Bigfoot closing?

[Roger H]

This CHBC video link is courtesy of BobB:

http://chbcnews.ca/index.php?name=News&amp...e&sid=17002

Roger

[Jim Bennett]

The video in the link does not work for me.

[Roger H]

Hmmm... it opens in Windows Media Player for me.

Roger

[Christi V.]

oh wow.. thats to bad........

[Jim Bennett]

I am having computer issues, time for a full tuneup methinks. Is there a written article anywhere? I sure do find this surprising news.

[Jim Bennett]

I was able to watch it on my laptop, sad news if it does end up happening. They did say they got the news from employees, and not Bigfoot. I really like the quality of their product.

[Booker B.]

Bigfoot trailer are really well built but the prices are really up there. As well even the smallest 17 footer requires a big V6 or V8 tow vehicle. Bigfoot have been catering to an older, wealthier demographic that all of a sudden doesn't feel so wealthy. Hopefully it's just a slowdown for them and not an outright shutdown.

Escape trailers pricing is much more reasonable for young families like ours as well as offering the new smaller trailers for smaller TV's. I think they are well positioned to hold up for the next couple years.

[Roger H]

Bigfoot have been catering to an older, wealthier demographic that all of a sudden doesn't feel so wealthy. Hopefully it's just a slowdown for them and not an outright shutdown.

Booker, Bigfoot has actually catered to those of use who use our trailers year-round. The features that allow one to do that are, frankly, heavy and expensive. Because those features are expensive they have tended to sell to folks willing to spend that kind of money... and I'll admit that's not necessarily young families. So, while the result may be as you've stated, the reasons are very different.

Rog

[Booker B.]

Ah, I see what you mean. Not trying to knock Bigfoot - Before I bought the Trillium I had pretty much decided to buy an 80's 17' bigfoot - however it meant us upgrading to a larger TV then we had planned on.

I spent a weekend in our trailer in February here on Vancouver Island - not something I would recommend to do long term =)

[Jake Jacobson]

Sad to hear. I think much of the RV market has been affected by the recession. I was at Hehr window factory a few weeks ago, and the saleslady told me that they had an overstock of pre-made windows which were supposed to be for "Weekend Warrior", but WW went out of business, so they were stuck with a bunch of windows (they are offering these at a substantial discout, BTW).

I was shocked, as here in SoCal, Weekend Warrior RV's are everywhere.

At the same time, I have seen many new lightweight trailers coming out, such as the "new" Shasta Aerflyte, and the "new" Serro Scotty, the Airstream Safari Sport, as well as the T[at]b models. I suspect folks are gravitating to trailers that will save gas money. Probably good news for Scamp, EggCamper, and Escape.

[Booker B.]

Wow, I have seen those around up here too - Toy Haulers always seemed over the top for me. Camping's for getting away from everything, not bringing everything with you =)

Weekend Warrior RV manufacturer goes out of business

[Greg A]

Well, if they do go out it will only bolster the resale prices on existing Bigfoot trailers which already seem to hold pretty good resale prices.

[james kent]

This'll only make Scamp and Escape look even better.

[Chester Taje]

Thats not surprizing. I was there this past summer on a working day and no one around.

[Joy A]

Here's a site that was posted to the Yahoo Scampers site regarding the Bigfoot closure.

http://www.truckcampermagazine.com/

[Booker B.]

Also confirmed on CBC radio right now - they had the mayor of the local city on discussing what a blow this was to the community. Sad story.

[Domenica and Sheila]

This is sad news. S&I have always loved Bigfoot for all their differences - wider, cold weather insulation, floor plans and high(est) quality. Don't get me wrong, I love our casita SD, but the difference in price between the casita and the bigfoot buys quite a bit, if you ask me.

[Alf S.]

Hi: All... This is very sad news indeed!!! Fiberglass comes fiberglass goes. Why do some endure and some don't???
Alf S. North shore of Lake Erie

[Glenn Baglo]

Hi: All... This is very sad news indeed!!! Fiberglass comes fiberglass goes. Why do some endure and some don't???
Alf S. North shore of Lake Erie

Same reason GM, Ford and Chrysler are in such trouble. They didn't read the market and didn't respond fast enough. Like 10 years ago.
Bigfoot has a rep for heavy, heavily insulated trailers and campers. That's great for guys with full size pickups with V8s who go hunting. Then people began to frown on hunting and gas guzzlers. Those in the market were looking for light-weight trailers with solar panels.

I have an idea for window boxes for herb gardens that can be retro-fitted to light weight trailers. Anybody care to join me in this enterprise?

baglo

[SherryNPaul]

I saw a post on another forum last night with the link to the tv report. I'm really sorry for all the employees in this small town, and for the owners, as well. I've only seen a few Bigfoot campers, but they looked like "rock solid" product.