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                                                                  EXHIBIT 99.1


                    CERTIFICATION OF CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
                       PURSUANT TO 18 U.S.C. SECTION 1350

In connection with the Annual Report on Form 10-K of Coachmen Industries, Inc.
(the "Company") for the quarterly period ended December 31, 2002, as filed with
the Securities and Exchange Commission on the date hereof (the "Report") I,
Claire C. Skinner, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of the
Company, certify pursuant to 18 U.S.C. section 1350, as adopted pursuant to
section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, that, based on my knowledge:

             (1) The Report fully complies with the requirements of section
13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934;
and

             (2) The information contained in the Report fairly presents, in all
material respects, the financial condition and results of operations of the
Company as of and for the period(s) covered in the Report.


                         By:  /s/ CLAIRE C. SKINNER
                              ----------------------
                              Claire C. Skinner
                              Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer

Date:  March 28, 2003