I’m selling my 1988
Bigfoot 17 travel trailer. This is a turn-key
boondocking setup, extensively renovated and customized for solo full-time living.
This is a thoroughly road-tested setup, ready for off-grid living, complete with virtually every accessory that isn’t part of my truck. Also included are spare and extra parts, leftovers of
paint, wax, and other stuff needed for maintenance. I’m downsizing my stuff and giving up the trailer life indefinitely, so everything must go.
I bought it for $6500 in 2010. Drawing on decades of home
renovation and sculpture experience, I renovated it myself, except for a few tough jobs like aircon installation and new axles/springs/hitch. The initial
renovation took about 6 months of full-time work, spread out over a couple of years. I did not keep exacting records, but I spent at least $8000 on materials and a few pro jobs, and probably worked on it full-time for about 6 months total. After that, I lived in it full-time for 3 years. I never paid for campsites or hook-ups, except for a few winter months when I lived in Albuquerque.
Price: $13,000
STRUCTURAL RENOVATIONS AND IMPROVEMENTS
- Ikea Beddinge couch & standard twin bed. I removed the standard dinette, gaucho couch and closet to fit them. Stapled 1x1 structures replaced with wood-screwed 1x2 structures.
- Solid wood slab countertops and aluminum trim. Main countertop capped with solid wood to match other solid wood elements - all finished with Waterlox tung oil finish. All baseboards, corner and wall trim have been replaced with solid aluminum bar and angle iron, attached with stainless steel screws, not glue. Wall-hugging airplane style curtains of my own design, made of aluminum tubes and angle iron.
- Hand-shaped oil enameled inside doors and drawers. Dated fake laminated cupboard doors replaced quality plywood. Bathroom door and drawer fronts modified to match. All painted with Rustoleum oil-based gloss
paint, Regal Red. I lived in this for 3 years and there are no scratches on this tough, easy-to-clean
paint.
- Custom-built Reinforcement Plates and Bolt-Throughs. I didn’t like the way many of the exterior structures were merely screwed onto the outer
fiberglass, so I made aluminum reinforcement plates for them, to spread out the stress. In addition, the particularly high stress attachments are bolted through to the inside for extra strength.
- Solar Power. Three 50w panels, attached to deployment brackets via zip ties or screws - transported or stored in their original boxes. 15 ft. connecting harness and Morningstar SunSaver 20L charge controller, with heavy lug connectors and 4x12 gauge landscaping wire - plugs onto trailer’s vehicle connecting plug. Main +/-
battery paths on trailer optimized for
solar with short 2 gauge cable.
- Handmade welded-steel wall storage baskets. I am a steel sculptor. I made these to fit area and purpose. The one above the stove fits toothbrushing stuff. The one above the kitchen counter fits spices/bottles, and has eyelets for a small retaining bungee cord.
- Holes vs doors. I went with open hatches with rounded access holes for the storage compartments in the new-built structures, to save
weight and trouble. I replaced two pointless cabinet doors with open fronts and aluminum bar fence-style retainers, using a similar design on the storage compartment under the stove.
- Built-in Safe. Bolted to floor, hidden under the bed. Key locked. Large enough for papers, money, handgun + ammo, etc..
EXTERNAL
- Coleman, Airxcel 49000 Series 8500 btu Air Conditioner. Runs fine on 13.3 A (eu2000) generators.
- Maxxfan Deluxe w/built-in rain cover in the bathroom. Where it belongs. Provides full trailer air exchange and eliminates all bathroom odor problems.
- New 5000#
Axle,
Brakes, 2012.
- New Springs, 2950 lb rated each, 2013.
- Camco Cross-Frame Stabilizing Jacks. 2 pair, permanently attached
- Exterior bubble levels.
- All unused holes carefully sealed with marine epoxy plugs - 5 years, no
leaks.
- All external structures properly sealed with marine sealant or butyl putty tape.
- All external screws replaced with stainless steel screws or bolts.
ELECTRICAL
- 2x6v Farm & Fleet Golf Cart Batteries. New, with 1 yr instant replacement and 2 yr overall warranty. With NOCO marine
battery box & padlocked welded steel security bracket.
- LED
Lighting. All internal and external
lights now LED, except 3 vanity bulbs in bathroom.
- Tri-Metric TM-2030
Battery Monitor, new 2014.
- IntelliPower 9100 Converter, 45 amp - new 2012.
- Fixtures. All
light fixtures replaced with premium, brushed nickel/stainless, or aluminum.
- Heavy Duty Marine On/Off switch shuts off entire DC breaker board, under couch.
- Progressive Dynamics
Electrical panel w/Square D breakers, new 2012.
- Outlets and Accessories.
Bed and couch area are each equipped with:
3 cigar DC plugs, properly wired for 15 amps per fixture
2 plug AC outlets
1 Caframo Bora Marine Fan
1 Swiveling LED Reading
Light
WATER SYSTEMS
- Revolution 4008 Water Pump, new 2012.
- 3M 0.2 micron undersink Biological Reduction filter, new filter 2016, plus extra filter 2017.
- Thetford Aqua-Magic Style II toilet, ceramic bowl.
- Kohler kitchen faucet, w/spray pullout, new 2017.
- Oxygenics Body Spa, low-flow, high-pressure shower head.
- Locking door for external water inlet, 2013.
GAS SYTEMS
- Atwood Hydroflame 8012
Furnace - new 2013.
- Atwood 6 Gallon LP Gas Water Heater - new core, 2014.
- Old oven/stove replaced with new cook top, 3 burners & custom food storage bin, 2014.
- Main LP regulator, replaced 2014.
ACCESSORIES
- Hitch lock, water filling hose with 1.0 micron sediment filter, jack foot, etc… all included.
- Remains of matching paints, wax, strippers, sealants, etc… also included.
That's most of the highlights on what is unique about this trailer. *I am assuming the audience here is familiar with the basics of a
Bigfoot 17.* The one thing about this trailer some might not like is the lack of
refrigerator. It didn’t work when I bought it and I did not want to replace it - very expensive, and
propane refrigerators are responsible for most trailer fires. I simply don’t like the idea of driving around in the trailer or leaving it unattended with flames burning. I removed the all the working parts and insulated the space behind for efficiency. I found that two brands of small ice cooler fit well inside, and the door and freezer compartments are good for semi-cold storage of condiments and vitamins. My plan was to buy a high-efficiency DC freezer/refrigerator with a Danfoss compressor to make my own ice every few days - they only cost a few hundred and can run on
solar power. However, I ended up just buying ice, which worked fine and cost $1/day or less.
Full photo set here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/pindra...57684454868684