Forum Discussion

rvlegaleagle's avatar
rvlegaleagle
Explorer
Mar 06, 2017

2016 born free imperial any thoughts?

Looking into the 2016 or 2017 Born Free Imperial with the F-550 GAS chassis, anyone have any experience or knowledge they could share? Thanks:)

13 Replies

  • Actually the imperial does have 2 A/Cs and is a 50amp service. The floor plan will work for me, just need to see if the fresh water can go to 50gal and a few more things. As to the gas, well you know all about that gas v diesel...lol
  • We purchased a used Born Free last August and continue to be very pleased with the quality of the unit. In addition we have experienced great support from the company when we have those questions that come up particularly with people like us who are new to the class c world.

    I can't comment on the particular unit you asked about but as a company they are excellent.
  • j-d's avatar
    j-d
    Explorer II
    All I know is based on my nearly 20 years in Class C's, this forum, and the Born Free webpage.

    Born Free is a great coach.

    F550 is a great chassis, and it'll turn tighter than our E450, which would be a blessing.

    I wonder why you don't want Diesel in such a high line coach. That said, the Ford V10 will provide plenty of power.

    I found Born Free's website a little lacking in detail. The design seems to be what I'll call "Elegantly Spartan" such as non-carpeted floors and a fairly simple floor plan.

    Maybe I didn't look carefully enough, but I couldn't tell if the electrical service was 30- or 50-Amp. Also couldn't tell if the 15000-BTU A/C was the only choice. This Imperial is probably about the same size interior as a "31" or "32" foot Class C, with the difference in overall length being the longer F-Series chassis.

    To say, a 15000 A/C is marginal in a Class C this size. We get by with ours. It keeps us cool if we cordon the cockpit off. We often have to "load shed" on 30-Amp service. So... a couple points:

    1. And this is above all: The FLOOR PLAN has to work for YOU. If it doesn't, keep looking, no matter how good the rest of the coach is.

    2. Without being able to dig into the details, I'd like such an exquisite unit to be 50-Amp, with Two 13500 A/C units, feeding into one common discharge duct. That gives you plenty of cooling power, and you can have limited cooling with less amps of shore tie, or the failure of one A/C unit.

    I wish there was better detail on the BF webpage.