Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Why a Bigfoot Camper?

I chose a Bigfoot Camper because I feel they have the highest quality truck camper on the market today. So much so that after a long period of time these campers retain their value quite well. In fact they typically sell for thousands of dollars over the book value.

The1500 series and 2500 series campers are made like a clamshell two fiberglass pieces that mate in the middle with a bonding strip. There's no way water can get in these campers except through a window or vent.  The number of ways water can get in as much less and the amount of maintenance to keep water out this much less also.

The 3000 series uses a different construction called FiberCore; it provides higher insulation value, R12, but it does have more bonding surfaces and more potential for leaks.  They are larger and have more volume than the other series. Both the 2500 and 3000 series have basements and larger tank capacities than the lighter 1500 series.

I was in the market for any inexpensively priced Bigfoots in good condition. 

I've always been in the market for a Bigfoot Camper. I wanted to buy a 10 foot model 2500 series model 10.6 E version which has a dry bath. But those are expensive, hard to find and just slightly lighter than the one that I bought which is a 3000 series. The 2500-10.6e is the highest demand Bigfoot model sold. 

I would search on eBay constantly for Bigfoot Camper's. Another source is craigslist. And I also looked on Kijiji, the Canadian website.

In November I found a Bigfoot 3000 series camper for sale in Michigan four $6900. The seller informed me he was going to raise the price to $7900 in the spring. This camper looked a little bit worn on the inside. I decided to keep looking, although I was somewhat interested in the Michigan camper it would've been a long drive.  This camper had air conditioning solar panel for extra features. 

A few weeks later I spotted a camper for sale in Chicago for $6500. It was another 3000 series camper. Then I spotted would love to be the same camper for sale in Wisconsin for $5800. So it seemed to me this was a serious seller would already dropped his price once already.

I call the seller up and ask for more pictures. We talked about the camper for 40 minutes one day, and he informed me the camper was in like new condition. I thought about it for a few days and wrote him back and asked him what his best price would be.  He told me he would take $5000 for it. I checked the blue book value of this camper and it was between $4300-$4800. Based on the description of the camper it sounded like it was on the high-end of that. I made a "sight unseen" offer on the camper for $4500 cash for it and it was accepted.  One other thing helped me make up mu mind.  The fellow struck me as an honest person.  He was a pleasure to talk to.  I felt he was trustworthy and the type of person I'd like to do business with.  I've walked away from many deals because I didn't like the buyer to seller.

I had several things in my favor to get this price. First it was a 3000 series camper and these needed to be carried on a dually pick up truck. Not many people have dually pickup's with dual rear wheels, so that limits the market substantially. Whereas if you have a 2500 series that could be carried on a three-quarter time or a 1 ton pickup like mine. Next the construction was the fiber core technology which was not as popular as the robust clam shell molded 1500 & 2500 series campers. It has a rubber roof with is a negative for many people.

Finally this camper did not have any upgrades. There was no air-conditioning. There was no solar charging system. It had the old-style charger converter which is very antiquated.  In short it needed substantial updates.

On the plus side it was rarely used and it been stored in the bar most of it's life. I found lots of dead bees and lots of dead ladybugs but the interior was generally immaculate. The exterior had a few defects--the vinyl trim was peeling away and it was dirty.

My 3000 series is a little shorter than some because it has a wet bath which is uncommon in a 3000 series. Many people would pass this one by because it was heavier not the clamshell design and didn't have a dry bath.

However, it was perfect for me, because a) I wanted something inexpensive, b) I had a dually pick up truck that could carry it easily, and c) I preferred a like new interior.  I knew I would need to update it some. However, I like modding things, and the idea of installing my own custom solar system designed to meet my needs was very appealing.  Finally, it was winter time.  A purchase before Christmas helps to get the prices down. I was one of the few people shopping who a cash available to buy one of these things on the spot. It is noteworthy that pick up campers do not have registration. As a result people can't obtain loans for these sorts of RVs. Therefore buying used means paying cash, and that means prices are depressed even further.

This camper costs about $19,000 in 1998. In today's money that would be well over $40,000. I bought an essentially brand-new camper I was a little bit dirty, for about 1/10 of the cost new. In either case I would have to make modifications to bring it up to my standards. 

My plan is to have this camper updated and complete ready to use by springtime. I plan to use it as a place to live while I'm working on my boat to avoid a long commute. I also use it to travel with my dogs, particularly when breeding them.

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