13' Scamp Closet - Fiberglass RV
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Old 10-31-2013, 01:45 PM   #1
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13' Scamp Closet

I recently purchased a 2011 13' Scamp and have taken it out on a few fun filled trips. Scamp has done a terrific job utilizing the available space, however, it seems the closet next to the entrance could have been designed better. It seems like a lot of wasted space. I was thinking of extending the 29" in length opening another 24 inches. I have seen someone add a separate door at the bottom but I think the best way to utilize the space is to put a full length closet there with shelves. Has anyone done this? If so, where can I find a matching door to fit this opening? The Scamp site has closet doors that are 22 inches in width which is way to wide. The current width is 18". I'm also wondering if this would create a structural weakness since there are fiberglass reinforcements just above and below the closet opening.



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Old 10-31-2013, 01:59 PM   #2
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Mike, the space below use to be used by Scamp for AC until they started to put them on the roof. Now the door and opening they cut to go on the bottom half is an optional item.

I cut the bottom of my closet out and installed shelves in the bottom half right up to the bottom of the top opening. I like having hanging space. I purchased the bottom door from Scamp to match the top one.

I also found the current door size on their website to be a bit bigger than what I currently have and when I called they just said they will cut the doors to what ever size you ask for.... which they did for me for the lower door and when I recently had to replace the upper door due to an incident. :-(
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Old 10-31-2013, 02:07 PM   #3
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In my '91 scamp 13' The area under the closet door has a catalytic heater. This way when away from electric, I have heat. When I have access to electric I use the furnace.
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Old 10-31-2013, 02:27 PM   #4
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Thanks Carol. Good to know. I'll call Scamp to see if they can cut the door to my specks.
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Old 10-31-2013, 02:42 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mkrueger View Post
Thanks Carol. Good to know. I'll call Scamp to see if they can cut the door to my specks.
You should also ask them about our structural concerns in regards to cutting out one long opening as well. Honestly cant see it being an issue though if as you say you are going to put shelving in the closet as they would help provide some support.
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Old 10-31-2013, 08:45 PM   #6
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I, too, frankly thought the wheel-well space was a waste of potential storage area until I found it is a great place to put a large net bag which I use as a hamper for soiled clothing and a space for my pie iron (with a black bag as cover) and my tablecloths. The shelving unit my DH built has a bottom shelf which is removable with a finger hole.
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Old 10-31-2013, 11:09 PM   #7
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We utilize the space as it came from Scamp. The upper part hangs jackets and shirts used as jackets, vests, etc. on top of the wheel well we put duffel bags (one for each of us) that hold our clothing. Socks, under clothes, t-shirts, pants. The only draw back, minor in our estimation, is for Anne to get into her duffel mine has to be removed. We also keep two very small folding table in their. I don't think adding a door or increasing the opening size would help, in fact I think it would make the space less usable, at least for us.
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Old 11-15-2013, 01:12 AM   #8
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I went to Harbor Freight and bought this tool for $20.00. http://www.harborfreight.com/120-vol...ool-68523.html. I used the blade it came with which is meant to cut metal. I also made sure to cover everything with plastic as fiberglass is very messy. Goggles and a mask are also needed. The tool was more than sufficient for the job.

I tried calling Scamp to get a custom door but no luck so I ordered a door from their site along with the proper hardware and trim to put on the edges of the newly cut opening. One side note, the closet door came with hinges attached so I have three extra hinges. I cut the door to size and installed a cabinet lock that I purchased at ACE Hardware to keep the door closed during travel.

I'm happy with the results and can already tell this will utilize the space much better. The next step will be to add shelves. I'll add those pictures when I'm done.


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Old 11-15-2013, 10:11 AM   #9
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Looks great Mike. I think you will be happy about having done that. Its one of the mods I did that I think gives me a great deal more flexibility in where I store things.

Out of curiosity why wasnt Scamp able to sell you a custom cut door? I was able to obtain one from them this summer. Have they recently changed the door colour/wood so they cant make to match the old style anymore? or you just couldnt get anyone in the parts department to answer the phone?
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Old 11-15-2013, 10:27 AM   #10
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Thanks Carol! I'm glad I did it. I called Scamp a few times and their parts department was either on another call or just not there at all. I left messages and they never called back. I've noticed their customer support fluctuates in my experience.
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Old 11-15-2013, 11:54 AM   #11
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Thanks Mike I suspected it was the issue with no answering of the phone....I know that this summer I had the same issue and talked to them about it and was told someone was off sick and the parts person there was swamped. They did eventually return my call though & was able to get what I needed custom made from them - all be it a few days later.
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Old 11-15-2013, 02:23 PM   #12
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Mike,

I cut the front of our closet front as low as possible and installed an air conditioner in the bottom and built a clothes hamper above the AC and below the main closet door.

As well I've fully shelved our closet, we have no hanging closets in our trailer. Actually shelves can act as structural members for the closet.

As well I have replaced all the Scamp doors with urethaned 1/2" birch plywood, a little lighter in weight and color and decidedly more attractive.

The only door I have left to replace is the bathroom door.
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Old 11-16-2013, 07:06 AM   #13
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Hi Mike,
I will be doing the same thing with the Scamp closet myself, so thank you for posting the mod with the finished product! I was wondering a couple of things...first, what were the dimensions of the hole you cut, and what are the dimensions of the door you ordered?
I hope this makes sense as I write it...how far down from the bottom of the upper closet opening did you make your horizontal (width) cut in the FG, and how far up from the bottom of the closet floor did you make your lower horizontal cut?
I, too, have had problems getting return phone calls from Scamp as of late. Many men are out hunting (smile), but I just keep trying to get a hold of them. With the time difference and work as a teacher, the hours just slip away and it's always too late in the day for me to call. Thank you very much for your hopeful reply/post.

Sincerely,
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Old 11-16-2013, 12:29 PM   #14
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Hi Wendy,
I matched the width of the upper opening which is about 15.5" and I cut the length at 18". Since I couldn't get a custom door from scamp I ordered the closet door on their site with the same dimensions as the original closet door (18 X 32). I sanded the edge I cut at an angle to try I match the other sides but wasn't terribly concerned because it's at the bottom and you can't really see it.

In my closet there is a fiberglass reinforcement just below the upper opening. I would have preferred to cut an opening for just one big door but didn't want to compromise the structural integrity of the closet. I may be wrong but didn't want to take any chances. That's a question that could be answered by the folks at Scamp but we know how that goes. ;-) I cut about 2" down from the reinforcement which is about 7" from the bottom of the upper opening. The bottom of the lower opening is about 7.5" from the floor.

I again want to stress how messy cutting fiberglass is. It creates a very fine dust so be sure to wear goggles and a mask to cover your nose and mouth. You don't want to breathe this stuff in. Also be sure to cover everything with plastic the dust gets everywhere.

I hope this helps and happy Scamping!
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Old 11-19-2013, 07:32 AM   #15
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A little late now but a multi-tool with a shop-vac held near the blade takes care of most of the dust when cutting fiberglass panels. Sound like your mod. worked out.
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Old 11-23-2013, 04:52 PM   #16
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Hey Scampers, to make the lower door I used the fiberglass piece I cut out to open up the closet and put a wood trim around it.
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Old 11-23-2013, 04:55 PM   #17
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ooops, i didn't mean to post that yet, i was trying to copy a picture in and my fat fingers hit the wrong key!

looks like i have to have pix posted somewhere before i can link to them here so i have to figure that out first. sorry about the waste of space here!
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Old 11-23-2013, 05:36 PM   #18
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Door from cutout panel

I hope this works to show the door made from the removed fiberglass piece and the cedar shelving I put in, which smells nice and will hopefully keep the moths out.

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Old 11-23-2013, 06:05 PM   #19
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That's a cool idea. Thanks for sharing!
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Old 11-25-2013, 01:41 PM   #20
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Finally got it all done! The PVC Pipe worked great since I didn't want to drill into the fiberglass. Once I put the plywood shelves in it was surprisingly very sturdy and isn't rickety at all. Can't wait to put them to use!


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