Are Coachman caravans going downmarket?

Yes, tend to agree, the Euro built vans don't do good bathrooms, they are not as important to their customer base as in the UK. 

Nothing wrong with Bailey, nearly persuaded myself but didn't get the giant fridge taking so much space, I like the TV by the door..

Don't try to justify buying a new van, its not possible, just do it and enjoy!

The user and all related content has been Deleted User

If you only use it three times in seven years, it's would appear that any deficiencies of a continental van's bathroom are hardly relevant. Judging by the catering arrangements in them, either BBQs or eating out is the norm for our continental brethren.

The user and all related content has been Deleted User

Good morning AD,  Caravan shower three times in seven years? That's far more than me!

In 50 years with caravans I always used on site facilities and never once attempted a shower in a caravan. Dragging water to the van, heating it, letting it dribble over me, mopping out the cubicle,  and then dragging the water away again seemed pretty stupid to me. 

The user and all related content has been Deleted User

Are Coachman caravans going downmarket?

 

I hope not - we collect our new Coachman van in about a weeks time. 😀

We changed to a Coachman 460 VIP 2018, second hand. Wish we'd known then what we know now. The Dometic toilet has been a disaster from the first time we tried it out. When we came to leave the CL we'd stayed on, and tried to take the cassette out, it just wouldn't. Rang dealer, to report and book it in. There was no way it would budge. And yes, we've had caravans/motorhomes for years, so are well versed in knowing how to empty the toilet!

Long story short: dealer couldn't remove cassette either, so we had to leave the van there. They rang us later to tell us they'd removed it.....breaking the whole toilet in the process! So a whole new unit had to be ordered and fitted. We asked about replacing with a Thetford but were told not possible due to warranty terms. Have lost all faith in it, as at subsequent service they had trouble removing it again, but managed not to break it. Have asked a couple of independent caravan engineers about changing, neither of whom wanted to do it.  Have written to Coachman, whose reply was that we shouldn't treat it like a Thetford!! So totally disillusioned with the whole thing.  Had a Coachman in the early 90s, which was brilliant, hence our decision to buy this one.

Interestingly, models from 2020 onwards are now fitted with Thetford toilets, speaks volumes.

It's not fit for purpose, as it is very flimsy, so we daren't even wheel it to the emptying point.

Yet another disastrous tale about this darned dometic toilet, coachman really need to recall all the vans this was installed in and replace it with a thetford toilet, these are much more robustly made and are fit for purpose. 

I may have found a dealer who will replace our dometic and provide guarantee on the work, il keep everyone posted,  I can’t reiterate enough how dissatisfied we are with coachman for not doing the right thing in relation to this quality control failure on their part. 

If you manage to find a dealer who will change the toilet, we'd be very interested to find out further details.  Other than the disastrous Dometic toilet, we do like the rest of the van, but have been thinking seriously about changing it, as we have no faith in the toilet being 100% reliable.  Agree with you about Coachman; they should replace these toilets.  But their reply to our letter was very off-hand and certainly not customer-friendly.

Please keep us updated with any progress you make.