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                                                        EXHIBIT 99.1



                                  NEWS RELEASE

For immediate release Thursday, May 2, 2002

COACHMEN INDUSTRIES, INC. EXPECTS FIRST QUARTER
RESULTS TO REFLECT CONTINUED IMPROVEMENT

ELKHART,  Ind.,  May 2,  2002  /PRNewswire-FirstCall  via  COMTEX/  -- Claire C.
Skinner, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President of Coachmen Industries,
Inc.  (NYSE:  COA),  said that the  Company's  first  quarter  results  will, as
expected,  reflect  significant  improvement  compared  with  the  loss  of $4.9
million,  or $0.31 per  share,  in the first  quarter of 2001.  Speaking  at the
annual meeting of Coachmen  shareholders today, Skinner said that complete first
quarter results would be released as planned this afternoon.

She remarked,  "Our first quarter  performance will be directly in line with our
previous forecast to operate close to breakeven for the period.  The improvement
in sales of recreational  vehicles that began in the fourth quarter of last year
has carried over into 2002.  Inventories  at the dealer level remain low, and we
are encouraged  about the positive trend that has developed in retail sales.  We
continue to anticipate  reporting  earnings in each of the  subsequent  quarters
leading to earnings,  in line with our earlier forecast,  of approximately $0.75
per share for the full year.  This return to  profitability  will  compare  very
favorably  with our 2001 results and establish a pattern that we can build on in
2003 and beyond."

Founded in 1964,  Coachmen  Industries,  Inc.,  is one of the  nation's  leading
manufacturers of recreational  vehicles with well-known names including Coachmen
RV,  Shasta,  Viking and Georgie Boy.  Coachmen  Industries  is also the largest
modular home producer in the nation with its All American  Homes and  Mod-U-Kraf
subsidiaries.   Modular   commercial   and   telecommunication   structures  are
manufactured by the Company's Miller Building Systems subsidiary.

This  release  contains  forward-looking  statements  within the  meaning of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Investors are cautioned not to
place  undue  reliance  on  forward-looking  statements,  which  are  inherently
uncertain. Actual results may differ materially from that projected or suggested
due to  certain  risks  and  uncertainties  including,  but not  limited  to the
potential  fluctuations in the Company's operating results, the condition of the
telecommunications industry which purchases modular structures, the availability
and the price of  gasoline,  the  Company's  dependence  on  chassis  suppliers,
interest rates, competition,  government regulations,  legislation governing the
relationships of the Company with its recreational  vehicle dealers,  the impact
of consumer  confidence  and economic  uncertainty  on  high-cost  discretionary
product purchases and other risks identified in the Company's SEC filings.

For more information:
        Joseph P. Tomczak
        Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
        219-262-0123