Scamp Quality - Fiberglass RV
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Old 01-14-2017, 01:19 PM   #1
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Name: Bob
Trailer: Escape
Ohio
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Scamp Quality

Dear Readers,
I want to first start off saying what Im writing makes me sad, but if what I say helps others then it might have some value.

Ive owned a scamp for sometime, my family loves it. We decided to sell ours and move to a new unit and the upkeep was a bit much.


Well last night I looked a 2016 scamp from the upper south (GA) and I changed my mind on purchasing another scamp.

The scamp I reviewed had been on one trip and had about 1000 miles total. The frame on the unit was very very rusty along with the pumps. There was a stress crack that started from the center top of the door opening and traveled about 18 inches towards the back of the camper. One the inside I noticed the vinyl flooring was poorly cut not touching the walls as well as had many bubbles or waves. There was already several rivets that have popped allowing water to get in.

Maybe my standards are too high, but this is very sad.
I am now considering building my own fiberglass camper...maybe even mfg them. Quality is second to none! As we will shortly forget about the money saved and long remember the headaches of poor quality.

I have spent the past 17 years in Aerospace and now am the Director of Quality and firmly believe producing a quality product at the best possible price is the only option.

Thanks for your time
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Old 01-14-2017, 02:15 PM   #2
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Colorado
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How was the present owner treating it? Young age and low mileage does not mean it was never driven on a salted road, or that it never saw excessive snowload, or a tree never fell on it. Some here would like to read a more complete report. Too little said here to make a good judgement.
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Old 01-14-2017, 02:24 PM   #3
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Trailer: 2008 Scamp 13 S1
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I have heard a couple of other reports of similar issues. Scamp makes and sells around 450 trailers a year, and there is no RV equivalent of Consumer Reports tracking defects, so it's hard to reach any solid conclusions based on a handful of anecdotes, but it is certainly concerning. In fairness it seems to be a widespread issue affecting all kinds of RVs across the price and build spectrum.

My Scamp is 8 years old, and we've had it for four years with no leaks and no shell issues beyond basic maintenance of rivet caps. Other than some low-grade hardware, I have no complaints about its build quality. It sounds like you also had a good experience with your first Scamp. That, along with 40+ years of Scamps out there, gives me confidence in the basic design. Reports such as yours might lead me to look for a used Scamp over a new one rather than abandoning the brand altogether.

I'll look forward to seeing how you tackle this. There is always room for fresh ideas and new products. As part of your research, you could investigate the newer manufacturers to see how they may do some things differently: Parkliner, Lil Snoozy, Oliver, and Happier Camper, to name four innovative molded fiberglass operations. My overall impression, though, is that designing and producing a new molded fiberglass trailer is a huge undertaking and high build quality does not come cheaply.
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Old 01-14-2017, 03:00 PM   #4
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Name: Steve
Trailer: 2018, 21ft escape— 2019 Ram 1500 Laramie
NW Wisconsin
Posts: 4,500
We have owned a Scamp and a Casita. We have toured / examined a U Haul , Parkliner and Escape . To be honest the quality of all of them was below expectations and in some instances they were of poorer quality than many stick built trailers . They all seem to follow the "Close Enough is Good Enough " philosophy.
It's pretty sad when your customer is also your quality control department. We can bad mouth stick built trailers forever and it may makes us feel better about owning a FG trailer but in the end the quality of the FG trailers that are being built is nothing to brag about.
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Old 01-14-2017, 07:02 PM   #5
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Trailer: 2004 13 ft Scamp Custom Deluxe
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Vanover69 View Post
Dear Readers,
I want to first start off saying what Im writing makes me sad, but if what I say helps others then it might have some value.

Ive owned a scamp for sometime, my family loves it. We decided to sell ours and move to a new unit and the upkeep was a bit much.


Well last night I looked a 2016 scamp from the upper south (GA) and I changed my mind on purchasing another scamp.

The scamp I reviewed had been on one trip and had about 1000 miles total. The frame on the unit was very very rusty along with the pumps. There was a stress crack that started from the center top of the door opening and traveled about 18 inches towards the back of the camper. One the inside I noticed the vinyl flooring was poorly cut not touching the walls as well as had many bubbles or waves. There was already several rivets that have popped allowing water to get in.

Maybe my standards are too high, but this is very sad.
I am now considering building my own fiberglass camper...maybe even mfg them. Quality is second to none! As we will shortly forget about the money saved and long remember the headaches of poor quality.

I have spent the past 17 years in Aerospace and now am the Director of Quality and firmly believe producing a quality product at the best possible price is the only option.

Thanks for your time
Paul O has it right.
Everything you cited could be explained by neglect, accident or abuse.
My Scamp will be 13 years old this spring, when you get back from Aerospace with the trailer you build on your own, call me to compare quality!

I have owned more Scamps than most people have seen, and have worked on many more than I have owned. I have also spent a decade discussing new and old Scamps with their owners, so I have heard many "Consumer Reports".

Like any other product ever made, those reports range from extreme dissatisfaction to near ecstasy. Most were just average people with reasonable expectations who were well satisfied with a travel trailer which offers a good a value in price and quality.... at purchase and at resale.

I look forward to seeing your excellent quality trailer when it is completed. Don't forget to include pictures, Everybody here loves pictures.
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Old 01-14-2017, 09:25 PM   #6
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Name: Shelby
Trailer: Casita SD
Tennessee
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Van- Since you have the skills and wherewithal to build your own trailer, why not save some time and the investment in molds and just refurb an older one? Make it to suit you, aerospace parts, whatever you want!
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Old 01-14-2017, 10:49 PM   #7
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Name: Bob
Trailer: Escape
Ohio
Posts: 25
like I stated...my quality standards might be just a little to high

I expect a product that cost 14 to 18K to retain its new look for a few years

you can believe it was owner neglect that cause the vinyl flooring to bubble and not fit
you can believe the frame rusted do to over exposure to salt in Georgia
you can believe it was snow in GA or a large bird that caused the cracking in the door frame...which Ive seen on many scamps
you can believe it was the owners fault that the rivets popped out

I on the other hand do not believe it was neglect, snow, salt, angry birds or any other excuse other than poor workman ship.

I do plan on building a camper and yes I will share pics as the become available

I really hope this does not offend as I was only pointing out what I saw with a one year old scamp...

Oh yea as for the Aerospace poke...when your sitting on a plane that traveling at 46,000 feet and the out side air is -50... people like me are the ones that makes sure you get home safe...because some believe that just good enough is not enough
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Old 01-14-2017, 11:17 PM   #8
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Trailer: 1988 16 ft Scamp Deluxe
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I've got a Scamp, I love my Scamp. I think Scamp trailers are great. But the fit 'n finish to the wood in my 1988 Deluxe is far superior than the fit 'n finish I'm seeing in new Scamps. And that's a fact Jack. One trailer I was in, it looked like someone used a handsaw to cut some of the wood.

I have no idea what conditions the trailer Rob is talking about has been towed, but it's possible to destroy a trailer in a year. Yes, even get a rusty frame/bumper. Especially if it's towed on winter roads that are salted and the trailer and frame aren't washed. The rest ??
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Old 01-15-2017, 04:47 AM   #9
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Name: Carl
Trailer: 2014 16 scamp side dinette/Rav4 V6 Tow pkg.
Pennsylvania
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I have a new Scamp just over 2 years now. Granted there are things they could have been a little more careful and thoughtful about. Well then again it is not an airstream and it does not cost 50K. You just do not go to a car lot and look at one car and then trash all cars as junk because the one you looked at is junk, no , you kick the tires and look around. If you can make your own, go for it. Carl
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Old 01-15-2017, 06:08 AM   #10
Raz
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Same story. Different thread.
http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...ner-72620.html
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Old 01-15-2017, 06:51 AM   #11
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Name: Shelby
Trailer: Casita SD
Tennessee
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Vanover69 View Post
but back on topic...I was just reporting what I saw...Ive owned many scamps and offered many design improvements to scamp.
Do you keep buying them hoping the next one won't be junk? Just kidding. Maybe your point was that the newer one suffers in comparison to the others you've owned? Anyway, welcome aboard, surprised you did not find this forum years ago.
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Old 01-15-2017, 07:23 AM   #12
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Name: Gordon
Trailer: 2015 Scamp (16 Std Layout 4) with '15 Toyota Sienna LE Tug
North Carolina
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Raz View Post
Recently, I have pretty much boycotted this forum for a few reasons including one that I just saw again... but since my thread is mentioned, I should summarize it:

Yes, Fiberglass trailers are not cheap. Scamp is the budget model and if you get one with the expectation that it is the cheaper, more basic, and less refined version of the Egg type camper, then you will likely be happy (as you go about fixing things when needed). If you expect more you will be disappointed. While Scamp quality might have declined in recent years, for the most part everyone's opinion (which "range from extreme dissatisfaction to near ecstasy") seems to be related more to their expectations than anything else.
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Old 01-15-2017, 07:53 AM   #13
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Name: Wendy Lee
Trailer: Scamp 13' Standard
New York
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Aside from the flooring issue you described, sounds to me like this little Scamp had some travel experiences and treatment that were perhaps lacking in care. Before criticizing build quality, as otheres have said, a full history of ownership is required to make an accurate assessment. A few rivets popping out? I dont see that as a big deal. Road vibration, or perhaps in this case, possible tough travel conditions could cause that. I don't see drilling out a few rivets and replacing as signs of poor build quality, even in a one year old trailer. I am aware of recent threads where OWNERS of new Scamps had complaints, but as you were not the owner of this trailer, I can't see how you can speak for its total build quality without the experience of towing and camping in that particular unit.

I think that Scamp is most likely aware of any negative reports on build quality most recently, and since part of being in business is to render a profit, one could infer that if build quality lately is an issue, they're on it.

Sent from my VS985 4G using Fiberglass RV mobile app
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Old 01-15-2017, 08:10 AM   #14
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Name: Steve
Trailer: 2018, 21ft escape— 2019 Ram 1500 Laramie
NW Wisconsin
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The first Winter we owned our "new" Casita , we decided to make a trip South . ( Wisconsin to Alabama ) Come Spring , I discovered that the frame was rusting even though I had washed the trailer and frame before ,during and after the trip.
I spent a considerable amount of time repairing the damage.
Since it is not uncommon for people to travel during the winter ,
one would expect that Casita / Scamp / Escape would do a better job of painting their frames to protect them from salt damage .
One coat of bargain basement spray paint , that is strictly cosmetic is not QUALITY nor does it meet my expectations
Oliver , based in Tennesse was able to figure out that trailer frames are subject to road salt but Scamp , based in Northern Minnesota hasn't a clue. Seems strange doesn't it ?

Fiberglass trailers are becoming like many products in our culture , overpriced , poorly made , and designed to be thrown away after a few years . These forums seem to blame the problems caused by poor quality on the trailer owners lack of maintenance but never on the trailer manufacturers lack of attention to detail.

** GB ; Feel free to correct my spelling , punctuation , grammar
, sentence structure , dangling participles , Etc .
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Old 01-15-2017, 08:12 AM   #15
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Late night rants removed

Several unkind and/or off topic posts have been removed from this thread, in case you are wondering what happened to the silly thing you posted last night.
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Old 01-15-2017, 08:27 AM   #16
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Name: Shelby
Trailer: Casita SD
Tennessee
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I've been a little disappointed in the amount of rust on the frame of my Casita. It's not everywhere, just random areas. Probably indicative of less than ideal prep. I'll touch it up someday.... FWIW, the benchmark Oliver uses an aluminum frame.
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Old 01-15-2017, 08:35 AM   #17
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Name: Wendy Lee
Trailer: Scamp 13' Standard
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I, too, have a little surface rust on my 2012 Scamp frame. But at a base starting price of $46,500 for an 18' unit, I'll get out my wire brush and can of rust reformer. 😃

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Old 01-15-2017, 08:36 AM   #18
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Name: jim
Trailer: Escape 21 Nov.2016
Florida
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Quality

when we started our quest for a fiberglass trailer (I never thought I would like RVing) because most Stickies were heavy and prone to leaks Then I found this site and many more telling the attributes of fiberglass trailers and I was hooked . We looked at
1-Scamp liked the light weight did not like the OSB flooring and not fiberglass finish underneath
2-Casita -tongue weight a little heavy and only 6'ft 1in. headroom
3-lil Snoozy- tongue weight good,fiberglass work and thickness very good I could stand on roof to clean and the wood working was one of the best compared to others. It also had cassette toilet problems that I fixed that was about the only problem that we had. It towed great with 8ft width .I would have bought another one if they made a bigger trailer .
4- Finally settled on a 21ft escape (i want this to be our last trailer )I like the full fiberglass hull the storage is the best of all that i've seen . I liked the woodworking on the Snoozy better and stronger fiberglass body.

I think this gentleman is telling his concerns I come from the Airline Industry and believe me you want a Great Pilot and a Greater Mechanic to make things right . Just my 2cents worth Jim
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Old 01-15-2017, 08:40 AM   #19
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Name: Steve
Trailer: 2018, 21ft escape— 2019 Ram 1500 Laramie
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ShelbyM View Post
I've been a little disappointed in the amount of rust on the frame of my Casita. It's not everywhere, just random areas. Probably indicative of less than ideal prep. I'll touch it up someday.... FWIW, the benchmark Oliver uses an aluminum frame.
I hope Oliver is using the same "HIGH STRENGTH , MILITARY GRADE ,NASA APPROVED , aluminum that Ford is using in their F150 truck.
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Old 01-15-2017, 08:51 AM   #20
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Yes, undoubtedly "Aerospace."
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