Anyone here with a Bigfoot TC?

The BF 10.4 is in fact 10' 11" long. One thing that is unique about it is the forward bath. That makes the view from the dinette 180 deg. Unfortunately it also makes the dinette kinda small. All of the NL have the same floorplan, virtually identical to the BF 10.6 if you like the rear bath. I don't like the plastic windows on the NL. They are flimsy and will scratch and cloud with time.

One thing that NL did to some extent, and both of these manufacturers should do to a much greater extent, is mold the roof with spigots for the penetrations. It's molded fiberglass after all, take advantage of it! There should be a raised curb under each vent and hatch, only needs to be about an inch. That would nearly eliminate leaks from them. This is common on boats.

The other thing that is disappointing about both brands is they now use polystyrene bead board as a structural core. BF used to use extruded polystyrene. Neither is really great as a structural core, but extruded was far better than expanded.

You should... I’m on your side, I love the BF 10.4, I was gonna buy one.
My local dealer (Apache Camping Center) sells both. He urged me to step into some of the NLs parked beside the BFs. I didn’t “get” the floorplan either until I got in one.
It’s amazingly roomy feeling.
The windows open on the NL, actually more than the BF sliding widowns do.
They’re hinged at the top and flip up. I love the built-in shades that slide up from the bottoms of them.
The BF has an overkill furnace. That’s not a bad thing, but the NL furnace is plenty for use in extremely cold weather and is also ducted to heat the tanks.
I like the sunroof in the BF, which the NL doesn’t have, but it is another big hole in the roof...

I have no stake in either outfit, I’m just giving you a heads-up that the other two-piece fiberglass camper from Canada is definitely worth looking at carefully. It had enough advantages to sway me from buying myself a 10.4.

I didn't get to view a NL but looking at their floor plans online couldn't get past what they were thinking. One of my primary criteria was the floor plan.

My Honda EU2200 fits inside the generator hold with room to spare, one is all I need.

BF has larger fresh (3gal.) and black (3 gal.) tanks, NL has 8 more gal. of grey, using your data.

BF has a lot of furnace, helps keep the tanks from freezing and opening windows for fresh air and condensate is no problem.

BF now installs a rather large rear porch with steps included that are attached to the bottom of the porch and fold out.

I'm 6'1" and have no problem with headroom. Egress though have to be careful not to hit the head going out.

The sleeping quarters are a little short but liveable, done worse.

I'm sure both campers are comparably nice.

I'd still like to look at a NL sometime for comparison.

The BF 10.4 was the one I most had my eye on. It’s a great camper for sure and I was gonna buy one, but the newer model NL 10.2 - which is actually over 11’ - has many compelling advantages.
Its roomier. It has more headrrom, the bed is a full queen, the layout is more “open concept” and even the dinette is bigger and makes an over-6’ bed that can actually be used.
The generator compartment is built to hold two Honda EU2000/2200 generators or similar.
This is subjective, but I think the interior is a lot better looking.
The Northern Lite’s got a bigger grey water tank, 40 gallons vs 32 on BF. BF has slightly larger fresh tank, 39 gallons to NL’s 36.
The BF has a slightly larger black tank, 21 vs. 18. That noticeably-larger gray tank appealed to me because that’s the tank I usually hit the limits on.
I like the windows with the built in shades, and the rear bumper with the big wide staircase makes it really nice to get in and out.

The generator compartment alone, I think they had me at that. I was really tired of carrying them inside my camper.

The BF has a bigger furnace but I don’t see the point in that, the one in the NL is capable of cooking me out of the thing. The BF has thicker insulation but that hasn’t made any difference either, I haven’t been cold in mine.
The NL is lighter.

NL got the advantage when their factory burned down. They got to rebuild and make new molds which gave the opportunity to improve them, which BF can’t afford to do to keep up. BF needs good insurance and a meteor to land on their building.

I like the BF 10.4 a lot. It’s awesome. But I like the NL even more.

hedgehopper wrote:

burningman wrote:
I was dead set on owning a Bigfoot until I started researching them vs. Northern Lite.
You might wanna have a look.

X2

I'd be more then happy to do a comparo with whatever model NL you two are using against my 10.4 then report the findings on this forum.

Thundercloud
I have a 2005 9-6 working up a solar setup with AM solar for my solar panels and parts. Would you be willing to share any of your solar setup information and placement of panels and wiring. I was thinking left and right of the front roof vent but i have a radio antenna on the left side.

Thanks

burningman wrote:
I was dead set on owning a Bigfoot until I started researching them vs. Northern Lite.
You might wanna have a look.

X2

I was dead set on owning a Bigfoot until I started researching them vs. Northern Lite.
You might wanna have a look.

Bigfoots year 2006 especially 10.5 & 10.6 and BF 3000 series all years 1 look floor wall separation along driver side wall & booth , vanity wall and shower to outside wall look on roof at shower sky lite flange for bulging and separation most important open door look at flatness of floor along dinette , curvature indicates probable damage to structure from flexingstress usually caused by poor assembly ( and stripped screw holes , egg shaped screw hole ,caused by vibration & ect in base ment look up internal wall of basement storage wall along sewage pipe look at if staples are backing out I have many stories about this problem with BF 10.6/10.5 and Bf 3000 series We have been to Bigfoot factory twice with this and have worked on many and seen other owners rigs with this. some are reasonable to fix others are a nightmare to fix depending on actual place ment of basement plumbing piping and space around tanks I believe Bigfoot has been aware of this due to my and others many repeated contacts with them about this problem for years and nothings indicates, they did anything about in house corrections until recently ( see recent tc magazine article Bigfoot tour) Good luck in correcting if you purchase



see my profile for how many Bigfoots I have owned. I have personally been to factory 2 times on this problem . Also BF paid for the back haul & return of my brand new 10.11 3000 series for this problem when Mark Homes was waranty boss

Hi welsteach
Congratulations on your Bigfoot purchase! Lots of storage and good tank size but no storage for the sewer hose. I attached a 6”x6” vinyl fence post under the camper bumper to store it. Also check your converter/charger. The parallax will boil your batteries. Progressive Dynamics makes a replacement smart charger that is easy to install. Enjoy !
Bob