Our bumpy intro to truck campers and our Bigfoot score

[Dodgemahal]

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. 🙂

[Dodgemahal]

Thanks moderators for fixing my photo's. I have been reading the help section and have been trying to see what the issue was. That is the best help section on any forum I have ever seen. Very thorough and great information.

Going back and rereading everything, one thing sure rings true. Out camping you are usually out doing something and not sitting in the camper thinking about the weather. Leaving the AC install till later is a good idea. I doubt we will be heading south very far. Never say never right? And I just fixed the truck AC. That is a heck of an idea for a problem hot day. Lots of really good ideas here.
Our first trip a couple weeks back it rained all day. I have a tarp system from my Jeeping tent camping days that works well, even in windy conditions. 4 of us sat under it by the fire and were fine. One thing the camper does not have is an awning. We found a folding bug screen wall canopy. The bugs here are voracious and hungry in the spring thaw. We get our bug dope from my wifes sister up in Juneau AK. Natural, clean and effective stuff. It makes you smell kind of like root beer. LOL. We think the canopy will be better than an awning with no walls. So no holes to drill and wince while doing it. Even though the camper is tucked away and winterized, we are having fun finding stuff now to take along with us later. It feels like it is going to be a long winter.

[adamis]

I'm in California and have found our AC unit to be used very rarely. It is a bit of an albatross since it isn't low profile and sticks up about 14" from the roof line. The handful of times I have used it was when I was in Las Vegas or Southern California during the summer. I have plans to replace it someday with something low profile and more energy efficient (considering something that will run on battery + solar for a limited amount of time) but money and time make this a low priority.

Considering how much further North you are, you will be fine until you start venturing south. If you have remote start on the vehicle, adding the boot between the truck and camper might be a worthwhile idea for a season or two to get you by in a pinch.

[Kayteg1]

AC need depends highly at time & locations where you camp.
2 years ago we took 2 months for FL trip and AC + generator were heavily used. Even we travel August/September I remember only 3 nights when we could sleep without AC.
This year we went to Alaska for 2 months. AC and generator were dead weight.
But if you are split on your AC installation - good backup is truck AC.
We had to use it once in 115F weather when Generac gave ghost.
All you need is a boot between truck rear window and camper front window.
Set truck to defrost and max fan, start exhaust fan in the camper and you have nice breeze.

[Dodgemahal]

Well I can't put the AC in the forward framed optional opening. I would cover the existing vent since the back half of the AC upper is 25-30 some odd inches aft of the opening. The front half I believe extends 6 inches forward of the opening. So it looked like the existing vent or the new cut behind it was my only option. I could not agree more about bigfoots being an investment. So alterations in my mind need to be a very significant improvement to the unit. Or not done at all.
I also like the advice on being in the PNW and how many times AC was really needed. Reading all this, talking to my wife, I think we are going to camp all next summer and see before cutting my plans in. So there sits a 1000 dollar box. Grin... I seem to do that with car parts a lot. It was 18 degrees last night. I am about 40ish miles from Canada and we get snow here. Lots of it. For storage I had to boot a very old backhoe back out under the stars. I put the Camper on 6 metal barrels with OSB to share the load with the jacks. It is in a three sided car port that faces East. Keeping it up high helps deter curious mice. So it is under cover. I really wish I could keep it in my main shop where I work every day. It is heated and rarely gets below freezing. But I do to much metal work in there. I need the space for car resto's and metal grit, dirt, welding smoke is really hard on stuff. I did fully winterize it three days ago before we got this cold. So it is covered just not isolated from the cold. I put a dessicant inside too.

I wanted to look into the power supply and battery charger. I have read they will not self monitor well and can cook batteries unchecked. Plus I just replaced the batteries with two big deep cycle interstates. It appears if I remove the battery tray, I might be able to fit two 220 AH 6 volt's. I guess that is the way to go. I need to study up on that. I sure wish we could get another trip in. We are so excited about finally having a camper.:)

I will try to post a picture of the Bigfoot drawing and a picture of the camp out we just did. I could not find a way to post a PDF file. So I took a picture of it.
I really appreciate the responses!

Please note, this is how it appears as if looking up under the roof. I received it this way.



And the 2001 Dodge with our small trailer that hauls two kayaks and fire wood in the center. We want a bigger trailer for at least one quad, two kayaks, and hopefully two bikes and a generator.

[ajriding]

I think is a mistake to remount the AC.

Did you consider mounting the AC where it was purposed to go and cutting a new hole for a skylight?
Putting holes in the roof is never a good plan.

I would install a light, LED if power is a concern, and enjoy its luminescent glow.

You will likely install more solar panels down the road, and adding additional junk on the roof will eat up the limited square footage you have for solar panels. Keep the roof clean.

Do you plan to go camping and spend a big part of the daytime sitting in the camper? Most only spend time in the camper at night or during weather events. When you camp you tend to go do things.

I don't thinks these TCs will become collectible like the Airstreams are, but you never know. When I make mods to my fiberglass TC I pride myself on "doing no harm". I removed the fridge and put in drawers and a cabinet and was able to build it 100% so it was un-doable and did not drill any holes or make any alterations to the camper at all. I mounted an electric fridge and also did not do anything that was not 100% un-doable. I know I will probably sell this one day and want the next owner to have a perfect interior and exterior that can easily be returned to stock if thats what they want. This should not be your driving force, but it is just a mentality I like to have on vehicles…

[Z-Peller]

Dodgemahal

I'm not understanding why you wouldn't just cut out the 14x14 vent hole forward of your existing vent and drop AC unit in there where it is supposed to go.....having AC there won't make any difference to the light you are getting from the existing vent. If you want more light, put in the skylight....My 2002 BF 9.6 had a fantastic fan in that A/C hole forward of the vent, but 110v wiring was there and roughed in to the cupboard behind the microwave.

[TCBob]

Sounds like you found a great rig!

Another thought on your A/C - When we purchased our TC used about 12 years ago, we had a dealer install an A/C unit before we ever used the TC.It was and still is our first TC. Now we realize that we do almost all our camping in the PNW so I think for us the A/C was a mistake. I can only think of 2 times in 12 years that we have actually used the A/C, and we really could have done without it those time. The extra height is a real hassle for us storing. I would have had a lot more options without that extra height.

Just a thought before you "cut the hole". I do get the attraction, and if I were expecting to do a lot of camping in the south west I would have a different opinion. I guess the point is, and just a suggestion, to think about where you plan to use your camper before you cut the hole in your roof.

[Kayteg1]

Congratulation on camper you love.
I do own 2001 Fleetwood Caribou, who is Ekhorn sibling and I might have good idea what was wrong with the slide you got rid off.
2001 was the 1st year Fleetwood start using aluminium frame, or rather skeleton. Not only the frame was really skeletonic, but they did not hire qualify welder to put it together.
On my camper welds on both slide corners broke off and there was a limit how much siding could hold.
Not to mention the PO fixed it with Eternabond.
I am DIY and I was able to fix the frame and repair some dryrot who entered. the wood around.
Happy camping.

[adamis]

I went through a very similar experience. Bought a Truck / Camper combo with a Lance 1160 from early 2000 period. I wasn't super excited about the camper but the price was right so I bit. Ended up with dry rot that I put $3k into before giving up and looking for something else.

At that time I was infatuated with the Host Mammoth. It is a spectacular camper but reality of price plus being concerned on the weight I passed. Eventually I came across Bigfoots and started my Craigslist search covering almost the entire West Coast. I settled on a 2001 10.6 2500 down near San Louis Obispo in CA. Bought it and couldn't be happier with it after the last four years of moderate use.

One suggestion... That Bigfoot is an investment and probably as near to an appreciating asset as you could get in the RV world. If possible, figure out a way to store it indoors or at the very least covered. Fiberglass is great but UV damage from the sun can still cause problems.

[bigfootgrey]

Congratulations on the purchase of your Bigfoot! Sounds like it’s been well taken care of. We purchased our 2008 in 2010. We installed a polar cub so the Honda eu2000i could run it. As for bikes, we tried a ladder rack but it was a pain so we got folding bikes and put them in the back seat in their bags. Post some pictures of your 9.6 when you can!

Bob

[Dodgemahal]

I wondered if the question of what the brand was on the first one would come up. I did not mention it so I would not offend anyone that had one. I am confident it is a good camper. The one we bought just had the issues it did. It was a 2001 Fleetwood Elkhorn. The slide offered a ton of room. But I feel it had to much slide with to much on it, refer, seating, storage etc. I think the fact that the whole side of the camper was all slide and not enough wall or structural support at the forward end above the jack to support a heavy overhead. Or the compression at the bottom of the overhead pushing on the door frame of the slide. It pushed it back probably an inch and a half. Eventually we decided to nix any slides to eliminate the weight, potential leaks, and mechanical issues like we found. In good shape and functioning as intended, slides are really pretty cool. Going from a roomy slide to no slide was a minor adjustment but very doable for us.

Regarding the AC install. I have small scaffolding I bought to paint the roof of a Jeep wagoneer I just restored. I could not paint the roof well without it. At least it will get another use now. I already brought a neighbor over to scope out the lifting of the unit up on to a moving blanket. But here was my issue. Camping in it on our first run, I put a pillow over the vent to see what the loss of natural light would do. Suddenly we were sitting in a dark cave. Well shoot, AC units are supposed to go in roof vent locations and we did not want to loose the natural light it offered. Sure I could put another light in, but what about mounting the AC unit rearward of the vent opening? That generated more reading. Was their a structural member behind that opening? I did not want to cut it if there was. I contacted Bigfoot and they sent me a drawing PDF file of the roof layout for a 2005. And using a stud finder (I learned about that here) I was able to find the optional skylight framing and the optional vent framing 6 inches forward of our existing vent. Our bigfoot has a center 14x14 vent, and a fantastic fan over the bed. Standing on the roof with just the right light, I could see the shadow of the middle vent framing in the roof. I could not see the skylight framing but was able to find it easily with the stud finder. So putting the AC behind the existing vent would involve cutting the forward end of the skylight framing out. The polar cub has about 6 inches of unit forward of the opening it needs. It would be close to the vent and hopefully not splash rain in if the vent was open a tad. So cutting a new hole would involve framing in a new opening for strength and resistance to the compression of the AC mount inside and out. I was considering white or red Oak as I have some here. Inside the camper there is just enough room for the grill and or control panel. It would be close to the bathroom wall corner. But still be a non interference fit. I have searched high and low for a reason to not do this custom install. At first I was hesitant. Now seeing the drawing and working this through, I am hoping it is still a go. Am I making a mistake?
I will try to post the drawing. Maybe I need more posts to be allowed, but I will try.
I had planned on changing out the door frosted glass window for a smoked glass with integrated shade. I explained to my wife we will have to open the screen door to open or close the window or shade. Not a big deal to us.
Thanks for all the replies and info. Thats great.

I need to do some work to post the drawing. I will try this evening when I have more time.

[work2much]

We had a 2006 Bigfoot. Great camper.

[jaycocreek]

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

Good find..There out there,it just takes time and patience to find them..

Mine was a CL item in Montana..I asked for extra pictures of certain things and they were happy to do it..After that,we were on the road with the back seat full of camping stuff/generator/food etc just incase it was as described.It was and a quick trip to Missoula Walmart to finish off what we wanted and a great trip home camping all the way on the river.

My truck the same way,a trip to Kennewick WA and it was a deal,off of Craigs List..

Congrats and enjoy..Bigfoot just may be my next TC.

[SidecarFlip]

I always buy new... Trade the used ones in.