Thinking about fiberglass RV for retirement

[beemerphile1]

First post, I'm new to this forum but definitely not new to RVs. I have owned many and currently own two.

We are considering getting a fiberglass RV for our retirement. It won't be for fulltime living but for long trips and snowbirding.

We started considering the Casita 17 Deluxe but too small.

I like the interior of the Scamp but again, too small.

Now we are considering the Bigfoot 25B25FB.

Whatever we buy, I will be equipping it up for extended drycamping/boondocking with extra water capacity and solar panels.

Would the Bigfoot do well? What is its general reputation? Any other brands to look at for extended use?

We need something big enough that two of us can move around and have comfortable seating.

[Dave Fish]

We had a Casita 17 for retirement. It was big enough at first and we took several trips of a month or two but we did out grow it. Bigfoot is is well made but much heavier than the Casita. Not good or bad, just a consideration.

Be sure to check out Escape. They have some larger models, are light weight, well made, and very customer oriented.

[Ken C]

robn and Karen T are Bigfoot 25 owners with some good info in their posts. Just click on their name then view posts. Welcome to the forum

http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...1fb-56459.html


http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...tml#post415276

[Carol H]

Bigfoots are very nice but slightly heavy. If you havent discovered Escape trailers yet you may want to contact them to see if one is near you to look at. Quickly becoming the most popular fiberglass trailer here on the west coast on both sides of the border. They have a 17' that although only a foot longer than the Scamp feels a lot bigger inside due to the difference in body design & layout. They also offer a 19' & 21' as well as a 19.5' fifth wheel all nice trailers.

[Ken C]

I think you only have two other choices in that over 20 foot size range for buying new. Escape and Oliver. There may be other brands on the used market if you were shopping used.

[honda03842]

Tim,

The answer to selecting a full timers trailer very much depends on personal makeup, living style, the type of travel and very often the number of traveling pets.

Virtually every non-RVer we know has a reason why they can't fulltime, "my makeup kit won't fit".. "Where do you store matching outfits?"... "no room for my 3 dogs"..."what do you do when it rains?"... It goes on and on. You just can't explain the fun of full timing, the being out 'there' not carrying the burdens of everyone you know. We're entering our 13 year and it's only in the last year where close friends and relatives are coming to recognize the fun we're having. Miraculously we've had almost 100 months of shared vacation seeing North America in the last 13 years.

Fiberglass trailers extend from 13' to 25'. Each size has people that travel happily and extensively. The bigger trailer you get the more you move to virtually a small home on wheels and that's definitely OK. You have to get what fits your style, body type and probably most important your partner's needs.

To full time, more important than the trailer, takes a 'mind reset'.

The names of the big fiberglass trailers have been listed. My suggestion would be to attend a fiberglass rally or two. Most of the people will not be fulltimers but will provide the opportunity to feel out the various rigs.

In my opinion truly comfortable sitting doesn't happen until you get to a small fifth wheel or small motorhome. I don't consider dinette seating to be comfortable. Truly comfortable seating is a small easy chair. Without a small easy chair I resort to laying on the Scamp's front couch, comfortable enough.

For some of us size and economics, of the trailer and tow vehicle, are a consideration.

Sometimes I think trailer volume is not enough. People keep going for '2 more feet' Escape makes very nice trailers. Many with 17 foot Escapes went to 19 footers and now to 21 footers and I suspect in a year or two to 23 footers. This may be an opportunity for you because it has made the smaller Escapes available on the used market.

In closing, the Escapee club (nothing to do with Escape trailers) contains the largest number of fulltimers, present and former members approaching 150,000 couples and individuals. Most of these people choose larger rigs like small motorhomes and 5th wheels. We are Escapees and used to have a motorome but have down sized to a small fiberglass trailer for lots of reasons.

Good luck in your choice and wishing you many road years

[Donna D.]

Hi Tim, to FiberglassRV, we're glad you're here

You've received some excellent advice and opinions. I too find the best advice is to actually view with your own two eyes as many different brands of all molded towables you can. Nothing comes close to the "sit test." If you can't get to a rally, contact the manufacturers. All have a referral program where owners willingly (proudly!) show their trailers. Compare layouts, quality, etc. that you find works best for you.

Best of luck!

[mszabo]

Donna, Alf has your 5 th wheel and truck waiting for you.

[Donna D.]

I think Alf wouldn't give up what he has.. he loves them both and he should... nice setup.

[mszabo]

He is retiring in Dec. when I seen him at Niagara he said he would. He wants the new one. Just think he can drop it off when he picks up the new one? Hmmmm!

[Bob Miller]

IMHO: To answer your question, I don't think that anyone will question the statement that the Bigfoot trailers are top of the line. Yes, they are heavier, but they are built for the north and most have dual pane windows and extra heavy insulation packages.

We had the smallest, a 13' Lil Bigfoot and ranked the build quality as head and shoulders above the 13' Scamp we previously owned. Our next move up is to a 17' Bigfoot.

The drawback is that new ones are crazy expensive, and most of the used ones are in Canada and importing isn't always that easy unless it is 25+ years old.

Check the weight, even that f150 may not be to happy pulling a 25' Bigfoot and the economy won't improve that much.

Good place to look is at <<<fiberglass-rv-4sale.com>>> Follow both the U.S. & Canadian ads.

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by mszabo

He is retiring in Dec. when I seen him at Niagara he said he would. He wants the new one. Just think he can drop it off when he picks up the new one? Hmmmm!

Well Donna wants the new one as well and beside his will not be the 10th one out of the mould! If you know Donna you would realize thats an item of importance.

[Ray N]

Originally Posted by beemerphile1

We are considering getting a fiberglass RV for our retirement. It won't be for fulltime living but for long trips and snowbirding.

We need something big enough that two of us can move around and have comfortable seating.

We agree completely; after five or six days in our EggCamper, (the roomiest 17 footer, by the way), we are just plain tired of the cramped quarters - aggravated, no doubt, by my wife's mild tendency toward claustrophobia. In preparation for a cross-country camping trip next summer we're selling the EggCamper and moving up to a 21' Escape. We'll be driving up to the factory in British Columbia to pick up the trailer, and then taking about a month to return - largely by way of national parks.

[honda03842]

Originally Posted by Ray N

We agree completely; after five or six days in our EggCamper, (the roomiest 17 footer, by the way), we are just plain tired of the cramped quarters - aggravated, no doubt, by my wife's mild tendency toward claustrophobia. In preparation for a cross-country camping trip next summer we're selling the EggCamper and moving up to a 21' Escape. We'll be driving up to the factory in British Columbia to pick up the trailer, and then taking about a month to return - largely by way of national parks.

Interesting thought. Do you think a 20% larger trailer will solve claustriphobia? Nice of you to try.

Previously we had a short used motorhome, 32 foot, that we used for 7 years and 100,000 miles costing about the same as an Escape 21. The motorhome definitely did not evoke any form of claustrophobia, real walk around bed, real bathroom, windows every where and storage galore. Nice ones are available on the used market and you don't need a large tow vehicle.

Hoping the Escape 21 works, if not a small motorhome can definitely solve the problem.

[emers382]

Hands off Alf's unit guys and gals, in Niagara I told Alf he'd better let me have first dibs on his unit

Norm - You commented on needing to have an easy chair to be comfortable. That's what we were thinking when looking at stick-builts at Toronto RV show last spring, but realize FG units with chairs are few and far between I just figured on getting a very comfortable folding chair for outside - kinda like two Alf has with his

Adrian
-------
Soon to be permanently in MB and have an FG trailer

[emers382]

oooh I made it, now a senior member with my 100th post! And I don't even have a trailer yet.

[honda03842]

Adrian.
I approached Scamp about a layout with two small easy chairs but they showed no interest.

In my opinion, there's not a lot of creativity out there in Fiberglass trailer layout, not there haven't been improvements in trailers not in layout.

[Glenn Baglo]

I suspect the market for tiny trailers that accommodate small easy chairs is infinitesimal. Especially given that people are growing larger and larger ( in girth anyways ) and there aren't that many people that choose to live full time in a closet.
And, what happens with under bench storage?

[honda03842]

A reality, few can see the market for most new approaches. IBM thought there would be a market for maybe 7(?) computers.

[Ray N]

Originally Posted by honda03842

Interesting thought. Do you think a 20% larger trailer will solve claustriphobia? Nice of you to try.

Hoping the Escape 21 works, if not a small motorhome can definitely solve the problem.

Thanks for your concern, but yes, I think it will solve the problem, or at least I know it will be an improvement, based on the following:

First, since her claustrophobia isn't an all or nothing condition, but more of a progression, based on the degree of "tightness" she feels, any additional space would help.

Second, since you don't include the length of the tongue when you do the calculation for additional living space, it's more like 30% additional space, not 20%. One third more is really quite significant.

Third, since the bed, bathroom, sink, etc. are all about the same size in both trailers, the actual open living space gain is even more than calculations show. This mainly translates into much more counter space and room for a larger table, where you can actually spread things out and have a bit of elbow room, instead of having to put away the pepper whenever you get out the salt - an exaggeration, of course, but not too far from what our little table built for two is actually like.

And finally, all the drawers and large storage areas in the Escape mean that we won't have to keep most of our clothing and other "stuff" in bins that we slide in and out from under our bed. We hope, that instead of rooting through bins looking for things, we will be able to know where specific items are, and not have to disturb other things while locating them. I'm sure that if we spent a lot more time in our little camper, we would become more familiar with where everything is, but we are just occasional campers, and still often have to search for where we placed things. And even when we know where something is, we often have to disturb other things in the process of removing it. All this contributes to the feeling of tightness that my wife sometime suffers from.

As far as a small motor home solving the problem, the one or two that we have been in feel even more confining than our present EggCamper. I'm sure that a slide or two would help open them up, and maybe some designs are more open inside than the ones we've seen, but we don't want to go that route at this time.