Quote:
Originally Posted by Tony M
...We liked the deluxe model because instead of bunks, it had a little dinette. However, due to its configuration, the seating area is only about four feet six inches, not enough to sleep on when converted to a couch... So we are interested in purchasing the standard model with bunks, taking off the top bunk and converting the bottom bunk to a dinette that can be reconverted to a bunk when needed. I'm wondering how difficult this conversion would be and are there any structural concerns in making this alteration. Thanks for any information you might provide. Tony
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Welcome, Tony! We, too, upgraded to a
Scamp from a tent, and it did not take a winter experience to convince us. I've just aged to the point where all the bending and lifting to set up camp, as well as sleeping on the ground, took a lot of the fun out. We've endured a few cold nights while winter Scamping in the Phoenix desert, as well as a cool, damp Thanksgiving trip to Big Sur, and it's sure nice to flip on the
furnace before crawling out of bed in the morning!
If you really like the deluxe version, Scamp will omit the streetside corner cabinet so the front dinette makes a full-width bed when lowered.
I'm curious where you got the 250 pound
weight difference from- that's been a point of discussion here. The deluxe includes some things that are optional on standards, but commonly ordered, so the actual difference may be less. The main thing with your Subaru is keeping the tongue
weight under 200 pounds. Eliminating the front cabinet and sticking with a single
propane tank should get you pretty close.
On the other hand, converting the standard to a front dinette is a medium difficulty project with no structural issues. Removing the upper bunk is a matter of taking out eight small screws that attach hinges to a ledge under the front window, and it's just as easily re-installed. Here's the view from under the front bunk looking toward the front shell:
You'll have to cut out the
fiberglass around the porta-potty recess to create a footwell, box it in to support the
fiberglass, make a pedestal table and brackets to support it when lowered, and re-do the bench cushion in three or four pieces. I'll bet you could work with Scamp to have the cushions made to order during the initial build.
It is not necessary to eliminate the upper bunk to gain the dinette, something to consider if kids or grandkids, for example, might ever want to come along.
This example requires the upper bunk to be removed to make a dinette and uses three cushion pieces. You can see the larger bridge cushion on the right in the second photo.
This one allows the bunk to remain in place and uses two smaller cushions to cover the table. Because this was an old
Boler that lacked the porta-potty recess, it was offset toward the door a bit.
I've been saving pictures because when our kids are grown and gone, this is something I'd like to do myself.