tnrv'er wrote:
There's a few of you that own this TT on these forums, sorry but I can't remember who you are.
How do you like it? The floor plan is similar to my KZ Sportsman Classic 17RBS but the Coachman has some amenities that my KZ doesn't, so i'm interested in it.
How is the quality build of the trailer?
Quality of the cabinets,drawers, are they wood?
How's the fit and finish work?
What is the roofing material, I looked on their website but did see it.
IIRC one of y'all tow that trailer with a Honda Ridgeline which will be our tow vehicle......I hope you see this got a few TV questions.
Gotta' love the Internet. So I'm sitting on the porch of our daughter's house in SW Germany enjoying the cool afternoon breeze after a refreshing 1/2 hour walk through their village . . . logged on and saw your thread. Ironic, because I was thinking of posting a couple of pics of "caravans" (travel trailers over here) we've seen in the village. Single axle, perhaps 20' long and towed by your typical European mini-van or smaller sedan. Hmmmmm . . .
So to your question(s) -
We are a couple who have the schedule flexibility and ambient weather along the Texas Gulf Coast to enjoy our 192 RBS year round, and we do. It is definitely a couple's camper, though the jack knife sofa could accommodate a smaller child. We do camp with our 47 lb. dog, and she really loves the experience. (Don't know if you need to allow for a dog such as ours, but it is important to think through how and where your critter will handle the camping experience without being stressed.) We spent over a year researching the whole RV scene and sought feedback from experienced campers to develop a baseline of needs, then wants - all within the trailering specifications of our 2011 Ridgeline RTL. That's the backgound to our decision path, and we couldn't be happier.
As to fit and finish and materials, etc. - I'll just say that this unit probably exemplifies much of the same quality as other trailers in this price category. Our particular unit has not shown any examples of shoddy assembly, fortunately. Maybe we just caught the right day of the week for ours to be built. We did opt to buy ours new from a multi-site dealer here in Texas that has been very good for technical questions and actual service.
All of the doors and hinges function to spec as well as our appliances and electronics. I will plead ignorance as to the material sourced for our roof. Our local Coachmen dealer provided (gratis) a tube of Dicor for me to use for any needed touch up and maintenance. (I have since used more to augment a few areas that seemed to need it.)
So all in all, we are pleased as can be with this TT. Nothing is perfect, and there have been just a couple of simply remedied issues either by our dealer or me in our driveway. This forum as well as a couple of others have been informative - particularly regarding being proactive about maintenance.
We have made very good use of the excellent provision of space for storage, and we have not had to cram stuff in to make do. My dear wife has been a master at analyzing our needs for foodstuffs, kitchen utensils, cooking gear, as well as linens and closet space. Our longest trip so far was last year: about 2 1/2 weeks; only 1,500+ miles in total on a big loop from the Houston area up to the Northern Ozark Mountains (Eureka Springs) and back southwestward through hills in eastern Oklahoma and then eventually southward through central Texas. I mention that not in any way to call attention to the scope of our trip - but only to illustrate that this unit is quite capable of sustaining two adults for a few weeks in a very comfortable manner. You've probably already figured out your camping lifestyle expectations, so perhaps our experience will offer you some positive feedback. I probably would not want to spend much more than a month in this unit, but that's a personal camping lifestyle decision only you can make.
I also should note that when loaded for such a trip as last year's Ozark run, we weighed the trailer at a CAT Scale and came in at approx. 4,700 lbs (don't have any records with me on this side of the Atlantic, but that number is really close). Further, our tongue weight is typically 480-520 lbs. (we use a Sherline Tongue Weight Scale to obtain that number before every trip). We do not use a WD hitch but I do make good use of a friction sway bar. The result is that we have been solid as a rock in every towing regime that we have encountered so far. Wind is an export crop in Texas, and we have been very stable in cross winds, tail winds and head winds. On interstates you will experience the slightest lateral push and pull from passing semis, etc. But as candid as I can be on an anonymous Internet forum, I have not been uncomfortable, uncertain or otherwise intimidated by our towing experiences thus far.
It's been fun enough to say that within 3 weeks of our return from Europe, we are going to hitch up and head north to Mt. Rushmore and the Black Hills area. So at the end of August we are hoping to escape the South Texas heat for an almost 3 week journey. Really looking forward to this trip. It will be around 3,000+ miles round trip, and we will be co-camping with another couple in their Class A Alegro motor home for a part of our trip.
So finally, yes we have been quite pleased with our towing experience with our '11 Ridgeline RTL. The Mt. Rushmore run will start our third season of towing (we bought our 2016 192 RBS in August, 2015), and we have only logged something over 7,500 miles (that includes every single mile that TT has been on the road since we bought it). Our overall mpg (hand calculated) has clocked in at 9.02 mpg. I neglected to check your profile to see which generation Ridgeline you own, so our truck may not be a good comparison if you own the 2017 Generation 2 Ridge (if you do, you can be confident that the Gen 2 truck will exceed our truck's capabilities).
But with either the gen 1 or gen 2, watching your payload is key. Our yellow sticker on our door frame reflects a total payload capacity of 1,470 lbs. So we have found by weighing regularly and staying within the truck's specifications that the Ridgeline and 192 RBS have been very kind to us. You are surely aware that a part of your standard equipment is a transmission cooler, power steering cooler, dual radiator fans as well as a Class III hitch receiver and factory wiring harness to receive the electronic brake controller of your choice (which you may already have installed but certainly need if not yet).
Forum member SoundGuy has an earlier model of our rig, and I would encourage you to view his photo log for the various mods he has made (you're welcome, my Canadian colleague!). We've done several ourselves, but I've been too lazy to document them via photo. PM me if you are really interested.
I just remembered that he mentioned our potential interest in a 1/2 ton (we've messaged a bit back and forth on this since he tows the same rig at virtually the same weight). Yes, we've thought some about adding a 1/2 ton to our "fleet" at home. The key issue that I have focused on is mpg. We are at the very upper limit of this truck's stated specifications, and I've noted its positive performance above, but I would like to gain some efficiency and economics - particularly as our truck ages. We have approx. 140,000+ miles on the odometer, and I also tow our 3,800 lb. boat to fish either in one of our bays or an area lake - quite a lot, so that's lots of towing. There's not a squeak or rattle in our Ridgeline, but I want to preserve it for quite a few years yet. So with that in mind, we are looking to offload some of our towing needs from our Ridge to an additional truck. Meanwhile, as long as you monitor your weights just hitch it up and go.
This post has been way too long and perhaps boring, but I hope that something in all of this will have been helpful. Meanwhile, I'm watching the slowly setting sun from here in the Black Forest. Life is good . . .
