Maintenance & Restoration

RogerDat · 03-22-2012, 10:09 PM

The top of the Traveler 2 burner stove in my 1977 scamp is missing the latches, catches, or springs that are supposed to hold it down. I'm hoping to get a picture from another owner of what should be there so I can try and duplicate it. Scamp store says stove company has been out of business for many years so I'm not going to find parts.

For now we just lift the top with the grates attached and stow it while traveling but I sure would like to have a go at repairing it properly.

Thanks for any help you can provide.

Donna D. · 03-23-2012, 05:13 AM

Roger, I have a different brand, but the cover is held down with several thumb screws (easy on, easy off for cleaning). If memory serves me correctly, one in the upper left and one in the lower right. The screws look similiar to this:

Harvey · 03-23-2012, 08:45 AM

Donna's correct 'bout the 'hold down' screws. Dunno what brand I have in my '84 Scamp 13. It uses a single hold down 'thumb' screw in center between the grates. When I got the trailer last year the cooktop was so crusted up with crud that I actually had to do a search to see how it was held on. Still haven't gotten it cleaned like I want but it's lots better and there are no 'little animals' growing on it now. My problem is the 'spring' clips that hold the grates in place while under way. One was missing & the 3 that are left have rusted so badly that I question whether they'll actually do their job on roads rougher than paved highways?? I fabricated a new clip to replace the missing one from stainless scrap but it has little 'spring' & is so thin I'm sure I'll hafta find something else. This is what my cooktop looks like (the little yellow arrow shows the hold down screw)

David B. · 03-23-2012, 09:44 AM

Roger, if I am understanding your question, you are looking for the hold down for the part that your pot sits on over the burner. My '84 Scamp which I don't have any more, used a spring-steel clip like the one shown in the picture posted by Harvey.

RogerDat · 03-23-2012, 10:31 AM

The spring thing that holds the burner grills is ok, It's the whole top that wants to slide around. Now that I know it might be a thumbscrew I'll take another look for a threaded bracket underneath that might align with top.

Differences I notice between my stove top and picture are round vs square burner grill and my control knob panel is under the top. Top lifts off and control knob tray stays behind. BTW Donna & Harvey nice clear pictures.
I'll post what I find.

Donna D. · 03-23-2012, 06:52 PM

Roger, the thumb screws for my stove actually have a much smaller head. When screwed in a very small portion sticks out. I'm not describing this well. AND, I have a three burner stove if that makes a difference. But, it's definitely screwed around the edge, not in the center like Harvey's.

It's supposed to be nice tomorrow, if you need a picture, let me know.

mary and bob · 03-24-2012, 06:21 AM

Our Uhaul has the same stove as Harvey's, and a couple of the spring clips were missing that hold the burner grates down. Before I got replacements from another member here [thanks Mike] I used a piece of fine wire to hold them in place, wrapped around the grate and through the clip slot. Bob

RogerDat · 03-25-2012, 12:30 PM

I don't think this top used thumb screws originally, hope these pictures can provide a clue to what was there. While I tend to favor "original" so I don't have to re-engineer, don't mind building own a solution if I can and will go to a "bailing wire and duct tape" solution if it gets the job done for now.

Bracket close up:

RogerDat · 03-25-2012, 01:02 PM

These image links provide more detals. No point in loading the page with images. It looks to me like the brackets are turned 90 deg. from original position. I see what looks like a shadow stain where they used to point up not sideways. I'm guessing some part in the top "clipped" into these brackets.

Note the rubbing damage from the whole top shifting around.

Overview of stove with top removed showing bracket location (plus some used matches and a lost ponytail tie).

http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/m...icture1604.jpg

You can really see the shadow in this picture. And notice on this side hole is through stove metal not just fiberglass.

http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/m...icture1607.jpg

This close up of the top shows how close the hole is to the raised lip. I think this would make a thumbscrew solution require a spacer to get it above the lip.

http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/m...icture1608.jpg

Jayfor · 03-25-2012, 03:02 PM

Hi Roger,

This stove looks like one that I had in my 1980 HILO. As I can remember the top was held down with thumb screws with a fiber like washer about 1/16th
thick. Also on each corner a 5 or 6 inch piece of TRIMLOC to keep from scatching the counter. Hope this helps. Keith

RogerDat · 03-25-2012, 06:16 PM

Keith,
Trim around bottom edge sounds like a greate idea. So did it have a round fiber washer under the thumb screw? Or is that image of trim that went around bottom or did the thumb screw run through something like that image...?

Jayfor · 03-25-2012, 06:53 PM

Roger, Yes, the washer was under the screw similar to the one Donna posted.
My stove was missing one of the corner trim pieces so I replaced all 4 with a 5 or 6 inch piece wrapped around the corner 2 or 3 inches each way. Hope this makes sense. Keith

RogerDat · 03-25-2012, 11:15 PM

Keith,
Perfect sense. I am blessed to live near not one but two honest to goodness hardware stores. I will make a run to them soon for thumbscrews and fiber washers. I will have to provide something for them to screw into but that should not be a problem (knock on wood). Should be able to epoxy the existing holes, drill and tap or just stick some nuts on with epoxy.

Is this what you used for the edge? Did you order from them or buy local? Trim-Lok's Size Ranged Edge Trim

Harvey · 03-26-2012, 06:11 AM

Roger, it appears to me that those old 'clips' would have been rotated 90 degrees left & the upper half would be 'bent' back down to the surface of the stove 'flange' where the hole is. The 'spring clip' part of the hold down probably held some kind of 'bulb' type screw/bolt/rivet that may have been screwed or riveted to the cooktop surface where the holes are. Are the 'spring clips' actually part of the angle piece or are they fastened to it somehow? Looking at your pix above, & then the linked pix, it appears the 'clip' on the right side is actually part of the angle & the left side may be bent up over the angle, thus presenting a different 'face' to the underside of the cooktop?? If the side hole shown in pic on link #3 above is on both sides of the cooktop, perhaps the clips held/captured some kind of nut that the thumbscrews screwed into from the side??

Seems like it would be pretty easy to remove those old rusted clips & fabricate a new 'angle' piece (think I'd use 1/8" aluminum), place it in the correct position over the cooktop 'pan', rivet or screw it thru the existing hole then drill & tap a hole where the existing surface holes are, for the thumbscrew to go into... or, you could use thin material & just drill the hole to a size that the thumbscrews would screw directly into it. I'd use the 1/8" thick aluminum for rigidity/stability.