I am thinking of ripping out the "Kitchen"

[Dennis J. Kane]

Hi Folk,
I have a '92 Scamp 13 and the wife feels the bed is too small for the two of us. Crawling over each other to get in and out is a big hastle too. This has triggered "new camper" talk. Yikes! So the easy solution seem to be rip out the sink and fridge we never use and put in a bed for dad and give mom the whole she - bang. Head towrd bunks feet towards the wifes. Kids stay in the bunks happy as pigs.. No more "new camper" talk.

I thinking it can be wide enough and long for me, but still keep a bit of the orig. floor space. Has this been done? I would make storage space under and keep the over head unit. I put in an $79 AC unit from Lowes, so I have no problem ripping up the Scamp (esp. when it comes to "new camper" talk).

I really dont care about resale, I want to keep it a few more seasons. But how would you feel if you looked at this mod. with no sink and no 3 way fridge and no stove? I would love to see some PICS Please!!!
Dennis

[Suzanne P.]

If it makes it usable for you, it's worth it, but I don't think it'd fetch a terrific asking price later. Maybe you could save the components and gently remove as opposed to "rip" them out and restore it to standard if need be. The kids will be getting huge soon, too, then it's time for an altogether new appraisal again.

Hi Folk,
I have a '92 Scamp 13 and the wife feels the bed is too small for the two of us. Crawling over each other to get in and out is a big hastle too. This has triggered "new camper" talk. Yikes! So the easy solution seem to be rip out the sink and fridge we never use and put in a bed for dad and give mom the whole she - bang. Head towrd bunks feet towards the wifes. Kids stay in the bunks happy as pigs.. No more "new camper" talk.

I thinking it can be wide enough and long for me, but still keep a bit of the orig. floor space. Has this been done? I would make storage space under and keep the over head unit. I put in an $79 AC unit from Lowes, so I have no problem ripping up the Scamp (esp. when it comes to "new camper" talk).

I really dont care about resale, I want to keep it a few more seasons. But how would you feel if you looked at this mod. with no sink and no 3 way fridge and no stove? I would love to see some PICS Please!!!
Dennis

[Byron Kinnaman]

If it were me, I'd thing about getting a tent for the kids to sleep in. That'd free up the bunk and no "tearing up".

[Frederick L. Simson]

[b]I really dont care about resale, I want to keep it a few more seasons.

But how would you feel if you looked at this mod. with no sink and no 3 way fridge and no stove?

It's good that you feel that way, 'cause without a kitchen, you'll be hard pressed to [b]GIVE it away.

I renovated a Compact Jr. without a kitchen. After I bought my Fiber Stream, I put the CJ up for sale.
I had LOTS of lookie-loo's but [b]no takers.
After a year of storing it, some friends offered me 25 cents on the dollar invested, and I took it.

[Greg A]

You could always put the wife in a tent and keep the kitchen...

[jaye580]

Hmmm... when I read this I started thinking about the old pop up I have stored at my parents house that I am going to do "something" with "someday". The entire kitchen area in it is basically two long rectangle boxes that sit a top each other and a piano hinge across the front so it can swing up when in use, and down when in transit. When up it has the stove and sink, when folded down it could easily have a mattress on top of it if one needed extra sleeping room. I am wondering why something like that could not be incorporated in the Scamp- would give you the best of both worlds it seems. I beleive though that you would still need something to spoort the roof where the metal thing is to the left of the sink, but that should not be to hard to improvise on.

[peterh]

If it were me, I'd thing about getting a tent for the kids to sleep in. That'd free up the bunk and no "tearing up".

My thought exactly.

--P

[Mike Watters]

If the bed width is the major issue and the 'crawling over' bit is workable...

You could consider shrinking the width of both the kitchen and the side closet. Might mean losing either the sink or stove, but any inches stolen from those two areas can become inches added to the rear bed.

mkw

[Brian B-P]

Hmmm... when I read this I started thinking about the old pop up...
The entire kitchen area in it is basically two long rectangle boxes that sit a top each other and a piano hinge across the front so it can swing up when in use, and down when in transit. When up it has the stove and sink, when folded down it could easily have a mattress on top of it if one needed extra sleeping room. I am wondering why something like that could not be incorporated in the Scamp...

That's brilliant! Whether the resulting configuration is just the right solution for the problem or not, it is certainly an innovative and potentially workable approach.

The tent-trailer (or "pop up") kitchens come in at least two designs. One is hinged that way so it folds by 180 degrees; another uses a parallelogram linkage to swing the upper part down in front of the lower, while keeping it upright.

[Donna D.]

I suppose if all you want is a hardsided tent (on wheels) doing as you've suggested Dennis is doable...and afterall it's your trailer. But whatever value it may have as a camping trailer will be lost. Why not sell it and purchase a cargo trailer and configure that? There's all aluminum trailers to be had used (and cheap), and for what you could sell the Scamp for, you could more than likely build the inside of a cargo trailer exactly the way you want it. Then when it's time to sell, remove the inards and you're back to a cargo trailer.... just a thought

[jrnutpaul]

I'd like to see some pics or layouts of the "pop-up" kitchen...but couldn't find it when I searched.

Paul

[Pat R]

Hmmm... when I read this I started thinking about the old pop up I have stored at my parents house that I am going to do "something" with "someday". The entire kitchen area in it is basically two long rectangle boxes that sit a top each other and a piano hinge across the front so it can swing up when in use, and down when in transit. When up it has the stove and sink, when folded down it could easily have a mattress on top of it if one needed extra sleeping room. I am wondering why something like that could not be incorporated in the Scamp- would give you the best of both worlds it seems. I beleive though that you would still need something to spoort the roof where the metal thing is to the left of the sink, but that should not be to hard to improvise on.

Man you hit the nail on the head here. It would take some modifications and some careful thought thats for sure. But, it sure is nice to see people thinking abstractly. Not enough people using their brain like you are... Peace

[Brian B-P]

I'd like to see some pics or layouts of the "pop-up" kitchen...but couldn't find it when I searched.

Pop-ups, a.k.a. tent trailers, a.k.a. folding camping trailers, have some very common design features. I arbitrarily picked the Fleetwood Yuma and grabbed the floorplan, then added dotted lines to the moving part of the kitchen and approximately where it likely moves to. I suspect from the shape (the moving part is slightly smaller than the base under it, and hangs over the front edge of the base) that this design rotates 90 degrees while folding down to the floor on a pair of arms.




I would not expect to find a manufacturers web site or brochure show the galley folding motion, but it's easier to understand in person anyway.

[jaye580]

this is the best pic I could find in a hurry that shows the galley like I am talking about- you can sorta make out the piano hinge that runs the length in between the the top and bottom storage compartments.





For those not familiar, the entire top half of this folds in half, picture pulling on the back of the sink toward you and letting it drop. These things are designed so that the plumbing etc is flexible so when its down, the sink and stove top would be facing you. There would then be a flat surface on what becomes the top that could easily accomodate an air mattress...if you made it so that when it was folded down, the height would match the gaucho, that would provide a lot of extra length. If I needed extra sleeping room in my Scamp, I would already be making the plans to try this... but... my Scamp is already just right for just me!


And thanks tons to everyone who liked my idea! If anyone gets rich off it, remember me!

[Mike Watters]

OK...

This may seem like an obvious question/concern, but since nobody has brought it up:

How tall is Dad? The kitchen of a 13' trailer is something like 4 feet long (distance from rear bed to front bunk).

Unless Dad is a really small guy, he's going to be overlapping onto the bed/bunks anyway eliminating a good portion of the advantage of the additional bed.

Mike

[jaye580]

OK...

This may seem like an obvious question/concern, but since nobody has brought it up:

How tall is Dad? The kitchen of a 13' trailer is something like 4 feet long (distance from rear bed to front bunk).

Unless Dad is a really small guy, he's going to be overlapping onto the bed/bunks anyway eliminating a good portion of the advantage of the additional bed.

Mike

From his original post, I was thinking he meant either his head would be sharing the bottom bunk, or his feet would be on the wifes bed... but thats an assumption!

[Dennis J. Kane]

Wow - I'm happy to hear all the thoughts and comment. We just got back from a 4 day trip with the Scamp. The thing is this. The bed is too small for us and we need more room. My wife prefers to be on the side nearest the floor so when nature calls her in the middle of the night she can use the potty. I am 6 feet and being against the back wall is too tight. I come to bed later and have to climb over. We try to sleep head to feet to maximize the shoulder room. So, I even tried to put one of my (2) kids in bed with her and I "slept" in the lower bunk. Never again! If I do not make some changes, I will bring my tent next trip. The dog house for dad.

So here is my thought. If ever so gently removed the kitchen sink/stove/fridge unit (no cursing or harsh language) and saved it, I would have a 4X2 foot gap. I would use an old cabinet (for storage) as a base and build a custom bench and add padding. From the edge of the kids bunk to the rear of the camper would be a 7 foot bed, 2 or 2.5 feet wide. My wife and I play footsie in the rear corner and that's that. Couple of throw pillow and we have a "L" shape bed/couch thing.

Now, I have never used the sink hook up or water tanks and never used the stove in 4 years. We alway cook outside The little fridge could not catch a cold, so I bring a nice big dorm fridge. It would be a big sleeping unit. I have the a/c unit and heat. I have weathered monsoons and we all stated cozy. It is an excellent shelter. It is nearly sound proof. If I upgrade I am looking into Hybred TTs 8 to 10 K (used and I'll need a new truck too).

Am I really the first to think of doing this?
Thanks for your thoughts,
Dennis

[Brian B-P]

Am I really the first to think of doing this?

You may be the first with this particular bed arrangement, but certainly not the first to consider omitting the kitchen. While I agree that it would need to be replaced for resale value, the mode of trailer use which doesn't need a kitchen is not uncommon. I know people with tent trailers who have a sink and stove inside and never use either; some people in this forum have no built-in water supply, and some have no stove.

Personally, for us the built-in kitchen is an absolute requirement... but I understand that there are many camping styles, and just as many "right" trailer configurations.

[Jan Adams]

My father has a 13' Shasta. It had a front kitchen for those times we HAD to cook inside. The rest of the time, we were outside.

We had two big benches on the bottom that would convert to a king size bed. There were two canvas cots that hung over the king size bed. That a look at the T@B with the front kitchen. It was kind of like that except there was the two canvas cots that hung side to side. Worked for me as a teener.

[Suzanne P.]

Why not double-decker the big bed and keep the kitchen?

Hi Folk,
I have a '92 Scamp 13 and the wife feels the bed is too small for the two of us. Crawling over each other to get in and out is a big hastle too. This has triggered "new camper" talk. Yikes! So the easy solution seem to be rip out the sink and fridge we never use and put in a bed for dad and give mom the whole she - bang. Head towrd bunks feet towards the wifes. Kids stay in the bunks happy as pigs.. No more "new camper" talk.

I thinking it can be wide enough and long for me, but still keep a bit of the orig. floor space. Has this been done? I would make storage space under and keep the over head unit. I put in an $79 AC unit from Lowes, so I have no problem ripping up the Scamp (esp. when it comes to "new camper" talk).

I really dont care about resale, I want to keep it a few more seasons. But how would you feel if you looked at this mod. with no sink and no 3 way fridge and no stove? I would love to see some PICS Please!!!
Dennis