Born Free Leap'n Lions RV Club Info & Discussion Forum

I am new to this site and have been looking for information on gas mileage. We are planning on purchasing a 22' Built For Two, gas, not diesel, (I think) but I can't find any specific info on what the mileage might be. We won't be towing a vehicle so I assume it will be a little better because of that. Can anyone give me a good estimate? Looking forward to your responses. Thanks.

I can't tell you what you might get in the 22' model, as we have a 24' Rear Bath. However, with that 24RB, we average about 9.5 mpg. We habitually carry a full load of fresh water, so that lowers the mileage a bit. Also, if I keep to 55 mph or lower, I probably get closer to 10 mpg. This mileage is an average over 33,000 miles traveling over various terrains, sometimes using the air conditioner, sometimes not, etc., etc., etc. We do not tow a vehicle.

Your 22' model should get better mileage than we get, as it is both lighter and is built on the E-350 chassis rather than the E-450 chassis. With luck, some 22' owners will chime in.

Prior to our Born Free, we had a Roadtrek 200 class B motorhome, which was built on the Chevy 3500 and weighed about 9000 pounds when loaded. It got 13.5 mpg. I would suspect you will get someplace in the middle, maybe 11 to 12 mpg.

We have a gas 2008 BFT c/o/ rear door and running 60/65 mph on the flat and not over 3,500 rpm in mountains, averaged 10mpg. Some are better, some are worst. Just got back form our winter trip and over 6,000 miles, thur the southwest returning to Iowa thru Colorado, again the average was 10 mpg. The c/o probably pulls a little away from mileage figure but wouldn't give up the extra space, to handy for storage. If you like power and plan on doing a lot of your travels out west at elevation, I sure would get the diesel, I did the whole dollar thing and figured the payback on the diesel would be 7 or 8 years. If I had it to do over, I would be making black smoke in the mountains. Maybe next time.

I just completed a 6400 mile round trip from Iowa out to AZ, NV and CA. My coach is a 2002 26' RSB on an E450 chassis with the 305 HP gas V10 engine. I drove 63 mph and pulled a 3100 lb toad. My coach weight 13,260 lbs for a total weight of 16,360 lbs and my total trip average was 8.8 mpg with the coach's 1% odometer error corrected out of the calculation using GPS as an accurate reference.

Your 22' BFT built on the E350 chassis will be quite a bit lighter in weight and I believe the E350's rear end ratio is 4.10:1 whereas it is 4.56:1 on the heavier E450. So I would expect you should get in the range of 9.5 to 10.5 mpg depending on how fast you drive it.

Prior to our current BF 24RB(gas), we had a 2004 BFT(gas). When on the road our gray/black tanks were empty, the fuel tank never less than half full, and the fresh water tank never more than half full. We did not tow and did not exceed 60mph, the idea being that if we wanted to go faster, we would sell the BF and fly. We frequently averaged better than 12+mpg and occasionly got 13mpg. Based on the initial cost of a diesel engine, the increased maintenance costs and the cost of diesel fuel, we are more than happy with our V10 gas engine.

We get about 10mpg average in our true 2005 chassis BFT gas V10 and have been cross country as well as up and down the West Coast. True 2005 Ford E350 chassis BFTs and later have a 5 speed "Torque Shift" rather than a 4 speed transmission. Look for "Tow Haul" instead of "Overdrive" lettered near the lock out button at the end of the gear shift lever and D,1,2,3 rather than D,1,2 on the gear indicator (the highest gear is the built in and unlabled automatic OD type function on both transmissions). The transmission model # also has a 5 in it but the Ford website VIN lookup doesn't produce the specific tranny type for a specific VIN. By the way for all interested BF owner readers out there I have discovered that actual (true 2005 and later) 5 speed "Torque Shift" transmissions require a different ATF than the 4 speeds. It is called "Mercon SP" and it's specs. are not met by Jiffy Lubes Pennzoil Multi ATF nor by most other ATF fluids I was able to identify. Jiffy Lube had to go get it from Ford after they wrongly refilled our transmission with the ATF for earlier transmissions. Hopefully Pennzoil and others will develop a reformulated ATF and get it certified.

WE have a 2005 BFT on a 2004 E-350 chassis. I plan on 10 mpg whether towing a car or not, over the mountains or on the flats. It might vary a couple of tenths from that, but not enough to worry about. The E-350 chassis only has a 37 gallon gas tank versus a 55 gallon tank for the E-450 so it is a bit more important to pay attention to fuel planning with the 22 BFT.

A complication in computing your gas mileage comes into play if you run your generator which draws from the gas tank.

2004 BFT - 11 mpg uphill, 13 mpg downhill, 12 mpg average. Strong winds can also have an effect of 1-2 mpg depending on whether a headwind or tailwind.

Towing a smart car drops the above numbers ~1 mpg.

Bill

Peter Robinson wrote:It is called "Mercon SP" ...

In Nov last year Ford announced a replacement fluid for Mercon SP called Mercon LV and it is reportedly good for the life of the vehicle whereas the SP required changes at 30K intervals. The LV is also a little less expensive though still pricey at about $3.50/qt.

OBTW, the Ford Powerstroke diesel uses the same 5R110 tranny as the gasser but it has a different configuration - same number of gears but no Tow Haul. It has "Overdrive" on the shifter button.

At 32K miles I think our engine is finally getting broken in. The mileage has been getting better each trip for the last year. On our trip to Louisiana and back to Oregon this past winter we averaged 14 mpg (not much city driving) and consistently got 15 mpg across Nevada, Texas and NM. We get 11mpg in city driving. We drive at 60-62 mph.

We have a 2007 BFT gas, V10. We average 10 mpg generally speaking on all of our travels - flat lands, mountains, city, interstates, etc. If you're running hard on the interstate w/a/c into a headwind, it'll drop. Just be aware of where you are and what you're doing and all will be OK. I normally drive off the top half of the gas tank. I really hate getting caught on low fumes in construction zones/stop and go traffic.
Have fun and go for it.

With the E450 chassis, the top three gears with both the 2004 and older 4 speed transmission, and the 2005 and newer 5 speed transmission have identical ratios. The motor is turning the same rpm in the top three gears with either transmission, and would give the essentially the same fuel mileage. Here is my source for that info:
http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/Techsnoz/files/
click on Article10.pdf Tech Talk: Transmission

The 5 speed transmission does give you an extra gear for low speed acceleration compared to the 4 speed, that is first gear in the four speed is subdivided into two gears in the five speed. However second gear in the 4 speed is the same as 3rd in the 5 speed, 3rd gear in the 4 speed is identical to 4th in the 5 speed, and top gear is the same ratio in both.

A major factor of concern to me is the reliability of the 5 speed. A leading consumer magazine rates the 2005 Econoline as one of the worst vehicles for reliability in their 2010 auto issue. The service manger at the Harrisburg Ford dealership in 2009 told me that the 5 speed Econoline transmissions are not as reliable as the older 4 speed. I can't say if the E350 transmission ratios are the same as the E450, but the reliability data likely pertains to all the Econoline models.

I'd be a bit wary of buying Ford's 5 speed transmission built in the first few years of its production. You might be lucky, you might not. Either way, highway fuel mileage with either transmission will be very similar. However the 5 speed can accelerate your vehicle faster, if you put your foot into it, since the engine can turn more rpm's at low speed.

For my money, I would either buy a newer 4 speed Born Free, or skip up to the 2008 and newer Born Free coach body with its advantages. I'd really look hard to find an early 08 Born Free on an late 07 leftover chassis, so as not to have that (to me) gaudy chrome beak on the 08 and newer Ford E chassis, but that's my preferences.

Well, since I have the 2005. I hope Ed's service manager is wrong. I have not had any problems. Hopefully that will continue. I have about 33,000 on mine. I get about 9.5 mpg. I do not tow a toad.

jasper2222 wrote:Well, since I have the 2005. I hope Ed's service manager is wrong. I have not had any problems. Hopefully that will continue.

Agreed. I hope not either. If I had a 2005 5 speed, I'd be inclined to change the fluid and any recommended transmission service a bit more frequently. Try to keep the dead bugs and leaves off the transmission cooler surface. Sniff the transmission fluid on the dipstick occasionally so you can recognize the different smell of burnt fluid, if that should occur. Probably a benefit that you don't tow a car either. If you have a ScanGauge, it can be set to monitor transmission temperature and help avoid the risks that go with an overheating transmission. Your 2005 should have the extra cooling slots below the bumper, likely a good thing for the transmission too.


Happy Trails

Well, after all these comments one could say that with any BF gas model you will get from 8.5 to 12 mpg and most likely it will be 9-10.5. Highly unlikely you will get as little as 5 or as much as 15.