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We are about to order a new Born Free BFT. They come standard with two power incline twin beds. You also have an option of getting regular sofa beds or a dinette and sofabed or power bed or almost any other combination.
We will just be two people and one golden retriever who thinks she's another person. Would appreciate any opinions as to most confortable and/or usefulness of the different sleeping arrangements. We've been to RV shows but the only models we've seen have the power twin bed setup. This will be our first RV.
My wife & I own a 2004 BFT that we purchased new. It has the twin beds with swing out table. We like it very much. We do not care for the new model as the table now has to be set up each time you need it and then folded up and stored when not in use. Had that been the case when we purchased, we would have not even considered the BFT. We would have gone with the 24, which you might wish to consider since you indicate you will be traveling with the third member of your household. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me; sands2257@aol.com
Steve W.
I have a 2002 24RB with a sofa bed and a twin bed.
1. Reclining twin beds are nice, but the mechanism is right in the middle of the storage area under the bed, which effectively cuts down your storage space.
2. Two sofa beds come together to make an effective queen or small king, but there is the problem of how to get out of the bed as you can only get out at one end or the other. Imagine trying to crawl to the end of your bed to get out at night to make a potty trip without waking up your partner.
3. The sofa bed and the twin bed is a good combination. It allows my wife who takes up her share of our king bed at home plus mine to spread out on the sofa bed while I sleep quite nicely on the twin. We solved the problem of the uneveness of the back portion of the sofa bed and the sitting portion when it is open. I purchased a two inch piece of foam the length of the bed and wide enough to cover the back side of the sofa when it is open. Then I purchased a memory foam topper the width and the length of the sofabed to put over the entire open bed. We use sheets or the travlsack depending on the weather. Unfortunately both these pieces of foam take up a lot of storage space, and this would not work for most people. When we ordered our BF, we replaced the cab over bed with storage cabinets (not an entertainment center). We also have front side cabinets over the passenger and drivers seats.
4. I had the swing table in my 97 BF and my 2002 BF came with the swing table. I found that it was always in the way. I removed the swing table and used the table top and attached a base and pedistal. The three pieces are stored separately and they put together in seconds. When not in use as a table, they fit nicely in the space directly behind the drivers seat and the sofa bed. It is quite easy to put up and take down, and it is out of the way when you are not using the table.
5. As another poster noted, you should consider the 24 in order to provide more room for your pet. I would think the BFT would be rather confining for a large pet.
Good Luck. After you get your BF you will find that there are a dozen things you should have done or should not have done. As with anything in life, it is a matter of tradeoffs. We just can not fit a 40' Class A space into a 24 FT BF.
We have a 2005 BFT with the two twin beds and the swing out table. We've been out in it about 18 times for varying lengths since we got it in the fall of 2004. There are three of us, my wife and I and a 65lb german shepard mix who also believes she is a person. We used to have a golden so I know how they act....and shed. We had a larger Brand X Class C before the BFT. We like th arrangement of the BFT a lot and it is one of the big reasons we were initially attracted to BF. While sleeping with ones spouse is nice, we find that as we age, we need a bit more space to get a good nights sleep. Twin beds gives us that space without one of us doing the high wire act on a ladder from a cab over space in the middle of the night to attend to nature. We also had a sofa bed and a dinette bed in the previous RV, neither one of which was particularly comfortable. Someone else mentioned they use the sofa bed but have to carry a foam piece which eats up storage space to make both sides level. We have found the twin comfortable without any top foam pieces but then again we like a mattress on the firm side. We like the reclining feature, use it a lot for watching TV, reading at night and accessing the below bed storage space without getting on our knees....another plus as one ages. The reclining mechanim hasn't been a big problem for us in terms of limiting storage and has had zero maintenance problems. As for the swing out table, it is handy to have it ready all the time and we use it a lot. I moved the mounting point under the table out a few inches so that the driver's seat can be pushed back fully and reclined some but that's just how I fit the geometry of that seat. At night it swings between the two cab seats and the sofa backs/pillows go on it and in the front seats. The space under the table then becomes a "den" for the dog and she spends the nights there, out of the way and content that she can see both of us all the time. We carry a folding crate made by the folks who make Nylabones and when we leave the dog in the vehicle at a restaurant or store, we crate the dog instead of leaving her to climb on the furniture. She is crate trained and this isn't a problem for her. The crate folds down flat and I slide it into one of the under bed storage areas. The whole setup or takedown process for the crate takes about a minute. We use a small vacuum with a rotating brush, the Ultra model made by Red Devil and sold at Target, to get up any dog hair that she may shed. We bought a harness for her which I've attached about halfway back on the sofa frame. We keep her in it when traveling. It has enough freedom that she can move about a bit however she is restrained enough that she won't be joining us in the cockpit should we have to stop quickly. We enjoy taking our current dog with us, she loves it and I would have no qualms taking a golden in a BFT either. Enjoy.
robert wrote: We solved the problem of the uneveness of the back portion of the sofa bed and the sitting portion when it is open. I purchased a two inch piece of foam the length of the bed and wide enough to cover the back side of the sofa when it is open. Then I purchased a memory foam topper the width and the length of the sofabed to put over the entire open bed. We use sheets or the travlsack depending on the weather. Unfortunately both these pieces of foam take up a lot of storage space, and this would not work for most people.
We have a 2001 24RB with a sofa and two lounge chairs. We also use a foam pad (to make the bed even), a memory foam topper, and a Travasak on the sofabed. For storage, we roll up the foam pad and the memory foam topper lengthwise and put the two rolls behind the sofa back. The two rolls are the same length as the sofa, and when stacked they come to the top edge of the sofa back, which keeps our cat from getting behind/under the sofa. The Travasak is rolled up and stored in the C/O cabinet.
Thanks for all the excellent responses. With your help we have made a decision and will place an order next week. We had thought about a 24 ft but do not have room for one at our home. We want to keep the rv at the house and local restrictions require that the rv not extend beyond the front of the house. My wife and I both prefer a firm bed so will go with the twin power sofas.
Our golden is extremely well behaved when with just the two of us. She has never jumped on the furniture. However with company she is a typical golden.
I've learned much from this terrific forum and realize there is much more to learn. We are looking forward to this new adventure and hope to meet some of you one day while traveling. Thanks again.
