Scamp Door

[Jackie]

OK - so, we took the door off the hinges and are trying to make some modifications to raise the latch-catch. Only, we forgot to pay real close attention and cannot remember where on the hinge assembly to spring goes back....above the nut, or somewhere in the middle...anyone got a pic an/or the answer they can post for us?

[Alf S.]

OK - so, we took the door off the hinges and are trying to make some modifications to raise the latch-catch. Only, we forgot to pay real close attention and cannot remember where on the hinge assembly to spring goes back....above the nut, or somewhere in the middle...anyone got a pic an/or the answer they can post for us?

Hi: I have Scamp hinge pins on our Boler and the springs fit under the hinges and then the nuts go on the bottom...They seem there for tension only...and Ok-so I had to go look out the window @ the trailer to see how they fit!!!
Alf S. North shore of Lake Erie

[Donna D.]

Hi Jackie, long time no see

If Alf's explanation isn't enough, or someone doesn't post a closeup pic for you today...I'll take one tonight when I get home from work and post it.

[Roger H]

Jackie, the "ball" in a Scamp hinge is a wear item. Wear in that assembly alone can cause door alignment problems. Since you've got it apart, it's worth checking those, and I'd suggest just ordering new replacement "ball" parts from Scamp. I'd also suggest replacing the lock nuts with new ones.

Roger

[John Perry]

OK - so, we took the door off the hinges and are trying to make some modifications to raise the latch-catch. Only, we forgot to pay real close attention and cannot remember where on the hinge assembly to spring goes back....above the nut, or somewhere in the middle...anyone got a pic an/or the answer they can post for us?

Hi Jackie,

My first Scamp sat at the Naval base in San Diego Ca. for years. Every metal part was corroded.
I ended up replacing the door hinges. I discovered that the upper hinge, were it attached to the body, was just loose enough to allow the bolt holes to wear and allow the door to sag.
You can buy the parts to rebuild the hinges for a couple of dollars or new hinges for about $25.00 from Scamp.

Hope this helps,
John

[Donna D.]

Helps me John, gets me off the hook! Thanks for posting a good closeup pic

[Roger H]

Jackie, the other thing I did, now that I see John's photo, was to use thin stainless steel washers of the appropriate diameter to keep the bolt head and the spring from wearing on the actual hinge itself, and I re-assembled the hinge with a stainless bolt and stainless lock nut.

Roger

[Brian B-P]

I did exactly the same as Roger, with Scamp parts but on my Boler. Read anything you want into that...

Nice photo, John.

[Jackie]

Thanks, everyone, for the great replies. Especially John, for the great photo! Unfortunately, now I have to tell Chuck he was right.....

Chuck is making some new hinge 'balls', making them taller to raise the door. It is not sagging so much it as has dropped down to where the latch was barely hooking up on the catch. I will post pics when we are done.

[Brian B-P]

If the latch no longer aligns properly, it could be that the door has not dropped, but rotated. when I stand beside my Boler right at the hinges, and look down past the top hinge toward the bottom one, I can see that the top hinge leans a little left (rearward), and the bottom one significantly to the right (forward); they should be straight out from the trailer. They shift because the weight of the door pushes them that way, and it means the whole door is rotated counter-clockwise (as viewed from outside) from the correct position, making the latch hit the striker too low.

If the door hinges have moved (by twisting the body mounting area) like mine, then lifting the door with a thicker ball still won't put it in the right area.

This problem is less likely for a Scamp than a Boler, because the design difference in the two is that the Scamp has a wider three-bolt base on the body side, where the Boler has the same narrow two-bolt base as is used for the door side of the hinge. I would still have a look to see if that's the problem on a Scamp.

[Pete Dumbleton]

Chuck is making some new hinge 'balls', making them taller to raise the door. It is not sagging so much it as has dropped down to where the latch was barely hooking up on the catch. I will post pics when we are done.

Dang!! Now I am kicking myself for not having saved the old, worn balls, which could have been placed on top of the current ones if I wanted to raise the door...

Like Roger, I put on SS bolts and NyLock nuts when I replaced the set.