Larger Frig in 13' Scamp and other Kitchen Modifications

[Scamper Jim]

I finished the modifications for the kitchen and did a shake-down run to Cheyenne, WY last week. It was more involved and time consuming than I figured due to waiting on parts from the Uk, not getting what was advertised, waiting for it to stop snowing and warm up, and making several related changes at the same time. However, it all worked out and is much more convenient than the original layout.

The changes included:

Larger refrigerator (Dometic 2333) with raised ventilation & housing, and locking latch
SMEV sink/stove combination unit (MO 0911)
New counter top and raised 2 inches
Larger silverware drawer and relocated
New drinking water system using water pump and hose down to supply jug
Flipped upper cabinet door so it opens to the left
New jalousie window behind sink and stove
New lights with LED bulbs
Painted the furniture with Rustoleum appliance paint (Biscuit)
Started the process of removing all capped rivets
Reinforced fiberglass side body of camper

Some photos of the project show the results. They include before & after pics. The new and deeper relocated silverware drawer with cutout for sink drain. Using the old water pump to get drinking water from jug under the sink.

[David B.]

Very nice work Jim.
Dave & Paula

[kootenaigirl]

Everything looks great. Love the drinking water system and the big fridge.

[Triker]

VERY nice!! Thank you for sharing!

[Bill Nolen]

Dang! Some more great ideas for me to copy!

Bill

[emij]

This looks fantastic! And I love what you've done for drinking water!

[DonnaMarie]

Originally Posted by Scamper Jim

I finished the modifications for the kitchen and did a shake-down run to Cheyenne, WY last week. It was more involved and time consuming than I figured due to waiting on parts from the Uk, not getting what was advertised, waiting for it to stop snowing and warm up, and making several related changes at the same time. However, it all worked out and is much more convenient than the original layout.

The changes included:

Larger refrigerator (Dometic 2333) with raised ventilation & housing, and locking latch
SMEV sink/stove combination unit (MO 0911)
New counter top and raised 2 inches
Larger silverware drawer and relocated
New drinking water system using water pump and hose down to supply jug
Flipped upper cabinet door so it opens to the left
New jalousie window behind sink and stove
New lights with LED bulbs
Painted the furniture with Rustoleum appliance paint (Biscuit)
Started the process of removing all capped rivets
Reinforced fiberglass side body of camper

Some photos of the project show the results. They include before & after pics. The new and deeper relocated silverware drawer with cutout for sink drain. Using the old water pump to get drinking water from jug under the sink.

WOW!! What a fantastic job of it all!! -You should be very proud!! Love your curtains too...simple, attractive and not at all "ruffle-ly" how'd you make those? Just an altogether great job!

[Scamper Jim]

Thank you all for your positive feedback. It was not a simple project but I sure like the results. I had no idea the drinking water pump would illicit comments. Gee, I could have installed just that and eliminated the rest of the project and had just about the same number of accolades with a lot less work

Donna, the curtains are made of fabric from Jo-Anne's called Ornamental Daffodil. It is an outdoor polyester fabric and claims to have 500 UV hours, whatever that means. It is usually $21.99 per yard, but is on sale at 60% off this weekend. I had to go over and buy a little more for the new kitchen window and replace the ones I borrowed from the door window for the pic.

[DonnaMarie]

Originally Posted by Scamper Jim

Thank you all for your positive feedback. It was not a simple project but I sure like the results. I had no idea the drinking water pump would illicit comments. Gee, I could have installed just that and eliminated the rest of the project and had just about the same number of accolades with a lot less work

Donna, the curtains are made of fabric from Jo-Anne's called Ornamental Daffodil. It is an outdoor polyester fabric and claims to have 500 UV hours, whatever that means. It is usually $21.99 per yard, but is on sale at 60% off this weekend. I had to go over and buy a little more for the new kitchen window and replace the ones I borrowed from the door window for the pic.

Hahahaha hadda laugh...yes it's true, sometimes the simplest things are the most needed! That IS a cool hack!! Ok...i'm gonna check out Jo-Annes this weekend then! I'm assuming...you just straight stitched it, slid on a rod & Bam! done! perfectly simple and effective!! Way to go! Your entire remodel project really is a beauty...inspiring to say the least! Thank you again!

[Johnny M]

I like the drawer with the cutout for the sink, pretty slick!

[Scamper Jim]

John,

With the counter being raised 2 inches, and with the drain on the SMEV sink now at the back of the bowl and not at the side, there was enough room for the new silverware drawer. It just needed that cut-out to clear the drain so I could go back further on the sides. The drawer is a lot deeper so I can actually put larger cooking utensils in it and not have them catch on the top as it did with the old drawer if you put in anything over two forks high! It also slides out real nice on the new rails, no wood and aluminum sliders that bind and take two hands to open. The only thing I used from the old drawer is the catch that is needed now otherwise it opens so easily when traveling if not latched.


Donna,

I usually work with sheet steel cutting it on the CNC plasma cutter, with a gas cutting torch, and then using the MIG welder. However, when I found out what it would cost to redo the cushions and curtains in the camper, I decided to see if I could in any way sew them myself. Like many of my new hobbies, I just bought what I though I needed and proceeded to make a lot of waste until I got it right.

I went to the flee market and bought a fairly new Necchi sewing machine with bells and whistles for $30, and it even had an instruction manual. Bought some sewing books that showed how to sew curtains, watched some U-tube vids on it, bought some material and a bunch of sewing accessories (had no idea if I needed them or not but they looked like they be useful), and started sewing. After a lot of experimenting, the lines started looking fairly decent and even straight. Was really fun trying the various sewing patterns, widths, lengths, etc. Had to ignore 99% of the other terminology related to sewing to keep from incurring brain damage.

It wasn’t too long before I realized that I was actually making something and it was very satisfying to see it actually happening. It is much like seeing a welding project come together some nice clean lines shaped in the steel and cut, and then welding them up for a useful project.

Curtains have to be the best type of project to do. It has just straight, simple, easy lines to work with, not difficult to screw up.

I used 1.5” border on the sides, and 2 inches on the top and bottom for the rod. Use a yardstick and lay out all the sides with a “disappearing ink” sewing pen.

Zig-zag all the edges first as the fabric has a coarse thread and would unravel.
Then fold over and iron each of the folds. They hold a crease real well so don’t have to pin it if you keep it lined up when ironing.

Then just sew them. Be sure to sew the sides first and then fold over the top and bottom to sew. That way you leave the top open for the rod otherwise you will have to take out the threads to get it in. Don’t ask me how I know that!

It’s just another skill learned and used in the process of making the Scamp as I would like it, much like fiberglassing, painting, welding on the new axle, installing lighting, installing water lines, pumps, etc. The list is endless and that’s what makes working on it so interesting.

[Triker]

Jim - Love your 'can do' way!!!

[TheWanderers]

Love what you have done and can appreciate how much work you have done and continue to do. This is Laura (not Bill). When our old scamp landed here late last November I needed curtains, the ones that came with it were sheer and though they looked nice in the picture, they were really kind of yucky. So just like you I learned to sew (suddenly) and can totally relate to your "incurring brain damage" comment regarding all of the sewing terminology. I am so pleased with what I was able to make and then made pillows too. Then a silverware holder, then dresses for grand girls, it just goes on and on but love having this new skill. Good for you Jim! Way to go!

[Nancy from MI]

I love the combo sink/stove top! So user friendly . You have mad skills with the sewing machine!! Thanks for sharing with us.

[DonnaMarie]

You're just AMAAAZING Jim!!! WOWZA!!! Thank you!!! for the tremendous inspiration AND directions!! I'm gonna NEED those!! ok...a teensy thing buuuut...how did you attach the rods to the "wall"??? I get that they've got to be the tiny, thin rods, but...how do ya make em stick??? to the wall. BAFFLED here! but learning so MUCH!!! Wish there were "like" buttons here for all these incredible great tips!!

[Filbert V.]

Wow, it looks fantastic! Could you please post some links to where you bought the sink/stove combo, and the cost of such a unit? I like the way it's so easy to clean having it all in one. Thank you!

[Scamper Jim]

Donna,

I did in fact use the real small rods that were on the door window. They are the straight ones with a hole on each end. I also used the hanger that was there and fastened it to the top of each side of the new window frame with a screw. There is a screw at the top end of the window frame that holds it together, so you have to drill the hole for the hanger back a bit to stay away from it.

An important note, you should fasten the hanger first and then measure the length of the curtains, unlike me who made the curtains, then tried to hang them. I turned out they were a little too long. I sure was not going to redo them, so I had to raise the hanger and use only the bottom hole in it. I then bent over the top part. It is soft brass, so no difficulty bending them.

There was one advantage to the mistake though in that the curtains are positioned higher to the very top of the window frame so they fully cover the frame edges and screws. I took a close up of the hanger from the side that kind of makes it look crude, but the curtains actually cover everything well. It is tight up under the top cabinets so nobody will see nuttin.

On the other hand, there is nothing to keep you from using the larger rods and just extending them out to the sides a little further, as with all the other window curtains.

Photos are attached to illustrate the hanger both straight when drilled, and also when the top part is bent back over.

I then replaced the rod on the door with a top and bottom rod of the exact same style as Scamp used for all the other windows. I just cut them to shorten them to fit the width of the door. I now keeps them from flying around when the door is open.

[Scamper Jim]

Filbert,

Glad you like the changes. It is a very quality unit with nice features. It's easy to clean, the burners are a little closer together so you can use both to cook bacon and eggs without the other end of the pan not being heated as well. YOu can see it in the photo below. It also has a thermocoupler on the knobs so if the flame goes out, the gas flow is stopped. You can also turn the burner all the way down without it going out. It also seems to heat faster than the old stove.

I bought mine from American RV for $283.19 because they advertised theirs as having a Piezo igniter, and shipping was $7.77. Wellll, there is a long story to the order. It turned out to not have the igniter after all, but they did honor the shipping of only $7.77 even though someone probably messed up and they had to ship it from the UK and it took a couple of weeks. Amy in marketing was very good in trying to track down what happened. Their listing now says that shipping has to be calculated. They did send a free seal from SMEV that goes around the bottom edge of the sink to prevent liquids from getting under it. You can see it in the photo below.

https://www.americanrvcompany.com

Dyers RV currently has one at a clearance price of $289.99 plus shipping. Their photo shows it as having an igniter, but is not listed as a feature. Best to check with them before ordering. That is the issue that I had with American RV and they have since corrected that on their site. It appears they had copied the ad from Dometic International's site that has the igniter in Europe, but not on the model shipped to the US. Who know why not?

Dometic Stainless Steel Combination 2-Burner Cooktop with Sink - Kitchen Sinks - Sinks - Sink & Drain - Plumbing


However, perhaps the safest route to buy from is Panther RV, who has one for $367.00 but includes a nice looking fold-down faucet. They are in Washington and were good at answering my questions. Others on this site have also dealt with them and were pleased. I didn't need the faucet as I had the Shur-Flow electric already, and American RV's price was a little cheaper so I bought from them.

http://www.panther-rvproducts.com/ma...m1plqscsfapp05


They have the additional gas regulator installed that is needed to make the stove compatible with US standards, and gas fittings.

Dometic/SMEV is very difficult to work with and doesn't return your emails unless you are an OEM RV manufacturer, and the selection of their products available in the US is very limited, as compared to what they have in Europe. They really need to get their marketing/distribution act together.

[redbarron55]

I can't say sewing is easy, but in Aircraft work I have had to learn how to do it.
A good seam ripper is a godsend. If you rip out the seams and layout the fabric on a flat surface and just copy what you found it can be done!
Seat cushions curtains etc. can be copied if not easily expeditiously.
At least in a trailer you don't have to have FAA certified fabrics!

[Tilly]

Wow. That's about all I can say. Nicely done, we've got this one bookmarked.