thoughts on Coleman Lantern LT Series 16FBWE

[ScottnDana]

Anyone have some experience with this brand "Coleman"? New to this experience, this seems to have a good entry price to try this camping trailer experience out. Any thoughts??

[brmiller]

ScottnDana wrote:
Thanks for the information. The price point is good for us beginners to see if we even like the experience. We do like to camp. Tents have been our refuge for the past 30 years, but age is creeping up, and a trailer will be needed in the future.
Thank you

We have two kids (highschool and middle school) so our goal was to get something inexpensive that we could use a few times a year. I know we only have a few years left with them before they are out of the house so the urge to make some memories with them is what prompted us to buy this camper.

We are in no way full-timing nor are we going every weekend. We will be lucky to go once a month during the summer with all the things the kids are in to.

So the last thing I wanted was a $20K+ travel trailer sitting in the driveway 80% of the time. We set a budget of 15K for the TT plus all the extra stuff that goes with it. This was the right floor plan and right weight for our needs.

Yes, it's not a high end TT and you do get what you pay for but we are impressed with this unit so far. Everything is laid out well and there is a ton of storage for such a small space.

We will keep if for a few years, till the kids are out of the house and then sell it. Once is just my wife and myself then we will look into something better that fits us at the time in our lives.

[ScottnDana]

Thanks for the information. The price point is good for us beginners to see if we even like the experience. We do like to camp. Tents have been our refuge for the past 30 years, but age is creeping up, and a trailer will be needed in the future.
Thank you

[ScottnDana]

Thanks for the insightful information from an actual owner. My wife and I are have just retired and and want to try this travel trailer thing. Looking at our budget we thought the Coleman (Dutchman) fit our needs.
Thanks again

[brmiller]

We bought a Coleman 17fq a few weeks ago and went on our first trip last weekend.



There are 4 of us (me, wife, son & daughter) so we wanted a bunk model. We also wanted something small as we don't have big tow vehicles and we aren't planning to go very far or stay more than 3-4 days at a time.

My focus was having a place to sleep and get out of bad weather. If we are out camping then I want to be "out" not sitting inside the trailer all the time. It is on the lower end of the campers so you will sacrifice on amanaties but that really didn't matter that much to us.

If this was more of a hobby and we did it more often then we would move up to a bigger/nicer TT.

So far we are happy with the way this uint was equipped and for the $11K we spent on it I think it was a decent purchase. But like others have said. If you're concerned see if you can rent a similar model somewhere and test it out.

[falconbrother]

We have a 2017 Coleman 262BH and love it. We have been RV-ing since 1987. I'd say we have some experience. In it's price range it's hard to beat. When we started looking I wanted two axles and my wife wanted a slideout. I personally like the aluminum sides as you never have the delamination, like we had on our motorhome before this RV. We wanted new but, we didn't want to go in real deep financially. The Coleman fit the bill. The pluses for us are, central air and heat, the slideout, the perfect size fridge for us, an RV queen bed that we can get to both sides on, decent storage, it tows straight and easy so, decent weight range for a 27 footer. The Coleman has a curved roof, not a flat roof so it sheds water well. I like that part. The negatives are that it's not super well made. It reminds me of our 1991 Prowler. We loved that trailer BTW. And, I personally don't like the power awning. I'd rather have the manual one.

Nevertheless, people will bust on the Coleman because it's not made like a trailer that cost three times what it cost. It can only be measured against the others at this price point. It stacks up really well, in my opinion. If I was a full timer I think I would want something more substantial. But, I know I would have to spend 7 or 8 times more than I spent.

[falconbrother]

We have a 2017 Coleman 262BH and love it. We have been RV-ing since 1987. I'd say we have some experience. In it's price range it's hard to beat. When we started looking I wanted two axles and my wife wanted a slideout. I personally like the aluminum sides as you never have the delamination, like we had on our motorhome before this RV. We wanted new but, we didn't want to go in real deep financially. The Coleman fit the bill. The pluses for us are, central air and heat, the slideout, the perfect size fridge for us, an RV queen bed that we can get to both sides on, decent storage, it tows straight and easy so, decent weight range for a 27 footer. The Coleman has a curved roof, not a flat roof so it sheds water well. I like that part. The negatives are that it's not super well made. It reminds me of our 1991 Prowler. We loved that trailer BTW. And, I personally don't like the power awning. I'd rather have the manual one.

Nevertheless, people will bust on the Coleman because it's not made like a trailer that cost three times what it cost. It can only be measured against the others at this price point. It stacks up really well, in my opinion. If I was a full timer I think I would want something more substantial. But, I know I would have to spend 7 or 8 times more than I spent.

[rbpru]

Opp, duplicate.

Fast fingers, slow brain. 🙂

[rbpru]

Floor plan, tow vehicle and cost all have to match. Floor plan is the prime concern.

We sat down and said what do we want. For us it was a bed you could exit without crawling over you spouse, a big bath, pantry and linen space with minimal set up.

We then rented what we thought we wanted. We learned two things, the floor plan was not a good as we thought an we needed a bigger truck.

Smaller trailers are smaller trailers. They are generally lighter, more compact, have fewer features; hence they are cost less.

Only the OP can decide on "right size" for them.

[nctrailboss]

My wife and I camped in our 16fb for 3 years.No more than 5 days at one time.We enjoyed it very much as our first TT.As we had ours loaded,it weighed in at 3400lbs.Never had the first problem with it,as being a simple entry level trailer,there are less frills to fail.We added a fiberglass shower surround and LED bulbs as upgrades.It was pulled behind a 2013 1500 Silverado with no problem at all.Hope this helps with your decision.

[nineoaks2004]

We have a 2016 Coleman CTS 16 FB, we love ours, it does everything we want it to do, is small but there is only two of us and 3 1/2 chihuahuas , it tows easily with our 2004 Ford F 150 with tow package, I did several mods to it to "make it our own" and we are pleased. BTW it is not our first RV (not even the second)
so we knew what we wanted when we purchased it new.

[boosTT]

Its on the low end...

[Lwiddis]

It has the “old” look with aluminum sides and I’m not a fan of single axel TTs. You won’t be either after your first tire blowout. Less than 700 pounds for cargo is not good. Neither is only 27 gallons of fresh water.

[lawrosa]

No shower surround, no oven, tiny 5000 btu A/c....only 600 lb ccc Not good IMO

[SoundGuy]

Too vague a question to answer, it really depends on what you want, your budget, how many people, etc. This is a single axle entry level trailer, no slide, tiny fridge, with limited cargo capacity but for some could be a suitable choice. Question is - can you tow a trailer that will likely weigh close to it's GVWR of 3850 lbs?

Coleman Lantern 16FBWE

As you can see from my SIG we have a 19' couple's trailer as well but it's quite a bit different in many ways from this Coleman, which you presumably realize is built by Dutchmen and is "Coleman" by name only.