Trip down Oregon coast

[biggoolies]

Lol yes, the name. A Lebanese Canadian Doctor my wife and I worked with called my wife goolie (my wifes name is Julie) until he found out what the slang meant. So I used that but I can not change it on the website now.
I talked to Carl last year. He had sold his truck after taking it around the world I believe to a British chap. But I do not know the whereabouts of the owner or the truck.
Question- Anybody know if Carl's truck is still around? I doubt Carl still has it.[/QUOTE]

 

[biggoolies]

For those that are considering building one of these trucks, I have to say it is one of the best decisions I have made. It has gotten us to places we never would have dreamed of in relative comfort. We like to get away from it all but still have some comforts. I don't mind roughing it but if I would have to choose.... I have been in sub zero temperatures to Palm Springs in it. (HOT) On top of a mountain, along lakes and the ocean with that as our view. It doesn't get any better.

 

[Mock Tender]

Okay- here is how dumb I am- I am looking at your pictures, but still not seeing the picture. Do you have the original Bigfoot trailer mounted to your truck frame or did you do something different. Also, whom is the company that you used to mount the frame to the Fuso? This is very exciting.

Mark

 

[Gatsma]

Yeah, there are limits to "roughing it", but those limits vary over the full "comfort spectrum". I suppose some of those with the huge $2mil. bus conversions think they're roughing it, while others with a 2-man tent are a few notches above roughing it. My definition probably aligns with yours.
Mock Tender- The Bigfoot trailer is mounted using a type of flexible 3-point mount that has a front pivot between a crossmember attached to the trailer frame above and a crossmember attached to the truck frame below, and in the rear a crossmember that is bolted to the trailer frame side members above and the truck frame below. The front end can pivot, the rear not, allowing for truck frame flex.
Hope this helps until biggoolies can clarify further. Look again at the pictures after reading this, and you might get it.

 

[biggoolies]

Okay- here is how dumb I am- I am looking at your pictures, but still not seeing the picture. Do you have the original Bigfoot trailer mounted to your truck frame or did you do something different. Also, whom is the company that you used to mount the frame to the Fuso? This is very exciting.

Mark

Yes, It is how Gatsma explained the mount. The first two pictures are the front pivot mount and the last two pictures are the rear mount. The company that mounted the trailer to the frame is in Langley, B.C and the company name is Paul's mobile RV service. tel.6045345833 Be sure to get a quote off of them before starting work so you all know what the final cost will be. Dan does the work and is very skilled.

 

[westyss]

looks like a nice trip, did you camp on the beach?

Where did you get your roof rack? Looks like its a stock item like thule?? How do you like it? Whats the mounting system like and what do you carry up there, veggie oil?

 

[Mock Tender]

biggoolies-

I got a chance to see a BigFoot 25B25FB today- nice quality. I am guessing that you have a BF 17 something. What is the dimensions front to back of just your trailer? Bigfoot gives out total length including the tongue and Grant is reluctant to give out actual sizes.

Mark

 

[biggoolies]

Apologies for the late reply. We did not camp on the beach. I am not sure if you are allowed to do that at Seaside. We camped above Seaside in the mountains. When we arrived in the evening it was so quiet and then we bed down for the night expecting a quiet restful sleep. Well about 3 in the morning on, logging truck after logging truck drove by where we were parked. lol.
The roof rack is a Sportrack made by Thule. It has the extension. The cross rack is for a tent trailer and is built by Sportrack/thule also. It has a very heavy build which adds weight I don't like but it certainly will last. It needed to be cut down as it was too long. In retrospect, I should have left the extra to hold a winch on the passenger side to lift objects. The rack system is okay, but when I hit a bump, there can be some rattling noises up there which is a little annoying but I have grown to accept it. With an improved suspension, I am sure that would be less of a problem. After I had put the rack on the first time, I tried to lift the cab to get at something and was surprised that I could not lift it. I forgot about the weight of the rack up there, thinking I was losing strength in my "older" age. But I usually lift the cab up in our driveway which has an upward slope. duh! So anyhow, I can lift the cab with the rack on it empty on the flat still but I have a fair amount of strength. Others ability to lift this system will vary and may require a helper. We had 520 pounds of cooking oil in it and that held well. I had reservations about putting that much weight up there but had no choice as I did not have any other spot for it except in the living quarters and my wife overruled that idea. The only thing, around curves on country roads, cornering felt odd with that weight and I did not feel comfortable driving and some of the back roads in Oregon have quite a slope from the center of the road to the sides which did not help. But as I refueled, with the oil, the handling improved of course.
So I would say on the most part, I like the rack. It looks cool up there giving the truck a better appearance and I can hold extra things. It will stay on there for sure. to access the rack, I use a telescoping ladder. The ladder leans against the cab above the doors when it is being used and it caused some streaks and dents/marks so I added some adhesive rubber step material on each side to prevent that. I will take a picture of that later and post it

looks like a nice trip, did you camp on the beach?

Where did you get your roof rack? Looks like its a stock item like thule?? How do you like it? Whats the mounting system like and what do you carry up there, veggie oil?

 

[biggoolies]

Hi, apologies for the late reply, I know that it is called a 17 foot trailer but includes the hitch/tongue length. I will go measure it. Okay, from the middle seam which is a longest at each end it is just under 13 feet 6 inches. The bottom of the body measures 12 feet in length. The measurement does not include the extra length of the rear bumper. But most would chop that off like Carl did.

biggoolies-

I got a chance to see a BigFoot 25B25FB today- nice quality. I am guessing that you have a BF 17 something. What is the dimensions front to back of just your trailer? Bigfoot gives out total length including the tongue and Grant is reluctant to give out actual sizes.

Mark

 

[biggoolies]

Also, the cross racks mount to the cab at the female threads that are on each side on the top of the cab.

looks like a nice trip, did you camp on the beach?

Where did you get your roof rack? Looks like its a stock item like thule?? How do you like it? Whats the mounting system like and what do you carry up there, veggie oil?

 

[Gatsma]

Thanks, biggoolies; I've been curious about that as well! The proportions of the trailer are perfect for truck mounting, though if I did it I would probably use a truck with longer WB like Carl Hunter did, as I will hardly ever go off-road, and the longer WB will ride better. One advantage of the short WB is better maneuverability, which may be why you went that route. I will say that both yours and Carl's look "right" in my eyes.

 

[biggoolies]

When I bought the truck off the landscape company, I did not even think of the wheel base until I got the truck home and realized it was the short wheelbase. Carl's was actually the longer wheelbase. So really, I had no choice. Depending on the angle you are looking at my truck, the trailer does look like it overhangs the rear wheels a little too far back but I am going to "fill" in the empty spots with a rear hydraulic motorcycle rack and some storage boxes. That should be done very soon and I will post the pictures.

 

[Gatsma]

Like I said, either WB seems to work; just depends how one wants to use it. Awaiting your pix, as "things" develop.....

 

[biggoolies]

Just as you said, the longer wheelbase gives a better ride while the shorter wheelbase is slightly more maneuverable. If I would have had a choice, I would have had picked the longer wheelbase for the ride and you get a better departure angle. The shorter wheelbase may be an advantage for me when I get this motorcycle rack done as there is plenty of room back there for the hydraulics and mechanism. I had considered extending my wheelbase but it is far too much work for what it is worth.

Like I said, either WB seems to work; just depends how one wants to use it. Awaiting your pix, as "things" develop.....

 

[biggoolies]

Here is the picture of the adhesive rubber steps I put on the side of the cab.