Our bumpy intro to truck campers and our Bigfoot score
I have been reading for weeks and weeks now. Staying up way to late to try and find the answer to various questions. On most of the online forums. This one seems to be a great place to learn, read and maybe even share a story.
About the 1st of August I convinced my wife why a truck camper could be a really great thing for us to add to our lives. We are close to Glacier, a days drive to Yellowstone, and it would provide a place to stay visiting friends in distant cities without displacing kids or having to put clean sheets on the guest bed.
I started the craigslist search. We looked at 7 almost local campers. They were dirty, had mouse poop on the beds, in cuboards, etc. In general we were not to impressed. We found a camper and the inside was spotless. Super clean and owned by an older couple in their 80's that seemed nice. I did wonder why the slide out was parked in the middle of an ornamental tree in their front yard. Odd I thought. We looked it over and decided it would be the right one.
We transfered it to my dodge dually and headed home. I had never looked at campers before up close. Thats when the fun started. The slide out was having issues. Closer examination with no tree showed the front overhang had sagged on the passenger side. The entire side of the camper had shifted back and now the slide opening frame was in a diamond shape that nothing would correct.
It only got worse. I found the slide had been removed or at least jacked up to shim one end by nearly three inches. The other end the roller was digging into the floor carving a gross valley in the underside of the floor. I started loosing sleep. We wasted 7 grand on a pile of repairs. In did not have time for another project. I have a bad habit of buying almost functional older jeeps and thinking I will live to be old enough to fix them all. Ugh... I started in on the repairs. I plated the underside of the floor with 1/8 aluminum to provide a smooth surface for the rollers. I started reading. And reading some more. Every night. I discovered all campers have issues. Some more than others. I was now completely soured on this camper and my really bad uneducated purchase. The more I read the worse I felt. I read more each night. How to inspect a camper, which campers had issues. I kept seeing bigfoot's were pretty fancy and most did not have to many issues. Some did but they were top notch in general. I finish the repairs on our 7 thousand dollar mistake and put it back on CL for a fraction of what we paid. Less than 30 days after we bought it. I had one person look. I showed them everything I had found. I did not tell him how much I paid. The couple bought it and wanted to use it for a place to stay at the mother in laws and that was it. It was cheap and did not leak.
Now what? I went through each brand reading every day. I started looking at Bigfoot's and was stunned by how much people wanted. There were only two near us. A beater late 90's one and a 2018 that was a thousand less than new. Come on really... I took a look up and down the Seattle corridor. Holy smokes there were 8 of them. Three 9 footers which is what we though would be good for weight and towing a trailer. And several 10 footers. And the prices were way lower than in the Idaho/Montana area. With 8 print outs we headed west. The one we wanted most was a 9.4 2500 series. It had the rear dinette and had the best view to offer. It had been frozen and had to have the hot water tank welded and it had been done and repaired. Pretty convinced the rest of the plumbing system had suffered from the freeze, we took a look at a second choice, a 2005 9.6 south of Seattle. It was like new inside. Stunning really. All the tags, manuals, every receipt, a beautiful custom rear porch with retractable steps, stainless fast guns, rubber bed mat, several great options like the electrical system disconnect, fantastic fans, outdoor shower, etc. I put my new education to work and looked at everything. I looked at my wife to see what she thought. Talk about a huge smile and a nod. We negotiated the price down 500 bucks, shoke hands and loaded it up on the dodge. It towed just great. It barely leans. My truck springs did not even come close to touching the overloads. My wife and I are super happy with it. We spent the first night in it in the heart of Seattle at a friends house so we could get a fresh start home the next day. What an active place. Now I know why I live deep in the woods with no neighbors. We arrived home to our peaceful spot in the Idaho panhandle. We slept in it again in the front yard.
We have camped in it already. I have added a touch flow faucet with a nice 3M carbon block water filter, bigger batteries, added a solar panel that transfers to our old 78 cabin cruiser boat or the camper, and put all LED bulbs in everywhere. There is a coleman polar cub mach 8 in the box waiting to get installed next spring. We already have a honda eu2000 sitting here. I have some AC install questions, but that is for later.
We love this camper. It was a painfully expensive experience getting into it with the first one, but we know adventures are ahead of us. We feel we did finally find the right one. With 4 to 6 feet of snow here every year, now we have to wait till March to get back out in it. The seller called last night. We talked for over an hour. I told him what I had installed and what I had plans for. Soon we will be back at it, seeing incredible sites, visiting good friends. It's all waiting for us. We need to get out and enjoy life. I believe we have just found a way. :)
About the 1st of August I convinced my wife why a truck camper could be a really great thing for us to add to our lives. We are close to Glacier, a days drive to Yellowstone, and it would provide a place to stay visiting friends in distant cities without displacing kids or having to put clean sheets on the guest bed.
I started the craigslist search. We looked at 7 almost local campers. They were dirty, had mouse poop on the beds, in cuboards, etc. In general we were not to impressed. We found a camper and the inside was spotless. Super clean and owned by an older couple in their 80's that seemed nice. I did wonder why the slide out was parked in the middle of an ornamental tree in their front yard. Odd I thought. We looked it over and decided it would be the right one.
We transfered it to my dodge dually and headed home. I had never looked at campers before up close. Thats when the fun started. The slide out was having issues. Closer examination with no tree showed the front overhang had sagged on the passenger side. The entire side of the camper had shifted back and now the slide opening frame was in a diamond shape that nothing would correct.
It only got worse. I found the slide had been removed or at least jacked up to shim one end by nearly three inches. The other end the roller was digging into the floor carving a gross valley in the underside of the floor. I started loosing sleep. We wasted 7 grand on a pile of repairs. In did not have time for another project. I have a bad habit of buying almost functional older jeeps and thinking I will live to be old enough to fix them all. Ugh... I started in on the repairs. I plated the underside of the floor with 1/8 aluminum to provide a smooth surface for the rollers. I started reading. And reading some more. Every night. I discovered all campers have issues. Some more than others. I was now completely soured on this camper and my really bad uneducated purchase. The more I read the worse I felt. I read more each night. How to inspect a camper, which campers had issues. I kept seeing bigfoot's were pretty fancy and most did not have to many issues. Some did but they were top notch in general. I finish the repairs on our 7 thousand dollar mistake and put it back on CL for a fraction of what we paid. Less than 30 days after we bought it. I had one person look. I showed them everything I had found. I did not tell him how much I paid. The couple bought it and wanted to use it for a place to stay at the mother in laws and that was it. It was cheap and did not leak.
Now what? I went through each brand reading every day. I started looking at Bigfoot's and was stunned by how much people wanted. There were only two near us. A beater late 90's one and a 2018 that was a thousand less than new. Come on really... I took a look up and down the Seattle corridor. Holy smokes there were 8 of them. Three 9 footers which is what we though would be good for weight and towing a trailer. And several 10 footers. And the prices were way lower than in the Idaho/Montana area. With 8 print outs we headed west. The one we wanted most was a 9.4 2500 series. It had the rear dinette and had the best view to offer. It had been frozen and had to have the hot water tank welded and it had been done and repaired. Pretty convinced the rest of the plumbing system had suffered from the freeze, we took a look at a second choice, a 2005 9.6 south of Seattle. It was like new inside. Stunning really. All the tags, manuals, every receipt, a beautiful custom rear porch with retractable steps, stainless fast guns, rubber bed mat, several great options like the electrical system disconnect, fantastic fans, outdoor shower, etc. I put my new education to work and looked at everything. I looked at my wife to see what she thought. Talk about a huge smile and a nod. We negotiated the price down 500 bucks, shoke hands and loaded it up on the dodge. It towed just great. It barely leans. My truck springs did not even come close to touching the overloads. My wife and I are super happy with it. We spent the first night in it in the heart of Seattle at a friends house so we could get a fresh start home the next day. What an active place. Now I know why I live deep in the woods with no neighbors. We arrived home to our peaceful spot in the Idaho panhandle. We slept in it again in the front yard.
We have camped in it already. I have added a touch flow faucet with a nice 3M carbon block water filter, bigger batteries, added a solar panel that transfers to our old 78 cabin cruiser boat or the camper, and put all LED bulbs in everywhere. There is a coleman polar cub mach 8 in the box waiting to get installed next spring. We already have a honda eu2000 sitting here. I have some AC install questions, but that is for later.
We love this camper. It was a painfully expensive experience getting into it with the first one, but we know adventures are ahead of us. We feel we did finally find the right one. With 4 to 6 feet of snow here every year, now we have to wait till March to get back out in it. The seller called last night. We talked for over an hour. I told him what I had installed and what I had plans for. Soon we will be back at it, seeing incredible sites, visiting good friends. It's all waiting for us. We need to get out and enjoy life. I believe we have just found a way. :)
