What's the story with the Painted Born Free?

[oliverpsmile]

I just saw a fairly recent unit (2007 26ft RSB, offered for sale) on which the outside paint was all cracking and ready to begin peeling off. Who did this job, i.e. did the factory do it or a third party? Has this happened to anybody else and what's the remedy?

[whemme]

I don't think the factory does their full body paint option themselves, I believe that work is contracted out to a third party. Call Kim at the factory to find out for sure.

[whemme]

Sam,

I am pretty sure that the factory farms out their optional full body paint work to a 3rd party.

[Dallas Baillio]

Not long ago there was a full body paint BF advertised on the "sale" link on these web pages. I read a reference to the paint job with the name of the company that did the work. I looked them up on the web and found they are also located in Iowa. Unfortunately I cannot recall the name. I believe this is the individual who purchased this unit.

http://www.bornfreervclub.org/bulletin_ ... php?t=3069

Easiest solution would be, as suggested, call BF and ask.

The unit your referenced -- is it the one advertised on this link?

http://www.bornfreervclub.org/bulletin_ ... php?t=3149

[whemme]

Rather than beating this full body paint question to death on this forum thread, why don't you call Kim at the factory and get the straight answer!

[mockturtle]

I read the post, Sam. It occurred to me that he said that it couldn't have been peeling because it was clear-coated. But I'm sure I've seen clear-coat peeling as well as the body paint under it [not on BF but Class A coaches]. Give me plain old fiberglass and as minimal decals as possible!

[Dallas Baillio]

Bill,

I know we can be exasperating sometimes, but I think Sam Ryan has a point in that we would like to know if full body paint jobs that BF contracts out are poorly done. Calling Kim, or anyone at BF for that matter, may not get a good answer. After all, they would not want to admit any liability and a possible lawsuit.

And, adding to my above post, the BF with full body paint I referenced (advertised by an Alabama resident and purchased by a Florida resident) had a CDI full body paint job. Sam's post helped me recall the company.

[Mel Wilbur]

I agree with Mockturtle for preferring the gel coat over a painted coach for many reasons. A prime example of this is the repair ability along with the construction of the exterior of the Born Free coaches.

Back in 2007 the failure of an outside dual caused considerable damage to the lower portion of the coach. Along with the factory shipping the required section needed, a quality blending of that section by the local rv repair shop and the fact that the gel coat matched up perfectly with the ford oxford white paint the repair is virtually undetectable, not so easy with a five year old paint job. You will notice in the picture of the finished repair,taken today in my garage, the shadows and reflections both above and below the molding look the same. The new section starts midway in the lip on the wheel well and extends under the molding to the rear cap.

[mockturtle]

Wow, Mel! Not to hijack the thread or anything but what caused the blowout, do you know? Was there any loss of control? Scary!

[Mel Wilbur]

Loss of control -- No, Scary -- kinda. The tire actually exploded, what I later learned was called a zipper failure. In other words it split from the outside of the rim to the inside. I maintain it was a flaw in the tire but Michelin did not want to hear it. I am very careful with my tire pressures and have a TPMS so am convinced all pressures were correct at the time of the problem.

After sitting on the edge of the highway for almost 5 hours my roadside assistance company (now my ex assistance co.) was kind enough to send me a new tire, in the trunk of a Ford Taurus sedan, but that's another long story.

[bigdipper]

You guys have my attention since after considerable discussion about gel coat and yellowing of older units, I opted for full body paint in the Ford white. They acknowledged yellowing issues with the fiberglass and attempts to work with vendors for more resistant chemistry. I privately suspected that BF is simply not a big enough customer to really get a supplier's attention and opted for the paint. Former coach looked pretty good after 10 years but was always under cover when stored. We used it a lot and it was probably in the sun 20% of the time. We are in sunny AZ at about 6000 ft so the UV is really fierce. In fact I kept getting new covers under warranty.
In 5 years or so I will learn whether the extra $5000 was worth it. The big rigs which are painted seem to maintain appearance well out here and the unnamed BF paint contractor also does them for somebody (Winnebago?)
Ralph

[oliverpsmile]

We took Bill Hemme’s advice and called Kim at the factory about the paint problem. He explained that they had used an outside contractor for “a couple of years, two or three, don’t recall exactlyâ€

[dmews001]

Bill,

I know we can be exasperating sometimes, but I think Sam Ryan has a point in that we would like to know if full body paint jobs that BF contracts out are poorly done. Calling Kim, or anyone at BF for that matter, may not get a good answer. After all, they would not want to admit any liability and a possible lawsuit.

And, adding to my above post, the BF with full body paint I referenced (advertised by an Alabama resident and purchased by a Florida resident) had a CDI full body paint job. Sam's post helped me recall the company.

Our 2007 BF26 RSB - shown in front of Mt. Hood - came with factory full-body paint by CDI / Iowa. It's holding up very well I have to say. Not much maintenance. Washing is all it needs. Just providing this picture. I'm kind of partial, so I better don't engage myself into the full-body vs plain fiberglass discussion....

And by the way, NO, our BF26 is not the one which was for sale.

Cheers,
Detlef and Ursula