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Old 08-11-2019, 09:52 AM   #21
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Glenn:

Close. After a year living in our 19 Denise wants a larger kitchen. Something with more than a 6" counter and with an oven. I'm not looking forward to starting again, from zero, with a whole new set of mods. But we're starting to look, always a bad sign.

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Hugh, I think you just want a new toy.
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Old 08-11-2019, 02:37 PM   #22
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Quote:
Originally Posted by currinh View Post
Glenn:

Close. After a year living in our 19 Denise wants a larger kitchen. Something with more than a 6" counter and with an oven. I'm not looking forward to starting again, from zero, with a whole new set of mods. But we're starting to look, always a bad sign.
Full time, makes sense to move up.
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Old 08-11-2019, 03:16 PM   #23
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Bill:

I think the Bigfoot has leaf springs. Can anyone verify or refute this?

Thanks.
I've seen lots of Bigfoot trailers, and they all had leaf springs.
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Old 08-12-2019, 05:30 AM   #24
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Over the years we've owned 15 campers. Two of those were a Bigfoot 25B25RQ and our current Escape 5.0TA. I've ridden in the the back of a few trailers and NONE of them were what I call smooth. Donna D. describes the situation as a "Rolling Volcano."

Our Bigfoot was like any other trailer, if you didn't put things away they would go wherever they felt like it. Two of the drawers in the kitchen and one under the bed had their travel latches broken and would always be found open in some manner. Shift happens!

We've felt that underinflated tires bounced more than tires inflated to their max. I would never deflate my tires just to think it will provide a better ride. What kind of a ride does an exploded tire have? YMMV.

Enjoy,

Perry
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Old 08-12-2019, 06:12 AM   #25
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You do not talk much about your Ram. What is the load capacity on it and what is the additional tongue weight of the BF? Some Rams only have 1300# carrying and anything over 500# tongue weight and items in the bed will eat into that number. BTW, I have never had a cabinet open, just my front table in my first 19 came off the pedestals, only incident over 7 years of Escapes.
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Old 08-12-2019, 09:09 AM   #26
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Not sure about brand new ones, or the larger ones, but all the Bigfoot 17's I've seen have leaf springs and no shocks.

It partly depends on what you're expecting. If you were thinking your trailer would ride more or less like your truck, in that you could have a drink in a cup holder, a book on the dashboard, basically "unsecured loads", you'd be wrong. They aren't passenger vehicles are weren't built to ride like one. But it shouldn't be bouncing down the road behind you, either.

So it's hard to say if yours is excessively rough, or just more rough than you expected.

I'm regularly surprised at how much stuff I can leave unsecured in my camper and not have it end up on the floor. There are certain kinds of bumps that really get the trailer. The kind that really jar it side-to-side. I can tell when I hit one of those and see & feel the trailer move side-to-side. I know when I get in there the stove burner grates are going to be off the stove, and some other stuff will be thrown around. But otherwise, I have a bookshelf, a little stereo and a few other things that aren't really secured at all, and I only very very rarely find a book on the floor.
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Old 08-12-2019, 10:22 AM   #27
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Bill:

I really like the easy of towing and width of the Escape 19. But for full time a little more room would be nice. Denise is really drawn to a larger kitchen. So ya, it would make sense.

Thanks.

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Full time, makes sense to move up.
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Old 08-12-2019, 10:24 AM   #28
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Jack:

Thanks. Matches what I understand.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jack L View Post
I've seen lots of Bigfoot trailers, and they all had leaf springs.
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Old 08-12-2019, 10:35 AM   #29
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Perry:

Likely the best comparison I'll find, I think the Escape 5.0TA is similar to the 19, at least from the bed back. Sounds like there isn't a great difference in ride roughness in the trailer.

It does depend a lot on the road. We stow everything and remove, stow the stove grate, etc. We still find the infrequent cabinet opening and ejecting something. We've found the 'fridge to open, thow something out, then re-close. It's a compromise between the trouble of stowing vs what moves about. Hard to know what the roads will be in the morning when packing.

After all the input, I'll likely leave the pressure at or near max. Seems to be the consensus.

Thanks.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Perryb67 View Post
Over the years we've owned 15 campers. Two of those were a Bigfoot 25B25RQ and our current Escape 5.0TA. I've ridden in the the back of a few trailers and NONE of them were what I call smooth. Donna D. describes the situation as a "Rolling Volcano."

Our Bigfoot was like any other trailer, if you didn't put things away they would go wherever they felt like it. Two of the drawers in the kitchen and one under the bed had their travel latches broken and would always be found open in some manner. Shift happens!

We've felt that underinflated tires bounced more than tires inflated to their max. I would never deflate my tires just to think it will provide a better ride. What kind of a ride does an exploded tire have? YMMV.

Perry
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Old 08-12-2019, 10:50 AM   #30
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Jim:

Good questions. We have a RAM 2500 Laramie with Cummings diesel. From the Internet the load capacity is 2450lb but the placard at the door lists 2100lb. Towing capacity from the Internet is 17200lb. New dry weight for a 19 is 3150lb with tongue weight 290lb. Larry (the RAM) doesn't even know Dora (Escape 19) is there.

We're thinking of a Bigfoot 21RB or 25RQ. Dry weight for these are 4308lb and 4863lb respectively. GVWR for each is 7500lb. Should be no problem towing either Bigfoot although we may have to watch the tongue weight, a WDH will help.

I need to weigh our current rig again to verify how much stuff we're carrying.

Losing the table in a 19 would have been a BIG pothole. We retrofit an Atwood stove which has "exploded" a couple of times, but haven't yet lost the table.

Thanks.

Quote:
Originally Posted by cpaharley2008 View Post
You do not talk much about your Ram. What is the load capacity on it and what is the additional tongue weight of the BF? Some Rams only have 1300# carrying and anything over 500# tongue weight and items in the bed will eat into that number. BTW, I have never had a cabinet open, just my front table in my first 19 came off the pedestals, only incident over 7 years of Escapes.
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Old 08-12-2019, 11:04 AM   #31
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Zach:

Seems to the the consensus, leaf springs with no shocks.

Quote:
Originally Posted by ZachO View Post
Not sure about brand new ones, or the larger ones, but all the Bigfoot 17's I've seen have leaf springs and no shocks.
If we leave anything out, not on a shelf with lip etc., it will move around. Encouraging this isn't always the case in a Bigfoot.

Thanks.

Quote:
Originally Posted by ZachO View Post
It partly depends on what you're expecting. If you were thinking your trailer would ride more or less like your truck, in that you could have a drink in a cup holder, a book on the dashboard, basically "unsecured loads", you'd be wrong. They aren't passenger vehicles are weren't built to ride like one. But it shouldn't be bouncing down the road behind you, either.

So it's hard to say if yours is excessively rough, or just more rough than you expected.

I'm regularly surprised at how much stuff I can leave unsecured in my camper and not have it end up on the floor. There are certain kinds of bumps that really get the trailer. The kind that really jar it side-to-side. I can tell when I hit one of those and see & feel the trailer move side-to-side. I know when I get in there the stove burner grates are going to be off the stove, and some other stuff will be thrown around. But otherwise, I have a bookshelf, a little stereo and a few other things that aren't really secured at all, and I only very very rarely find a book on the floor.
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Old 08-12-2019, 11:10 AM   #32
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We did have a 1955 Shasta before obtaining the Escape 19. I was just reminded that Shasta was less rough than Dora (the Escape). The Shasta had a leaf spring suspension, no shocks.

From this experience, I suspect the Bigfoot would be smoother. If not smoother then at least no rougher than the Escape.

Thanks again for your help.
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Old 08-12-2019, 02:40 PM   #33
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I just got back from a San Jose, CA to Santee (near San Diego) round trip towing my 2018 Bigfoot 25B21RB. I took the 101 to LA on the way down, then took I-5 back home the whole way. I notice very little stuff moving around in the trailer, if any. 2 pictures above are how things looked when I arrived at home. The sink has a leak while I'm driving so I left something to catch the drips. Everything (including my mascots) were as far as I can tell right where I put them when I pulled away from the campground. The towel is tucked under the sink cover but the stuff on the towel is just sitting there.



Towing with my Chevy Colorado 2.8L Duramax was no problem. Did it tow easier when I rented a RAM 2500 with a Cummins? Obviously. But, the truck handled the Grapevine pretty well. I am new to towing so I was babying it. The exhaust brake handled the downhill side of the Grapevine perfectly fine. One issue about the width of the trailer was that in L.A. there were some areas of road construction where the shoulder was closed and there was a concrete barricade basically on the white line. With the barricade on my right and a full sized tractor trailer on my left, I'll admit to feeling a little uncomfortable. But I never had any issues where I felt at all out of control. Again I'll admit that I was probably going 50 or below in the construction zones, and it did take me 12 hours to get home. (Some of that was traffic though.) I was pretty happy with the 18mpg average over the whole trip. Oh, last picture is my axles.
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Old 08-13-2019, 07:05 AM   #34
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Escape vs Bigfoot towing ?

Quote:
Originally Posted by currinh View Post
We did have a 1955 Shasta before obtaining the Escape 19. I was just reminded that Shasta was less rough than Dora (the Escape). The Shasta had a leaf spring suspension, no shocks.

From this experience, I suspect the Bigfoot would be smoother. If not smoother then at least no rougher than the Escape.
It would be a false generalization to assume that a leaf spring suspension is always smoother than a torsion suspension. In fact, other things equal, the opposite is more likely true.

A lot has to do with the actual gross axle weight of the trailer relative to the axle rating. Running loaded at around 75-80% of rated capacity has been suggested as a sweet spot for ride quality.

Either type of axle can be improved with the addition of shocks. Whether it’s feasible and worth the trouble and cost is an individual decision. I’ve found with some attention to packing, all is good enough for me.
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Old 08-13-2019, 07:42 AM   #35
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When I purchased a cargo trailer to haul my tools in it was recommended to upgrade from the spring axles to torsion axles to provide a smoother ride and protect my gear. The spring axles with these trailers might be different from the ones on a Bigfoot but I was told they bounce more than the torsion on bumps and dips.

I do know a few folks with Bigfoots, and many with Escapes, and have not heard of much of an issue from either. Any trailer is pretty much going to be a rougher ride than a good car or truck tough, unless huge money was spent on the axles and suspension.
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Old 08-13-2019, 07:43 PM   #36
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I was just perusing the Bigfoot site and found a list of features. It shows, for new trailers, that shocks are standard on 21' and 25' models! I don't know what year this started, but it seems true for the 2019 models, or the 2020s.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jon in AZ View Post
Either type of axle can be improved with the addition of shocks. Whether it’s feasible and worth the trouble and cost is an individual decision. I’ve found with some attention to packing, all is good enough for me.
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Old 08-13-2019, 08:49 PM   #37
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Originally Posted by currinh View Post
I was just perusing the Bigfoot site and found a list of features. It shows, for new trailers, that shocks are standard on 21' and 25' models! I don't know what year this started, but it seems true for the 2019 models, or the 2020s.
Hugh Oliver are equipped with shocks . Pat
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Old 08-13-2019, 10:27 PM   #38
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The chart is not the recommended pressure. It is the absolute lowest pressure that will carry the listed load. And that is the pressure when the tire is cold.

Which means we have to adjust according to what we think is sensible. A hot day on the highway at 25 PSI is asking for trouble. But 25 PSI on a cold day on a rough road at 20 miles per hour would be fine.

This discussion always leads to the question: Who knows more about tires, the manufacturer or the guy towing his trailer? or Who should someone pay attention to with respect to inflation pressures?

Read the chart carefully. It says: TIRE LOAD LIMITS (LBS) AT VARIOUS COLD INFLATION PRESSURES (PSI). To me, load limit means any more load and the tire will be in trouble at that pressure. No safety margin. And that means, its not a good pressure to run. High speed at low pressure causes a lot of heat buildup. Hot weather makes that situation worse.
I run the recommended load plus 20% - just don't want or need to run my little trailer at 80 PSI.
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Old 08-14-2019, 09:34 AM   #39
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Just wondering, at 25mph(I think)...how bad can it be?

https://youtu.be/ATl3MM9AtiU
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Old 08-16-2019, 09:18 AM   #40
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Thank you all for your help. I think we can say the consensus is inconclusive. No one has said the Bigfoot rides rougher than the Escape. Otherwise, inconclusive.

Looks like we're off to the Pacific Northwest searching for Bigfoots. (Not the first PWN Sasquatch expedition.) We need to find 21RBs and a 25RQs to look at. There have been sitings in Spokane.

Thanks again.
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