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                            COACHMEN INDUSTRIES, INC
                (NAME OF REGISTRANT AS SPECIFIED IN ITS CHARTER)

                              THOR INDUSTRIES, INC.
                   (NAME OF PERSON(S) FILING PROXY STATEMENT,
                            IF OTHER THAN REGISTRANT)

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                                      THOR
                                ----------------
                                INDUSTRIES, INC.

      419 WEST PIKE STREET O P.O. BOX 629 O JACKSON CENTER, OHIO 45334-0629
                      PHONE 937-596-6849 O FAX 937-596-6539

                             P R E S S  R E L E A S E
                             ------------------------

Date:     May 2, 2000
Contact:  Wade F. B. Thompson or Peter B. Orthwein


 I.S.S. RECOMMENDS COACHMEN SHAREHOLDERS VOTE TO WITHHOLD DIRECTOR NOMINEES AS
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
             A STRONG MESSAGE TO OPEN MERGER DISCUSSIONS WITH THOR.
             ------------------------------------------------------


In a special "Proxy Alert" today,  Institutional  Shareholder Services (I.S.S.),
the nation's leading voting advisory service,  recommended WITHHOLDING votes for
all Coachmen director nominees. I.S.S. stated,

          "our main concern is the inability of  shareholders  to take
          any action on their own  vis-a-vis the offer once the annual
          meeting has passed. Coachmen does not permit shareholders to
          act by written consent or to call special meetings.  And the
          company's poison pill and state takeover  statutes ... would
          prevent  a tender  offer  from  succeeding.  This  gives the
          company  unfettered license to simply continue to `say no' -
          at  least  for  another  year.  We  therefore  believe  that
          circumstances  warrant  withholding votes from the directors
          as a strong message to open merger discussions with Thor."

On April 17, 2000, Thor offered to purchase all of Coachmen's outstanding common
stock for $18 per  share,  40% in Thor  stock  and 60% in cash.  Based on Thor's
closing  stock price  yesterday,  Thor's  offer is valued at $18.79 per Coachmen
share. Coachmen's Board of Directors rejected Thor's offer on April 27, 2000.

Thor  continues to urge Coachmen  shareholders  to vote to WITHHOLD ALL NOMINEES
for directors, and vote AGAINST the 2000 Omnibus Stock Incentive Program. If you
wish to  change a vote you have  already  made,  please  call  D.F.  King & Co.,
toll-free at 1-888-242-8149.


This  press  release  includes  "forward   looking   statements"  that  involve
uncertainties and risks.  There can be no assurance that actual results will not
differ from Thor's expectations.  Factors which could cause materially different
results include,  among others,  the success of new product  introductions,  the
pace of acquisitions  and cost structure  improvements,  competitive and general
economic  conditions,  and the other risks set forth in Thor's  filings with the
Securities  and  Exchange  Commission.   In  some  cases,  such  forward-looking
statements  may be identified by  terminology  such as "may,"  "will,"  "could,"
"should,"  "expects,"  "intends" or  "believes" or the negative of such terms or
other comparable terminology.