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

I have a BF Built for Two at 22 feet. It did not come with an awning and I would really like to add one and maybe add walls. I am looking for suggestions on what awnings will fit and where to store the walls or at least an extra shade.

My old built for two came with a manual A & E awing setup. I never put walls on it though.

The A & E Awnings by Domentic used on Born Free motor coaches used a special arm that was curved at the bottom to follow the contour of the coach's body shape. I don't believe those special arms are available anymore. Attached is a photo of what the curved lower arm looked like. I think you will need to go to an experienced RV shop to have them determine a brand and model that would fit your coach.

whemme wrote:The A & E Awnings by Domentic used on Born Free motor coaches used a special arm that was curved at the bottom to follow the contour of the coach's body shape. I don't believe those special arms are available anymore. Attached is a photo of what the curved lower arm looked like. I think you will need to go to an experienced RV shop to have them determine a brand and model that would fit your coach.

Thanks for the info. I believe the shape of the BFs are unique and therefore problematic in fitting awnings thus the reason awnings are less common on BFs than other RVs.

I have contacted Fiamma and they have suggested the Fiamma F45S.

https://www.fiammausa.com/en/f45s-en.html

Awnings were an option on Born Free motorcoaches. I think most Born Frees were delivered with an optional awning but evidently not yours. Born Free over the years used either A&E Awnings or Carefree Awnings.

Looking at the photo it appears that a straight arm was modified to fit the born free. It looks like a pie shaped wedge was cut out of the sides of the channel, and the flat side was bent to fit a born free shape and the sides were welded back together. If someone with a modified arm could measure the length of the lower bent section and the angle of the cut. You should be able to modify a straight arm to work on our motor homes. I do not have a awning to measure so we need a little help from the forum, stay safe, Mike

My current BF has an electric awning that might work for you.

I think Mike & Linda have the right idea. I have been searching for those bent arms for A Dometic awning for our 2008 RSB for the past month.
I’ve called several places around the country and have had no luck to date. Most are saying Dometic is way behind on production, but I was also told that part was discontinued last year. Though a pair may be sitting somewhere, I’m ready to modify some on my own. So, if anyone can share their dimensions, it would be greatly appreciated.

here is Dometic drawing of the Born free arms still looking for dimensions Mike

FYI, due to the dramatically increased demand for RVs and (according to our repair shop) some poor business decisions by Dometic, we have been waiting since last June for a replacement electric awning for our coach (damaged beyond repair by user error in backing up the coach). They are looking at other manufacturers but are also facing long delays from them. The really frustrating part is that Dometic lied (or was criminally incompetent) several times, saying that the awning had shipped.

ebaron wrote:I think Mike & Linda have the right idea. I have been searching for those bent arms for A Dometic awning for our 2008 RSB for the past month.
I’ve called several places around the country and have had no luck to date. Most are saying Dometic is way behind on production, but I was also told that part was discontinued last year. Though a pair may be sitting somewhere, I’m ready to modify some on my own. So, if anyone can share their dimensions, it would be greatly appreciated.

Ed
I finally got out to measure the angle of the awning arms on my 2010 Born Free 22RSK. Attached is my sketch.

midnightpumpkin wrote: Ed
I finally got out to measure the angle of the awning arms on my 2010 Born Free 22RSK. Attached is my sketch.

Thank you very much!I’ll need to do a little research on which arm model number would be the right length to modify. Sorry to ask so much info, but I have not seen an actual awning. Would it be possible to measure the upper dimension of that lower arm? Then I think that will be all I need.
I was just at the Lazydays dealership down in Tampa. They confirmed they didn’t have any old stock of the lower arm throughout their multiple dealerships. The shop foreman commented that the only option he could think of was a box awning, which I believe is the Fiamma style that has no side support arms. However, he said folks that they have installed them for weren’t really happy as these awnings self close often at a slight wind. I believe he was speaking of the box awnings in general, and I don’t know if they specifically installed them on Born Frees.
Anyhow, I’ll keep the board updated once I pursue the modification. It will likely be several months as we are on the road and there are projects awaiting ahead of this one.

If anyone is using a box awning, it would be great to hear your actual experiences with it.

Ed
The lower part of the arm is 68.5 inches measured as if it were straight. That is the aluminum extrusion only, no attachment hardware included.
The length of the outer "main arm" is 64 inches as shown in the previous drawing of the arm.
John U

Thanks John!