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Old 10-07-2019, 11:00 PM   #21
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Name: Aaron
Trailer: 2000 Bigfoot 21RB, & 92 Vanagon Westy
Idaho
Posts: 188
Double post.
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Old 10-08-2019, 12:22 AM   #22
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Name: Aaron
Trailer: 2000 Bigfoot 21RB, & 92 Vanagon Westy
Idaho
Posts: 188
Before we got our 21' we had a chance to step into a 17.5. We were really impressed with the quality of materials used and just how solidly built it was. Stepping inside it was not the length difference we noticed, it was the width coupled with the less rounded roof, that makes the whole space just feel so open and more like a large room than a hallway. While at the same time they managed to pack a ton of storage into such a small space. The 21' has the same open space feeling, it is great to be able to move around each other and two dogs with out getting into each others way nearly as much. We thought about getting a 17.5' but the small beds (even smaller than our Scamp's) changed our minds.

It ended up coming down to deciding between the 21' Escape or the 21' Bigfoot, as they are basically the same layout just mirrored.

Length wise permanent bed, gives my wife some room to crawl over me to get out, and I can stick my feet off the end. Edge to Bigfoot as it has two large windows, giving us the ability to lean ageist the walls, and look out the back or side, while drinking coffee in the morning. Although if you care about a wider bed, then the edge goes to Escape. When camping I was always the one up at 6am, having had ok sleep. Last two trips in the Bigfoot and I was out like a light till 9am, big difference in sleep quality. At 6' i was almost touching the ends of the bed in the scamp, I could not stretch out.

Wetbath vs. dry bath. Webath gives more overall space to shower and other stuff, while the dry bath means we don't have to worry about drying the floor of the shower. We also thought the shower would give us a place to hang our wet cold cloths after skiing. I will say the shower curtain setup in the Bigfoot is horrible, it makes the space much smaller than it needs to be. Going to add some command hooks to the sides of the door in order to hang the shower curtain just across the door. Also the toilet in the Bigfoot is just so low to the floor. I never really felt comfortable in the webath in the Scamp, and the shower did not drain very well.

Front Vs. Rear dinette. Edge goes to the Escape. After a couple of years of camping I have found that it can be random on what view is better. Sometimes it is the front and sometimes it is the rear, but it does seem that the rear has the better view a little bit more of the time, and I preferred it in our Scamp. But the large bed windows on the Bigfoot kind of make up for the difference, so even if the rear view is better you can still hang on the bed to enjoy it. We need to replace the seat cushions on the dinette, I am not that heavy and I flatten them to the wood, been the case in all the Bigfoots I have been in.

Not sure about all the optional features on the Escape, so sorry if I am comparing incorrectly. We have loved the duel sinks and oven on the Bigfoot. Bigfoot has a larger furnace and fresh water tank. But Escape has larger Grey and Blank tanks, in the case of grey much larger. Adding a 2nd battery is going to be a pain, will end up having a new shelf welded on behind the LP tanks to hold extra batteries. Because of the more modern appliances on the Bigfoot the battery gets drained a lot faster then it did on our scamp. Oddly the Bigfoot has a smaller grey tank than the Scamp.

Towing: Big plus to the Escape, much lower weight (Max of 5k vs 7k on the Bigfoot). Escape is narrower, and has a more aerodynamic shape. I was getting 11mpg while pulling the Scamp, and now I only get 9mpg. So we lost about 20%.

Size: One of our real concerns about going bigger was not being able to fit into the same spots we could fit into with the Scamp. Over the last couple of years we stayed in a number of tent sites, I am not sure we could have fit a 21' trailer in the same spots. Time will tell if we find the larger size restrictive on our site selection.

Winter Package: From what I have read the Escape winter package is more of a 3 season+, while the Bigfoot is true 4 season.

Availability: Easier to find a used 21' Bigfoot and can find it cheaper.

Wife really fell for the 21' Bigfoot when she finally got to step in one, it was not even a discussion of if we would buy it but more a matter of how fast we could get the sale done so we can get home and start packing for a real trip.

A note on condensation so far. On this last trip it was raining and snowing all weekend, with outside humidity up around 80-90%. We had no condensation on the windows during the day. At night we did not have any windows cracked, we had 2 people and two medium sized dogs, there was some fog on the windows, while the aluminum frame was dripping. This was nothing compared to what we faced in the Scamp, in much dryer conditions. Moisture still builds up in side so you have to deal with that, next time we will have the roof vent open to let some moisture out. The Airstream with us had some major problems with condensation, even during the day the windows were completely fogged over, at night the condensation was building on the walls. I would expect as we take the Bigfoot into colder temps and the outside temp overcomes the insulation we will start facing condensation on the walls as well.

We have only done a couple of trips and a bunch of driveway camping, but we love the Bigfoot. We have another trip coming up with lows down to the low 20s, will be very interesting to see how it goes.
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Old 10-08-2019, 12:48 PM   #23
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Name: RogerDat
Trailer: 2010 Scamp 16
Michigan
Posts: 3,744
Subjective "has a more open, roomy feeling" While "bed is 4 inches longer" is objective.


I would have to change towing vehicle and give up the fuel economy of a V6 for normal driving to tow beyond 3,500# and anything over 2,500# would give me concerns about towing through mountains or on extended trips. The 3,500# is the objective tow limit, the 2,500# is my subjective comfortable towing weight with my 2012 Escape.


A true 4 seasons camper is certainly desirable for some, while for others there is a great debate over the bathroom being a requirement or wasted space. I have a brother in law that wonders why I bother with bringing a porta potti and I simply point out, you see many trees in the desert? Snake bites you on the butt I'm sure it will make for some interesting stories, me I'll just use the potti inside as needed.


I am amazed at the number of people who have taken trips that lasted weeks or months with a spouse in a 13 ft. camper. On the other hand I don't find a couple of weeks with a spouse and two dogs to be intolerable. Is pushing the limits for dear wife however. She says it is the two dogs but I'm pretty sure it's me that makes her feel crowded after more than a few days.


People have certain needs and the Bigfoots I have seen certainly provide what looks like a nice camper. A bit big for my tastes BUT that is based on my personal criteria. I'm betting my sister would find it too small. No slide out and 10 ft. shorter than anything she has camped in for the last 20 years. While clearly for the OP it is the Goldielocks camper in terms of size and amenities. Not too big, not too small but just right. Not too hot, not too cold.... you get the picture. :-)
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Old 10-08-2019, 02:06 PM   #24
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Name: Justus
Trailer: Currently Shopping
California
Posts: 291
Congratulations on your Bigfoot! We've already got the 2-foot-itis and I'm thinking that a 21' Escape or Bigfoot is in the cards for us a few years down the road. A 25' Bigfoot would be nice but I can't justify buying a truck capable of pulling it at this stage in life, and like you I worry that it could limit our access even more.

We had the opportunity to compare a 17' Bigfoot and Escape trailer side-by-side. The owner was selling his Bigfoot and replacing it with the new Escape. We loved the high ceiling, wide body, and abundance of windows in the Bigfoot. In the Escape, we were impressed by the amount of storage and how towable it looked. Ultimately we turned down the Bigfoot because of the massive towing profile. I wish now we had just dealt with it, but as first time trailer owners we were nervous about pulling such a wide, tall trailer behind our Highlander, which is not a purpose-built towing vehicle.

Thanks for sharing your experience and the direct comparison between the Escape and Bigfoot!
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Old 10-09-2019, 10:40 AM   #25
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Name: Aaron
Trailer: 2000 Bigfoot 21RB, & 92 Vanagon Westy
Idaho
Posts: 188
I don't think I could justify getting a new TV to purchase a trailer. I have been lucky (not sure getting horrible mpg would be considered lucky) to not have had to face that problem. When we first started to look at trailers we already had a 1500 Suburban (5k tow), giving us the option of any of the smaller fiberglass. I had narrowed it down to 16 scamp or 17 bigfoot. The scamp won because it was both shorter by 1.5', narrower, and cheaper. The wife did not really want a trailer, but if we were going to have one it would have to be small enough that it would not effect our parking. After getting the scamp I had some regrets about not getting the bigfoot. But the scamp was perfect for us and we loved it.

A year into owning the scamp, my 1500 suburban was starting to have some problems and needed to be replaced (transmission needed to be rebuilt, and the big one, no AC and that could not be fixed). Then a 2500 Suburban fell into my lap at a price and condition that I could not pass up. It is ridiculous overkill pulling a 16 scamp with a 3/4 ton truck.

We had no intention of getting a new trailer, but on the way back from our first trip (to the spring nog rally in Oregon) the frame cracked. I never really enjoyed pulling it after that. Spent all my time on the road worried that after every bump I would look back and see the trailer had dropped. But I was building confidence in it. Then it happened again this last spring and I had had enough (no it was not overloaded, all travel was on highways or interstate).

Turns out the wife loves trailer camping, so she set a new price point and we started the search over, this time with less restrictions, more knowledge, and a new set of criteria. And as we had yet a larger TV then before it opened up more options.

We thought about getting a 25' bigfoot, there is a few things we don't like about it. We are already worried that the 21' would restrict our camping and is on the verge of being too big, so going another 4 feet feels way too big for us. We don't like how much of the trailer space is sacrificed to accommodate a walk around bed. And as it has a walk around bed, you only have one wall to lean ageist while in bed, and that wall is a window. Because of the bedroom and bathroom the trailer has a hallway feel. The bathroom was far bigger than we wanted, making the hallway narrow. The front dinette layout we like (not a fan of side dinette layouts) had very little counter space, in fact it has less than the 21'. Having larger tanks sure would be nice for longer trips though.
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Old 10-09-2019, 02:05 PM   #26
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Name: Jan
Trailer: 21' Escape
California
Posts: 41
Wow!! Very nice rig! Congratulations!!!
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