Here are a few notes and pictures we took while driving a new Bigfoot motorhome and experiencing America from campsites along the way. The trip we took was one we’d do again in a heartbeat!
Everyone seemed to ask about the expense of fuel and it wasn’t bad. We paid an average of $3.01 per gallon, $2.67 lowest and $3.39 highest — at Old Faithful Lodge) and figured it cost $1,100 to travel from Eugene to Lake George in Upstate NY. When you consider our travel speed — always as fast as others cars were moving — and our ability to swap off and take turns, rest and use the bathroom, it was a cinch to do!
We could travel 500 to 700 miles per day without problem. Our last day could have taken us from Bozeman, Montana into Eugene in one long run had Martha not begged me to stop at Cascade Locke’s to spend one last night on the Columbia River under the stars.
We found it easy to locate KOA parks from every highway and enjoyed having the consistency of their facilities as we traveled. It was always nice to have cable hookups, 30 amp service and water pressure. However, we never did use the shower inside the coach and relied on the RV Parks to provide the facilities when needed. I found I could go approximately 350 to 400 miles on about $125 fill up of gas.
It seemed odd to pump our own fuel because in Oregon you aren’t allowed to do it. But I got used swinging into a gas station, sliding the credit card through the slot and start pumping. I also always took their windshield scrubber and cleaned windows so that we could take better pictures and get the bugs off. I think there are many more bugs the further East you go!
Temperatures varied and we never knew exactly what the temp was if the engine was at idle. The little sensor was placed too close to it and thus put off too much heat. I did notice it peak at 134 degrees on the read-out as we tried to get across I-70 in St Louis. The traffic narrows going over the Mississippi and the heat was intense! However, we started up the rear generator and turned on the rear A/C inside which really helped keep it cooler as we crawled through bumper-to-bumper traffic. It took more than an hour to get through there, and despite the heat we never had any problems.
I own and drive a Chevy 3/4 ton pickup with a large V-8 Vortex 8100 Engine. I love my truck and am partial to General Motors’ products. The Big Foot is on a E-450 Ford Chassis which is not considered as heavy duty, but we both found the motorhome to have excellent handling ability and plenty of power. We were pleasantly surprised at how well it worked and I am now sold on both Ford and GM. Mileage wise, I think it is fair to say we probably averaged 8 to 9 miles per gallon but weren’t exactly easy on the accelerator. We wanted to make time, so we keep up a pretty good speed and the engine never let us down.
On another note, we thought the Bigfoot floorplan was excellent! We love the huge, oversized dinette with drawers, the couch that made into a flat surface for either of us to lie down and take a rest as we traveled along. We had more than enough storage inside and especially outside! As much stuff as we collected along the
way, we never filled up all the storage space.
As for entertainment — beyond the beautiful sights along the way — the television and surround sound both functioned well and were very nice to use. Also, the dashboard stereo had speakers throughout the coach so we could listen to music from any place inside.
A great feature for me was the rear-mounted camera that I used to view while passing vehicles. We weren’t towing anything so it helped me know when I was far enough past somebody and could pull over to the right hand lane. It also made it easy to park, even in tight places. The only real “problem” we had was with the refrigerator. When we got to Martha’s hometown for her daughter’s wedding (Cazenovia, NY) we stayed at a cool Bed & Breakfast next to the lake. The owners let me park the Bigfoot in the driveway and connect a power cord. I didn’t check to see that the refrigerator had gone off and we lost all of our provisions. We parked on a slight incline so the Freon in the line creates a bubble on a non-level surface.
I had forgotten this little detail and it cost us some good food! I think, I would advise carrying some 12-inch 2 X 4’s to help keep it level. Yes, the coach comes with its own jacks but they are more for keeping the unit stable. We didn’t to use them with the two of us, but if we had kids with us jumping around they could sure come in handy.
We learned a lot on our 7,000-mile odyssey across America. We like the west coast best, but mainly because of the the bugs and humidity. The whole country is worth seeing and stopping along the way. My personal favorite was stopping for a few days in Jackson Hole, Wyoming! Martha I think, liked being up in the Adirondacks and visiting her dad at beautiful Roger’s Rock State Park on Lake George, New York. Either way, we’d both take another RV vacation again and hope to do so!
America is one big backyard! If you haven’t explored it yet, you don’t know what you’re missing!
Happy RV-ing,
George M. Sutton
