BEFORE OUR BIGFOOT TRAILER, WE WERE TENT
people. But after our 2013 Subaru Forester became
cramped with outdoor gear, and a few epic Colorado
storms terrified our Chihuahuas, we started to con-
sider alternatives.
Our gateway to the Bigfoot was a 1992 Jayco
pop-up camper. It allowed us to camp much more
comfortably, for longer, and tour around the West
for Joe’s bluegrass band performances. We started
to consider camping permanently, but wanted a
hard-sided shelter to better withstand unpredict-
able mountain weather. A fiberglass trailer became our best choice to
replace the Jayco. Molded fiberglass is durable and easier to clean than
materials like wood that are affected by moisture. These trailers are also
considerably lighter than many other typical RVs and trailers (our 1981
Bigfoot B-17 SM Deluxe weighs in at 2,300 pounds, while an aluminum
Airstream Bambi 16RB, a new camper of roughly the same size, starts at
3,000 pounds). And fiberglass trailers hold their value, particularly Big-
foots, a higher-end brand with plenty of reliable models still around today.
We had some unique requirements for our home. Joe is 6'1" and plays
violin, which means he needs roomy proportions to play while stand-
ing up inside the trailer. And being outdoorsy people, we need sunlight.
Most RVs and campers have hardly any win-
dows, it seems, but after venturing down a
forum dedicated to fiberglass RVs, we found
our 1981 Bigfoot trailer in the classifieds.
This particular model is 106 square feet,
boasts 6'6" of interior headroom, fell within
our budget at $7,500, and has windows facing
nearly every direction. It ticked all the boxes.
We had to have it.
This was July 2020, when the used-RV
market was absolutely on fire. To secure our
Bigfoot, we sent the owner, Jed, a $500 deposit
sight unseen. We made him promise not to sell
the trailer before we could take a look at it, and
then sped the 1,050-mile, 15-hour drive from
Fort Collins, Colorado, to the Idaho Panhan-
dle. We were initially wary about trusting a
stranger we had only met on the internet, but
turns out, Jed was a big fan of Colorado blue-
grass. He was even wearing a T-shirt for a band
Joe knew from our local area.
We gave the Bigfoot a once-over, but we46 May/June 2022