Why are Bigfoot Trailers Getting So Popular? - Fiberglass RV
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Old 12-30-2018, 11:56 AM   #1
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Why are Bigfoot Trailers Getting So Popular?

Or why do they seem to be, based on recent posts? I've been around this site since 2016, which isn't very long, but my experience was that Bigfoot owners and posts about the trailers were pretty rare. In the last few months there seems to be a large uptick in people asking about buying them, especially the big ones (25'). What's up with that?

Are they doing more marketing and so people who normally buy stick built are realizing there's a fiberglass option in the size they want? Or are fiberglass trailers getting more popular in general and people who don't want an "egg" but want fiberglass are looking at them?

Or what? It seems like every week there's a new post about wanting to buy a Bigfoot.

If any of you folks who are asking those questions read this, let us know! What got you interested?

They've just always seemed to be in background. There, but not on the tip of anyone's tongue when fiberglass trailers are brought up. More like "oh yeah, and there's also Bigfoot". Maybe I just joined during a lull in popularity?
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Old 12-30-2018, 01:01 PM   #2
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We’ve owned three FG trailers , a 1999 Scamp , a 2013 Casita SD and a 2018 SOB and we are looking at a Bigfoot

The reasons
1) More Room
2) Walk around bed
3) Better insulated for cold weather
4) Layout
5) Quality
6) Standard features
7) Construction methods employed

At 70 years old I no longer wish to spend my time continually fixing stuff due to poor construction or shoddy parts . Money is not the issue for us as long as Bigfoot gives us what we paid for , that’s acceptable
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Old 12-30-2018, 02:02 PM   #3
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I can't answer for anyone else and while I've been a member of this forum for a while, I don't frequent it very often nor have I posted very much. However, I did just start 2 different threads on the trailers, so that might have spurred your post.


Our 21' Escape is our first trailer. We've never camped, except as kids. About 4-5 years ago we started thinking about getting an RV and I rented a Jayco motorhome for a month and took it on the road from Seattle to the Sacramento area and back along the coast. It was quite an experience. At the time I knew I didn't want a motorhome, but it seemed the best for renting as my FJ Cruiser isn't set up for towing.

We'd gone the RV show/dealer route both before and after that rental trip but nothing really fit our (heck, mostly mine!) requirements. At one point someone asked if I'd looked at fiberglass as he had toured the Scamp factory some years ago. Nope, never heard of 'em. Started doing research and we liked what we were reading. At one point I was hot to trot for an R-Pod, but after reading on their forum about all the problems I decided to look elsewhere. I was a member of forums for quite a few different brands. Joined the Escape forum and liked what I was reading.


I had eliminated the other fiberglass brands due to their beds not being long enough for me. Plus, I liked how we could custom order the fabric, countertop and flooring in the Escape. Bonus points there! And it really helped that the factory is within 3 hours (give or take, due to border crossings).



Fast forward to Black Friday 2016 when I zipped across the border and picked up our new trailer. The following March I started using it and earlier this year took it on a 7000+ mile journey across 13 states. I greatly enjoy using it and it's "me time" as Dirk says. However, once he retires and starts going on trips with me (and the cats for longer trips), that 21 footer won't be big enough for all of us (and especially the cat box - HA!).


I went to the rally in Bandon this past summer and really liked the Bigfoots I saw there. Dirk liked what he saw after seeing the two 25 footers in person recently. Dirk works for Boeing as an engineer. He knows about fiberglass and likes them for the trailers way better than the stickies. We don't like the idea of slides and all the problems they can/do have.


Basically, the Bigfoot will be large enough for our needs when we all travel together. So, while it's quite a ways down the road for us, I figure I might as well start learning more about them now.
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Old 12-30-2018, 03:33 PM   #4
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In my experience, Bigfoot makes the best fiberglass trailer around. We had an Oliver, but it was not as suitable for our long, multi-season trips. Dry bath, large tanks, snug insulation in hot & cold weather, walk around queen bed, big living area and kitchen. Terrible marketing however, so they are succeeding on reputation. Things they could do better? Sure. But we’re very pleased, and continue to make it our own with small mods (as one does). Heck, I was drilling fiberglass the day I got it brand new!
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Old 12-30-2018, 03:52 PM   #5
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Want molded FG and four season? That leaves BF and Oliver. Want to add a walk around queen bed? That leaves BF.

As people move up in size from Scamp and Casita, the next step up is Oliver or Bigfoot. I visited Casita factory, I told them they were missing out not making a trailer bigger than 17 foot. They are sold out, so they didn't really care. In my business experience, the time to improve your product is when you are sold out. Don't allow your competition to catch up or even worse, take a step ahead of you. But it really takes insight to realize this, which few managers have.

Think of new entrants to the FG market, like Escape for example. They started with a 13 and 15 footer. Worked their way up to 17/19/21 and a fifth wheel. They are already on their third fifth wheel design (with new molds) and their second 17/19/21. Huge investment in a short period of time.

As some of us get older (like me), we recognize the period to enjoy camping is short. So if you want something bigger/better, then moving up makes a lot of sense. In my case, my wife won't camp for longer than one month, to the Escape 19 works just fine. If we were camping for multiple months, I'd probably be shopping for a 25 foot BF myself.
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Old 12-30-2018, 04:03 PM   #6
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Interesting. So...aging population? Lots of people of a certain generation who were always into compact, fun trailers are now old enough that they want more space but can't imagine going stick-built?

Bigfoot has been around for a while, obviously, but I never saw so much interest in them. Of course I'm taking a super small sample size. Just something I noticed and wondered if there was something more to it, or just a few more people interested and so a few more threads.

Good for Bigfoot, anyway. So long as they keep making the 17.5. Kinda wish they still made the 13.
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Old 12-30-2018, 04:40 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by thrifty bill View Post
Think of new entrants to the FG market, like Escape for example. They started with a 13 and 15 footer. Worked their way up to 17/19/21 and a fifth wheel. They are already on their third fifth wheel design (with new molds) and their second 17/19/21. Huge investment in a short period of time.
Bill, Escape Trailer Industries started manufacturing the 17’ Escape Trailer in 2003. The 17’ was followed by the Escape 5.0 in 2007, the Escape 13’ and 19’ in 2009, the 15’ Escape in 2010, the 21’ Escape in 2013, and the newly revised Escape 5.0TA in 2014.

The second generation trailers (17', 19' 21, and 5.0TA) started into production mid-2016.

Just to keep the history straight.


EDIT: ETI made: sixteen 13As and nine 13Bs, fifty-seven 15As and forty-seven 15Bs
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Old 12-30-2018, 04:57 PM   #8
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Donna,
Have you got the dates for when 13' and 15' ceased production? Should add them if you do.
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Old 12-30-2018, 06:24 PM   #9
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Wasn't Bigfoot out of business for awhile? Seems as if they were very rare, almost mythical in the East when I first became interested in FGRV.
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Old 12-30-2018, 07:17 PM   #10
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A dealer had Bigfoot campers on display at the RV show in Tacoma about a year ago. There were no Bigfoot trailers though.
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Old 12-30-2018, 07:35 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bruce Olive View Post
In my experience, Bigfoot makes the best fiberglass trailer around. We had an Oliver, but it was not as suitable for our long, multi-season trips. Dry bath, large tanks, snug insulation in hot & cold weather, walk around queen bed, big living area and kitchen. Terrible marketing however, so they are succeeding on reputation. Things they could do better? Sure. But we’re very pleased, and continue to make it our own with small mods (as one does). Heck, I was drilling fiberglass the day I got it brand new!

What was the weight of your Oliver and how does it compare to the weight of your Bigfoot? They must not weigh as much as an Oliver, based on the lack of moaning that the general forum population usually has about the Oliver's weight. Our Oliver weighs in at about 7200 pounds. The standard Oliver GVWR is 7000 pounds but our trailer has two 5200 pound axles with 12 inch disc brakes instead of the regularly supplied two 3500 pound axles with 10 inch drum brakes. We tow with a Silverado 2500HD diesel so weight is no problem.
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Old 12-30-2018, 08:02 PM   #12
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I believe they went out of business a couple times.

They're much more common in the northwestern US, and western Canada. Obviously.

And yeah, I see quite a few truck campers around, but see a trailer maybe 3 or 4 times a season.
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Old 12-30-2018, 08:23 PM   #13
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Bigfoot is heavier than our Oliver, about a thousand pounds. Tongue weight on our Ollie was 680#. On our Bigfoot is around 1,200#. We towed our Ollie with a 2015 Chevy 2500 Duramax. Tow the Bigfoot with a 2018 Chevy Duramax. Don’t really notice any difference, both tow like on rails.
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Old 12-30-2018, 09:36 PM   #14
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Originally Posted by Steve Outlaw View Post
What was the weight of your Oliver and how does it compare to the weight of your Bigfoot? They must not weigh as much as an Oliver, based on the lack of moaning that the general forum population usually has about the Oliver's weight. Our Oliver weighs in at about 7200 pounds. The standard Oliver GVWR is 7000 pounds but our trailer has two 5200 pound axles with 12 inch disc brakes instead of the regularly supplied two 3500 pound axles with 10 inch drum brakes. We tow with a Silverado 2500HD diesel so weight is no problem.
I don’t see the problem with the Oliver or Bigfoot ! GM , Ford and Ram all make trucks which when properly equipped can safely and adequately tow either trailer
I would assume that people who can afford and purchase an Oliver or Bigfoot have the financial resources to purchase a proper tow vehicle and have taken that into account .
We are looking at purchasing a Bigfoot / Oliver and we are fully aware that we will need to upgrade our tow vehicle . No reason to complain and moan , you can’t change the laws of physics .
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Old 12-30-2018, 11:00 PM   #15
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The stronger economy may be playing a role. After all, the best selling cars these days are pickup trucks. 13' trailers may come back in fashion later in the cycle.
The Bigfoots are very nice, but far more than we wanted to spend, especially since we'd need a new TV as well. No four-season campers in the family, either.
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Old 12-30-2018, 11:53 PM   #16
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Originally Posted by ZachO View Post
Or why do they seem to be, based on recent posts? I've been around this site since 2016, which isn't very long, but my experience was that Bigfoot owners and posts about the trailers were pretty rare. In the last few months there seems to be a large uptick in people asking about buying them, especially the big ones (25'). What's up with that?

Are they doing more marketing and so people who normally buy stick built are realizing there's a fiberglass option in the size they want? Or are fiberglass trailers getting more popular in general and people who don't want an "egg" but want fiberglass are looking at them?

Or what? It seems like every week there's a new post about wanting to buy a Bigfoot.

If any of you folks who are asking those questions read this, let us know! What got you interested?

They've just always seemed to be in background. There, but not on the tip of anyone's tongue when fiberglass trailers are brought up. More like "oh yeah, and there's also Bigfoot". Maybe I just joined during a lull in popularity?



Because everybody knows that Bigger is Better.
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Old 12-31-2018, 12:23 AM   #17
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Baby boomer bulge is moving through the economy. They have the money and not a lot of time to spend it.
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Old 12-31-2018, 07:11 AM   #18
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We're just entering peak snowbird season. That could also have something to do with it.

I wouldn't make too much of a small bubble of posts, though. The overall pace of new postings is slow in winter and especially around the holidays, so a few posts can seem like a trend. This bubble included a burst of posts by a single person with a BF for sale responding to a string of old wanted ads.

The human tendency to crave just a little more space is real, though. In this case all streams flow to one ocean...
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Old 12-31-2018, 08:15 AM   #19
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Originally Posted by steve dunham View Post
I don’t see the problem with the Oliver or Bigfoot ! GM , Ford and Ram all make trucks which when properly equipped can safely and adequately tow either trailer
I would assume that people who can afford and purchase an Oliver or Bigfoot have the financial resources to purchase a proper tow vehicle and have taken that into account .
We are looking at purchasing a Bigfoot / Oliver and we are fully aware that we will need to upgrade our tow vehicle . No reason to complain and moan , you can’t change the laws of physics .
We just upgraded our 2017 Honda Ridgeline that we pull our Casita with to a new 2019 Ram 1500, 4x4, Crew Cab. We wanted to be in position if the right trailer comes along to be able to handle an Oliver, Bigfoot, or Escape. Were in no hurry to get rid of the Casita, but we will keep our eyes open for what's out there. We could also go new, but for the time being were just coasting along and see what happens.

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Old 12-31-2018, 08:20 AM   #20
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Besides the reasons Steve mentioned in post #2, I think the larger Escape trailers have become a stepping stone in the fiberglass market. Years ago the price and size gap between Scamps and Casitas Vs. the Bigfoots were so great very few wanted to make the next step. Now that people have used and paid off their larger Escapes they are ready to make the move to the Bigfoot. But still the big issue on the East Coast is a new a Bigfoot 25 lists for almost twice the price of a new 21 Escape. There are several new Bigfoots 25 in stock at dealers if you want to pay the new price. But now a 10 YO Bigfoot 21/25 are in the same price range as a new Escape. (If you can find one.)
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