To follow on from my comment - I have had to remove the awning rail because the ABS at the rear end has cracked and this was caused by a 25 mph wind on the awning putting pressure on the awning rail which moved slightly. This caused some screws to move sideways into the ABS and crack it. If the construction design of the caravan had called for an hole to be drilled in the ABS that was larger than the screw thread then the damage would not have been caused. Yet again this demonstrates the lackadaisical approach to caravan design by Coachman in the past. Lets hope they have improved construction techniques since then. Having said that, the reason I am taking pains into correcting the faults is because its the best caravan layout we have owned - and we intend to hold on to it.
I have a Pastiche 2007. The first 22 secs of a U-Tube clip contain false statements in that Coachman DO NOT stand the test of time - well, not for awning rail fixing anyway. They have not even used stainless steel screws - penny pinching gits. I think it demonstrates that the designer hasn't a clue although Coachman will point out it isn't cost effective or some other BS. There is no excuse - and if the rest of the caravan was designed by the same designer then there is not much hope for us poor long suffering owners. At 4.45 mins in the clip they show a new method of affixing the awning rail which seems to be an improvement but they only use that method on of their lines. On my awning rail they have used silicone AND mastic which is proving the devils own to remove. My advice to anyone who have the plastic inserts is to remove it both sides so that rusty screw heads can be fixed before the damm awning rails drop off from screw heads rusting all the way through. Even worse is the ingress of water in between the screw thread and into the wood - which will then rot - and that's a nightmare scenario. If you are thinking of buying ANY make over seven years old - have a look at the screws condition behind the evil plastic insert
To follow on from my comment - I have had to remove the awning rail because the ABS at the rear end has cracked and this was caused by a 25 mph wind on the awning putting pressure on the awning rail which moved slightly. This caused some screws to move sideways into the ABS and crack it. If the construction design of the caravan had called for an hole to be drilled in the ABS that was larger than the screw thread then the damage would not have been caused. Yet again this demonstrates the lackadaisical approach to caravan design by Coachman in the past. Lets hope they have improved construction techniques since then.
Having said that, the reason I am taking pains into correcting the faults is because its the best caravan layout we have owned - and we intend to hold on to it.
I have a Pastiche 2007.
The first 22 secs of a U-Tube clip contain false statements in that Coachman DO NOT stand the test of time - well, not for awning rail fixing anyway. They have not even used stainless steel screws - penny pinching gits. I think it demonstrates that the designer hasn't a clue although Coachman will point out it isn't cost effective or some other BS. There is no excuse - and if the rest of the caravan was designed by the same designer then there is not much hope for us poor long suffering owners.
At 4.45 mins in the clip they show a new method of affixing the awning rail which seems to be an improvement but they only use that method on of their lines.
On my awning rail they have used silicone AND mastic which is proving the devils own to remove.
My advice to anyone who have the plastic inserts is to remove it both sides so that rusty screw heads can be fixed before the damm awning rails drop off from screw heads rusting all the way through. Even worse is the ingress of water in between the screw thread and into the wood - which will then rot - and that's a nightmare scenario.
If you are thinking of buying ANY make over seven years old - have a look at the screws condition behind the evil plastic insert