Doors in benches under Scamp rear dinette

[Chris Z]

I think other manufacturers put doors in the rear benches and I thought that would be real nice addition someday to my Scamp so I wouldn't have to raise the bed to get into them. Anybody done this? What size doors did you order and did you order the hinges and latches and the white edging too? Did you put them near the front and still be able to reach way back or where? Thanks

[Christi V.]

Chris.. i think other people have done that .....
I have seen alot of 'suggestions' as to what we would like to have put into the scamps in minor mods... Maybe calling them and suggesting things would be great since they are going to be redoing some stuff. I for one would like the see the reg 5er have stairs like the deluxe.... that would have been one of my thoughts if I had ended up with a 5er.. I am getting to old to crawl up and down.....
I am sure they would be open to suggestions and idea's??

[Donna D.]

Chris.. i think other people have done that .....
I have seen alot of 'suggestions' as to what we would like to have put into the scamps in minor mods... Maybe calling them and suggesting things would be great since they are going to be redoing some stuff. I for one would like the see the reg 5er have stairs like the deluxe.... that would have been one of my thoughts if I had ended up with a 5er.. I am getting to old to crawl up and down.....
I am sure they would be open to suggestions and idea's??

I think the difference in the 5th wheel stairs, isn't whether it's a standard or deluxe, but whether or not the bathroom is in the front or the side. Sidebath models get a goucho, front bath gets stairs...cause there isn't room for a couch

[william russell]

I think other manufacturers put doors in the rear benches and I thought that would be real nice addition someday to my Scamp so I wouldn't have to raise the bed to get into them.

Chris: I put two access doors in one of the benches. To make certain I did not have any problems with the bench supporting weight while it was being used (as a bench or as a bed) I installed 1 X 2 inch vertical and horizontal supports around the perimeter of each door on the INSIDE of the bench. I placed the support inside so it does not detract from the appearance. I made my own doors to match the color of the other doors in the trailer. I did NOT use hinges and knobs on the doors, instead I installed a "kitchen cabinet magnet" to each side of the door opening and a corresponding metal plate on each side of the door. This allows me to access the space within the bench without having a swinging door in the way. I uploaded pictures of this modification some time back, but of course that was well before our "hi jacking" and, along with everything else, is now long gone. If you're interested I could go to my trailer, I do NOT have the luxury of having my trailer stored for the winter in a garage though it is not far away, and take pictures again....Let me know....

Russell

[Patrick M.]

I've done that following the lead and instructions of Joy (and Lily). I did the front and back storage areas on the curb side. Joy also did the rear street side compartment. This is a good mod as it makes those areas much more accessable.

I ordered two standard doors from Scamp along with the vinyl edge covering for the edges. (I'll edit this later with the details.) Cost was about $15. Then I measured carefully, noting things like the higher floor in the front compartment (or I thought I did ), and marked the cutting outline with blue tape. Drilled holes in the corners then cut with a sabre saw. You might be able to see in the pictures how I used tape to mark the size of the door, then overlayed that with the size of the opening I wanted. I used the over-sink doors and openings as a sizing guide for the desired door 'overlap'.

You can see Joy's pictures over at the Scamp forum here http://ph.groups.yahoo.com/group/sca...os/browse/871a

[Chris Z]

Russell - the 1 x 2's --- did you epoxy them inside to attach or what? Did you actually just go around the perimeter or do they touch the bottom and top on the inside? Would appreciate the pictures when you get the chance. The magnet idea sounds good.-

Patrick--- the blue tape sopunds like a good idea. Didn't see the latches in the picture. Did you put those on too?

One more idea---- has anyone ever put the door OUTSIDE to give access to under the rear bed? Maybe one inside and one outside on the other side? Is there a waterproof door assembly? Wouldn't want the rain to get in but would be nice access to levelers and or tire chucks, etc.

[Barbara Gardin]

Chris

Here is a picture of an outside door we added to our 13' Boler before painting. If you need a small one marine dealers are the place to go.

[Patrick M.]

Yes, I used the standard hardware from Scamp including hinges, spring latchs and knobs in all their glory. I mounted the doors then closed them and marked the edge of the opening where the latch needed to be on the inside of the door, via the other opening.

[Barbara Gardin]

Sorry I forgot the picture.

[Donna D.]

One more idea---- has anyone ever put the door OUTSIDE to give access to under the rear bed? Maybe one inside and one outside on the other side? Is there a waterproof door assembly? Wouldn't want the rain to get in but would be nice access to levelers and or tire chucks, etc.

Yep, several members have added access doors. Here's alink from the Helpful-Links page to suppliers: Helpful-Links - RV Parts

And here's a direct link to one of the suppliers access doors: RV Parts Outlet - Compartment Doors if you chose to have a special size made.

[Nancy in Oregon]

Christi V wrote: I for one would like the see the reg 5er have stairs like the deluxe.... that would have been one of my thoughts if I had ended up with a 5er.. I am getting to old to crawl up and down.....

Here are the steps (and drawers) we added to our 5th wheel. This trailer has a side bathroom.

The second picture shows the steps more clearly than the first. The first photo shows the finished product.

Nancy

[Nancy in Oregon]

Chris, Here is an access door we had put in the outside of our trailer. It's perfect to hold the rod for raising/lowering the 5th wheel and the hoses.

Nancy

[Nancy in Oregon]

Chris, I don't know whether the bottom of your dinette seats are wooden or fiberglass. Here is a fiberglass access we had put into the fiberglass in our bathroom. I'm posting this to show how a fiberglass access can look.

Nancy

[Joy A]

Chris,

One of the first things I did to my 13' Scamp was add access doors. There was no way that I'd be lifting the couch/dinette and/or bed cushions to access the storage areas.

Like Patrick said I first put an access door just inside the entry door on the couch cabinet. I simply ordered a door from the factory along with all the hardware. The door is the same as the overhead cabinet doors above the sink/stove.

I put an access door in the street side dinette cabinet, no need on the curbside as that's taken up by the fresh water tank. Any way, in the 13 footers the electric convertor is in the forward area of the cabinet so all I was trying to access was the rear section of that cabinet.

I first put a divider in the cabinet not for seating strength but simply to divide the space so nothing I stored would hinder the electric box and cord. I just jammed a 1/4" piece of plywood in so it acts as a divider. Then I figured out where I'd would want the door, took measurements, called the factory and ordered the door plus hardware. This was a special order door so they charged a little bit more for it, but was reasonable.

I leave the dinette down as a bed and store items on a tray that slides out. I found that the cabinet door was troublesome so I've since removed it. Now I just reach back into the cabinet for what I need. Sometimes having to remove items from the tray in order sort of crawl back under the bed. Obviously the items I store there are ones I don't use often. For example, I will put extra toilet paper, paper towels and dog food back there that I'll need on my 2 1/2 month Alaska trip.

The 13' footers have angled walls next to the closet and the kitchen cabinets on dinette benches. I cut holes in those angled walls, ordered doors from the factory along with hardware. The door next to the kitchen cabinet allows me to reach in and untangle the electrical cord. The door next to the closet allows me to access the fresh water drain valve, plus I found there's a little storage area there. Be careful what you put in it as you don't want to have anything rub the water tank causing a leak.

Then the only storage area that I couldn't add a door to is the one on the street side of the couch. I simply opened the center door and cut a hole in the divider. Problem solved.

No need for me to lift any cushions to gain access to the storage areas of my 13' Scamp.

[Miriam]

Christi V wrote: I for one would like the see the reg 5er have stairs like the deluxe.... that would have been one of my thoughts if I had ended up with a 5er.. I am getting to old to crawl up and down.....

Here are the steps (and drawers) we added to our 5th wheel. This trailer has a side bathroom.

The second picture shows the steps more clearly than the first. The first photo shows the finished product.

Nancy

Wow...storage space I can only dream of.....