used scamp wants bathroom

[jeff y]

i just bought a '77 13' scamp from the sceond owner who had it almost 30 years. it's ready to go with only some cleaning but i would like a bathroom does anyon know if a kit is available or parts? i would rather not make the walls and door if i dont have to. or any source for used parts?

[Nancy]

I prefer not to take up space with a bathroom. Ours has the Thetford 135 porta potty and a curtain/room divider that makes a privacy area. The 13 Scamps with the front toilet room is just too closed in for me. If I want that I would have to go to the 16.

Good luck if you decide to do a big modification.

Nancy

[jeff y]

yeah i really wanted a 16 but stumbled on this 13 for only 500 and couldent pass it up. i'm fine without a bathroom being a guy but the wife wants one. the floor plans do look tight but we wont really use the bunk most likely. i don't know without seeing one. thanks

[Donna D.]

Adding a permanent shower/flush toilet has been done. It's not easy nor inexpensive. However, several members have been satisfied with adding a porta-potty and a removable shower curtain that suspends from the ceiling. Water has been heated using several different sources and the individual stands in a catch basin. A 13' trailer only has 10 feet of interior space. To add something permanent you're going to lose a lot of valuable area. I'd think you'd want that space for storage.

Frankly before I went through all the work of adding a shower, I'd either stay in campgrounds that have showers or flip the trailer and take the cash and purchase a trailer that's already setup.

Did you ever tent camp? How did you bath then? A small trailer can be considered a hard-sided tent with onlysome amenities. What it does offer is the ability to get out of the elements and be warm/dry and bug free.

[jeff y]

i have the experience to do most modifications having been a mechanic for 30years and doing fiberglass work and fabrication for race cars for 10 years. i'm not so interested in the shower and hot water as the toilet for my wife and another closet for gear. i agree though it does appear tight. i and my wife regularly tent camp. we are both very involved in scouting with our son. she is an asst scoutmaster and i am the troop quartermaster/ gear guy. she is doing a 50 mile high adventure trek with 8 boys at summer camp in june as the patrol advisor and i'm spending the week with the other 28 boys from the troop at camp. my hope is to make the scamp a compact addition to these activities.

[Christi V.]

I would agree with Nancy and go with the 135 portapotty.. it fits in the cubby under the front bunki and is out of the way. Also they do have those privacy potty tents to set the pottys in also.. but it would mean going outside ...
If your going to keep the 13 for awhile also the portable showers are nice too...
I dont know what 'scout' camps offer for showers for woman tho...

Glad to hear you and your wife are so involved with the scouts! Great organization!!

I had a friend make a step into my trailer ( by day ) that the potty fit on at nite to make it alittle higher( at nite)

[Nancy]

Yep, I'm too old for the low potty. We also made a lift to put under there.

Jeff, try camping before you make changes. You can always use the Thetford 135 in your future plan anyway.

If you haven't been active on this thread perhaps you haven't read how many of us sleep on that front bunk. We take the back off (top bunk) and it makes a nice sleeping area.

I understand how your wife feels, because I have the same problem with wanting privacy. I am still trying to adjust to too much togetherness.

Nancy

[jeff y]

just got back with the scamp in tow it's oficially home. now i have to make decisions. it has a porta potty tucked under the front seat in a cutout, doesen't look original by the cut marks. i think i will use it some before making major mods. the wife says no way to the portapotty tents but maybe to the privacy curtain. those options would certainly be easier and cheaper. i like the idea of removing the upper bunk for space, will have to see how that works. plan to put an aluminum box on the tail with frame extensions and relocate the spare onto that assy. will offset weight on the front with 3 20lb propane bottles if they can be accomodated. due to age will probably have to replace axle and raise and add capacity if possible.saw some threads about axles, will have to read more about that. will see what the summer brings. thanks for the input. also does a thread like this belong better elswhere on the site?

[Gina D.]

I have a full bathroom in my 17, but more often than not, when "Camping", I fill the bathroom sink with hot water and "slosh bathe".. not sponge bath.. because I have the luxury of getting the floor wet, and only use the full shower when I need to wash my mop, er, hair.

It really is easy and you get just as clean. Wifey could could do that with the kitchen sink and a rubbermaid tub, and wash her hair in the sink when she needs to.

I use the full shower set up when I have hook ups and can use the sewer to get rid of the mass of water from it.

[Nancy]

Three 20 lb propane bottles. What on earth are you going to cook?

We bought our unit in 2005 and still haven't emptied the original tank. Just checked today before our first outing. We could easily live with a light weight 5 lb tank. (no furnace or fridge in ours).

People have had sway issues with too much weight in the rear, but sounds like you plan to compensate for that in the front.

Glad to see you are thinking about the axle since the earlier Scamps did not have as beefy of an axle as the newer ones. We keep our Scamp as light as possible.

Good luck.

Nancy

[Greg A]

Jeff,

If you got it for $500 I'd clean it up real good and put it back up for sale for $2500 then go get a 16 or 17 with the full bath. Probably be cheaper in the long run and you'd have more sleeping capacity and room.

[jeff y]

i use 3 propane bottles because i hav a coleman guide stove that has 3 burners. two 10000btu and one 15000btu which sucks a lot of gas when cooking. most coleman stoves are 5-7000btu. i use a distribution tree with a lantern on top for light(generally two spaced around camp) and the stove will run it down dim if i run both off the same tank. one is generally a spare since lanterns last a long time but we cook for around six adults on scout outings and generally keep a coleman stove top drip coffeemaker going a lot.
i've experienced radical sway (fish tailing trailer bad) with an improperly tail heavy sportscar loaded so i am looking at weight carefully. the box is doable but problematic also.
as to reselling thats an option. i could make some quick money but these things are hard to find and expensive. also there was some good karma in finding this one and it is in incredible shape. i got it home this morning and cleaned it out and there isn't a tear or badly worn spot in a single cushion. one owner for two years then second owner for almost 30 years. he was navy and stored it in a secure paved area at ft belvoir va. i think i'll use it for awhile and see how it fits. the big killer is the tow vehicle is a ford e350 long box van. 12 mpg.

[Nancy]

Jeff,

Another thing you might want to consider before getting rid of the top bunk is to use the top bunk piece for the bottom. You eliminate the banana cushion that way and might have a better bed area. I did this for a while and then got fed up with having to lift the solid cushion to get under the bunk storage areas. Then I made myself a really luxurious new sleeping surface. If your back (top bunk piece) is in good shape you might want to think about this.

To me the 13 actually feels bigger inside than the 16 with the side bath. We have more elbow room. If I ever went to the 16 it would be with a front bath. Even then our little 13 feels bigger, we can pass in the aisle.

Thanks for letting us know about how you plan to use all that propane.

Nancy

[Nancy]

I use a tension rod for the privacy curtain. Goes between the closet and the kitchen cabinet. If I need to use the facility during the day I can just pull the curtain without having to worry about the back curtains being closed. Nice for changing clothes when getting wet, or getting cool, or getting hot. The tension rod hasn't come down during travel.

Before the tension rod I had a rope from two eye bolts between the closet and kitchen. I have several eye bolts so I can string rope for drying towels while on the road.

Nancy

[jeff y]

tension rods a great idea easy up and down. curtains are all sun bleached so i can get a new set with stall curtain matching. i presume the door locks from inside? havent noticed that yet.
i'm so used to packing a 1 ton van with gear i need to figure out the eggs capacity and slim down. i generally over pack to cover all contigencies and scenerios cause i'm responsible for other peoples kids and when i was racing we carried engines tools and whatever might break, this is different.
thanks for input
jeff

[Donna D.]

To me the 13 actually feels bigger inside than the 16 with the side bath. We have more elbow room. If I ever went to the 16 it would be with a front bath. Even then our little 13 feels bigger, we can pass in the aisle.

Thanks for letting us know about how you plan to use all that propane.

Nancy

It's a trade off. Side bath means you get a front window that you lose with a front bath. Consequently the front bath model is "darker" inside. Just something to consider when you make choices.

[Roger H]

Jeff, this is a great thread. You have hit on everyone's dillemma... how to have "everything" you want with nothing you don't. Having had about a bazillion trailers over the past five years, my official "counsel" is that it just ain't gonna happen. Every trailer has trade-offs, and you are one of the few folks who have enough tow vehicle to really take "everything" with you... just not in a 13' trailer.

I'd suggest you try the Scamp stock a few times, and the decide what you really "need" vs. what you "want" in a travel trailer. THEN, you can make informed decisions about what you and your spouse "need" to do. You are almost always better off buying a unit with a bath than having to engineer one from scratch in a built trailer. There are more important issues though. If you're over 5'7" tall, and more than 150 lbs, regardless of the size of your spouse, you're going to find the bed in the Scamp 13... limiting. If you don't rest well, your outings get old... fast.

I'd also have to say that you won't need three tanks. Most folks who are out for a week have access to propane somewhere for refilling as necessary. I'd seriously doubt you'll run through two 20lb tanks of propane in a week cooking. I used to have two 30lb tanks on my Airstream Safari and they'd last two weeks using the furnace pretty much full time. I have yet to auto-switch off the first tank in my Bigfoot and it'll be going on it's third camping season.

I've had two Scamp 13s, a Scamp 16' Custom Deluxe side dinette/front bath, a Scamp 19' CD fifth wheel, a Uhaul CT13, a Trillium 4500, a Burro 17' wide body, a Love Bug 18' wide body, a Bigfoot 15B17CB, and now a Bigfoot 25B25RQ. (This doesn't include the half-dozen Airstreams I've had in the past ten years...). Why I've had all these is another story entirely, but what I've learned is that what I need to enjoy trips are a large bed (80" queen minimum) is a must, and a shower that's big enough to actually use in a trailer light enough to tow with a half-ton truck or smaller tow vehicle.

Having done significant repairs to most of these as well, I've also learned to look for simplicity of engineering in the systems (water, sewer, electrical etc.) for ease of long-term service.

Good luck!

Roger

[jeff y]

appreciate all the input. it looks like the scamp won't be getting a bathroom. scamp emailed me that because of its age the trailers walls were different . they said it could be done but would require cuting and modifications. with my fiberglass experience i could probably do this but don't feel its worth the work and down time. i expect to use it this summer and figure my wants more accurately.
the bed is ok and will probably stay set up all the time. not much difference from the van. a/c is all ready to go in. got some extruded alum today and some plate for filler. decided to put it in front window. got a honda generator to run it. the super quiet inverter type, only weighs 40lbs 2500w.
as to propane it's not so much the consumption as the ability to put two lanterns on metal distribution trees around and apart to light the area. the lantern bottles get refilled usually once a season and the stove bottle every other trip at least.
the van can carry tons, but you pay in fuel and since its showing its age i'm looking at a sienna we have on the lot to downsize in all areas. they'll be a matched set if i get it it's white. could look cool if i stripe it red to match the scamp.
grand plans often run into the brick wall of reality. i'll "run what i brung" for a while and see how it goes. fathers day weekend at assateague island nat seashore.
THANKS ALL
jeff