Want to mostly full time in a 13' Scamp

[Jerry-Janelle]

We are thinking of spending anywhere from 6 to 10 months a year in our Scamp in a couple of years. We have wondered if the 13' will be big enough but have a couple of years to test it out as we have to sell our house in this market and find a different home base. If we "upgrade" if you want to call it that, the Lil' Snoozy comes to mind as well as the Casita 17. We were thinking of putting everything we might need for a small home base in storage, then spend at least a month or two in several different places to get the feel of the neighborhood. Has anyone else done it this way? We can't stay where we are and spend that much time away, too much property to take care of an too hard to come and go in the winter. Thanks.

Jerry & Janelle

[Scouter Dave]

I am looking forward to reading this thread. I am not planning on that long a time away but Nov. - Mar. at least, in a Trillium 13".
Fortunately [or unfortunately] I am now in an apartment and if I can get someone to take the plants, I can just drive away and head south.
My rig is not the prettiest but it will do for now and updgrades will come later.
Sometimes, taking that first step [or driving that first mile] is the hardest but I hope I have the courage to do it.
Talk to us people, we need some advice and reassurance...
Thanks.
Scouter Dave

[dylanear]

I love full timing in my 13' Scamp, but I'm single. And I'm often running out of space. I would not want to full time in a 13' Scamp with another person. Maybe with a huge TV with plenty of room to store things, but personal space aside I never have enough room for my stuff.

[mary and bob]

Last winter we did 4 weeks in our CT13 Uhaul. After we settle into a campground where we are going to stay for awhile we set up our Eureka Northern Breeze screen room. It has flaps to close it in, we can heat it, set up chairs, camp stove, dorm fridge, and lights. It gives us additional room besides the camper. In the trailer we have heat and a TV, 110 and 12 volt lights. It worked so good for us that next winter we are going south for three months.

[dylanear]

I'm thinking if I want to keep full timing, I'll probably upgrade to a 16' and a big (for Subarus) Subaru Legacy/Outback wagon for my TV.

Problem with that is I love my 13 so much and I'm currently putting enough time and money into it that I won't ever want to let it go. Now if I get a girlfriend/wife with her own trailer, that might be perfect! We could hang out together and still have our own space! Double the petrol bills, but ya can't have everything.

[Anndm1960]

Hi I was wondering about wind gusts and how your little scamp holds up? I would like to full time in a 16 ft fulltime yearround in Fl. I know Florida gets some pretty high gusts so I'm wondering about how stable they are? Any insights?

[dylanear]

I spent the winter at 7000ft in the mountains above Albuquerque, saw serious weather of all sorts. Winds did make some serious noise at times and you'd feel the trailer rocking (better stabilizers/jacks/stands would probably have helped with the rocking). But no damage. A few times strong gusts came from nowhere, so I'd be careful about the top vents and especially the awning (if you have one). I pretty much wouldn't leave the trailer unattended for more than few minutes with the awning down. One good gust and I could see things breaking. I saw well below 0 (yes Fahrenheit) and never was cold with just a tiny Pelonis 110V AC heater. You won't have that issue in Florida! It's a well insulated, well sealed trailer (not sure about older models with older windows). But I'd fear condensation, mold. It's dry, dry, dry here and the windows often would be covered in condensation, but no where else really, wasn't a problem in 5% humidity, may be a problem in FL. I'd want electric heat in the winters (if even needed down there) and AC with good condensation draining in the summers before I'd consider full timing in the south. But I have low tolerance for heat+humidity, despite 7 years of my youth in Alabama.

It's actually a pretty darn aerodynamic trailer, sitting still or towing I've been impressed how little winds push it around actually.

[dylanear]

Originally Posted by mary and bob

Last winter we did 4 weeks in our CT13 Uhaul. After we settle into a campground where we are going to stay for awhile we set up our Eureka Northern Breeze screen room. It has flaps to close it in, we can heat it, set up chairs, camp stove, dorm fridge, and lights. It gives us additional room besides the camper. In the trailer we have heat and a TV, 110 and 12 volt lights. It worked so good for us that next winter we are going south for three months.

4 weeks, on vacation, 2 people, no worries.

But month after month, through seasons you may not want to be outside, dealing with life's daily grind if you're still working, I'd kill anyone in that small a space!

But I LOVE my me time. Love my "personal space". And I wonder why I'm single? Surely there's a woman out there with similar tendencies!

[DannyH]

I have a 13' scamp, and my wife and I have done multiple 3 & 4 day trips, with a 3 week one last year. The three week one was fine and we had plenty of room for everything. We plan on full timing in 4 to 5 years, and we think for us, a 13' scamp would end up being a divorce trailer. I think I could do a year or two by myself, but we know that each of us need some personal space to make this work. We have looked at many trailers, and want to keep it as small as possible, but may end up in a 25 foot Bigfoot. I'm looking foreword to see what you end up with.

[Daniel A.]

My view would be go to a 17 foot unit the extra space would make life easier.
When the wife and I go out it works fine but at times I think if we were full time I'd look at the 21 foot Bigfoot.
I'm usually out alone most of the time and the 17 is great for me.

[BCDave]

Our record was about 2 weeks. Luckily we broke it up with a couple of hotel stays to decompress.

[Deb & Chuck]

Originally Posted by Jerry-Janelle

We are thinking of spending anywhere from 6 to 10 months a year in our Scamp in a couple of years. We have wondered if the 13' will be big enough but have a couple of years to test it out as we have to sell our house in this market and find a different home base. If we "upgrade" if you want to call it that, the Lil' Snoozy comes to mind as well as the Casita 17. We were thinking of putting everything we might need for a small home base in storage, then spend at least a month or two in several different places to get the feel of the neighborhood. Has anyone else done it this way? We can't stay where we are and spend that much time away, too much property to take care of an too hard to come and go in the winter. Thanks.

Jerry & Janelle

You might like a 2010 Escape 15 a friend is selling her's due to life changes.
Chuck

[Anndm1960]

Awesome! Thanks for the info that really sets my mind at ease! I'll remember the tip about the ac!

[John Fazio]

I think size depends on what you're going to do. If you are going to work out of the camper you may need some extra space for electronics, papers etc... Also recreational gear, if any, has to go somewhere too. Other major factors worth considering are camping style, length of stay, desired locations etc... If you plan on dry camping or boon docking then larger gray and black tanks could be beneficial. In all of my research, the Bigfoot 21RB came in as the best all around camper. The biggest negatives are tank sizes and tow vehicle requirements. I also really like the FG fifth wheels, but think a 24 footer would be best for full timing, something like the Bigfoot 24SL motor home redesigned as a fiver, drool.

When we were selecting a camper to full time in we ended up using the worst case scenarios as the key decision points. Things like a broken bone, having the flu, 2 weeks of constant rain... lead us to wanting a larger camper for semi-separate spaces. The used market is what brought us the 25RQ and we couldn't be happier.

Having owned a scamp and now a Bigfoot, the extra width is extraordinary. Personally, I'd only consider the wider units.

-John

[Scouter Dave]

We have had a Unik, 15ft Trillium & 13ft. Trillium. I few times here on the island I have had to get off the road due to high winds. The isthmus heading to the Avalon Peninsula can be bad but the worst is Wreck House.
[you can google it] Box cars used to get blown off the track and now, tractor trailers get blown over. When wind warnings are up for the Wreck House area we just pull in and wait it out. Most sensible truckers do the same. It sure messes up the ferry schedule too. Just another advantage of living on a island.
Scouter Dave. "Thank God we're surrounded by water."

Originally Posted by Anndm1960

Hi I was wondering about wind gusts and how your little scamp holds up? I would like to full time in a 16 ft fulltime yearround in Fl. I know Florida gets some pretty high gusts so I'm wondering about how stable they are? Any insights?

[dylanear]

Originally Posted by Scouter Dave

We have had a Unik, 15ft Trillium & 13ft. Trillium. I few times here on the island I have had to get off the road due to high winds. The isthmus heading to the Avalon Peninsula can be bad but the worst is Wreck House.
[you can google it] Box cars used to get blown off the track and now, tractor trailers get blown over. When wind warnings are up for the Wreck House area we just pull in and wait it out. Most sensible truckers do the same. It sure messes up the ferry schedule too. Just another advantage of living on a island.
Scouter Dave. "Thank God we're surrounded by water."

OK, my 13' Scamp has not been in winds that would knock down a box car or tractor trailer! In that case, all bets off!! Good luck, your on your own!

[reeves99]

We spent 6 weeks in our 13' this past spring. Two weeks on the road and a month sitting still in Palm Springs. We mostly "camped" in places with hookups. The trailer worked out just fine for the 2 of us. That trip made us confident that we could spend almost unlimited time in the trailer.
We plan to take an 8 month trip starting next February.
We did learn a couple of "tricks" to make life easier but that comes with experience and everybody's needs are a little different.
Good luck!
Phil

[floyd]

Originally Posted by Daniel A.

My view would be go to a 17 foot unit the extra space would make life easier.
When the wife and I go out it works fine but at times I think if we were full time I'd look at the 21 foot Bigfoot.
I'm usually out alone most of the time and the 17 is great for me.

We love our Scamp 13D front bath and have no plans to change, but if you want to upsize (not upgrade) then a Scamp16 side dinette, front bath would fill the bill nicely while remaining towable.
The 17s presently available start to cross the class line in terms of size/weight, demanding the consideration of a larger tow vehicle.

[Byron Kinnaman]

Originally Posted by Jerry-Janelle

We are thinking of spending anywhere from 6 to 10 months a year in our Scamp in a couple of years. We have wondered if the 13' will be big enough but have a couple of years to test it out as we have to sell our house in this market and find a different home base. If we "upgrade" if you want to call it that, the Lil' Snoozy comes to mind as well as the Casita 17. We were thinking of putting everything we might need for a small home base in storage, then spend at least a month or two in several different places to get the feel of the neighborhood. Has anyone else done it this way? We can't stay where we are and spend that much time away, too much property to take care of an too hard to come and go in the winter. Thanks.

Jerry & Janelle

Hi Jerry and Janelle.

Full timing or semi full timing is a state of mind and life style. Anne and I have spent over 3 months the last two winters traveling the southwest in our 13'.
Another couple spent 4 years in 13' before they bought a 16' Scamp.
We mostly travel the National Park and National Forest circuit. In the winter in the southwest there's lots of people doing the same thing. We've stayed up a month in once place, but usually only a week or two. There's just too many interesting places to see to stay put too long and there seems to be two stay limits, 14 days and 30 days. You learn where to go and where to stay when talking to other "snow birds". Some are full timing some are semi and others just for few weeks. But it's all good.
One of the nice things about our trailers is that we can go weather suits us, this allows us to spend most of our time outside.

Go for it...

[Jerry-Janelle]

Thanks, we really think we can manage in the 13, we love it now and never feel cramped. The only changes I think we might have to make are air conditioning and a fantastic fan. Where we travel now, we don't need air but to mostly full time and venturing into the South, I think we will.