Javelinadave
Adventurer
Anybody have any experience with http://www.bigfoottents.com products? Specifically their hard side tents?
Thanks,
Thanks,
Bigfoot Tents?
- Thread starter Javelinadave
- Start date
Javelinadave
Adventurer
Nobody?
Anybody?
Somebody?
Anybody?
Somebody?
Lemsteraak
Adventurer
Their marketing could use a little work
Dusty Grin
Observer
It looks almost exactly like a hard shell tent I bought a few years ago. Even the latches are the same, but it was a different brand stamped on the outside. It didn't work for me at all. The fiberglass was too thin and cracked in the corners and the cranking mechanism was weak and mine broke within a couple months. It leaked in heavy rains. I would suggest spending a little more on a Maggiolina, James Baroud, or even the Roost Tents CVT now owns. Although I know nothing about the roost tents, they appear much more robust than the Chinese knockoffs. There was an issue with the fabric coming undone, but I'm hoping they worked their way through that problem.
Javelinadave
Adventurer
Thanks!
frydayknight
New member
The Bigfoot Roof Top Tents are solid!!!
We have used a BFHSRTT9050 in 50 mph winds in the high desert and they hold their own. As far as waterproof they have specially coated materials to repel water. Multiple people in my shooting club own the same model going back to 2010 and I have seen no complaints except for lost crank handles which Bigfoot Roof Top Tents actually replaced for free for me. You can call 5 roof top tent companies trying to get service and it's impossible but at Bigfoot Tents they always pick up for me. If you look at many of the rental services of camping vans they have switched to the Bigfoot brand Hard Shell Roof Top Tents. Bongo buggies in San Diego uses them on their rental vans for example.
I can say first hand that they are well made and get the job done. Mine has been in active monthly use now since March of 2010 and it still feels like new.
You can see their instagram customers abound the hash tag is #bigfoot tents or to that effect.
Heres a photo of my Bigfoot Roof Top Tent after a rain storm they are awesome! http://www.bigfoottents.com roof top tent warranty 2 or 4 years
We have used a BFHSRTT9050 in 50 mph winds in the high desert and they hold their own. As far as waterproof they have specially coated materials to repel water. Multiple people in my shooting club own the same model going back to 2010 and I have seen no complaints except for lost crank handles which Bigfoot Roof Top Tents actually replaced for free for me. You can call 5 roof top tent companies trying to get service and it's impossible but at Bigfoot Tents they always pick up for me. If you look at many of the rental services of camping vans they have switched to the Bigfoot brand Hard Shell Roof Top Tents. Bongo buggies in San Diego uses them on their rental vans for example.
I can say first hand that they are well made and get the job done. Mine has been in active monthly use now since March of 2010 and it still feels like new.
You can see their instagram customers abound the hash tag is #bigfoot tents or to that effect.
Heres a photo of my Bigfoot Roof Top Tent after a rain storm they are awesome! http://www.bigfoottents.com roof top tent warranty 2 or 4 years
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frydayknight
New member
Here's a video of one being opened https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdM3mWKF-Vo we first found them because they are number one in the country for used roof top tents. They buy and sell them according to their website. We found them helpful at the time so we went with them and I think we ended up saving hundreds over the other brands with the same styles. If you do a google search for Bigfoot Tents there seems to be quite a bit of information.
DenCo40
Adventurer
I'll chime in with an unbiased opinion on my Bigfoot clamshell. I bought one a couple of months ago and so far so good. I have it on top of my mildly built LX470. I've taken it on one road trip about 1800 miles and it performed quite well. I was concerned at first I cheaped out, but now I'm pretty happy with it.
Pros:
Pretty good build quality.
Cost about a grand cheaper than the real thing.
Stays put at highway speeds.
Warm on cold nights
Comfortable sleeping pad.
Nice finish on shell.
Bigfoot employees super helpful and quick to answer emails.
Cons:
Slow shipping.
Kinda small for two larger people.
Ladder too short for off road vehicles/doesn't attach to tent securely.
All in all I really like it. I'm glad I got it. So far I have added a solar panel to the top and lights inside plus lights for going up and down the ladder. It's quite the setup..
http://www.bigfoottents.com/
Pros:
Pretty good build quality.
Cost about a grand cheaper than the real thing.
Stays put at highway speeds.
Warm on cold nights
Comfortable sleeping pad.
Nice finish on shell.
Bigfoot employees super helpful and quick to answer emails.
Cons:
Slow shipping.
Kinda small for two larger people.
Ladder too short for off road vehicles/doesn't attach to tent securely.
All in all I really like it. I'm glad I got it. So far I have added a solar panel to the top and lights inside plus lights for going up and down the ladder. It's quite the setup..
http://www.bigfoottents.com/
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I'll chime in. I got one 6-8 months ago and it has sat in my garage in the box until I mounted it a few weeks ago. My son and I spent a week driving around in Texas last week and camped using it a few nights. My prior experience with tents has been fairly inexpensive ground tents, so I really don't have anything to compare it to.
The quality seems good for what clearly seems to be a mass produced Chinese product. It came in the box I suspect it left China in given the labeling and I suspect bigfoot is just the middle man. The packaging was minimal and there were some scuffs on the top of mine which I'm sure would buff out if you were so inclined. For what it is worth the one page instruction sheet that came with mine shows a maggiolina tent in the pictures, so I wonder if they are not made in the same place.
Mounting was simple although on a FJ cruiser with the gobi stealth somewhat fiddly as there is little room for hands and wrenches. Basically we pushed it all the way to one side and snugged it then over to the other side and snugged it then centered and tightened. It mounts just like everything else that mounts to rack cross bars. The hardware is decent/good quality stainless.
It opens and is ready for use in seconds. Closing is a little more difficult unless I'm doing it wrong, you have to go around making sure it's not protruding as you close the case and tuck it in, still only takes a couple minutes.
I don't really see any negatives relative to other hard shell tents except the ladder may be a little short. My unlifted FJ with 31's is about at max height for the ladder. We had decent weather with only light rain and it did what you want a tent to do, kept you dry gave you a place to sleep and as a bonus you are off the ground.
I would like to see it next to a maggiolina especially after seeing the maggiolina on the instructions that came with it. Compared to the price of other similar tents I thinks it's a good deal and would buy again.
I will add I spoke with I think his name was Scott Pryor at the company and he was very helpful and nice easy to deal with, so that is another plus.
The quality seems good for what clearly seems to be a mass produced Chinese product. It came in the box I suspect it left China in given the labeling and I suspect bigfoot is just the middle man. The packaging was minimal and there were some scuffs on the top of mine which I'm sure would buff out if you were so inclined. For what it is worth the one page instruction sheet that came with mine shows a maggiolina tent in the pictures, so I wonder if they are not made in the same place.
Mounting was simple although on a FJ cruiser with the gobi stealth somewhat fiddly as there is little room for hands and wrenches. Basically we pushed it all the way to one side and snugged it then over to the other side and snugged it then centered and tightened. It mounts just like everything else that mounts to rack cross bars. The hardware is decent/good quality stainless.
It opens and is ready for use in seconds. Closing is a little more difficult unless I'm doing it wrong, you have to go around making sure it's not protruding as you close the case and tuck it in, still only takes a couple minutes.
I don't really see any negatives relative to other hard shell tents except the ladder may be a little short. My unlifted FJ with 31's is about at max height for the ladder. We had decent weather with only light rain and it did what you want a tent to do, kept you dry gave you a place to sleep and as a bonus you are off the ground.
I would like to see it next to a maggiolina especially after seeing the maggiolina on the instructions that came with it. Compared to the price of other similar tents I thinks it's a good deal and would buy again.
I will add I spoke with I think his name was Scott Pryor at the company and he was very helpful and nice easy to deal with, so that is another plus.