New Bigfoot 17.5

[Ed Felker]

Can anyone with a new Bigfoot tell me whether they sleep 4? Can't figure it out from their floor plan or literature on the web.

[Roger H]

It'll sleep four, if you're four very good friends, or very small folks. The beds (at least in the 17' 1500 series) are 45" wide (give or take). I don't think they changed in the 17.5, but it's possible that they're a little wider.

Roger

[Ron N]

Can anyone with a new Bigfoot tell me whether they sleep 4? Can't figure it out from their floor plan or literature on the web.

I just purchased a 2007 25B17.5G last month (my third Bigfoot). In the side "goucho" (or is that groucho?), I have a twin sized Aerobed mattress. Another twin sized mattress could be placed in the dinette area. The other floor plan...the center bath model...you could do the same thing with twin sized mattresses. I say mattresses because I don't think the foam cushions are adequate for a good night's sleep. I actually had a 2006 center bath 25B17.5CB last year but sold it because the rear bed was shorter than six feet in length. Since I want a bed made up at all times, and a dinette table up at all times, I went with the longer side bed (in the G floorplan). It was an expensive, and embarrassing lesson in not doing my homework before I bought. To answer your question...if you and another person can actually get some sleep on a "twin" sized mattress surface...then go for it!

Ron

[Yves Pelchat]

I agree with Ron. I also have the "G" model.

I also wanted a permanent bed, so I used the goucho area as my permanent bed. I tried to sleep on the goucho cushions.. A few sleepless nights on the goucho cushions, convinced me to buy a real mattress... so I bought a twin size mattress (39 inch), which fits perfectly on the goucho bed, and I also left the goucho cushions under the mattress. So no more sleepless nights!

And there's the overhead bunk, over the goucho, that you can use for 2 small childrens. So yes, you can comfortably sleep 4 in the Bigfoot. 1 adult in the goucho bed(43 inch wide), 1 adult in the dinette area bed(44 inch wide), and 2 small children in the overhead bunk.

Is it possible to sleep 6 in the Bigfoot? Yes, if you're 4 small adults and two small children.

The key question you should ask yourself,is: Can you sleep 4 adults on 2 twin size beds??


Yves.

[jrnutpaul]

Pat and I owned a 1993 Bigfoot 17' with a gaucho floor plan. We took it out twice and decided to sell. She had to sleep on the Dinnette bed set up and I on the rear gaucho. Then every morning we would have to make the beds in order to be able to have breakfast.


We did a trailer tour at our 1st Oregon gathering and decided a 5th wheel set up was the way we wanted to go. Now, in our 20' Bigfoot 5er, we have a separate bedroom. Our dinnette bed is also wide enough now to sleep two adults.

Paul

[V'sGlassSleeper]

Wow, We lucked out in finding this thread--this is important to us as well as we want one bed made up at all times and one area to eat at--and we were strongly interested in the Bigfoot 17.5 CB. But my partner is 5' 11" and I am 5' 7" and it sounds as though we would not be able to share either the gaucho or dinette bed in this model--is that accurate?

Paul, we already knew that we would prefer a fifth wheel, but are going to be towing with a 6 cyl. Nissan Frontier with a 6,100 lb tow rating (there is another 4x4 model of the Frontier that doesn't have the off-road specs that can tow 6,300 lbs. and the non 4 x 4 can tow 6,500 lbs, but we do need a truck that can take the rough roads with ease). Escape has a very lightweight 5th wheel with a queen bed, but we thought we couldn't do a Bigfoot fifth because their GVWR is over 5,000 lbs. Yet, I noticed that you are towing yours with a Toyota Tacoma, which has a similar tow rating in the 4 x 4 as the Frontier (we own both a Toyota Echo and Nissan Altima and like both brands equally, but preferred the ride in the '07 Frontier). How are you towing with yours without going over your truck's tow capacity?

Thanks for all input,

Val

[Brian B-P]

... we already knew that we would prefer a fifth wheel, but are going to be towing with a 6 cyl. Nissan Frontier with a 6,100 lb tow rating...
...but we thought we couldn't do a Bigfoot fifth because their GVWR is over 5,000 lbs.

How are you towing with yours without going over your truck's tow capacity?

Now I'm confused. If the truck has a towing capacity of 6,100 lb (probably not allowing for any other payload), and the trailer GVWR is 5,000 lb (that's a maximum loaded weight), then it seems that you could tow the trailer and still have some payload left over for passengers and luggage in the truck. Have I missed something?

[V'sGlassSleeper]

Now I'm confused. If the truck has a towing capacity of 6,100 lb (probably not allowing for any other payload), and the trailer GVWR is 5,000 lb (that's a maximum loaded weight), then it seems that you could tow the trailer and still have some payload left over for passengers and luggage in the truck. Have I missed something?

Sorry, we WERE considering the 17CB or G Bigfoot, which is well under 5,000 BUT since it sounds as though it does not have adequate sleeping capacity for 2 adults to SHARE a bed, we are now considering other alternatives--I thought that Paul had said that he got a Bigfoot fifth wheel in order to have adequate sleeping capacity and it looks like he's towing it with a Tacoma, so I wanted to know how he's doing that. What fifth wheel does he have?

The Escape fifth wheel is a strong contender, because of it's GVWR, but they are made in Canada and do not have dealerships, so we would not have an easy time viewing one--there are not any units to see in AZ. Also, it is 1.5 feet narrower in width than the Bigfoot travel trailers, so although it has a full queen bed, it also would have a rather constricted galley. If there is a Bigfoot travel trailer or fifth wheel model that would provide at least a full-size bed and still meet our GVWR requirements, then we would much appreciate hearing about it.

[Yves Pelchat]

Sorry, we WERE considering the 17CB or G Bigfoot, which is well under 5,000 BUT since it sounds as though it does not have adequate sleeping capacity for 2 adults to SHARE a bed, we are now considering other alternatives--I thought that Paul had said that he got a Bigfoot fifth wheel in order to have adequate sleeping capacity and it looks like he's towing it with a Tacoma, so I wanted to know how he's doing that. What fifth wheel does he have?

The Escape fifth wheel is a strong contender, because of it's GVWR, but they are made in Canada and do not have dealerships, so we would not have an easy time viewing one--there are not any units to see in AZ. Also, it is 1.5 feet narrower in width than the Bigfoot travel trailers, so although it has a full queen bed, it also would have a rather constricted galley. If there is a Bigfoot travel trailer or fifth wheel model that would provide at least a full-size bed and still meet our GVWR requirements, then we would much appreciate hearing about it.

If you want to share a bed, then you definitely should look for a Bigfoot or a Scamp fifth wheeler. The beds of the 17 footer Bigfoots, are not suitable (IMHO) for two adults to share.

Yves.

[V'sGlassSleeper]

If you want to share a bed, then you definitely should look for a Bigfoot or a Scamp fifth wheeler. The beds of the 17 footer Bigfoots, are not suitable (IMHO) for two adults to share.

Yves.

That's definitely the consensus, Yves... much to our disappointment. We've been told that the compact truck we want (V-6 '07 Frontier) is not suitable for towing a fifth wheel--that compact trucks are prone to having their cabs bashed in with fifth wheels and that no fifth wheel hitch company will warrant their product if installed in a compact, but I thought the main issue was bed length and the Frontier does come in a long bed, so we still have some hope since the Escape fifth wheel would meet our needs perfectly. We are not sure that we could fit the Bigfoot fifth in our driveway--just confirmed our prior measurements to see if the 21 footer would fit and it would be too tight (our driveway is long enough, but only 112 inches wide and we do not have the budget to rent a storage space for our TT).

Since we need a small footprint, we wanted to know if anyone has tried removing the wardrobe or moving things around in the 17 footer Bigfoots to create a wider sleeping surface? I saw that a few people had removed the bathroom entirely, but we want a toilet and shower... modification experts--can you give us hope for creating a full-sized bed in the 17 footer? We are taking our tape measure to the local dealership to see if we can get creative...

Thanks,
Val

[Donna D.]

And of course the biggest issue with the BigFoot 5th wheel is finding one for sale...and/or one in the condition you want...since they haven't been made for nearly a decade. Dang it anyway.

[Cam A]

One of the Bigfoot 17's that were listed for sale recently had been modified to have a wider bed (unfortunately, I can't find the link). On a trailer with the bed oriented fore and aft, this was done by cutting the closet between the bed and the bathroom down to bed height, and widening the bed to cover it. The access to bathroom appeared somewhat restricted when the bed was down, but it seemed to be a reasonable compromise. My Surfside has a bed that is 57" at one end, and 47" at the other. In practice, this works well. You may be able to widen the Bigfoot's bed at the head, and leave the closet intact.

There have been 4 or 5 Bigfoot 5th wheels for sale around Canadian websites (I've been wishing), but it's hard to assess condition from a single picture, and they always seem to be at least 3,000 Km away...

[V'sGlassSleeper]

If it's feasible, we would want to try to modify a Center Bath model so that access to the bathroom is not restricted during the night-- hard to tell from the layout if there would be enough room with taking out the wardrobe and modifying the kitchen counter, or if the refrigerator would prevent expansion. You have a really good point about perhaps being able to widen one half of the bed at least to full/double size capacity.

Would love to hear from anyone who has done a successful modification to a full/double sleeping surface and what it entailed.

On Saturday, we are going to the dealership with a tape measure to see if we could still make this unit work for us. Ikea has a number of neat bed frames and mattresses that might work well if so.

Yeah, the fifth wheels sure seem like a great option, but I did note that the BF 21' fifth wheels (which would be the size that we could probably tow with our V-6) got very poor highway handling ratings on the consumer rv group cd... not sure how many people participate in those ratings and if they accurately reflect the majority of people's experiences, but we've been really impressed with the attention to detail and the quality standards that the RV Consumer Group looks for, and their How to Inspect and Buy an RV book is well written and quite comprehensive, so we would tend to give their ratings credibility too.

[Roger H]

If it's feasible, we would want to try to modify a Center Bath model so that access to the bathroom is not restricted during the night. Would love to hear from anyone who has done a successful modification to a full/double sleeping surface and what it entailed.

Not going to happen unless you gut the trailer and start from scratch. There's too much "stuff" and structure in the way. The G rear side bath model would be a much better candidate as the only thing you're really affecting would be the rear closet.

Yeah, the fifth wheels sure seem like a great option, but I did note that the BF 21' fifth wheels (which would be the size that we could probably tow with our V-6) got very poor highway handling ratings on the consumer rv group cd...

21' Bigfoot fifth wheel? They make a 21' trailer and ten years ago made a 20' fifth wheel... which model are you actually discussing?

All of the folks I've talked to who have the 21' trailers love them, despite that I find them cramped. I've not heard anyone complain about towing instability with a Bigfoot except for the early 2500 17.5 when it's fresh water tank is filled... and that may have even been resolved by now...

Roger

[V'sGlassSleeper]

Roger wrote:
Not going to happen unless you gut the trailer and start from scratch. There's too much "stuff" and structure in the way. The G rear side bath model would be a much better candidate as the only thing you're really affecting would be the rear closet.

My response:
Darn it! No, we are not about to gut anything. We will take a closer look at the G model... it's just that we need to be able to go pee in the middle of the night, so we have to be able to get into the bathroom.

If Scamp and Casita and Escape all have double beds in some of their models, why on earth doesn't Bigfoot at least make this optional for the 17' models? Based on the posts, we are not the only ones who need a double bed.

Roger wrote:

21' Bigfoot fifth wheel? They make a 21' trailer and ten years ago made a 20' fifth wheel... which model are you actually discussing?

All of the folks I've talked to who have the 21' trailers love them, despite that I find them cramped. I've not heard anyone complain about towing instability with a Bigfoot except for the early 2500 17.5 when it's fresh water tank is filled... and that may have even been resolved by now...

My response:

I was talking about both the TT and fifth at different times. Our carport entryway is only 9.3 feet wide. The BF 21 foot trailer is 8' 4" and 17' is 8' even (I sure hope those measurements include the axle and tires though... if not, then we aren't even in the running for a 17').

I just looked again at the RV Consumer Group fifth wheel ratings... they don't have any ratings for Bigfoot fifth wheels except for 1995 (which must really have been the 1994 models, since there weren't any built after the 1994 fire, right?). They show only a B21- 21 foot fifth wheel with a 2 star rating, highway control being listed as only 51 out of 100. The FW26, which is listed as 27' long got a 4 star rating and 83 ot of 100 highway control, the FWS (slide out model) got a 3 star rating and 65 out of 100 highway control and the FW30 30 ' model got a zero star rating with a highway control of 24.

As mentioned in my prior post, I wonder how many people participated in these ratings?The RV Consumer Group ratings may not be an accurate reflection of most owners' experiences, so I am trying to canvass owners of any units that would meet our size and weight limitations to see what the real-world feedback is--clearly, the 20' Bigfoot fifth wheel could be an excellent option... the only problem is trying to buy one from Arizona, since the majority of the used listings seem to be in British Columbia area and, as someone else noted, it's very difficult to assess condition from online photos and, much as we would love to, we sure can't drive up to BC to check out the listings as they come up.

Realistically, I have asked Escape to put us in contact with any 17' or fifth wheel owners in or near Arizona who would let us look at their units, am doing the same for the 16-17' Spirit Deluxe Casita and the Scamp fifth wheel and tt (and am hoping to hear back from Scamp owners about how well their units hold up on rough terrain). We are bound and determined to find a solid little traveling home of our own and sure appreciate how helpful everyone on this site has been!

[Nita F.]

Val,

You missed an opportunity to view the first Escape 5th wheel while the owners were visiting Arizona in the spring.

In the meantime, I suggest you check out the Scamp 5th wheel with the front bath configuration. It can only be found in the deluxe versions but well worth the search. My husband is 6' tall and I'm much shorter. We sleep in the loft bed with him beside the bathroom wall and me at the front. This model also has a good amount of storage.

Check the For Sale section to see if any are near you.

Best wishes on your search.

Nita

[V'sGlassSleeper]

Hi Nita,

We will keep our eyes open for a Deluxe fifth with front bath! Have you taken yours on any rough roads? How do you think it would hold up to going over washboards, some ruts and sand (driven carefully, of course)?

Thanks for you input!

Val

[Brian B-P]

...We've been told that the compact truck we want (V-6 '07 Frontier) is not suitable for towing a fifth wheel--that compact trucks are prone to having their cabs bashed in with fifth wheels and that no fifth wheel hitch company will warrant their product if installed in a compact, but I thought the main issue was bed length and the Frontier does come in a long bed, so we still have some hope...

The moulded fiberglass trailers which couple to hitches in a truck bed (usually called "fifth wheels", even when they have a different type of hitch) were probably all intended for smaller trucks. The Escape 5.0 is specifically intended for compact trucks.

The truck makers generally list compact pickup trucks - and some full-size pickups - as not suitable for fifth-wheel towing. I suspect that this is meant to discourage idiots (or geniunely misguided souls) from hooking up an eight-foot-wide 5-ton trailers with 2000 lb of hitch weight to little trucks. With a common-sense examination of actual loads, ratings, and dimensions, suitable combinations can be found... even with short-box trucks.

This has been the subject of a number of earlier topics; maybe someone can provide links to the more useful examples?

[Roger H]

I just looked again at the RV Consumer Group fifth wheel ratings... they don't have any ratings for Bigfoot fifth wheels except for 1995 (which must really have been the 1994 models, since there weren't any built after the 1994 fire, right?). They show only a B21- 21 foot fifth wheel with a 2 star rating, highway control being listed as only 51 out of 100. The FW26, which is listed as 27' long got a 4 star rating and 83 ot of 100 highway control, the FWS (slide out model) got a 3 star rating and 65 out of 100 highway control and the FW30 30 ' model got a zero star rating with a highway control of 24.

As mentioned in my prior post, I wonder how many people participated in these ratings?The RV Consumer Group ratings may not be an accurate reflection of most owners' experiences...

Val... frankly, I've never heard of the RV Consumer Group, and I've been around RVs for most of my 52 years. That's not to say they're not reliable, but I sure don't know who they'd be surveying... and while I've not been around Bigfoot very long... I've never seen or heard of a FW26, or FW30 or FWS models. They just recently introduced the 3000 series trailers that come in 24' and 28' and are huge and heavy and are of more conventional construction. It would be interesting to see photos of the other trailers you mentioned. I really don't know what they'd be.

I guess the point I'm trying to make is that I would put more stock in the experience of the folks who are members here rather than some kind of stats that you might find out "there" on the web.

Roger

[Brian B-P]

...I've never heard of the RV Consumer Group...

... and neither had I, until they came up in an earlier discussion. Their "highway control" evaluation method is based entirely on a formula, not real experience or testing.