge to the house batteries. they later took theirs out and replaced it with a fuse or relay. the original coachman isolator is located either under the inverter or under the fridge, dependent on model. this needs to be removed and the fuse that replaces it is installed in the inverter area, for ease of access (and fire code). the other issue is with the solar. don't believe the monitor for the solar, use the renogy indicator. this is because the monitor for the solar is routed thru the inverter and is not made to do that. it should simply be routed directly to the batteries, but that isn't how coachman did it. probably not worth the hassle to fix since the renogy monitor should give all the same info. there are 4 different wiring diagrams for the first year cross trek. for ours, it was a mix of all 4, so good luck out there

[Alikair]

I recently test-drove a cross trek 21 x g and thought it was great but small.
For the same price you could get a Gemini from Thor that is much roomier thanks to its large slide out.
Unfortunately there are no Thor Geminis within 200 miles of me so if anyone else has an opinion I'd love to hear it thank you.

[mom4m]

[moderator edit] Our brand new 2021 20XG is at the dealer after 1 week because we got it home, parked it in the driveway, played with it a little bit, then lost all power. Won't recharge at all. Took it to a campground to plug into 30amp and no electricity in the cabin. Doesn't charge when driving. Hoping some of the info posted above will be useful. It was "beeping" before it died. I think it was the Renogy inverter, but with the awkward placement under the sink, it was hard to tell. We took off the access panel, but it was too late by then. No displays on anything.

It is very frustrating that there is really no user manual with any accuracy. We are first time RVers, so it's all new. We love how it drives and it is the perfect size for us. Hoping this gets sorted out!

[Clay21XG]

Mom4m,

I had similar issues and eventually took it in to get looked at. The wiring from the alternator to the house was never installed, and the wiring from the inverter to... Anything?... Was improperly done. The shop I took it to was and to fix everything after I reached out to coachmen to get their installation specs and wiring diagrams. Maybe this would be worth looking into?

[mom4m]

Yeah...well....Passing info along to the dealer - including the name of the Coachmen contact that all the Cross Trek folks seem to be using (and joined the friendly FB group with lots of helpful info). The question we have to ask is why Coachmen is sending these RVs out with such poor quality control. I guess the dealers aren't catching it because they plug them in to demo them or there is enough juice in the batteries to show off the features. Only after you really use them do the problems show up. As a new RV buyer, I don't think there is any way I could have seen or asked questions about these types of problems. Just hoping the fix can be done so we can enjoy it. We really love the size and layout and have lots of travels planned on paper.