2017 Bigfoot 25QB tow vehicle

[cremazie]

Hello,
I am looking at purchasing a 25QB Bigfoot with the cargo box and runs about 5300 lbs dry. I have a 2017 GMC Canyon diesel long wheelbase on order and can tow 7600 lbs. Is that going to be overloaded? I used to have a 30' Coleman that I towed with my current truck but I want to get away from the heavy duty and poor quality campers.

Opinions?

[Wacenturion]

Is the 5300 dry actual? Should be a sticker inside of a cabinet that will show the trailer's weight as equipped with the options it has as shipped from the factory. You are obviously going to add additional weight when you load it with items. Typically one can figure 600-1000 lbs of stuff. Irregardless you're going to want to weigh it on a scale to see what your actually towing.

More importantly.......GCVWR

The GCVWR is defined as the maximum weight of a loaded vehicle and its attached loaded trailer. And like the other weight ratings discussed here, the vehicle’s manufacturer calculates this number. Let’s say a truck’s GCVWR is 15,000 pounds and it has a base curb weight of 6,000 pounds. That means the vehicle can safely handle an extra 9,000 pounds of cargo and trailer weight. However, it doesn’t matter (to a certain point) where that cargo is placed. If a passenger weighing 150 pounds sits inside the truck, that 150 pounds has to be subtracted from the truck’s then-available GCVWR. Owners must still be mindful not to exceed the GVRW with in-vehicle cargo and trailer tongue weight. (More on that below.)
The GCVWR is how automakers list the maximum allowable weight a vehicle can tow. By subtracting a vehicle’s base curb weight from its GCVWR, the automaker determines the available tow rating. Automakers usually publish tow ratings that account for a driver and one passenger, each weighting 150 pounds, and a full tank of fuel. So, if you’re going to tow a trailer that weights exactly what your vehicle is rated to pull, you’d better leave the family and their luggage behind. Continuing with the example, if a truck has a 15,000-pound GCVWR and it weighs 6,000 pounds empty, plus it’s loaded with 4,000 pounds of cargo and passengers in the bed and cab, it can pull a trailer weighing no more than 5,000 pounds.

I have A 2008 Bigfoot 25B25FB which I tow with a 2002 Ford Excursion with a 7.3 diesel. It's rated at 11,000 lbs for max towing. GCVWR is 20,000 and the curb weight is approximately 7600 lbs. Trailer loaded is about 6700 so a combined just over 14,000 lbs. Lots of margin left before hitting the 20,000 mark, even with another passenger and cargo in Excursion.

I passed on a 2007 Bigfoot T2801 because of the trailer's weight. Put combined weight too close to max for my peace of mind. Hope that helps.

[Gilles]

It could be a help to you this table ...

Travel Trailer Weight Calculator

[CindyL]

We tow our 28 foot Silver Cloud with a Ford Expedition with the best tow package and a ProPride hitch for sway.

CindyL

[cremazie]

Originally Posted by Wacenturion

Is the 5300 dry actual? Should be a sticker inside of a cabinet that will show the trailer's weight as equipped with the options it has as shipped from the factory. You are obviously going to add additional weight when you load it with items. Typically one can figure 600-1000 lbs of stuff. Irregardless you're going to want to weigh it on a scale to see what your actually towing.

More importantly.......GCVWR

The GCVWR is defined as the maximum weight of a loaded vehicle and its attached loaded trailer. And like the other weight ratings discussed here, the vehicle’s manufacturer calculates this number. Let’s say a truck’s GCVWR is 15,000 pounds and it has a base curb weight of 6,000 pounds. That means the vehicle can safely handle an extra 9,000 pounds of cargo and trailer weight. However, it doesn’t matter (to a certain point) where that cargo is placed. If a passenger weighing 150 pounds sits inside the truck, that 150 pounds has to be subtracted from the truck’s then-available GCVWR. Owners must still be mindful not to exceed the GVRW with in-vehicle cargo and trailer tongue weight. (More on that below.)
The GCVWR is how automakers list the maximum allowable weight a vehicle can tow. By subtracting a vehicle’s base curb weight from its GCVWR, the automaker determines the available tow rating. Automakers usually publish tow ratings that account for a driver and one passenger, each weighting 150 pounds, and a full tank of fuel. So, if you’re going to tow a trailer that weights exactly what your vehicle is rated to pull, you’d better leave the family and their luggage behind. Continuing with the example, if a truck has a 15,000-pound GCVWR and it weighs 6,000 pounds empty, plus it’s loaded with 4,000 pounds of cargo and passengers in the bed and cab, it can pull a trailer weighing no more than 5,000 pounds.

I have A 2008 Bigfoot 25B25FB which I tow with a 2002 Ford Excursion with a 7.3 diesel. It's rated at 11,000 lbs for max towing. GCVWR is 20,000 and the curb weight is approximately 7600 lbs. Trailer loaded is about 6700 so a combined just over 14,000 lbs. Lots of margin left before hitting the 20,000 mark, even with another passenger and cargo in Excursion.

I passed on a 2007 Bigfoot T2801 because of the trailer's weight. Put combined weight too close to max for my peace of mind. Hope that helps.

Thank you, that was the most informative reply a guy could wish for. 5300 lbs is the true actual on the camper and is 600 lbs more than the published weight, I was counting on sub 5000 lbs but seeing the number and your reply it seems I may be pushing it to tow that camper.

[cremazie]

Originally Posted by Gilles

It could be a help to you this table ...

Travel Trailer Weight Calculator

That's an awesome calculator, thank you very much!

[Bruce H]

My 25RQ weighed 6780 last time I weighed it. 980 of that was tongue weight. That was fully loaded, full water tank etc.

[cremazie]

Originally Posted by Bruce H

My 25RQ weighed 6780 last time I weighed it. 980 of that was tongue weight. That was fully loaded, full water tank etc.

That's heavy, even with water, The GVWR is only 7500 lbs what kind of options do you have?

[Bruce H]

This is an RQ model without the front storage compartment. On the tongue the WD hitch probably weighs 50-60 lbs. There is a pair of snow tire chains for my truck on the floor under the table. Full propane tanks. Just one battery. Drawers and cabinets have normal "stuff" in them. Plenty of groceries. Probably 125 pounds of tools, jack etc in the rear outside storage compartment. 200 plus pounds of clothes, blankets, sheets, sleeping bag, shoes, bath items, household cleaners, the normal stuff you have to have if you stay very long. Waste tanks were empty. I don't remember how to post a link but I started a thread a few years ago about W/D hitches. I actually weighed the trailer at a truck stop and posted a photo of the scale ticket. I will bump it and it should show up in the recent posts.

[cremazie]

Looking at weights like that it certainly seems way too much for comfort. I called bigfoot yesterday and asked what they they suggested when I was discussing options. I ended up speaking to a guy on the floor. He stated that he wouldn't tow it with anything less than a 3/4 ton, ugh!

[Bruce H]

I am currently towing mine with a (1/2 ton) Ford F-150 with the V6 "Ecoboost" engine. But it has the "max trailer tow" option and the "max payload" option. The truck masters the trailer with all kinds of stability and power, especially going up mountain grades. The thing is if you go Ford you MUST GET THE MAX TRAILER TOW AND PAYLOAD OPTIONS. Those are RARELY SEEN on a dealer's lot. I had to special order mine.

[Wacenturion]

My 2008 25B25FB trailer's weight shipped from factory with options was exactly 5973.83 lbs.

Base trailer core weight on build sheet was 5438.00 lbs.

Everything that was added, including options equaled 535.83 lbs.

The trailer is probably slightly higher in weight than most 25' Bigfoots due to having the front storage unit and a 2.5 kw Onan generator package as well as most other options.

I weighed every item I put into the trailer so I would know exactly what the total weight was. Helps alot if I need to remove some weight or better yet redistribute some. That total currently is at 965 lbs.

Thus my total weight loaded is 6938.83 lbs. There's probably 200 lbs. plus or minus that will not go on every trip, being trip specific items...i.e. crab pot and cooker, etc. However if I want to have everything on board, I can as I still approximately 561 lbs. below trailer GVWR of 7500 lbs. More importantly this helps me know where I need weight...i.e tongue etc to tow effeciently and safely. I also have an Equal-i-zer hitch which I absolutely love. Nice thing was no cutout on the fiberglass front piece to mount it, unlike some hitches.

It may seem anal to some of you about my weighing everything I put on board. It does to my wife...lol. However with the previous 2009 Bigfoot motor home it was essential. You would be surprised the number of people going down the road overloaded or incorrectly loaded. With the motor home I didn't have as much slack for cargo. Weight and it's distribution was somewhat of a pain. The trailer is a blessing that way. For what it's worth.

Picture of trailer prior to purchase......

[JimKE]

I have a 25RQ that I pull with a 03 Chev Silverado 2500HD. THE TRUCK has an extended cab, and is a long bed which I didn't think I would like but have learned to love. Best of all it has tons of power. An 8.1 V8 coupled with a Allison tranny, this thing tows like crazy. I don't worry about grades of any kind as the power and the tranny take me there with out a hitch, no pun intended. I do however worry about the gas guage. Dang thing doesn't seem to work that well!

P.S. THE TRUCK is rated at 22000 Lbs GCWR, so the BF pulls just fine coupled with a weight dist. system.

[Roy M.]

Sorry I haven't introduced myself yet. Been hanging around just reading posts and soaking up all of this great info for the last couple of months. My name is Roy and my wife is Chris(short for Christine) This thread peaked my interest because I have a 2015 25RQ too. Nice to hear chat about the Bigfoots. There is much talk on the smaller, Casitas, Scamps, etc. We love our Bigfoot! Hard to beat the quality and it has the layout we were looking for. Lot's of interesting info on tow vehicles, weights, and capacities. I really appreciate the experts weighing in!! My tug is a 2016 F-150 SuperCrew 3.5 Ecobeast twin turbo, 365 hp with 420 fpt. I have the trailer towing package but not the heavy duty pkg. I have the 3.55 gear ratio rear end. My truck is rated for a GCWR of 16100 lbs. and max trailer tow rating of 10700 lbs. Lord knows I wouldn't want to test it out at those max weights but I feel confident, that I'm well within the specs, pulling my RQ. I also have a Equal-izer weight distribution hitch. We only have one public scale where I live so I didn't want to tie it up for too long but I did unhook and drop just the trailer on the scale to get a quick weight. My trailer has the extended tongue storage box and also the 2.5 onan generator so that adds extra pounds. Aside from that my wife had already put in some linens and cookware (probably 40-50 lbs.) that I didn't want to take out. The propane tanks had one full the other with about 4 gallons. The trailer weighed in at 6480 lbs. I towed it from Phoenix, Az. (where I bought it) back to Midland, Tx. (740mi.). Mostly flat terrain but there is a considerable grade you have to pull coming in to Sierra Blanca/Van Horn area. The trailer brakes worked well and the trailer tracked beautifully with no sway. Power was never a problem. I stayed around the 60-65 mph mark and occasionally went up to 70 when passing. Fuel mileage ranged between 8-12 mpg. but averaged about 9.5 mpg overall (depending on headwind and how deep I put my foot into the accelerator). This is our first full sized travel trailer with brakes! Our last camper was a StarCraft pop-up bought new in '85 and sold in '95. So I guess you can say we are newbies. We are still part of the non-retired group so have to plan trips around work schedules. We are looking forward to seeing more of this great country, all be it, a little at a time for now. I will keep you posted how the truck does on different terrains as time goes by. Certainly not in disagreement with anyone on this thread but merely posting my wee bit of experience thus far. I have learned a wealth of information and enjoy reading everyone's posts. A footnote: To help out on cargo weight I'm doing my part by replacing all of those heavy canned goods and bulk items with single-malt scotch and cigars!! Happy Trails to all!!