Camping in Style With the Coachmen Catalina Travel Trailer
Written: Jun 05 '04 (Updated Jun 11 '04)
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Pros: Lots of space, very comfortable way to camp or travel.
Cons: Kids out grow the bunk beds. High cost of gasoline at present time!
The Bottom Line: You will love traveling with this camper behind your truck!
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| Birdfeather's Full Review: 2000 Coachmen RV Catalina Travel Trailer |
When my husband and I decided to buy a travel trailer my first thoughts were "Oh Lord". You see my husband and shopping make for some long hours standing. Shoe shopping in particular brings a 3 hour adventure. So, I was reluctant yet excited to start looking at models on the lots here and around town.
We visited several different dealers only to find pushy salesmen. We hadn't found anything that really would suit our needs with three kids and have room to move around in until we were at the last dealership of the day. We told the salesman what we were looking for and he said he had the perfect camper for us. Yeah, right...I'm thinking as I trek along. He showed us several models of the Coachmen Catalina and we finally settled on the 27.5 ft. model. We ended up buying it that day!
Floor Plan
We found the floor plan to the Coachmen Catalina most attractive. It had a separate bedroom complete with a double bed, a storage compartment that goes over the bed and a separate storage closet on each side of the bed where clothes could be hung up. A night stand was also on each side of the bed with another storage compartment built in underneath the night stand. This room had lots of windows, one over the bed and one on each side of the bed. A pop-up shelf was also on the right hand side of the bed to hold a small TV or whatever else you would like to put there. The bed also has a hidden storage compartment underneath it that lifts up at the foot of the bed. I store extra blankets and bedding here.
The living room consisted of a flop-down sofa that made into a single size bed and a comfortable lounge chair. It also had storage space in the cabinet that held the stereo. The countertop to the stereo served as the perfect space for your TV. There are also cabinets above the sofa and window which both were enclosed and open, which can be used for decorative pieces. I store my dishes in the closed cabinets here.
The kitchen is very nice! It contains a full size stove (run off butane of course), double sink with window overhead, built-in microwave, compact refrigerator and booth style dining table. The dining table will flip over to create another bed large enough for two children. When the bed is not in use there is a large storage area beneath each seat. This comes in handy for storing items not used very frequently. There is also another large window by the dining table. The kitchen also has plenty of storage cabinets for your groceries, cooking utensils, and dishes. These are in the combination of cabinets and pull out drawers.
Down the hall is another large closet for hanging clothes on the right hand side of the camper and on the left you will find bunk beds. Each bunk bed has a small window.
And finally at the end of the hall you will run into the bathroom . The bathroom was another high selling point for us. It had more space than the other models we were shown. It had a full size bath tub with shower, vanity with storage cabinet above and below and of course a toilet.
Other Nice Things About the Coachmen Catalina
This model is completely carpeted except for the kitchen area and hall where you will find easy to clean linoleum.
There is a smoke alarm and also an ozone detector that came with the travel trailer.
All of the windows have color-coordinated blinds and curtains. I really liked the color theme here which consisted of aquas, mauves and a medium blue.
Central heating and air. (Very nice here in humid Louisiana.)
Outside storage bin for tools and spare tires is adequate.
There is a nice and big pull-down awning that makes a great shaded patio.
This model weighs in at approximately 7500 pounds so you will need a 1-ton truck to pull it! We have a Chevrolet Dulley for this job! It pulls the Coachmen Catalina without any problems. We do use a sway-bar to reduce swaying on long trips.
It handles very well on the road once you get used to it! My husband has even trusted me to drive while pulling it in the mountains!
Set-Up
Setting up the Coachmen Catalina Travel Trailer is very easy. The campgrounds here in Louisiana that we frequent the mostly have concrete pads for travel trailers making leveling the travel trailer a simple feat. However, on the rare instances where we find that we must use a more "primative" area we have the square PVC waffle blocks that can be stacked to level the travel trailer. The sewer hose is stored in a rear compartment which needs to be connected to the travel trailer and put down in the "dump hole". Electricity is also a simple feat, just remove the wiring from the compartment and plug in. The water hookup requires a garden hose (they actually have specific ones for campground use although I have no idea what the difference is). This unit has dual butane bottles (for running the stove) so when one runs out you can switch to the other bottle. The refrigerator can run on battery back-up or electricity.
Maintenance
Routine care includes keeping the Coachmen Catalina clean. It is prone to mildew if it sits outdoors without regular cleaning. We use Simple Green diluted in water to wash the travel trailer down.
The only other maintenance that we have incurred is replacing the awning which my husband decided to do himself. The replacement was due to unexpected high winds. The awning was ripped, hence calling for a replacement. This would not of been a big hassle if the company would of shipped the correct awning for our model of travel trailer but hence they did not. We had to return the original awning shipped to the local distributor and wait for the correct model to come in (another 2 weeks). The correct model awning installed without problems.
Overall Rating
We have enjoyed the Coachmen Catalina tremendously over the last few years. It has held up well with regular maintenance. I especially recommend this model to families with children. There is enough room here to where you won't be stepping all over each other here. We have been pleased with this travel trailer on both long and short trips.
~Thanks for reading!~
© 2004 Birdfeather
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 27,995
Condition: New
Model Year: 2000
Model and Options: Catalina
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