2015 Coachmen Freedom Express 29SE

[JoeBee]

Hi, my name is Joe. I’m new to this and plan on buying a travel trailer to live in ( my backyard / San Diego). I’ll be looking at my first ( travel trailer) on Monday. It seems to good to be true as it’s a 2015 Aluminum Coachmen Freedom Express 29SE- 32 ft for $ 7,000 . Pics look great but owner said bathroom floor is cracked and his sister ( who owns it) didn’t patch something up and needed to do some caulking. We’ve had major rains here this winter and being that this was uncovered during might have some big issues I may have to deal with. For that price, would it be relatively inexpensive to fix as some videos I saw on YouTube mentioned the body is aluminum and flooring is vinyl. I suppose it likely came from roof? When I go see it, I plan on looking at the roof condition ( corner seams) ) and have a look at the top inside corners inside the RV itself ( YouTube advised ) . My guess is that it will be all patched up now that they are selling it. So, can anyone give me an idea on cost to repair?
Anything else I should look out for?
Is the cracked floor a big red flag and should I run. BTW, the guy said his sister has lived full time in it on property for the last 2 years with her children, so I guess it hasn’t done all that much road time being that it’s built in 2015. One last thing, does anyone have thoughts on this particular model. According to videos, it’s a very basic model with not a lot of bells and whistles.
Thanks for reading through all that and any answers would be immensely appreciated.
Thank you!
Joe

 

[Bigblockyeti]

That does seem like a pretty good price and someone living in it full time would certainly see and be able to address any leaks sooner than if it sat empty. I can't attest to that specific model but I have been shopping for everything under the sun that pops up and seems like a good deal. Being a few frills model means there's less to go wrong. I've been in ones with and without slides and while the additional room they offer is nice, they're heavy and represent another place to potentially leak. Having kids living in there full time could put a little or a lot of additional wear and tear on the interior. It should also mean the chassis doesn't have a bunch of miles on it either. Be sure to post pics when you can, if you have any concerns, they'll help the most experienced folks to offer guidance.

 

[Rosy]

We're really happy so far we our 2018 Coachmen Freedom Express 25SE.

I would think that a cracked floor would be less of an issue in terms of water ingress than a cracked roof or side but the cost of the repairs would depend on the extent of the cracking obviously.

 

[Kevin D Pem]

San Diego, backyard? No HOA? How about codes?

You will need to see it to figure your tolerance to the wear. Like above, full time means wear and tear, not to mention the kid factor.

Cracked floor could just be floor covering.
If she maintained it, likely will be sound.

When you look it over don't take anyone's word that things work. The statement something works but the battery is dead, for instance is, likely a cover-up.

If you're handy, a few repairs will not break the bank. But it is likely you will need to fix things, and if you can't fix it yourself, then only buy pristine.

 

[JoeBee]

That does seem like a pretty good price and someone living in it full time would certainly see and be able to address any leaks sooner than if it sat empty. I can't attest to that specific model but I have been shopping for everything under the sun that pops up and seems like a good deal. Being a few frills model means there's less to go wrong. I've been in ones with and without slides and while the additional room they offer is nice, they're heavy and represent another place to potentially leak. Having kids living in there full time could put a little or a lot of additional wear and tear on the interior. It should also mean the chassis doesn't have a bunch of miles on it either. Be sure to post pics when you can, if you have any concerns, they'll help the most experienced folks to offer guidance.

Thanks for your response and thoughts I tried to post pics but was unable to do so . I’ll try again. You made some great points. I’m gonna look at it Monday and gather what I’ve learned on videos to see what kind of shape it’s in. Again , thank you for your insights!

 

[JoeBee]

San Diego, backyard? No HOA? How about codes?

You will need to see it to figure your tolerance to the wear. Like above, full time means wear and tear, not to mention the kid factor.

Cracked floor could just be floor covering.
If she maintained it, likely will be sound.

When you look it over don't take anyone's word that things work. The statement something works but the battery is dead, for instance is, likely a cover-up.

If you're handy, a few repairs will not break the bank. But it is likely you will need to fix things, and if you can't fix it yourself, then only buy pristine.

Hi, there is no HOA. I have a 40 ft roof on stilts behind a gate in my backyard. I was told that a person can’t live in it full time but how could anyone know? I can always just go inside my house if I get a knock at my door. I’m not certain about this myself and would welcome advice on the legality side of things. I do notice many people in my neighborhood who seem to be doing same with their RVs. I’m going to see it on Monday and share pics here. They did say they have a generator to show that everything is working, we’ll see. Hoping it’s just the kids ( wear and tare) may have been the cause of damaged floors instead of the rains. Thank you for your comments!

 

[JoeBee]

We're really happy so far we our 2018 Coachmen Freedom Express 25SE.

I would think that a cracked floor would be less of an issue in terms of water ingress than a cracked roof or side but the cost of the repairs would depend on the extent of the cracking obviously.

 

[JoeBee]

Yea, I’m hoping it’s because people were living in it full time and it got worn out by the kids instead of the rains. I’m going to see it Monday and will take pics I can hopefully post here. Thanks for your comments and happy to hear you are enjoying yours!