Help deciding on 22ft Born Free - from Chinook Concourse

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dowellcj
Posts: 60
Joined: Sat Mar 29, 2008 7:50 pm

Re: Help deciding on 22ft Born Free - from Chinook Concourse

Post by dowellcj »

Re: a table with the twin sofas. The factory can supply a table with a removable base and fold out pedestal which stows under a bed nicely. It can also be stowed behind the drivers seat at the end of the bed. Search for Bill Hemmes post from several months ago that has pictures. I don't quite know how to link to it. They can also be bought at RV and boat supply stores like Camping world.
Roll Bars have been included since almost the beginning. Added after Mr. Dodgen heard about a serious crash in another brand of Motorhome and decided to include them. The factory has a picture of John and Wanda after an accident in a Born Free, in which they were not injured thanks to the roll bars.
We winter camp. The coach is good down to the mid 20s. We do have the heated tanks. When the temperature gets down in the teens, it is not as comfortable - propane can have issues, and the floor and windows are pretty chilly. We add electric/ceramic heaters to supplement the furnace.
We get 8.5 to 9.5 mpg depending on the terrain and whether we are towing.
It is nice to hear the Oregon dealer has two coaches on display. We too were going to try to go say hi to Scott and Ed, but, it was too short notice for a trip down. Hope they do well- the dealer's video from the owner sounded like he fit right in with the Dodgen philosophy. I did hear from one of the long time BF employees that they are very happy with the new leadership and the direction the company is going.

Caryl
Caryl & Tom Dowell
Sequim, WA
2015 Splendor (27 RSB)
Prior coach 2008 24RB
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whemme
Posts: 2110
Joined: Mon Aug 15, 2005 8:05 pm

Re: Help deciding on 22ft Born Free - from Chinook Concourse

Post by whemme »

Here is the link to my post about the table I have in my 2002 BF 26' RSB coach that Caryl referred to above: http://www.bornfreervclub.org/bulletin_ ... 522#p25340
Bill Hemme - Spencer, Iowa
E-mail: whemme@earthlink.net
2002 Born Free (Ford E-450 V10) 26' RSB
2016 VW Golf GTI - toad
daryl&mary
Posts: 41
Joined: Sun Nov 27, 2011 7:12 pm

Re: Help deciding on 22ft Born Free - from Chinook Concourse

Post by daryl&mary »

Here is the mod we did for the table in our BFT22. We replaced the fold down base with a small table top from Home Depot, and the flange from Camping World. Pretty stable and much easier to move the table about.

We store the table, base, and tube behind the driver's seat. At night, we often slide the whole shebang forward between the seats. But it only takes about 30 seconds to set up or take down. Took less than 30 minutes to build.

After about 25000 miles, we really like our BFT. We have parked it in regular parking spots. We consistently get 10 mpg (sometimes more) but we do not tow. Hope this helps.
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Daryl & Mary
2006 BFT
wanderso
Posts: 11
Joined: Sat Apr 04, 2015 9:54 am

Re: Help deciding on 22ft Born Free - from Chinook Concourse

Post by wanderso »

Ok - we've done all options and are returning back to being willing to go a little bigger. We may also have a buyer for our Chinook. It means that we would have to give up the handicapped parking option (big bummer!), but finding a Jewel or something else in the 22 feet range is just a toughie. This willingness to go up to 24 feet in actual length opens up the Freedom on the E450 chassis at 23 Feet, 9 inches - the 2 couch model with the cabover bed would work nicely. Any out there that are a few years old would that you're aware of - pass it on.

Motorhomes on the Sprinter chassis certainly get a bit better MPG overall but also tend to be about 25' in length. The new ProMaster series is intriguing (Dodge) but single rear wheels and towing capacity of 2,000 lbs as well as being near overweight from the factory is a turn off.

Thanks for all of the tips from this forum. I'm really wanting to be part of the Born Free family if I can find one that will meet our needs and be in our price range.
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Roger H
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Joined: Sat May 26, 2007 7:48 pm

Re: Help deciding on 22ft Born Free - from Chinook Concourse

Post by Roger H »

I've had a number of units over the years in various size ranges and perhaps I can help with some perspective for you.

I've had two "class B" mohos, a '94 Airstream B-190, and currently a '95 Coachmen 19'. I've also had an '85 Airstream 325 motorhome and an '01 Born Free 23RK with the o'head bunk, jacknife bed, and swivel chairs. I had three children who grew up in the Airstream. I just sold a couple of travel trailers and picked up a BF 32RQ.

So, here's my perspective. As the kids grow older they have less and less time for "family camping" as the time needs for their own activities grow. Once they hit 16, have a driver's license and a job (or sports), weekend camping quickly becomes a childhood memory. If they DO choose to go, a tent option is much more desirable as they want their "own space." I ended up letting my teens tent alongside even with the Airstream 325 as that was their choice. And if they wanted to bring friends, it was even more fun for them. We just left the door of the moho unlocked so they could come in if they wanted or needed to.

The upper bunk in a BF is great for kids... do-able for adults until you're about 50, but gets less-desirable for adults with every passing year. I found that with my height, at 6'5" tall, turning over in the upper bunk in the BF 23RK was a chore, and my wife who has a hip replacement and significant back issues couldn't use it at all.

As far as parking... the length of the moho isn't as significant as the width for a normal parking stall. Using handicapped stalls gives more room, of course, but having a dual-wheel axle and wide body makes for some pretty tight parking in a standard stall. The B-vans win hands down for daily-driving kinds of uses. In fact, I bought the Coachmen B-van specifically as a daily driver that I can use to transport my dogs, and use for an occasional over-nighter on a longer trip where I'd normally just use a car. I like to be comfortable.

So... here's the bottom line... consider your needs into the next five years. Is an over-head bunk camper going to really be of significant benefit as your teens grow up? If your current Chinook otherwise meets your daily driver needs, and you only camp occasionally and you have acceptable work-arounds for that, do you really expect to see a large benefit from buying something else? What is the total cost of ownership of each of the units? Most of the cost of ownership in a new unit comes from depreciation. For example, my Coachmen was about $70k new... and I bought it last February wih 26,000 miles on it for less than the sales tax on a new unit. I'll be able to put over 100k on it and it'll still be worth what I paid, so the total cost of ownership will be maintenance items, fuel, license and insurance (and the last two are about $250/year combined on a '95 van.) I'm in the same place with the 32RQ we just bought... someone else has eaten about $110,000 in depreciation over the cost of the coach new. It will still depreciate some, but I expect to be able to use it for five to ten years and not lose anything on it, cash-wise, except again for operating expenses and maintenance.

Don't misunderstand... I'm not directing you away from Born Free... like all brands they have some things that we wish could be done differently; but they are one of the best manufactures of small, luxo-motorcoaches in the business IMO. That's why I just bought another. I'm just trying to get you to reflect a little more on the difference between what you want, what you need, how much you use your unit for which purposes, and what the actual costs are in each direction you go.

These decisions are always difficult, and it's tough to get good counsel on a brand-centric forum... but for me, it always boils down to utility for the dollar... needs change with time and circumstances, of course, but sometimes it's less expensive and actually less time consuming and frustrating to figure out work-arounds using what you already have than it is to try to buy something new to accommodate an occasional need.

Good luck with your decision!
'06 Born Free 32 RQ Kodiak Chassis
(Former: '01 Born Free 23 RK)
Dinghy: '16 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon with a Blue Ox Aladdin tow bar.
Traveling with Sir Winston and Lady Rae (Cavalier King Charles Spaniels)
wanderso
Posts: 11
Joined: Sat Apr 04, 2015 9:54 am

Re: Help deciding on 22ft Born Free - from Chinook Concourse

Post by wanderso »

Very good advice and I agree on many if not all of your points. Thanks for taking the time to write them.
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