Maintenance & Restoration

Murphy C. · 06-23-2013, 05:30 AM

Well, picked up the new scamp on Thursday. Everything at factory went fine and (I believe his name was James?) went thru everything and was VERY Helpful. Hit the road for the trip back.

First thing I wish was available is a tank monitor for black tank (grey would be nice too and maybe fresh water. More on this later.

We were in a pretty good rainstorm last night and notice that in the track of a couple of the windows water had started to pool. Will call factory and see if this is problem and fix.

Now BIG gripe. The sewer hose provided SUCKS BIG TIME. At 10' it is way too short to go from black tank in front and then grey in back to sewer hole unless you are in perfect position, and camp space is perfect too (and we all know how often that happens). And the hose does not even have a fitting to fit into the ground hole.

Remember earlier about tank monitors? Well this morning about 4 am after a night of flushing (you dont need to know why cause it was .....) the tank was full, full full. So as you may have guessed I was going to have to switch the hose from grey to black but.... not long enough. Luckily I had stopped and got a 20' hose (which when collapsed will never fit in the provided holder on front of trailer so first project is to put storage on back of trailer in another pipe) and fittings so at 4 I am sitting on the bench trying to put the new hose together. Luckily all came out ok (in all ways).

Anyway no more rants, it's 5:30 and Im going to sleep for a bit if possible.

cpaharley2008 · 06-23-2013, 05:55 AM

Welcome Murphy to our world. In our world factory provided freebies are worthless. You will probably need 2 x 10' sewer hoses of good quality purchased from CW or Amazon. Read the reviews posted there. As far as the windows, they have little slots and are made to fill and then empty out thru these slots. It's when the slots get clogged then, like your plumbing, things back up. All normal things we all have experienced, other than sitting in the rain putting the 2 hoses together.
Also a big welcome to FGRV...

David B. · 06-23-2013, 07:06 AM

Murphy, Sounds like Murphy's Law to me.

Alf S. · 06-23-2013, 08:35 AM

Hi: Murphy C... Some things never change!!!
Lots o' folks from Texas bought Escapes...I wonder why?
Alf S. North shore of Lake Erie

Donna D. · 06-23-2013, 09:08 AM

First of all, breathe... you sound overly tired.

The graywater tank is matched to the volume of the freshwater and hotwater tanks. That's so you don't try to overfill when not hooked up.

I agree, the two valve system Scamp has for drains is a PITA. But, with the proper hoses, it's doable. Not great, but doable. There's no way any manufacturer can plan for all contingencies when it comes to hose length, and that includes a freshwater hose. You should find the sewer connector in a plastic bag under the front dinette cupboard.

Lots of folks, of all trailer brands, have mounted various containers to hold stinky slinkies. 5" plastic fence posts seem to be popular.

I, personally, don't need or want tank monitors. Over the years, I've learned to use my hearing to determine when the blackwater tank is getting full. Or I just LOOK down the hole

All this stuff falls into "Different Strokes for Different Folks." Over a few camping trips, you'll figure out what works best for you.

Safe travels

Brian B-P · 06-23-2013, 04:26 PM

At least the Scamp includes a hose. My 37-foot Class A motorhome didn't come from the manufacturer with any hose at all - fresh or sewer - although the dealer did throw in a standard "starter" kit, to which I added proper parts.

I think that the widely spaced sewer outlets is a design shortcoming, although waste plumbing in a trailer without a convenient "basement" area is challenging, and it is a copy of a 1960's Boler design that didn't have a toilet (so no black tank). I would expect the owners manual and briefing to at least warn of this and advise how to handle it.

Otters · 06-23-2013, 07:26 PM

Be sure to pick up a copy of Robin Williams movie "RV". It will make your Scamp plumbing issues seem so minor...and you'll have a great laugh!

Donna D. · 06-23-2013, 07:43 PM

The problem with the Scamp is the graywater tank is behind the axle. The axle actually protects the tank from being smashed. If you're boondocker, you'll more than likely hangup on the axle rather than the tank. That placement makes it nearly impossible to connect the two tanks with pipe, etc. The pipe connector would have to go under the axle since there's no room for it to go over the axle. Then it would hang down as low as some Casitas and we've heard enough about scrapping off "p" traps etc with that brand.

The solution would be to move the gray water tank to in front of the axle, but then there are those that don't pay attention and if the tank is full, would be carrying close to 200# of water in front of the axle and that could be problematic in itself.

I've been working on a solution for a while now. I have most of the parts I need. It won't be for the faint of heart and I may be the only one willing to butcher up a gray water tank. But what the heck, solutions aren't found without some risk.

I'll be getting out my hack saw sometime after the Oregon Gathering....