Coleman Campers

[mash]

I can't believe that I have evidently missed the news story that Coleman pop up campers has gone out of business:
http://www.dailyamerican.com/news/s...d-goes-outofbusiness-01202011,0,4548517.story

We sold out 1994 Coleman pop up last year and we were going to upgrade to the new Niagara this year. I so looking forward to buying it this spring but it doesn't look like that is going to happen.

Does anyone have recommendations on other brands? We loved our old Coleman and really liked the floorplan on the Niagara.

 

[YellowXterra]

That stinks, We just traded our 2003 Utah which served us well. Hope they come back alive.

 

[labdogs42]

That's a bummer! We love our Coleman Utah.

 

[Teamubr]

It's been quite a while since a Coleman was a "Coleman". The original Coleman sold naming/production of it's pup's to Fleetwood in 1999. There were some legal battles and the last Fleetwood "Coleman" was around 2003. Fleetwood Corp still makes a bunch of lines of pup's. Depends on what you want now and how much your budget is.

All that said, if you are looking for a good new one, I have owned 2 Starcraft campers and rented many Starcraft pup's. They are solid, campers for the money. I don't know that they are to the original Coleman standards but I'm not sure any are now.

j

 

[tim5055]

It's been quite a while since a Coleman was a "Coleman". The original Coleman sold naming/production of it's pup's to Fleetwood in 1999.

Actually, Coleman sold the factory and designs to Fleetwood in about 1968 IIRC.

 

[Teamubr]

Actually, Coleman sold the factory and designs to Fleetwood in about 1968 IIRC.

WOW! Didn't know it had been that long. I got my info from HERE

j

 

[mash]

"Actually, Coleman sold the factory and designs to Fleetwood in about 1968 IIRC. "

You are correct. I believe that they did sell it. If I am reading the article correctly, the plant that manufactures the pop ups, FCTA, has closed. Therefore, I don't believe that you can buy a Fleetwood or Coleman version of this pop up. I've been checking the internet sites of the Coleman/Fleetwood dealers (like Peco in Georgia) and it looks as if their supply is very limited, especially compared to prior years.

Teamubr - Thank you for the recommendation on the Starcraft. I will check that out.

I did saw the Jayco Jay Select online today. It looks like it has a very similar floorplan to the Niagara. Does anyone have any experience with Jayco? I seem to recall that they have a pretty good reputation.

 

[tim5055]

WOW! Didn't know it had been that long. I got my info from HERE

j

Yup, part of my dyslexia kicking in. The article says 1989 which is about right. I just knew the 1999 in your post was way too late. Our first one was a 2001 and I was sure Fleetwood had been building them for more than 2 years.

Here is a history I found:

* In 1967, The Coleman Company started production of the first Coleman folding trailer in Somerset, Pennsylvania. This state-of-the-art production facility was designed to produce some of the highest quality camping trailers in the world.

* In 1979, the Coleman brand camping trailer became North America's #1 selling brand, a position that has been maintained ever since. The Coleman Company accredited this to innovative thinking, engineering, and manufacturing, as well as a caring customer service of the Somerset facility.

* In 1989, Fleetwood Enterprises Inc purchased Coleman Recreation Vehicles Inc., becoming a full-line manufacturer of recreation vehicles of all sizes. Previous to the acquisition of Coleman, Fleetwood was known for their popular recreational vehicles (RVs). With the Somerset facility's reputation and Fleetwood's dedicated focus sales and market share, sales and business grew.

* In 2003, Fleetwood decided to stop using the Coleman brand, choosing instead to let the Fleetwood name carry on the continuing accomplishments of the Somerset facility.

The 2003 name change was because Fleetwood & Coleman got into a fight over fees to use the name.

 

[2goofycampers]

We have owned 3 Jayco TT's and wouldn't buy any other brand.

 

[Teamubr]

Yup, part of my dyslexia kicking in... I just knew the 1999 in your post was way too late. .

Funny, I meant to type 1989, but apparently my sausage fingers couldn't make it all the way over to the 8.

As far as Jayco. They make some very nice trailers. I seriously considered a Designer 5th wheel. Unfortunately, my local 2 dealers were unwilling to work on a reasonable price. Overall, nice trailers but for less money, I found just as nice a trailer. If you can find a dealer that is willing to negotiate, I'd take a serious look at them.

j

 

[LynneyPooh]

We bought a used jayco last summer- we're the 3rd owners, but you'd never know! Growing up, my family had a coleman pup. (We happened upon a great deal- some friends needed to get rid of it quick for financial reasons- and since I had been hounding DH for about 3 years for a pup he grabbed it to shut me up ). However, he is more proud of the jayco than I am, and it was like I was back home in the old coleman last summer. So far, nothing but positive reviews for jayco from us, the only issues we had with it were caused by our novice mistakes :0

 

[dblr]

I always thought Coleman made the best pop up on the market, when Fleetwood took over they were still nice but not as good(IMO) anyway Starcraft or Jayco would be very good to purchase as they are both very well made units I think it would come down to what fits your needs the most.

 

[Dustykins]

We love our Jayco - we've had it almost 6 years already and it's still great. Coleman/Fleetwood wasn't even an option for us because we didn't like the floor plans at all. We picked our Jayco floorplan because we can put food in the refrigerator without popping up.

 

[tvengineer]

We have a Coleman Key West and love it. As with almost any brand sooner or later you have to get parts through vendors other than the manufacturer anyway so just because production has stopped does not mean parts will not be available somewhere.

 

[acenorm]

Just to let you know, Jayco and Starcraft are the same company, just branded different.

Best Regards,
Norm

 

[rock_doctor]

That's too bad. I also have a Utah and it is amazingly comfortable. Just see what is out there. I liked the fact that all of the half walls and frame of the Utah were metal. Just see if you can find an equivalent. Since you are looking for new or sort of new. They now make "pop-ups" that use fiberglass walls that drop into place and have basic full bathrooms... It is something to look at.

 

[mash]

Thank you for all the great info. I didn't know that Jayco and Starcraft were the same company.

We are planning to attend the Central Florida RV this weekend in Volusia county. We are going to check out all the different options and then try to figure out what we want to do. Stick with the pop up that fits in the garage or maybe go for the hybrid which has more storage and organization but would require us to pay for storage.

Decisions...decisions...

 

[gillenkl]

We have a Fleetwood Westlake and really like it!

 

[Lyndria]

We love our Fleetwood Bayside!

 

[AshFamily]

This would be the time to shop for a Coleman/Fleetwood. You will get the best deals on them now cause they are trying to blow them out. And it will prob. still be this way for a little while to come.