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02-23-2013, 02:15 PM
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#1
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Senior Member
Name: Sharon
Trailer: Chez Nous - a 2011 Scamp 16'
Texas
Posts: 277
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Need to know about upgrading Scamp 16 fresh water tank to 20 gallons
The title says it all.
I will soon have a new (to me) Scamp 16, floor plan 4. I've seen several (or maybe just two) posts about upgrading to the 20 gallon tank. Where do I go to get this done? Can you folks doing this explain more about it, like where the tank goes, how it goes there, etc.
I REALLY REALLY would like to get this mod done before I head out, full time.
Thanks so much.
Sharon
San Antonio
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02-23-2013, 03:26 PM
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#2
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Senior Member
Trailer: 2002 19 ft Scamp 19 ft 5th Wheel
Posts: 3,640
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Unless you intend to Boondock (No campground where they have water connections) you may not need a tank this big. We purchase bottled water, freeze it and then place it in the fridge to assist in the cooling then use it for drinking. We put very little water in the on board tank to be used to flush and when we get to a campground, connect to the water supply.
Each gallon of water in the tank adds 8lbs of weight. 20 Gal = 160lbs and you might not want to drink it.
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02-23-2013, 03:41 PM
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#3
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Senior Member
Trailer: Class A Motorhome
Posts: 7,912
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Easier way.... add two or three Coleman collapsible 5 gallon water carriers to your stuff and fill only as needed for extra water capacity. About $10 each at WalMart.
The 20 gallon tank: a) Takes up a lot of needed storage space all of the time, b) adds weight in the wrong place when full, c) Can't be carried to the water source without moving the trailer and d) will cost a LOT more than the 2-3 carriers.
BTW: We never drink water from the supply tank and use it only for flushing and washing. And, BTW: The Coleman water carriers can be used to carry drinking water as well.
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02-23-2013, 04:27 PM
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#4
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Senior Member
Name: Sharon
Trailer: Chez Nous - a 2011 Scamp 16'
Texas
Posts: 277
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LOL Bob ... and do you think a 60+ year old female at 5 feet tall traveling solo is gonna lug around several 5 gallon water jugs?
However, seriously, I could buy a bunch of one gallon jugs of spring water for drinking, I suppose. That's doable since I'm towing with a 2012 Nissan Pathfinder SV and will have enough room inside.
I'll be boondocking perhaps 3-10 days per spot before moving on to the next spot (I'll hit some full hookup campsites now and then, of course). Looking at Casitas, our fresh water tank seems rather minuscule. Please tell me my Scamp will not be so fragile as to need paved roads everywhere I go as well.
I want a Scamp, not a Casita ... but maybe that's a bad choice on my part? Scamp owners, please jump in and tell me my choice to full time with lots of boondocking in a 16-foot 2011 Scamp, is a VERY GOOD CHOICE!!!
Thx for any and all input.
Sharon
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02-23-2013, 04:28 PM
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#5
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Senior Member
Name: Sharon
Trailer: Chez Nous - a 2011 Scamp 16'
Texas
Posts: 277
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Food for thought.
S.
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02-23-2013, 04:38 PM
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#6
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Senior Member
Trailer: Trillium 4500
Posts: 2,050
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Get the 3 gallon dispensers with a tap and set it on the counter with the tap over the sink. Portable and refillable.
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02-23-2013, 05:09 PM
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#7
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Senior Member
Name: Norm and Ginny
Trailer: Scamp 16
Florida
Posts: 7,517
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Sharon
I'm hoping to increase our tank to 20 gallons before we head off in May. It looks like my 20 gal tank will fit under the dinette where the 12 gal is presently.
I always travel with the tank 1/2 to 3/4 full filling it when I go into a boondock situation.
When we get home in April I"ll post pictures.
I find water weight is not too critical on the flat. My Scamp 16 weighs 2400 lbs loaded.
__________________
Norm and Ginny
2014 Honda Odyssey
1991 Scamp 16
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02-23-2013, 05:15 PM
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#8
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Senior Member
Name: Norm and Ginny
Trailer: Scamp 16
Florida
Posts: 7,517
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Sharon
We spent 11 months in our Scamp 16 last year. It worked great. When boondocking you develop a different consciousness about water.
Beyond our water tank we usually carry a case of bottled water in our tow vehicle. Nice to have when out exploring. We use our tank water for just about everything though always a couple of cold bottles in the fridge, probably dring 2 or 3 a day.
__________________
Norm and Ginny
2014 Honda Odyssey
1991 Scamp 16
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02-23-2013, 05:23 PM
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#9
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Senior Member
Trailer: Class A Motorhome
Posts: 7,912
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Actually I carry two water back-up/refilling systems. The two 5 gallon Coleman water containers and also my "Jugs & Bucket system.
The latter is two 101 oz round water jugs from the local spring water supplier (Arrowhead) and an oval bucket, that I bought at Target, that is exactly the right size and shape to fit two of them inside for carrying. I can then fill the 101 oz bottles at a tap, fill the bucket at a stream or use the 101 bottles as transfer bottles to transfer water from the 5 gallon containers to the supply tank. Moving 5 gallons takes about 5 minutes and, when the 5 gallon container is down to about 1/2, I can just pour from that.
All that said, where is all that extra capacity going to go????? You never want a water supply tank larger than the capacity of your Black and Gray tanks. In my Hunter Compact II the gray water goes out to an outside bucket so it's not a problem, but on my Toyota/Sunrader Adventure motorhome, I more than once overfilled the gray tank.
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02-23-2013, 06:15 PM
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#10
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Senior Member
Name: Norm and Ginny
Trailer: Scamp 16
Florida
Posts: 7,517
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Bob,
I believe the gray tank is 23 gal and the black 9 or 10 making a 20 gallon water tank a reasonable source.
__________________
Norm and Ginny
2014 Honda Odyssey
1991 Scamp 16
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02-23-2013, 06:31 PM
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#11
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Senior Member
Name: Sharon
Trailer: Chez Nous - a 2011 Scamp 16'
Texas
Posts: 277
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The option package for toilet/shower gives the gray water tank at 26 gallons; freshwater is at 12 and black water at 9.5.
For some reason, those numbers seem totally whacked to me.
Here's how I would have liked it:
Grey tank 20
Fresh 20
Black 12
I mean, this shows only about a 4-gallon difference from the original, but it's spaced out more in keeping with how we humans operate!!!
S.
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02-24-2013, 06:46 AM
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#12
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Senior Member
Trailer: 1973 Compact Jr and 1980 Bigfoot 17 ft
Posts: 1,339
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Sharon,
If you want to replace the tank with a larger one, there is no better person for that work than Larry Gamble of Little House Customs. He usually works on Casitas, but he installed a gray water tank (and all the plumbing) in my Bigfoot that looks like the factory did it. He is located in Yantis, Texas. He'll be working at Bluebonnet (Bandera) in April if you would like to see his handy work.
Little House Customs
http://www.mfrvg.com/bluebonnet-casita-rally
__________________
1980 Bigfoot 17' & former owner of 1973 Compact Jr
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02-24-2013, 10:18 AM
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#13
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Senior Member
Trailer: Trillium 4500
Posts: 2,050
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The grey needs to be larger than fresh capacity because you may drain excess juice off canned goods, poor out old sodas, beer, etc.
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02-24-2013, 10:47 AM
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#14
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Senior Member
Name: Logan
Trailer: 1976 Scamp 13'
Wisconsin
Posts: 230
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve Hammel
The grey needs to be larger than fresh capacity because you may drain excess juice off canned goods, poor out old sodas, beer, etc.
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Why on earth would you waste beer?!
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02-24-2013, 11:25 AM
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#15
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Senior Member
Name: Sharon
Trailer: Chez Nous - a 2011 Scamp 16'
Texas
Posts: 277
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Tom, yes I'm familiar with Larry and his goodies, and mods for Casitas. No doubt I'll head there for the upgraded tank as well as several other things. You "guys" are so handy with things I couldn't do to save my life, particularly all things electrical. I'll buy the parts an ask Larry to make me that detachable cord mod, for example.
Sharon
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02-24-2013, 02:03 PM
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#16
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Senior Member
Trailer: Boler (B1700RGH) 1979
Posts: 5,002
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve Hammel
The grey needs to be larger than fresh capacity because you may drain excess juice off canned goods, poor out old sodas, beer, etc.
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Sure, but I can't imagine a situation in which this volume would be anywhere near drinking/cooking water use (if you drink water from the trailer's tank) and fresh water consumption by the toilet... other than those who do not use the trailer's toilet.
__________________
1979 Boler B1700RGH, pulled by 2004 Toyota Sienna LE 2WD
Information is good. Lack of information is not so good, but misinformation is much worse. Check facts, and apply common sense liberally.
STATUS: No longer active in forum.
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02-24-2013, 03:47 PM
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#17
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Senior Member
Name: Francesca Knowles
Trailer: '78 Trillium 4500
Jefferson County, Washington State, U.S.A.
Posts: 4,669
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve Hammel
Get the 3 gallon dispensers with a tap and set it on the counter with the tap over the sink. Portable and refillable.
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This is similar to what I do, difference being that the containers I use are a bit smaller, and fit (one at a time) a wall "bracket" I built for them . Much easier to carry than the dreaded five gallon floppy....
I took my 14-gal. water tank out and now have the extra space for storage.
Another advantage of this approach is that the empties go directly into the car, and on trips out and about I fill them wherever the opportunity presents itself. No need to move the trailer just to get water!
Francesca
__________________
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02-24-2013, 04:00 PM
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#18
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Senior Member
Trailer: 92 16 ft Scamp
Posts: 11,756
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SharonM
The option package for toilet/shower gives the gray water tank at 26 gallons; freshwater is at 12 and black water at 9.5..
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Dont forget the 6 gallons you have in your hot water tank which you can fill up in addition to your fresh water tank.
Keep in mind also that due to the weight of water not a lot of people pull with much water in their tanks. I tend to fill up at destination or fill it up at the last possible place to where I am going. Having a smaller water tank tends to keep me mindful of water usage as well, reducing the amount of times the grey water tank needs draining. Its also pretty easy to use portable water carriers to top the water tank up as need be, no need to move the trailer. Even when camping in remote areas one normally does a bit of driving around and can normally find a place to fill up portable water jugs.
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02-24-2013, 04:50 PM
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#19
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Senior Member
Name: Norm and Ginny
Trailer: Scamp 16
Florida
Posts: 7,517
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Sharon,
The amount of storage capacity or tankage required is certainly related to your camping style. We rarely spend more than a week in one location. In general a tank of water can be enough. Ginny goes into the water saver mode... paper plates... and so on.
There is a difference between dry camping and true boondocking. In a true boondocking situation without available bathrooms the black tank can become the limit and not your water supply. The two of us can stretch the black tank to 3-4 days. Certainly a single person could double that.
Very often when dry camping, no hook ups, there are relatively nearby bathroom facilities like when we camped at Craters of the Moon and than the limit is not the black tank but the gray tank.
The water tank is not the limit because you can always add water to the tank it's just a question of the amount you add at one time.
If you are dry camping at a place like Craters and have to move your rig to dump or fill your water tank, it's not too big a deal once a week. We try to keep our trailer in moving trim, having a place for everything and not leaving a lot out. In general we carry very little loose in our trailer.
As to sleeping on the front couch, it's wider than half the bed I share with Ginny and we have no problem with it. As well I've fallen asleep a number of times on the couch and find it comfortable. We have stored our sleeping pads under the bottom and/or the back of the couch. Presently we use Alps self inflatable matresses learned from Dave and Paula B. We keep ours behind the back of the couch (our couch no longer folds up.
For additional storage we added a closet over the bathroom end of the couch and a drawer under the right side of the couch. Ginny uses two plastic bins under the center of the couch.
If you're traveling alone, the best mod we and others have made is to make our table into a folding table. It really opens up the trailer.
Wishing you well.
__________________
Norm and Ginny
2014 Honda Odyssey
1991 Scamp 16
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02-24-2013, 05:12 PM
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#20
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Senior Member
Trailer: Boler (B1700RGH) 1979
Posts: 5,002
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Carol H
Dont forget the 6 gallons you have in your hot water tank which you can fill up in addition to your fresh water tank.
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Are you thinking of the heater volume as additional capacity? There is no way for the trailer's pump to get this water out, although you could drain it into a bucket and pour that into the fresh water tank... essentially, water heater contents are extra load to carry around which you can't use; you are using water from the fresh tank which is pumped in to displace heater contents.
__________________
1979 Boler B1700RGH, pulled by 2004 Toyota Sienna LE 2WD
Information is good. Lack of information is not so good, but misinformation is much worse. Check facts, and apply common sense liberally.
STATUS: No longer active in forum.
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