Interested in a Bigfoot
So the wife is sick of the wet bath and the U-dinette (I don't blame her). We're looking at a 2007 Bigfoot 10.6. What do I need to know? Weight is 3050. I assume that's dry. Is my '05 F350 SRW u...
Forum Discussion
I bought my new to me 2001 Bigfoot 10.6 early this year to replace a 2000 Lance 1172. I carry it on a 1999 F350 Dually and have been fairly happy with it though California roads sure does cause a lot of bouncing... My thoughts:
1. Check all of the exterior screws for signs of corrossion. My camper didn't come with stainless steel screws so many of them have rusted out. I've replaced most of them but the screws for the mounting Jacks I'm taking to someone else since it is a bit more complicated. Supposedly Bigfoot switched to stainless steel screws sometime shortly after mine was made but still worth verifying even though you are looking at an 05.
2. Along the same lines... Check the bolts on the scissor ladder to make certain they are stainless steel and are not rusted out. HIGHLY suggest replacing all of them if there is any sign of wear. I'm personally not a huge fan of this ladder and I keep a close eye on it.
3. Check the cab height of your truck. Somewhere in the early 2000s there was a change in bed height for the trucks. My Lance 1172 camper fit very nicely but the Bigfoot required nearly 3.5" of additional lift. I used 2'x2' pink foam insulation blocks that are 1" thick stacked three high (glued together) with a rubber bed mat on bottom and top. The height is now perfect and it doesn't shift while driving.
4. Holding Tank sizes are goofy... I don't remember the exact numbers but something along the lines of 50 gallons fresh, 24 gallons grey and 19 gallons black. You will notice that your waste tanks will be full before your fresh is empty, not a bad thing really but considering that the gauges are not very accurate it leads to a guessing game and once in a while an overflowing shower. Also, would be nice if they had put more into the grey tank and less into the black tank. You can however add a third waste gate onto the end of the pipe where your sewer hose connects allowing you to move grey water to the black tank.
5. Consider purchasing 2 AGM batteries and placing them saddlebag style in the bed of the truck up front. I made some special brackets to keep them in place and than ran 4 gauge wire between them and back go the camper battery compartment (now holds my 2000w inverter I still need to hook up) and tied it into the camper wiring. This leaves me with LOTs of power for extended boondocking.
6. One thing about the Bigfoot is it is TALL. Just the other day I was going into a fuel station and happened to notice the station canopy seemed a bit low and saw they marked it for 11' height. Thankfully, out of happenstance I had measured the total height earlier in the summer and knew that my rig is 11'6" in height. I put two and two together just in time to prevent Murphy's law from happening... One of the first Bigfoot Campers I ever remember seeing was one on a lifted F350 4x4 SRW with very large tires barreling down I5 near Corning, CA doing about 75mph. That setup was TALL!!! Must have been just shy of 13' and was swaying like a palm tree in the wind. Judging by the drivers speed he was fine with it but I can only imagine how scary it would be on some twisty roads.
7. Propane Tanks might be difficult to remove for filling (see one of my earlier threads for how that nearly turned into a disaster).
8. One of the great pluses is that there are no slides on this camper. Yes, extra space would be nice (checkout the Bigfoot 3000 if you need space) but the simplicity and overall light weight for it's size well make up for it. I nearly purchased a Artic Fox Silver Fox edition with slide before I bought my Bigfoot. I did like the extra space the slide permitted but honestly I'm in and out of my camper all day long and not having to wait to open up suits my needs better.
9. As others pointed out, check the roof seals but honestly unless the guy you bought it from can prove the seals where redone within the past year the first thing you should do is haul it to a shop and have them reseal it for you. Factor that into your purchase price because nothing is worse than having a leaking roof knowing it's causing expensive damage...
10. The dual pane windows may have Gasket Creep! This apparently was an issue on earlier Bigfoot campers with the dual pane windows. On my camper all of the sliders have the gasket that separates the two frames pulling inward from the vacuum between the panes. I'm still researching to fix this one, whether to have a local glass shop try to do it or to purchase from the OEM.
11. Consider pulling out the window treatments and bed overhang treatment and just installing simple Oak trim pieces to hide the blinds (replace nothing for the bed for more headroom). Those dang treatments on my camper hid about 1/3 of the windows and did nothing but collect dust and spiderwebs.
12. Consider installing a pressure tank on the water pump to give you a few seconds of running water without the pump having to cycle rapidly.
Overall I am VERY happy I got rid of the wooden Lance and went to the fiberglass Bigfoot. I actually had my sights set on the Host Mammoth but too rich for my budget and too fat for my truck. I honestly think that fate gave me the right camper for my needs. I would recommend a Bigfoot in a heartbeat.
1. Check all of the exterior screws for signs of corrossion. My camper didn't come with stainless steel screws so many of them have rusted out. I've replaced most of them but the screws for the mounting Jacks I'm taking to someone else since it is a bit more complicated. Supposedly Bigfoot switched to stainless steel screws sometime shortly after mine was made but still worth verifying even though you are looking at an 05.
2. Along the same lines... Check the bolts on the scissor ladder to make certain they are stainless steel and are not rusted out. HIGHLY suggest replacing all of them if there is any sign of wear. I'm personally not a huge fan of this ladder and I keep a close eye on it.
3. Check the cab height of your truck. Somewhere in the early 2000s there was a change in bed height for the trucks. My Lance 1172 camper fit very nicely but the Bigfoot required nearly 3.5" of additional lift. I used 2'x2' pink foam insulation blocks that are 1" thick stacked three high (glued together) with a rubber bed mat on bottom and top. The height is now perfect and it doesn't shift while driving.
4. Holding Tank sizes are goofy... I don't remember the exact numbers but something along the lines of 50 gallons fresh, 24 gallons grey and 19 gallons black. You will notice that your waste tanks will be full before your fresh is empty, not a bad thing really but considering that the gauges are not very accurate it leads to a guessing game and once in a while an overflowing shower. Also, would be nice if they had put more into the grey tank and less into the black tank. You can however add a third waste gate onto the end of the pipe where your sewer hose connects allowing you to move grey water to the black tank.
5. Consider purchasing 2 AGM batteries and placing them saddlebag style in the bed of the truck up front. I made some special brackets to keep them in place and than ran 4 gauge wire between them and back go the camper battery compartment (now holds my 2000w inverter I still need to hook up) and tied it into the camper wiring. This leaves me with LOTs of power for extended boondocking.
6. One thing about the Bigfoot is it is TALL. Just the other day I was going into a fuel station and happened to notice the station canopy seemed a bit low and saw they marked it for 11' height. Thankfully, out of happenstance I had measured the total height earlier in the summer and knew that my rig is 11'6" in height. I put two and two together just in time to prevent Murphy's law from happening... One of the first Bigfoot Campers I ever remember seeing was one on a lifted F350 4x4 SRW with very large tires barreling down I5 near Corning, CA doing about 75mph. That setup was TALL!!! Must have been just shy of 13' and was swaying like a palm tree in the wind. Judging by the drivers speed he was fine with it but I can only imagine how scary it would be on some twisty roads.
7. Propane Tanks might be difficult to remove for filling (see one of my earlier threads for how that nearly turned into a disaster).
8. One of the great pluses is that there are no slides on this camper. Yes, extra space would be nice (checkout the Bigfoot 3000 if you need space) but the simplicity and overall light weight for it's size well make up for it. I nearly purchased a Artic Fox Silver Fox edition with slide before I bought my Bigfoot. I did like the extra space the slide permitted but honestly I'm in and out of my camper all day long and not having to wait to open up suits my needs better.
9. As others pointed out, check the roof seals but honestly unless the guy you bought it from can prove the seals where redone within the past year the first thing you should do is haul it to a shop and have them reseal it for you. Factor that into your purchase price because nothing is worse than having a leaking roof knowing it's causing expensive damage...
10. The dual pane windows may have Gasket Creep! This apparently was an issue on earlier Bigfoot campers with the dual pane windows. On my camper all of the sliders have the gasket that separates the two frames pulling inward from the vacuum between the panes. I'm still researching to fix this one, whether to have a local glass shop try to do it or to purchase from the OEM.
11. Consider pulling out the window treatments and bed overhang treatment and just installing simple Oak trim pieces to hide the blinds (replace nothing for the bed for more headroom). Those dang treatments on my camper hid about 1/3 of the windows and did nothing but collect dust and spiderwebs.
12. Consider installing a pressure tank on the water pump to give you a few seconds of running water without the pump having to cycle rapidly.
Overall I am VERY happy I got rid of the wooden Lance and went to the fiberglass Bigfoot. I actually had my sights set on the Host Mammoth but too rich for my budget and too fat for my truck. I honestly think that fate gave me the right camper for my needs. I would recommend a Bigfoot in a heartbeat.
