Visiting the factory tomorrow. Decisions...vs. Sprinter

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jeffcarp
Posts: 142
Joined: Tue Apr 26, 2011 8:02 pm

Visiting the factory tomorrow. Decisions...vs. Sprinter

Post by jeffcarp »

We are anxious for our visit to the factory tomorrow, with the intent of looking at the 22' RSK and the 24' rear bath.

We are wrestling with the decision of a Born Free vs the Winnebago View on the Sprinter chassis. We will see a View tomorrow also, on our way home. Having seen both only at shows, we are eager to spend more time in each and especially to drive them, especially on the same day.

Has anyone gone through this decision between late model versions of those two options? Obviously on this forum, I know which way you went, but I'd be interested in your decision process and what swayed you over to the Born Free decision. Here are my current thoughts on big differences.

Sprinter vs. Ford. Big decision. Pros/Cons both ways. Handling, fuel economy, servicability, TEF, CCC. Very anxious to drive them both.

Ford E-450. Concerned about all I read about the rear axle "bang" on the E-450 on rough roads. Need to resolve that in my mind. The E-350 sounds better, but not sure the 22' RSK gives us the storage we are looking for.

Slide. Pros/cons. We can't go to the 25' Born Free length for various reasons. So the View gets us a slide at 24'-6" but I completely understand that a slide isn't all positive either. Torn on this.

Customization - really like that I can make the Born Free our own vs checklist option approach of the Winnebago. Not sure how big a deal that is once we see each equipped.

Anyway - if anyone has any experience with this decision, please provide me with your thoughts.
2011 Born Free 22' Rear Side Kitchen
Peter Robinson

Post by Peter Robinson »

I can appreciate your excitement at the prospect of a new motorhome. What advice I can offer is to be sure that you can and will sleep comfortably in the unit you choose. Ford E350 used to be chassis for the 22' BF, perhaps that's changed. We have owned four motorhomes and a couple van campers and in the end comfortable sleeping; light, view, and ventilation and happiness being inside when we just wanted to hang out; and small size so we could go and park anywhere were key to our satisfaction. We could never really get comfortable in the "two in a sofabed arrangement" so we have a Born Free with two single beds with removable bolsters that make them two sofas. Yes we have lost the swivel captains chair(s) and pocket table, but we have a swivel table (the kind they used to make) and a really compact and usable motorhome (60 nights on one trip). Don't want to climb into a confined cabover and don't like the way they block the sky out the front window while driving so I suggest looking at a standard 22 Built for Two with the center rear door and open interior it provides with two incline beds and standard storage short cabover or to get a better shower space a 24' rear bath/kitchen side door with two incline beds and shortened front cap (custom) with storage (or standard cabover with storage if you don't care about the overhang). The storage access on each side of the coach from outside and inside to the underside of both the single beds is wonderful to have. Get both sides storage if you can. We carry two folding bikes, four folding arm chairs, a folding 2'x4' table and have room left over in them for supplies. The 22' comes this way and the 24' can be purchased this way with outside/inside access compartments on both sides if you have the two single beds. I know you will love the Born Free but you won't get great milage, 8-12 at best so fuel costs take some getting used to. Happy traveling!
Last edited by Peter Robinson on Sat May 14, 2011 8:31 am, edited 7 times in total.
SteveS

Post by SteveS »

A comparison of the cargo carrying capacity (CCC) will make the decision for you.


Steve
jeffcarp
Posts: 142
Joined: Tue Apr 26, 2011 8:02 pm

Post by jeffcarp »

It is not that easy in our case. We have a Roadtrek 210 now where we've been managing successfully with a CCC of about 350 lbs.
SteveS wrote:A comparison of the cargo carrying capacity (CCC) will make the decision for you.


Steve
2011 Born Free 22' Rear Side Kitchen
liginbf

Post by liginbf »

I have owned the View and currently on my 2nd BF, for me BF is the clear winner. The View runs down the road fine and is more fuel effect., but the cost of normal wear items was outrageous (wiper blades, filters etc.) most items were dealer only parts $$$. It is also a lot easier to find a Ford dealer than a Sprinter for warranty work. I have owned 6 motorhomes and for my money, safety, build quality, customer support, re-sale value and the Born Free community, BF stands above the rest. As for the ride quality of the E-350 my 2010 22 RSK is great, no coach is perfect, but BF has yet to let me down.

Happy Hunting
bigdipper
Posts: 353
Joined: Thu May 27, 2010 3:13 pm

Post by bigdipper »

After about 70000 miles on a 2001 BF 23RK (E450)with air bags which I kept at minimum inflation and just a few hundred with a 2011 24RK, also E450 but Super Springs in lieu of air bags, I have never been troubled by harsh ride. The 2011 seems smoother if anything. Others feel differently but that is my take on the ride issue. Final point, if you want to tow a vehicle, or a trailer of significant weight, the extra Ford power and GCW would be a real advantage.
Probably worst road is concrete pavement which has sections displaced with resulting pitching motion. Maybe Iowa has some of that.
Good luck,
Ralph
Ralph
2011 24RB
Former 2001 23RK
tas

decisions....vs. sprinter

Post by tas »

We picked up our 2011 rsk 2 weeks ago and are very satisfied with it. It is our second Born Free and this one exceeded all our expectations. Storage is no problem - we have the overhead cab for storage of the bedding, pillows, etc. during the day, and the chairs and bicycles are on racks outside. We even have a mattress topper cut to size to make the couch sleeping more comfortable. It is a smooth ride and easy getting in/out of small towns. Would definitely recommend it.
Before our Born Free ownerships, we had the Sprinter diesel on a Leisure Travel coach. It was very difficult finding a place to service it - and the parts and service cost much more. Seems the only advantage these days would be the mpg, if one is willing to sacrifice better quality for better mpg.
Rob

Post by Rob »

I too have thought about the Sprinter. Seems to me that the 22RSK or rear door version would be a good model to provide on this chassis. Maybe the payload is not great enough.

Very interested to hear your conclusion.

Rob Beery
2003 24RB
jeffcarp
Posts: 142
Joined: Tue Apr 26, 2011 8:02 pm

Post by jeffcarp »

Well, we are back from our 6 hour adventure today and spending a lot of time in both the Born Free and the View. One thing is for sure, this was not a decision to make from the Internet, brochures, website virtual tours or discussion forums. This was a decision we could only make from spending lots of time in both and driving them. I'd guess everyone here already knew that though.

In the end, my wife and I came to the same conclusion and that was to go with the Born Free. It will be the 22' rear corner kitchen model. There were too many pros/cons to each choice to mention. But a few things were the deciding factors for us.

1) I could not get past the chassis cargo limitations of the Sprinter. Based on solid factory information on the specific options we wanted, we'd have a OCCC of around 1300. Because we are a family of 4 using this for mainly long distance vacation travel, we'd be at 1000 with full water and 4 people before we've loaded a thing into the View. Add the tongue weight of our hitch mounted bike carrier and 4 bikes, and we are at capacity - and overweight with all our "stuff." No matter how I sliced it, I couldn't get past this limitation of the Sprinter chassis.

2) The lack of Sprinter service dealers was a concern. In our hometown, and our top 3 vacation locations, Des Moines, Orlando, Albuquerque and various places in Arkansas, there was no official Mercedes Sprinter service within hundreds of miles. None in the entire state of New Mexico. Couldn't get past that.

There were other issues as well, though they were not as much of a deal breaker as those two things. While the Sprinter drove better, there was also a noticeable difference between the number of inside-the-coach annoyance rattles of the interior furnishings versus the Born Free. The Born Free was tank solid and all but road-noise quite. The View salesman had some trouble with opening one of the exterior storage latches as well as trouble closing one of the others. The Born Free build quality was strikingly good. For example, there was a noticeable difference between quality of the cabinet hinges and gas struts on the Born Free cabinets.

The very first thing that my wife and I both noticed when going inside the Sprinter for the first time was the significant side to side rocking that existed in the View. It lessened with the slide in, but slide in wouldn't be realistic for camping. I think it has to be the more narrow but longer wheelbase when compared to the Ford. Granted, that wheelbase will be better perhaps while driving.

We head into the Born Free purchase with our eyes wide open as well - well aware of the 8-10 MPG versus the 15 MPG of the View and well aware of the perils of piloting a wider vehicle down the road. But more content with a Ford dealer 5 minutes from our house and in every City we've ever traveled to.

We are comfortable that this decision was right for us given our current needs. Thank you to those that offered advice.
2011 Born Free 22' Rear Side Kitchen
Rob

Post by Rob »

Jalan,

Having never driven a Sprinter it was helpful to note your concerns about payload and build quality. It seems that I see a lot of Sprinter Vans used by Fedex etc. never really thought about service concerns. Thanks for your helpful information.




Rob Beery
2003 24RB
AngelicaSimpson

Re: decisions....vs. sprinter

Post by AngelicaSimpson »

tas wrote:We picked up our 2011 rsk 2 weeks ago and are very satisfied with it. It is our second Born Free and this one exceeded all our expectations. Storage is no problem - we have the overhead cab for storage of the bedding, pillows, etc. during the day, and the chairs and bicycles are on racks outside. We even have a mattress topper cut to size to make the couch sleeping more comfortable. It is a smooth ride and easy getting in/out of small towns. Would definitely recommend it.
Before our Born Free ownerships, we had the Sprinter diesel on a Leisure Travel coach. It was very difficult finding a place to service it - and the parts and service cost much more. Seems the only advantage these days would be the mpg, if one is willing to sacrifice better quality for better mpg.
cutting the size of the mattress to make it couch is a good idea and saves money. :)
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