bigfoot and northern lite details on their construction
So I've had some very bad luck with campers. My first two wood ones rotted away. The third I spent some more money and bought a 2005 bigfoot. Unfortunitly through some dealer trickery they masked the rotted out wooded floor by covering it with a carpeted piece of plywood. When I went to fix the floor the wood floor trusses were so rotted they were sawdust. Then there was no way to fix it without completely gutting out the camper and redoing the whole floor. Instead I sold it to someone wanting a project (full disclosure of the problems).
I am aware of the 2 piece fiberglass construction of these campers. But fiberglass itself needs structure. I don't know all the technical terms for fiberglass construction but I know of basically three types:
1) Not reinforced. This is the way my 2005 bigfoot was. It was just fiberglass and the structure was the wooded floor. Once I took the rotted wood out of the floor the only thing left was the fiberglass. Had I attempted to walk on it while it was in the air my foot would go right through the bottom.
2) Reinforced fiberglass with a wood core. There can be delamination problems. Everywhere where there has been a hole in the fiberglass can created avenues for water to come into and rot the wood.
3) Reinforced fiberglass with a compostite core. Most boats are going to this. It has created some rocky starts but long term this appears to be the way to go for boats.
So which of these are bigfoot and northern lites. My 9'6" 2005 bigfoot was the first one with wood. Did bigfoot every change this method or are they still doing the same? Do they now use aluminum where they used to use wood? What about northern lite? I know their old factory burned down and they restructured their business. But did they change the fiberglass construction method then or were they already doing it? BTW I'm not looking for a wood vs aluminum debate. For me little to no wood is the very best. But I also live in the Oregon coast where it starts raining in September and doesn't stop until June and rarely freezes. If you live in the great lakes your priorities might be different. Different strokes for different folks.
I am aware of the 2 piece fiberglass construction of these campers. But fiberglass itself needs structure. I don't know all the technical terms for fiberglass construction but I know of basically three types:
1) Not reinforced. This is the way my 2005 bigfoot was. It was just fiberglass and the structure was the wooded floor. Once I took the rotted wood out of the floor the only thing left was the fiberglass. Had I attempted to walk on it while it was in the air my foot would go right through the bottom.
2) Reinforced fiberglass with a wood core. There can be delamination problems. Everywhere where there has been a hole in the fiberglass can created avenues for water to come into and rot the wood.
3) Reinforced fiberglass with a compostite core. Most boats are going to this. It has created some rocky starts but long term this appears to be the way to go for boats.
So which of these are bigfoot and northern lites. My 9'6" 2005 bigfoot was the first one with wood. Did bigfoot every change this method or are they still doing the same? Do they now use aluminum where they used to use wood? What about northern lite? I know their old factory burned down and they restructured their business. But did they change the fiberglass construction method then or were they already doing it? BTW I'm not looking for a wood vs aluminum debate. For me little to no wood is the very best. But I also live in the Oregon coast where it starts raining in September and doesn't stop until June and rarely freezes. If you live in the great lakes your priorities might be different. Different strokes for different folks.
