BiGfoot potential buyer NEED advice

I would strongly recommend upgrading whichever coach you buy to a complete 2008+ front axle. This axle has better brakes, better bushing design, better sway bar design, and larger ball joints.

Other than that.... Finding a 2005+ chassis would give you the TorqueShift transmission which has closer ratios and tow/haul mode. The 4R100 transmission isn't bad, but the TorqueShift is a big improvement.

One thing to keep in mind with the BidFoot "Garage" models in case you may ever tow somethings heavier: The Garage models do not extend the frame rails. Instead, they just end in front of the garage, and the rear of the coach is effectively Unibody construction. That means if you want to tow more than 3500 pounds, you cannot simply bolt on a bigger hitch.

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If you can stand the 30 foot length the Bigfoot 29G (the one with the garage) is a fantastic ski machine. My brother and family (2 adults, 2 kinds) used one (2004) for years for family weekends in the mountains. They essentially spent every weekend possible at ski area dry camping during the season. The garage is big enough to hold enough all the wet ski gear and boots along with all the other stuff you'd want to take (outdoor LP heaters, big grill, fire pit, wood, etc). My brother got some wire shelves and set them up in the garage to hold the ski gear. The cab overhead sleeping area on the Bigfoot is huge too. I've slept up there. You will want to block the cab off with a blanket or something as you lose a lot of heat from up there. It's essentially useless space (except as a very cold pantry) while parked.

carringb wrote:
I would strongly recommend upgrading whichever coach you buy to a complete 2008+ front axle. This axle has better brakes, better bushing design, better sway bar design, and larger ball joints.

Other than that.... Finding a 2005+ chassis would give you the TorqueShift transmission which has closer ratios and tow/haul mode. The 4R100 transmission isn't bad, but the TorqueShift is a big improvement.

One thing to keep in mind with the BidFoot "Garage" models in case you may ever tow somethings heavier: The Garage models do not extend the frame rails. Instead, they just end in front of the garage, and the rear of the coach is effectively Unibody construction. That means if you want to tow more than 3500 pounds, you cannot simply bolt on a bigger hitch.

All this is super helpful
So what would a rough estimate of cost for the front axle be?

Regarding the garage models, what I hear you saying is that if I plan to haul more than 3500 lbs I will be up a creek without a paddle? So if I wanted to haul something the size of a jeep I would not be able to without serious modifications?

Bump…. Not sure if anyone can comment on above

erdvm1 wrote:

carringb wrote:
I would strongly recommend upgrading whichever coach you buy to a complete 2008+ front axle. This axle has better brakes, better bushing design, better sway bar design, and larger ball joints.

Other than that.... Finding a 2005+ chassis would give you the TorqueShift transmission which has closer ratios and tow/haul mode. The 4R100 transmission isn't bad, but the TorqueShift is a big improvement.

One thing to keep in mind with the BidFoot "Garage" models in case you may ever tow somethings heavier: The Garage models do not extend the frame rails. Instead, they just end in front of the garage, and the rear of the coach is effectively Unibody construction. That means if you want to tow more than 3500 pounds, you cannot simply bolt on a bigger hitch.

All this is super helpful
So what would a rough estimate of cost for the front axle be?

Regarding the garage models, what I hear you saying is that if I plan to haul more than 3500 lbs I will be up a creek without a paddle? So if I wanted to haul something the size of a jeep I would not be able to without serious modifications?

I had a 29G and towing a jeep, four down (flat towing) is no problem. But towing a heavy trailer with a heavy jeep would be pushing the limits of the tow capacity of the 29G. I believe the hitch capacity was 5000 lbs, so if you stay within that range, you'd be within the limits of that Bigfoot.

And to echo the above poster about the garage area, it is absolutely awesome. The only reason I sold it was ironically, to get more towing capacity, due to needing to tow an enclosed trailer with a jeep and several different combinations of dirt bikes and ATV's. But for skiing, mountain biking, canyoneering, ATV racing, it was perfect. You will be the talk of the campground, with people wanting you to show them your storage area. You can also access that area from under the bed in back, and that makes it nice also. I've even had guests sleep in there. It's really versatile.

And yes, I had a fabricator check out the possibility of making it capable of towing a big trailer, but it would have meant adding frame rails through the garage area, which would severely limit the storage options in there, so I decided against that.

erdvm1 wrote:


All this is super helpful
So what would a rough estimate of cost for the front axle be?

Regarding the garage models, what I hear you saying is that if I plan to haul more than 3500 lbs I will be up a creek without a paddle? So if I wanted to haul something the size of a jeep I would not be able to without serious modifications?

Sorry I missed your questions. If the stock Bigfoot hitch is 5k my apologies. I think maybe they may have upgraded them at one point, because I wanted for a while and I remembered the low tow rating as a deal breaker. Might want to double check the unit you are interested it. As for upgrading, that's a tough one because there are no frame rails through or under the garage. It's more like a box hanging from the rear of the frame rails (which is kind of how big diesel pusher buses are built). Upgrading would require some serious engineering, unless you just stabbed some frame rail extensions through the garage, but that would of course take away the benefit of the garage.

For the front axle, I bought mine from QuadVan for $400 although I hear they want $450 now. Quigley sells them for $250. The expensive part is freight unless you can drop by one of those facilities to pick it up. Sportsmobile also takes off new axles, but they don't do duallies, so you would still have to buy new rotors separate from the rest of the package.

Labor to install is about 4-hours, but maybe more if you have it done on a shop without an RV lift. It also requires a new sway-bar from Ford unless you already have an aftermarket front sway bar.

My brother has had zero issues with his front axles and they are in the mountains in their 2004 29G all the time.

Dakzuki wrote:
My brother has had zero issues with his front axle and they are in the mountains in their 2004 29G all the time.

It's not that the front axle is a problem. The '08+ axle is a HUGE improvement, and takes care of any impending maintenance issues (ball joints, bushings, bearings, brakes etc).