Maintenance & Restoration

padowd · 09-04-2006, 09:25 AM

Hi,
My husdand and I have been wanting a 13' Scamp for a while now and where we live here in Alabama you just do not see them.But luck was on our side.A friend saw one in a town close by and told us and we went and inquired about it and low and behold the couple is willing to sell it.They are retired and both are having some health problems.We can get it at a very good price.They are the second owners.They first owners went to the factory to pick it up.When they got home with it the wife told her husband she was sorry but she was not going to go so they sold it to this couple.They have taken really great care of it.It looks like new inside.Where it is located there is no way to hook it up to check it out but the people seem really honest.She has all the booklets on it.It is 6 or 7 years old but looks new.It has a furnace and a air conditioner in the cabinet.They say both work great.I have tried to do alot of reading in the last couple days on this forum to learn all I can in a short period of time.I am hoping all who have this size with these features will give us some advise as to what we should look for.Also the bed is the only thing that concerns us.It is small.We are not real small but not huge but I would say you would need to be real skinny to sleep well.We were wondering if you could sleep with your head in front of the back window with your feet toward the front if you made some kind on mod to it to extend it out some.If nothing else one could sleep on the front bunk and one in the back.Also it does not have a awning and we would love some kind of screen room to help extend the living space some.What are some brands we should look for?We would appreciate any suggestions anyone has to offer.We cannot believe our luck to have found this little trailer so close to home and at such a fantastic price.We need to let this couple know something by the end of next week so we look forward to your replies.

Thank you,
Patricia

Joe MacDonald · 09-04-2006, 11:20 AM

use the buyers check list on the right to familiarize yourself with what to look for, print a copy and take it with you, remember you can always re-sell.

bill&sandra · 09-04-2006, 02:51 PM

Quote:

Hi,
My husdand and I have been wanting a 13' Scamp for a while now and where we live here in Alabama you just do not see them.But luck was on our side.A friend saw one in a town close by and told us and we went and inquired about it and low and behold the couple is willing to sell it.

We bought our Scamp 13' in Alabama because they run so high here in the dallas area. Got a good 1985 trailer that just needed a thorough cleaning and updated lights. She is a sweetie and we love her! She has a side ac--which i have read here that is much quieter than top mounts--came in cabinet too. topped by a tv and microwave!!!
I really prefer the insolite white stuff on the walls as if the dogs shake, i can just take a towel . . . the carpetish stuff, well . . . Make sure the tires are good and ask about last time bearings checked. If you know how, great. Pull not over 60 and check tires, hubs once hour for heat. We replaced it all when we got home with no incidents,, even through the rain. not a leak one. We are really happy with our Scamp, but miss the cabinet for storage. Just came back from camping with my daughter and hubby, all four of us fit fine and slept great, just little space for 'stuff'. Think "Space Shuttle' when packing! Ha!

Patrick M. · 09-04-2006, 10:47 PM

If the price is right, buy it! Sounds like it is in good condition.

I'm 6'5" and I get the back bed, ma gets the front bed. We leave them set up as beds all the time.

You should check the tires to make sure they are good. Usually tires "time out" before they wear out. You should find out the last time they greased the wheel bearings, and if they have ever inspected them. You should be able to put your fist between the top of the tire and the trailer. That generally indicates the rubber suspension is in good shape. Inspect the frame for cracks.

You will need to wire your tow vehicle for the Scamp plug. The diagram for that is available under Document Center here, or can be Searched for. The Scamp may or may not have electric brakes. Not a deal breaker.

If the above items are in good shape, that will get you on the road.

You should also verify the refrigerator works in all modes (120v, 12v, and propane). This would be somewhat expensive to fix if not working. Most all other things can be repaired reasonably easily if not working, unless I'm missing something.

Sounds like a buy to me with that provenance. Funny how a few people buy a trailer and immediately discover they don't want it, so be sure your ready for small camping before you jump in.

Good luck!

Oh, and I'm just pulling this out of the air but a 5-6 year old one in good condition and standard options might go for $4,000-$5,000 (others might chime in on this), so anything less than that would be a very good price.

jaye580 · 09-04-2006, 10:50 PM

If the one you are looking at is only 6 or 7 years old, was well taken care of and is selling for a good price I say go for it! I can attest that these little trailers are hardly ever too far gone so long as they are safe to tow- and if you get it and find that something isn't working properly, it probably isn't beyond repair!

As far as the sleeping situation, I have seen other posts about trying to make the bed go that direction, don't know what the outcome has been but I look at it like this: a) when I want a big bed I stay home and

a small bed still beats sleeping on the ground in a tent!!!

Now go get that Egg and let us know how you like it!

Byron Kinnaman · 09-04-2006, 11:08 PM

Quote:

Hi,
My husdand and I have been wanting a 13' Scamp for a while now and where we live here in Alabama you just do not see them.But luck was on our side.A friend saw one in a town close by and told us and we went and inquired about it and low and behold the couple is willing to sell it.

Also the bed is the only thing that concerns us.It is small.We are not real small but not huge but I would say you would need to be real skinny to sleep well.We were wondering if you could sleep with your head in front of the back window with your feet toward the front if you made some kind on mod to it to extend it out some.If nothing else one could sleep on the front bunk and one in the back.

Thank you,
Patricia

FYI, there's been some discussions about sleeping a small trailer here I'm sure you find some more information using the search feature.

My story. Anne and myself have spent many happy years backpacking. The bed in our 13' Scamp is slightly larger than the floor of our backpacking tent. We transfered what we learned about sleeping in small quarters to the Scamp.
First we use sleeping bags for beding. For the Scamp we bought a couple inexpensive 50° rated polar fleece bags. We set the thermostate for 50° when sleeping on possible cold nights.

Second, there wasn't room in our backpacking tent to sleep sholder to sholder so.... we didn't, her head at one end and mine at the other. Transfered that to the Scamp too.

Using sleeping bags makes bed set up and take down really easy. I bought "stuff sacks" for the bags. Get up start the coffee water, stuff the bags in their sacks, stuff the sacks under the bench seat, pop the tabel back up, put the back cushions in place. Done, reverse for bed time.

Many of the things I've done to make life easy while backpacking transfers to a small trailer very nicely.

padowd · 09-05-2006, 07:05 AM

Quote:

FYI, there's been some discussions about sleeping a small trailer here I'm sure you find some more information using the search feature.

My story. Anne and myself have spent many happy years backpacking. The bed in our 13' Scamp is slightly larger than the floor of our backpacking tent. We transfered what we learned about sleeping in small quarters to the Scamp.
First we use sleeping bags for beding. For the Scamp we bought a couple inexpensive 50° rated polar fleece bags. We set the thermostate for 50° when sleeping on possible cold nights.

Second, there wasn't room in our backpacking tent to sleep sholder to sholder so.... we didn't, her head at one end and mine at the other. Transfered that to the Scamp too.

Using sleeping bags makes bed set up and take down really easy. I bought "stuff sacks" for the bags. Get up start the coffee water, stuff the bags in their sacks, stuff the sacks under the bench seat, pop the tabel back up, put the back cushions in place. Done, reverse for bed time.

Many of the things I've done to make life easy while backpacking transfers to a small trailer very nicely.

Hi.
Thank you for your suggestions.My husband used to backpack and said you had some good ideas.It looks like a go on the trailer.We talked to the couple again and it is a 2000 and like new condition and they are asking $3800.00.After looking for a while on EBay and seeing what they have been selling for this to us is a great deal.They have not used it much themselves.There health went down after they bought it.They had a larger trailer at one time and wanted to down size and got this one and then they didn't get to use it much.That is really a shame.They have been very pickey with the trailer.The wife is a clean freak which is great for us because it has been kept in good shape.She even made curtains to go inside the curtains it came with so they wouldn't fade and she had made covers for all the cushions so everything on the inside is like new.When we went inside I felt like I had walker into a new trailer and the outside looks good too.We feel like we are getting a good deal.We will post pictures when we get it so all can see it.We are really excited.We would still like to hear from people concerning a screen room.We want a good one that will keep out bugs and rain.We get alot of both in our area.We appreciate all the advise.

Patrick M. · 09-05-2006, 07:35 AM

I would show up on their porch with the cash in hand ASAP if I were you. These trailers are in high demand and all it takes is someone driving by and stopping to have them selling it out from under you.