I looked very seriously at
Bigfoot before buying my Escape 19.
Bigfoot is a true 4 season trailer, though Escape is now doing things to push it well into the winter, like optional insulation and 12V heat pads on the tanks. Bigfoot is just as well built quality wise.
Bigfoot is a fair bit heavier, and though there is good reason for the
weight, pulling a 19' with a V6 is pretty much out of the question. I do have a full sized pickup, but don't want to have to use it for towing my trailer.
The biggest factor that turned me away from Bigfoot was the layouts unless you went to a full bed model, but that was bigger than I was willing to go. For me, a bathroom in a small trailer should be as small as possible of a wet bath to save room for the other components in the layout, and Bigfoot's bath is too big IMO. Plus, one feature my wife insisted on was a permanent bed, she did not want to take down and set up a bed every day, plus she sleeps in way longer than I do. Not only that, but the width of the gaucho and the dinette both for sleeping was narrower than we would have liked.
One thought I did have was to get an older one, and rebuild with a layout that suited our needs better. This would be a project I would love doing, and I have the skills to do it too. However, I had way too many other things in my life to do, and if I wanted to actually use a trailer, a rebuild was out of the question. Who knows, maybe once I retire.
So, to summarize, I believe both trailers are well built and each has its own merits. For me, at the point of life I was at, having Escape build me what would work for me now, and well into the future, ended up being my choice. If a Bigfoot's weight and layout is not an issue for you, certainly have a good look at them.
The 'Greyt' Escape
Prairie Schooner
2009 Escape 19
Linear Mode
