RV review: 2025 Coachmen Freedom Express 252RBS—tall people welcome here

Today’s RV review is of the 2025 Coachmen Freedom Express Ultra Lite 252RBS travel trailer. You may have noticed I’ve mentioned how much I appreciate your comments on these reviews. Something I’ve gathered is that there are a good number of you that are tall. 

When I was selling RVs, we had a many taller customers because we weren’t that far from the lumber industry in Northern California. Those lumberjacks were often pretty sizable dudes. While I don’t know how many of you share their stature, I was caught by the fact that this Coachmen travel trailer seems to do a better job of accommodating some taller customers than is typical. 

What makes me write that is that this unit has 81” ceilings and a true queen-sized bed. So it’s not as good as, say, some fifth wheels in ceiling height but, for a travel trailer, it ain’t bad. It’s also not a huge trailer—but it’s not tiny either. So let’s start underneath, shall we?

From the road up in the Coachmen Freedom Express Ultra Lite 252RBS

The most obvious thing you’ll notice here is that the axles have a wide stance. I’ve mentioned this configuration in the past and added that some of the transport drivers I spoke to said that this tows better. However, also know that most of those transport drivers tow with one-ton trucks and never use sway control hitches. 

Also, a few of you commented that this wider stance axle does a lot more scrubbing in tight corners. Scrubbing is where one axle’s wheels basically get dragged sideways in a tight turn, and that point is legit. This just reinforces that having the right tow vehicle is still the best option. Also, these are leaf springs. 

Some day I’m going to do an article here about why I don’t like leaf springs.

While we’re staring at the wheels, know that they’re not major brand tires (bummer), but at least they come with tire pressure monitoring. 

The Coachmen Freedom Express 252RBS has an enclosed and heated underbelly, which is good for those of you who like to camp in colder temperatures. I also like that Coachmen plumbed all the sewer connections into one place. 

Also worth noting, some RV companies are using a laminated floor build that’s somewhat similar to the walls. Essentially, they are using a foam core and then different surface laminates. Coachmen was doing this but has since switched to 5/8” tongue-and-groove plywood decking for the floor. I know some RV companies had real issues with that laminated flooring, but not all, it seems. 

Coachmen Freedom Express 252RBS - 2025

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Inside the Coachmen Freedom Express Ultra Lite 252RBS

This trailer features a compact main living space with theater seats on the front wall and a dinette in the slide room. I like that the dinette features a freestanding folding table. 

Those theater seats also face the back wall, where an electric fireplace and TV live. On the other side of that wall are a pantry and some drawers. 

Something that’s almost a theme here is that the pantry has a movable shelf and the provision to hang clothes here, if you’d prefer. That’s also true of the very large cabinet in the bathroom. So you could use it for shelf storage or hanging clothes. Choices are good. 

In fact, my first thought was that there wasn’t a lot of storage space in here. But then, the more I looked, the more I found. There’s storage under the dinette, in that pantry space, and then under the kitchen counter. 

Only one drawer may be apparent but this uses a Coachmen tactic that I like where a “U-tensil” drawer surrounds the sink. Normally this isn’t space that’s used much, and it really works well to have the drawer sort of wrap around the sink. Nice job. 

There isn’t a tremendous amount of counter space here, although the freestanding dining table could serve as prep space while meals are being prepared. Coachmen also includes a plastic folding table in the front pass-through that could also be brought inside and used for prep space. 

Otherwise, this is your typical RV kitchen with a farm sink, three-burner propane cooktop, worthless 17” oven, and a smaller microwave. It’ll get the job done—and there’s quite a kitchen outside. 

That outside kitchen has a proper plumbed sink and a larger “bar-sized” fridge. There’s also a propane griddle that slots into a rail on the side of the camper. However, know that this can also be freestanding, if you’d prefer. Also, as mentioned, there’s a plastic folding table that comes with this camper. There’s also a metal table top that slots into the same railing as the propane griddle. 

I might kvetch about the oven in here but, quite frankly, I’d more likely be outside using that flat-top griddle instead anyway, so there’s that. 

Bedroom and bathroom in the Coachmen Freedom Express Ultra Lite 252RBS

The bedroom in this trailer features a proper queen-sized bed, as mentioned. I like that the bed flips up to reveal cabinetry underneath which features a drawer that faces out on either side of the bed. There’s also a space in the middle that I would think would be perfect for shoes. This is really a good use of space. 

The cabinets over the bed flip up with hinges that actually hold them up. There are cubbies behind the hanging storage on either side of the bed with power outlets. 

Remember those other cabinets with hanging storage? Yeah, there’s another one at the back of this bedroom too. I told ya’: This trailer has a good amount of storage inside that may not be apparent. 

Oh, and thinking about the bathroom, it spans the width of the back of the trailer. However, there’s a space where the outside kitchen resides that takes some of the room out of this area, but it’s not that big of a deal. 

Boondocking and travel access

I was surprised that there wasn’t solar standard on this trailer, although I don’t think that’s a bad thing. I know a lot of people just travel to parks and never ever take advantage of solar.

Something I saw at Open House from Dometic was a new high-performance vent fan that would be great in here. What I liked about that fan, in addition to the fact that it actually moves air, is that it has ports on either side where you can run cables. Making it possible to run cables without having to reseal the roof of an RV is a great idea. Now, this fan isn’t installed here, but it would be great if it were as it would solve a number of issues.

I like the idea of RV companies making it easier to run cables from the roof, as some of us use satellite internet or run solar or do whatever things we have to. I wish more RV companies would recognize this.

As for travel access, the slide really doesn’t block anything you’ll normally need. So this is a great overnighter even with the slide in.

Conclusions

If you look at big, expensive diesel pushers with their silly (sorry, those swirls just make me think of a carnival float) paint jobs, you’ll notice that some of them even paint the sides of the slide boxes to match. Fortunately, Brinkley RV has shaken up the RV industry so much that those carnival float graphics are finally out of favor. 

Let’s hold a moment of silent thanks. 

This trailer is decorated with simpler horizontal graphics. But something I noticed is that Coachmen even included the sides of the slide boxes in their appearance. This is very high-end-ish and not something I’ve seen a travel trailer company do before. 

One more thing: This trailer has the new 12-volt fridge where the door swings both ways (insert inappropriate joke here). I have this fridge in my new travel trailer. Yeah, I just got a new travel trailer. 

But looking at the demand from the fridge through the ludicrous solar system I had installed showed me how far these things have come. While I’m still observing, it seems that this fridge is remarkably efficient. 

When I was at Open House I was talking with a Lippert engineer about 12-volt fridges. He said that they have made big strides in energy usage on these things. If what I’m seeing on my own fridge is any indication, he’s not kidding. My new fridge appears to consume about 40% of what my older fridge consumed—and I was happy with the performance of that fridge. 

So, overall, this is a nice rig with good headroom and a layout that I can see working for some campers. For my taller followers, is this enough? Or are we still looking to go bigger? 

My thanks to Josh from Bish’s RV for the photos and video in this article. 

More about these RV reviews

These RV reviews are written based on information provided by the manufacturers along with our writer’s own research. They are based on information from a single unit and may not reflect your actual experience. Shop your RV and dealership carefully before making a buying decision. We receive no money or other financial benefits from these reviews. They are intended only as a brief overview of the vehicle, not a comprehensive critique, which would require a thorough inspection and/or test drive.

Tony comes to RVtravel.com having worked at an RV dealership and been a life long RV enthusiast. He also has written the syndicated Curbside column about cars. He also works closely with a number of RV manufacturers to get an inside look at how things are done and is a brand ambassador for Rockwood Mini Lite with his wife, Peggy.

You can also check out his RV podcast with Peggy. 

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