Scamp 5th Wheel question

[Rick Lloyd]

I am looking at a 2005 Scamp 5th wheel. While the seller does have a small truck, to tow it with, for sale i was wondering why I couldn't pull it with my Dodge 1500.
I have been told several things (or pieces of information reguarding clearances, etc). Can anyone tell me the height requirements, etc? My truck is 53 inches to the top od the rails. I had heard that a few years back Scamp raised the height of their campers to accomodate the newer and higher trucks.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated (especially if it keeps me from buying a new small truck!)

Thanks

p.s. I hope I posted this in the correct area!!

[Pete Dumbleton]

Rick, I could be wrong about this but I believe what Scamp did was merely weld in a lifting spacer between the frame and axle bracket to lift the trailer when it was built -- Some have it, some don't.

There are a number of folks on Yahoo - Scampers who are quite knowledgeable about the 5W model. One has to be a (free) member of Yahoo to post on the group, but you may be able to read it as a guest or unregistered lurker.

[Donna D.]

Rick, if nothing else you can always call Scamp. 800-346-4962 Free call and you'll reach the authorities.

When you find out the definitive answer, please come back on and post the results!

[Brian B-P]

This has been discussed here before, and specific maximum box heights listed for both the Scamp 19' and the Escape 5.0. Keep searching, or hope someone remembers...

I suspect that 53" is too high, and would need a significant suspension lift in the Scamp. Too bad, since the truck is probably higher than it needs to be.

Of course, you could always make a custom low-sided pickup box or body. People towing conventional 5th wheel RV trailers with medium-duty trucks routinely get these... although I've never heard of anyone doing it for a Scamp!

[Karen T]

My understanding is that when Scamp started building trailers again after the factory fire, they increased the standard height of the 5er to address taller bed heights in new trucks. Scamp can lift it further to fit taller trucks (my truck is 55 in. high and I have asked repeatedly and been told they can accommodate that height). What I'm not sure of is if the new, higher, lifted versions would then have two of the spacers that Pete mentioned welded underneath - if so, you can look underneath the trailer to see if it has none, one or two spacers. Someone at Scamp should be able to clarify that for you and tell you exactly when they raised the standard height. And, as Donna D. said, do let us know what you find out!

[Steve & Terri]

Rick, You may (?) need to add a riser to the Scamp you are looking
to buy, it depends on the truck rail clearance. Here's my story.

We got our 5er in Feb 2004. Since our truck was only two
years old, and we didn't want to buy another one, we ordered the Scamp
5er to fit the truck. We have a (stock) GMC 2500HD with a rear
tailgate height of 55" from the ground. We had them add a 3" riser
to the Scamp axle frame; got 14" tires (I think they are standard
now?); and with the 14" tires they added another 1" riser to the
frame for tires to have wheel-well clearance. Maybe in 2007 they
just add a 4" riser instead of a 3" and a 1"?

I went to a metal shop and bought two plates (about 100 lbs each) and
secured them to the rear inside of my truck bed. This lowered the
tailgate height down to 54".

The ball-hitch they install in the truckbed had three settings. They
had ours on the highest setting. When we hooked up the 5er we had 5"
clearance between our tailgate (rear) and the bottom of the 5er
bed-overhang. Our 5er rode a bit higher in the front with this setup.

Scamp installs a 4" round PVC tube (about 3' long) under the 5er
bed-overhang, where they/you can store the sewer hose that comes with
the 5er. I took this off (very easy, just four screws), as it was
the lowest point on the 5er bed overhang and the first thing that
would come in contact with my truck rails. With the tube removed (I
store my sewer hose in the truckbed now) I now had about 8"
clearance... and I was able to lower my ball-hitch setting to the
middle setting, which brought my clearance back to 5" but also
resulted in the 5er riding more level.

I haven't had any problems with the 5" clearance, but am careful with
steep driveways, etc. I've come down to maybe 1" clearance at times,
but no contact and I take it slow.

I had looked into puting on 15" tires just in case (Scamp would not
install these, and they may viod the warranty?), but some other
owners have put them on and they look and fit fine. I had made an
appointment in Baxter (south of Backus, MN) at the Goodyear Tire, so
if the Scamp needed more height for clearance I was planning to drive
there right after picking mine up. But the 14" tires worked fine for
me.

Also needed the step added to get in and out of the Scamp.

Good luck, Steve & Terri

[Karen T]

I went to a metal shop and bought two plates (about 100 lbs each) and
secured them to the rear inside of my truck bed. This lowered the
tailgate height down to 54".

Steve,

I am having a hard time visualizing this part. Did you remove the tailgate? Or these were plates bolted in to raise the inbed hitch itself?

[Brian B-P]

I went to a metal shop and bought two plates (about 100 lbs each) and secured them to the rear inside of my truck bed. This lowered the tailgate height down to 54".

I assume that this is just ballast, to push the rear suspension down. While it seems strange to add ballast in order to tow a lightweight trailer, and there's no chance I'd do it, I suppose you do what you have to...

Modification of the trucks rear springs (pulling leaves to reduce unloaded height and adding air bags for more heavily loaded operation) would be better (for one thing, it wouldn't use up 200 lb of truck payload capacity), but of course it would also be more complicated and expensive.

[Steve & Terri]

The metal plates were 12" by 36" by 1/2" , I just layed them on a rubber mat at the rear of the truckbed. Only purpose was to lower the tailgate height down to 54", which gave me added clearance between the truck rails and the 5er bed over hang. Since my truck is a 2500HD with a tow capacity of over 10,000 lbs the added 200 lbs weight is not an issue. Guess I could have got a big dog and had him ride back there with the same results (grin). The tailgate is still in place. The metal plates did not attach to the inbed hitch, but they did allow me to "lower the setting" of the inbed hitch, resulting in the 5er riding more level...

[Brian B-P]

Steve, I realize the lost towing capacity is irrelevant, but if I had a 2500HD and only towed a Scamp I would probably be making the truck earn it's keep doing something else more demanding the rest of the time. Since I wouldn't want to lift those plates out each time, the lost payload (not towing) might matter; if I didn't need to carry a lot, I wouldn't have bought a heavy-duty pickup. Now, what you do with it the rest of the time, I don't know...

By the way, 2x12"x36"x0.5" of steel is only about 55 kg (120 lb), total for the two plates... but it would sure feel like a lot lifting it in.

I am a little puzzled: are the plates "secured", or just laid in the bed? I hope they're secured, since if unsecured they would be deadly missiles in a collision.