1979 Scamp 16' Project

[Ryan P R]

Picked up this Scamp 16' perhaps 6-8 weeks ago.

It is in pretty solid shape. Of course there was a nice layer of mold on much of the Ensolite, particularly on and under the yellowed seam tape. The tape was removed and of course the Ensolite was scrubbed with Tilex for perhaps a total of 4-5 hours. It cleaned up real nice.

[Ryan P R]

Then we removed the old carpet and adhesive, the boys helped me with that a little bit. Scraping away all of the old glue on the floor proved difficult, I ended up using my belt sander. It did the trick much easier.

The flooring on the left is the one we chose as a replacement- its Allure plank. It looks a bit like Ebony, an extremely hard African wood.

With the old flooring removed, Ensolite scrubbed, and old cushions/upholstery removed the trailer no longer smells like an old dirty wet basement.

[Ryan P R]

Old fabric compared to new.

We bought 15 yds of Outdoor rated fabric for our new upholstery. My mother in law has all of our old fabric for making patterns onto the new fabric. She is a quilting addict plus she has made many purses and pillow cases but has never done any upholstery. She is unsure of doing this, but we have confidence in her abilities!

[Ryan P R]

I bought the "best seller" foam from Rochfordsupy.com that so many people in this forum has used before. Came out to $220 including shipping.
The first cut I made with serrated knife, I got about 6" and said to myself "there has got be a better way to do this without. Uying hot knife, or electric knife". Turns out my 14" bandsaw worked really really well. I am happy with the results.

[Ryan P R]

My door has the old Scamp mandatory sag going on. I always suspected it was water logged but didn't want to get in repairing it just yet. Yesterday's I decided what they hey- just drill a few holes in the bottom and see what happens. It bet 1-1.5 gallons drained out of it! CHECK OUT THE DISTANCE OF THAT STREAM. It looked like overly used motor oil.
The door is now lighter and the bottom has pulled up a bit closer the proper curvature. It still sits crooked in its opening, but closes and latches just fine- the big gap at the bottom is the main problem for me. I probably won't kerf slot the door to bend it until the trailer is ready for camping.

[Ryan P R]

I bought a 6000 BTU AC for a closet install that is the same width (16") as the 5000 BTU units most people use. Anything wider won't have enough room for side fresh air clearance.
I was going to install the AC in the upper part of the closet for better efficiency but ended up installing it in the lower part (more common) for many reasons. I started the install yesterday, then worked on it some more today.
It is still currently in its prototype stage before I button it up for good. All fresh air for the top and sides of the "outside" part of the unit comes thought the bottom of the closet floor. I used an Aluminum Gable vent that I had to modify in size. The sizes available are 12x12 or 12x18. One is to small, the other to large. I bought the 12x18, took it apart and cut it down with my bandsaw so that it would drop into a 9x16 hole cut into the floor of the closet.

Then I cut the opening on the front lower part of the closet. A dremel multi-max with a semicircle wood/drywall blade allowed me to cut accurately at a very controlled rate.

[Ryan P R]

Then I slide the AC in so I could determine where to cut out for the rear hot exhaust. Did the layout of the outside vent with pencil and it away. I am using a white aluminum 16"x8" (with screen) Under Eaves vent to cover the holes.

[Ryan P R]

I built a duct from some old rigid foam board I had to direct the hot air to the outside vent. The duct also keeps the fresh air coming in from the bottom duct from getting mixed with the hot air. The duct is not in final position in the photo.
I threw some scrap wood on top of the inside of the unit, with spacers underneath and plugged some gaps with a shirt. It was ready for testing.
It was 88deg in the shade today. The trailer was mostly shaded. The AC can take the inside temp from 88 to 74 in 30 minutes, then the temp pretty much levels off. I was hoping for slightly more dramatic results but got about what I actually expected. In most weather it should suffice. We almost always intentionally camp in shared spots. If the trailer was sitting in direct sun on a 95-100 degree day it would probably still be pretty warm inside, but still 80-85 in the inside shade is better than 95-100 in the sun right?

There is still a good amount of work required to actually finish the AC install but it is currently finished enough to allow me more comfortably work in there on other projects. That's the main reason I chose to install it now rather than work on something else.

[Ryan P R]

On the way from Scamp are many parts-

Toilet with black tank plus all drain and vent pipe fittings

Grey tank with all drain fittings

New bunk posts and flanges

New gaskets for front and rear windows- I will also install new acrylic plexiglass

MORE butyl tape

2 outside porch lights

120 size 56 rivets (hard to find locally) so I can remove and reseal all of the windows. I've done 1 so far.

Any many other parts I can't think of right now

I also have Whisper King water pump I bought from eBay (open box deal). I need to install it along with either a 16 or 20 gallon tank (undecided) under the dinette and plumb it to the sink and toilet.

I also need to purchase and install an electric system. I'll probe to with the Progrive Dynamics PD4045, it only costs $167 on adventurerv.net. I will add some AC outlets (there is only 1 right now) as well as a few DC outlets.

[kootenaigirl]

My goodness, my mind is just spinning from all you have done!
It's going to be like a brand new trailer when you are finished.
Can't wait to see all the picture,. especially your flooring and cushions covers, they look wonderful.

[Eddie Longest]

Ryan
Looks like you are really making progress. The 3/16 arcrylic for the front and rear windows is also hard to find in Richmond. I lost their card but there is a place that sells it on Boulevard near Buzz and Neds BBQ. Clear was no problem for them to find but I wanted tinted and the lady was able to locate some pieces from a distributor for two windows for me. I took the old windows in and they cut the arcrylic to match the old windows. (They did charge a cut fee.)
Eddie

[Ryan P R]

Eddie,
I was hoping HD or lowes would carry it, I suppose they don't have that thickness in stock? I will likely get untinted. Although I am slightly tempted to get tinted all around, I think I'll rely on some shades for that purpose and let as much light in when privacy HEAT aren't a concern. I think the small trailers would benefit from a greater sense of openness and light.
When you say next to Buzz and Ned's do you mean right next to it, or the other side of 64/95 close the Diamond/Greyhound and the industrial area where Siewers lumber is located?
Plywood and plastics would an obvious choice but they closed down.

[Eddie Longest]

Lowes and HD don't stock 3/16 or I think they call it .177 arcrylic. You can order a sheet but their prices are out of sight and you get enough for four windows. I also wasted time trying to locate P&P to find out they no longer existed. The place is located just about in the middle of the little triangle near the orig. Bills BBQ. I would verify thickness of your arcrylic before you buy any.
With a 16 you have a flat rear window mounting area. I have two trailers with rear sliding windows, that might be another option for you. Just verify your measurements with Scamp if you choose a slider.

Eddie

[Ryan P R]

We REALLY wanted front and rear sliding windows, but the existing window openings are several inches wider than the sliding windows that Scamp sells.