Scamp length

[Tom Smayda]

We are looking at a 95 Scamp and unsure what model it is.
The owner says 13 ft and that is the size of the egg.
Does Scamp include the hitch in the measurement or not?

[Frederick L. Simson]

Historical convention does include the hitch in a trailer's length measurement. All of the Molded Fiberglass manufacturers follow this convention.

[Jared J]

Pet peeve of mine. That would be a 16' scamp then, if 13' is just the body.

[Cyndi B.]

According to Scamp specs. 13' is the overall length.

[Jared J]

Originally Posted by Cyndi B.

According to Scamp specs. 13' is the overall length.

I guess it depends on what the owner means by "the size of the egg". I took that to mean the camper shell, which would mean a 16'. You could easily be right.

Yet another reason I hate trailers being spec'd like this. I think it should be like flatbeds, usable space. My 16' trailer hauls something 16' long, makes sense to me. Of course, kansas has to call it 20'.

So the big question is, is it a "Scamp 13", or a scamp with a 13' shell?

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by Cyndi B.

According to Scamp specs. 13' is the overall length.

... of the "13'" model, which has about a 10' body; I agree, this confirms that Scamp uses overall length as its model names. But just the fiberglass "egg" (body) of Scamp's 16' model happens to be about 13'. Thus, the confusion.

The moulded fiberglass travel trailer manufacturers and owners - and no other category of trailer manufacturers or owners - use overall ball-to-bumper length (so that's including the tongue) for model names. Everybody else - in travel trailers, enclosed cargo trailers, flat decks, etc. - uses the body length. As Jared implied, government agencies tend to regulate by overall length - they don't care how much of it is usable.

[Donna D.]

Hi Tom, welcome to FiberglassRV. We're glad you're here.

a 13' Egg would be 10' cabin and three feet hitch. There's a big difference in the 10' cabin and a 13' cabin... just look at the picture:

[Jared J]

I wouldn't make that assumption.

[floyd]

no title , no sale... the title aught to show the length, which includes the tongue. No confusion involved.

[Byron Kinnaman]

Originally Posted by floyd

no title , no sale... the title aught to show the length, which includes the tongue. No confusion involved.

[Frederick L. Simson]

Originally Posted by Jared J

Of course, Kansas has to call it 20'.

So does New York and California, the states I have direct knowledge of.

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

The moulded fiberglass travel trailer manufacturers and owners - and no other category of trailer manufacturers or owners - use overall ball-to-bumper length (so that's including the tongue) for model names. Everybody else - in travel trailers, enclosed cargo trailers, flat decks, etc. - uses the body length.

I remember almost all travel trailers I am familiar with used "Ball-to-Bumper" as the official measurement. So did Mobile Homes before they placed a higher emphasis on the Homes part and less on the Mobile part. Back in the 1960's they used to move them around way more. My 1966 10' x 55' Mobile Home's body was 52' long. Now the hitch triangle on Mobile Homes are removable, so they look like houses and not trailers.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by Frederick L. Simson

I remember almost all travel trailers I am familiar with used "Ball-to-Bumper" as the official measurement.

"Official"? Do you mean government (yes, we seem to be finding that), or manufacturer?
Travel trailers probably were identified by manufacturers by overall length in the past, but typically not in current practice, in the case of the models that I have seen. I just checked some random models from a couple of major manufacturers (Jayco and Forest River) and the overall lengths are two to three feet longer than the nominal length implied by the model number (e.g. model starting with "18" is 21 feet long).

[Frederick L. Simson]

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

Travel trailers probably were identified by manufacturers by overall length in the past, but typically not in current practice, in the case of the models that I have seen.

Yes, this is what I meant.
But, then again I tend to live in the past...
I have a 95 year old house and a 35 year old travel trailer.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by Frederick L. Simson

But, then again I tend to live in the past...

You're in good company, with all the egg manufacturers... and Airstream.