Judy Madnick wrote:
We've gotten feedback from friends about the lack of slides with respect to resale value. However, we have to have a motorhome that works for us -- we can't always worry about resale value! Plus, those who want a Born Free want it for quality primarily.
So . . . how do you like your new motorhome? Any suggestions on what or what not to choose as options? My husband is especially interested in knowing how you like the side mirrors as far as picking up potential blind spots is concerned.
Any help you can provide would be greatly appreciated!
Judy,
We have not had ours all that long but here is my short list of Good Points and Not so Good Points.
Good Points:
The coach is solid and is built very strong and tight for a coach built on a cut-away truck frame. It feels solid on the road and tracks very well. It is relatively quiet going down the highway but there is still a fair amount of engine and wind noise but not so much you can't carry on a conversation at 65 mph.
The turning radius on the Kodiak chassis is amazing and takes some getting used to. You can make turns very sharp and you need to keep track of the tail overhang sometimes as it can be a whale tail if you not careful.
The CCC on our rig is around 2300# which is very good for a Class C. Especially one with solid wood cabinets. Unless you are carrying gold bars around I would find it hard to find enough storage space to even get close to the max. load for the chassis.
Mirrors: you asked about the mirrors. I find them to be adequate but just barely. The mirror arms do not have a positive stop so they can move forward or back easily. Sometimes they move backwards enough to throw off your settings while you are driving . This is fine with the upper large mirrors which can be adjusted from inside the cab but the smaller ones have to be moved by hand which is not easy to do while seated. Otherwise, they seem OK but I am still planning on installing some side cameras to see if they can give a better picture of what is the blind spots.
Cabinets are very high quality and we love the fit and finish of all the wood in the coach. We have the cherry and love the warm color and excellent craftsmanship. They are attached to wood runners on the sidewall and the ceiling which creates a structrual link between the walls and ceiling making the whole structure stonger and less likely to rattle and shake.
50 AMP service is great.
7kw generator is very nice and runs quiet for a generator. We will be making a genturi-like smoke stack to move the exhaust and noise above the coach.
Bathroom is well lit and very vented but it would have been nice to not have to avoid the wheel well frame when using the toilet guy style or when using the sink. It has a very sharp edge on it that I will be covering with foam tape to avoid further injury to my big feet. There is a good amount of cabinet space. We have the china toilet upgrade (Causual Elegance package) and it is very nice. The extra hand spayer is a very nice addition. Very large people might find the seating a bit tight but most motorhomes of this size seem to have about the same amount of seating space. The window in the bath gives added light and venting if needed.
The three windows in the bathroom are wonderful...until you want to sleep late. We had the factory make us window coverings that snap onto the frame that covers the window and keeps it much darker. (Thanks Len!)
We upgraded to a Class IV hitch because of the car we will tow. It will be over 5000# when loaded (extra clothes, water, canned foods, tools and cat litter) so we needed to go with a larger hitch. The factory did this for us but be aware that there are some thing you will give up if you do this.
* the sewerhose holder has to be removed so you now have to find another place for the hose. The bumper storage area is very small so only the grey thin slinky will fit. I am going to install a home-made holder further forward to hold a 20 foot Rhino hose.
* the hitch sits VERY low to the ground and moving very slooooowly over even small dips is required to avoid banging the hitch on the pavement.
* the hitch is only about 17 inches off the ground. My car tow bar will not work due to the low hitch height so I have to use a drop hitch receiver but in the inverted position to raise the hitch to the same level as my car baseplate tabs. In my case 8 inches higher than the existing hitch. You need to be sure yours will fit in both height and depth (bumper might be in the way using an inverted drop hitch).
Not so Good Points:
Chassis is loaded from the factory too heavy on the driver side of the coach. Too much weight is on that side so the coach is unbalanced and it shows in the handling. I will be finding a way to add some additional batteries for the passenger side to help even out the load if I can find some room under the coach to install some AGMs.
The LINK air suspension system has been nothing but a problem for us so far. We have had to make several trips to the local truck repair shop to have leaks fixed and we still have them.
The storage in the rig is very limited compared to other rigs of the some length and price range. We plan on Snowbirding starting next winter and can already see that we will not have enough storage space. Inside cabinet space for clothing is also very limited and if you want to hang long items (dresses or long coats) you will not have a cabinet long enough to do so without have one made for them. Also, the bedroom cabinets are not the same size. The passenger side ones are half the width of the driver side cabinets and the PS lower cabinet is where the hotwater heater is located so there is no storage in there at all.
The kitchen storage is misleading. The drawers are very shallow and short. There is no storage under the sink because the fresh water tank takes up all the space there. Also the electrical panels are located under the sink too. Not sure why anyone would put 100 amps of AC so close to a water source but that is where it is. The other door under the sink is a door for the tank sensors and is only about 3 inches deep so it is useless for storage.
The Chevy cab is the worst part of the whole package. The fit and finish is typical Chevy truck quality (oxymoron) and there are a fair number of rattles and other things we don't like about the cab. The radio sound quality is not good and we may replace it with a better unit someday. There is very little storage and none for the passenger except for the door tray. There is no dash storage compartment at all and the small console next to the drive is a joke. It mostly just shakes and rattles going down the road and gets in the way when you are trying to get to the house part of the coach.
Options:
Get an inverter installed by the factory. It is a real pain to do after the fact as I am discovering. The factory uses the Xantrex Freedom models which are modified sine wave. This is fine for most uses but some chargers may not work on them as well as some other items like microwave ovens, medical equipment (I have a CPAP that requires sine wave AC current), computers, some printers, etc. We decided to go with an aftermarket installation (my current project) of a larger sine wave Xantrex so I can power most of the internal outlets and have a much better battery charger than the stock converter.
Get the bigger generator. With 2 AC units, convevtion microwave, etc. you will need all the power you can get if you are not on shore power.
Get the backup camera installed by the factory. I am also in the process of installing one and while not technically difficult it is a pain to route wires after the fact through the coach.
We have the jack-knife sofa, twin captain chairs and no dinette. We felt the chairs gave more flexibility for just the two of us and having a table that slides out of the way if very nice. The sofa will sit 3 people and is fairly comfortable. We have the ultraleather. It is very soft and slick but tends to be easier to keep clean than cloth and looks so much richer.
Get the satellite TV dish installed by the factory. Again, having them run the wires before they install cabinets and ceiling fabric makes it much easier than trying to do so later on.
We have the rear queen Select Comfort bed. I have seen the rear twins and how it can be used to add some additional clothes storage (Len's current coach) and if you like twin beds that might be the way to go. We don't like twin beds so the queen was the only choice for us. The bed is a short queen so it is shorter and narrower than a standard queen. Also, the queen bed takes up a LOT of floor space in the bedroom. The amount of walking around the bed space is very limited; more so on the PS side so keep that in mind.
No slideouts make the coach safer, lighter, quieter and cleaner than most coaches with slides. It also makes the living space fully useable all the time; not just when the slides are out. The downside is there is less physical floor space when parked and more than two people in the coach might seem a bit crowded at times.
We see the Bornfree as more than adequte for our livestyle and our intended use; at least for now. More storage and more living space would be great but you pay a price for that in weight and lower quality. Otherwise, you will have to move up to a Class A with more than twice the $$$ for the same quality of workmanship.
Overall we are happy with our new coach. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a high quality upper end Class C that easily sleeps two adults and two kids (or two very small adults).
Good luck in your search. By all means, go and see one before your order or buy one used. Look closely at storage spaces and living spaces. Let me know if you would like any further details.
Steve and Donna