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11-23-2020, 08:56 PM
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#1
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Junior Member
Name: AARON
Trailer: Currently Shopping, past FG trailers: 2003 17' Casita SD; 2014 17' Casita SD
Texas
Posts: 12
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Hello Returning to the Fiberglass community
Hello, former Casita owner. We had a 2014 for 4 years then sold it because we were tired of the dry bath and it was a bit too small. We did love the Casita, and it was a very trouble free camper. Now we would like to get back into a fiberglass trailer.
Out future trailer is a Bigfoot 25B21RB which we hope to order soon. We have read so many good things about the Bigfoot. The major selling point of course is the dry bath. The reason we chose the RB is most of the time we are camping at state parks in which we reverse into. Having the rear bed with windows will allow us to have the view. That was one thing I did like about our Casita was looking out the windows in the morning. The one negative I see with the RB is the corner bathroom, but the benefits of a bigger bathroom did not outweigh having the rear windows for us.
I am looking forward to interacting with everyone on the forum. We would love to see more photos of the 21RB if anyone would like to share. There are not many on the internet, especially of the bathroom.
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11-24-2020, 07:47 AM
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#2
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Senior Member
Name: Jon
Trailer: 2008 Scamp 13 S1
Arizona
Posts: 11,912
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Welcome back!
No personal experience, but Bigfoot seems to be a very well-built unit, and as you’ve realized, the only way to have a dry bath in a molded trailer. Hope you get some good feedback on the 21RB and maybe even an opportunity to inspect one in person.
Curious if you tried out another RV type after the Casita, or did you take a break? What brought you back?
Best wishes in your decision and purchase!
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11-24-2020, 07:56 AM
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#3
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Junior Member
Name: AARON
Trailer: Currently Shopping, past FG trailers: 2003 17' Casita SD; 2014 17' Casita SD
Texas
Posts: 12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jon in AZ
Welcome back!
No personal experience, but Bigfoot seems to be a very well-built unit, and as you’ve realized, the only way to have a dry bath in a molded trailer. Hope you get some good feedback on the 21RB and maybe even an opportunity to inspect one in person.
Curious if you tried out another RV type after the Casita, or did you take a break? What brought you back?
Best wishes in your decision and purchase!
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Thanks. We had an Airstream Sport 22FB for two years, but we were not impressed at all. The quality just was not what we had expected. Rivets would pop out, hot water heater had issues and the seems started to show corrosion issues. Apparently those are just thing you have to deal with having an Airstream, but we were not happy to pay that price and have those issues. The Casita in four years had nowhere near the issues. I guess another thing was that with the Casita we had a Calmark cover which kept it looking brand new. Could not cover the Airstream. I would hope to get another Calmark cover with the Bigfoot.
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11-24-2020, 11:04 AM
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#4
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Senior Member
Name: Walter
Trailer: 2017 Escape 17B
SW Virginia
Posts: 2,254
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I never have understood the strong objections to a wet bath but to each her own. You certainly will have a great trailer. Welcome back to our fiberglass obsession.
Walt
__________________
Past owner of 1995 13' Casita, 1994 16' Casita, 2012 Parkliner, 2002 17' Bigfoot.
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11-24-2020, 08:36 PM
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#5
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Senior Member
Name: Randy
Trailer: Casita 17 FD
Florida
Posts: 119
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Quote:
Originally Posted by WaltP
I never have understood the strong objections to a wet bath but to each her own. You certainly will have a great trailer. Welcome back to our fiberglass obsession.
Walt
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OK, what is a dry bath versus a wet bath? Is it the fact that when you take a shower in a wet bath, like in our Casita, the shower water can hit the toilet? If so, what is the BFD with that????
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11-24-2020, 09:04 PM
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#6
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Junior Member
Name: AARON
Trailer: Currently Shopping, past FG trailers: 2003 17' Casita SD; 2014 17' Casita SD
Texas
Posts: 12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GatorCasita
OK, what is a dry bath versus a wet bath? Is it the fact that when you take a shower in a wet bath, like in our Casita, the shower water can hit the toilet? If so, what is the BFD with that????
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Dry bath is a separate shower and toilet and wet bath is the shower in the same area of the toilet like the Casita. For us it is a personal preference first of all. Our camping activities went from weekend trips to using our trailer for almost all out of town overnight trips. Utilizing our trailer in this way makes the dry bath more convenient for our circumstances. We do have a lot of love for Casita, it was an awesome trailer.
We are eagerly anticipating our new trailer and looking forward to new adventures.
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11-25-2020, 04:49 AM
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#7
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Senior Member
Trailer: 16 ft U-Haul VT
Posts: 2,866
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Welcome to the Bigfoot family. We have a 28' Silver Cloud. It has a dry bath with even a bathtub. Our previous camper was a Uhaul VT with a wet bath. I concur. The dry bath is much easier. Both of them need a bit of arranging to use the show, but you don't have to dry off the toilet in our Bigfoot. Plus, the larger bathroom is nice. The Uhaul bathroom was small and likely smaller than other models. Hubby could not stand in it easily.
CindyL
__________________
1988 Bigfoot Silver Cloud, "The Egg Carton"
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11-28-2020, 12:45 PM
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#8
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Senior Member
Trailer: 2005 Casita Spirit Deluxe 17 ft (was 2003 16 ft Scamp)
Posts: 427
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We had a 21rb. Loved it. It was a 2008. Loved the shower. It had the pull across door which was an option. It was great! Never understood why the toilet petal was on the front and not the side. That would have given a little more room but it was ample room to change clothes and I am 6'1" 240 lbs. I added a tv over the bed. Never cared for the tv by the door because the dining table was not comfy to watch a full length movie. 2 windows over the bed was ok but not 3 like my Casita. We had the front storage box which I loved too. Very nice for generator or folding chairs and so forth. Hanging closet was very nice also. Lots and lots of storage.
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11-28-2020, 12:49 PM
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#9
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Junior Member
Name: AARON
Trailer: Currently Shopping, past FG trailers: 2003 17' Casita SD; 2014 17' Casita SD
Texas
Posts: 12
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Thanks for the insight. I am interested in adding a TV for the bed. I did see another post somewhere on that topic. We are not getting the front storage box, which does look like a nice option. The hanging closet is a plus since we do use for business trips.
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11-28-2020, 02:20 PM
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#10
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Member
Name: Mickey
Trailer: 18EC W&P Toy Hauler
Oklahoma
Posts: 48
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Hello
I personally owned a 2015 25B25RQ. If you haven’t made the purchase you might consider moving up to the 25 foot trl. The shower was excellent. I believe the Bigfoot is the best built trailer on the market. If they made a toy hauler I would still own one.
Good Luck
MC
__________________
Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and to remove all doubt.
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11-28-2020, 03:10 PM
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#11
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Junior Member
Name: AARON
Trailer: Currently Shopping, past FG trailers: 2003 17' Casita SD; 2014 17' Casita SD
Texas
Posts: 12
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Thanks for the suggestion, the 25RQ is my favorite floor plan as it has the walk around bed. The 21 to 22 foot size range I feel is the perfect size for our needs. I did not mention it in my previous post but we had gone from the Casita to a 22' Airstream Sport which was a huge upgrade for us in size. We loved the size of the Airstream and the way it towed. The quality of the Airstream was just not where I felt it should be considering the cost. The fact that the Airstream required more exterior maintenance than a fiberglass trailer as aluminum is a metal and metal corrodes. That's why I am happy to come back to fiberglass and I have been obsessing all week reading posts on this forum about the Bigfoot.
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11-28-2020, 04:01 PM
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#12
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Junior Member
Name: Neil
Trailer: Currently shopping
North Carolina
Posts: 8
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2521rb
We also have a 21 rb on order cant wait for it to get here.We ordered it last month on the 12th and it looks like it will be a year or so wait.We ordered it with a tv set up by the bed as the price was reasonable.Grant at Bigfoot will also add some 120 volt and usb outlets as well.We just received the build sheet from our dealer the other day and they put down that it will be a 2022 model.
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11-28-2020, 04:12 PM
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#13
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Junior Member
Name: Rick
Trailer: 21' Bigfoot
British Columbia
Posts: 5
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Love our 21 foot RB Bigfoot!
Good day Thundercleese,
We have a 2005 Bigfoot and love the trailer. We like you had a Casita and loved it until we saw the Bigfoot. Our Bigfoot gave us a lot more room than the Casita. The Bigfoot is much wider and a truly square fiberglass trailer. Just remember that the Bigfoot is heavy but to us it just fits us really well. Please let me know what pictures you want as we have a fair amount of them. We live in Rural British Columbia about 4 hours from Armstrong where the Bigfoot is made.
The people at Bigfoot are always ready to help us when we go through Armstrong. We use a 2008 Toyota Tundra and it seem to be a good match. I flipped our axles on the trailer as we love to go into the back country and camp next to rivers and lakes by ourselves. The extra clearance has helped us get to some of these beautiful spots.
Rick
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11-28-2020, 04:34 PM
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#14
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Junior Member
Name: Neil
Trailer: Currently shopping
North Carolina
Posts: 8
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2521 rb
Rck54789 We too would like to see the pics of your bigfoot especially of how you flipped the axle
Thank you
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11-28-2020, 06:04 PM
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#15
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Junior Member
Name: AARON
Trailer: Currently Shopping, past FG trailers: 2003 17' Casita SD; 2014 17' Casita SD
Texas
Posts: 12
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Congrats Neil, its all about the waiting game now. I didn't inquire about anything special. I was curious about the clearance and if it was adequate. I don't plan on doing a lot of boondocking, however some campgrounds I stay at have huge speed bumps and curbs to get in and out of campsites.
Thanks for the insight Rick. I am sure I will get you with on questions and photos of your Bigfoot.
I didn't realize till I read an article that Grant is the president of the company. I received a response from him when inquiring about a WDH and a couple of other questions I had. I am glad to know I can get quick information straight from the source. I was also impressed with the fact that he is a Black Belt in Lean.
This forum has really built my confidence in the Bigfoot, thanks for all the help. I really haven't had a question that wasn't answered by a previous poster yet, but I am sure something will come.
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11-28-2020, 07:23 PM
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#16
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Junior Member
Name: Neil
Trailer: Currently shopping
North Carolina
Posts: 8
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2521 rb
Yes Aaron it is a waiting game now! We have had our share of stick built campers and want to join the fiberglass crowd as I think they are on to something for sure.There is a Bigfoot forum you can join as a guest for a month or so.I think they are a not for profit group over there,can only join if you are an owner.Seems they dont post much but theyre all bigfoot people.Good luck with the wait its long but im sure it will be worth it.Some tent old school camping for us next season!
Enjoy the holidays all.
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12-02-2020, 09:54 PM
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#17
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Junior Member
Name: Rick
Trailer: 21' Bigfoot
British Columbia
Posts: 5
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Hey Thundercleese,
The 21 foot Bigfoot was a very easy axle flip. The hardest part was jacking all 4 corners up to get the trailer completely off the ground. Just remember that you have to jack it up until the wheels are off the ground and then another 6 inches to allow you to do the flip. Our trailer was 7 years old when we got it, so I decided to replace the springs and associated hardware at the same time. Keep in mind that the trailer will be quite high when you have it jacked up but that makes it way easier to work under the trailer. I ordered springs pins and shackles with grease nipples to make it easier to grease them before each long trip. If you are not getting new spring hardwire you will need to get saddles to allow you to mount the springs on top of the axles, that is if your saddle on the bottom of the axle is welded to the axle. It was too much work to grind off the bottom saddles when new ones were under $20. I just left the bottom ones on and they did not cause any issue.
Remove the wheels and drums, just to make the axles much lighter to move around. Disconnect the trailer brakes and tie them out of the way. You can reuse the "U" bolts and nuts if the trailer is new, but again for my piece of mind I replaced all hardware. Everyday before I went under the trailer I did a walk around to ensure that the trailer did not shift and to make sure the trailer was completely stable on the jacks.
Remove "U" bolts using WD40 to assist in the removal. Axle will drop and do the same on the other side. Axle will be completely loose. Stacking of the pieces: original from axle down Axle, saddle, springs, springs spacer and holding plate and nuts from "U" bolts. After flip the stacking order will be from axle up. Axle, saddle, springs, spring spacer, holding plate and "U" bolt nuts. The "U" bolts are just flipped around. The saddle and the spring spacer have holes in them to accommodate the centering pins on the springs.
To ensure the proper alignment take a string and tie it to the centre of the trailers hitch and ensure that the distances from the centre point on the hitch to the backing plate on each side of the axle is the same or extremely close. Tighten all nuts and reconnect the trailer brakes and ensure you have stabilized the brake wires as they will vibrate if not attached. I used Zipties. Put brake drums and wheels on and lower the trailer.
I gained about 5 inches which seems like a lot but I have still bottomed out the rear of the trailer when in the back country. There is a small skid plate on the under side of the trailer to ensure the tanks are not affected if you bottom out. I see some people have put on a wheel instead of the skid plate but most of my bottoming out issues are on back country forestry roads here in British Columbia which are mud and gravel. My idea is"The worst the road the more privacy you will have".
The last picture is of our trailer and truck, be aware that our truck has also been raised 3 inches. For us this works great. Also with this axle flip understand that the trailer will be 4-6 inches higher which will now make the trailer stairs first step quite a large step. I have an adjustable step for my wife who has knee issues but that is another post. Once again sorry as I was having trouble putting pictures in correct order. I hope this helps somewhat!!
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