Scamp fifth wheel hitch help

[papa-t]

Does anyone know or happen to have the scamp fifth wheel hitch installation instructions. I’m, getting the hitch with the brackets from the owner of the Scamp I'm buying. He had his hitch installed at the Scamp dealership so he don't have the information. I checked the search but came up short? Thanks in advance.

[Fran L]

Here is the little information we found..I believe it came from a Scamp Manual...we also had good luck calling Scamp and talking to someone in the welding shop.

Installing 5th wheel hitch: The most critical measurement is that the center of the ball on the hitch cannot be more than 60" from the corner of the bumper, otherwise the bumper may hit the trailer when turning corners. Hitch consists of two "L" brackets installed beside the wheel wells. Two 3/8" bolts are used to fasten the bracket to the wheel well.
Some trucks have wheel wells which are not vertical so that spacers need to be placed between wheel well and ”L” bracket. Then mark the bottom leg of the bracket (look underneath truck to make sure that marked holes will not damage any lines or be drilled through an inconvenient spot). Drill four holes through the bracket and the bed of the truck. Fasten legs to truck with 3/8" x 1 1/2" bolts (different trucks may need various sizes). After legs are fastened to truck, measure for cross member: cross members are usually cut to fit specific trucks. Cut cross member to correct length and drill 9/16" holes in each end, making sure they will align correctly with the holes in the ”L” brackets. Then fasten cross member in place with 1/2" x 4 1/2" bolts. Two inch ball should be used mounted in center of cross member.

Fran in NM

[Fran L]

Here are some photos of our hitch installed on a 2011 Nissan Frontier short bed/crew cab...
Remember that if you have to cut the cross member equally on each end so that the ball remains in the center!!!

Fran in NM

[papa-t]

Ok thanks Fran. So do you know how far yours is from the corner bumper. I noticed the gentleman Im buying from his sit back a little from center of axel. He had a five foot bed. I guess if you marked it at 58 inches all would be good? Thank you for the reply!

[Fran L]

Ted,
We'll measure ours later today and post it but I can say that ours is also just slightly behind the axle and we have not had any problems.
Fran

[Brian B-P]

Well, first you install the brackets to properly connect the hitch to the truck's frame... oh, wait, that hitch isn't designed to mount to structure, just to the box floor and wheelwells.

If I were going to tow an unmodified Scamp 19', I would first get the newly available rail-mounted hitch (or a common fifth-wheel hitch similarly modified to mount a ball) and the usual brackets to connect the rails to the frame. Unfortunately, Scamp's new hitch is not yet shown on their website. Perhaps someone can link to the discussion we have had of it here.

Even with better hardware, the question of location remains... sorry, I have no specific information for that.

Of course, you could just mount it on the tailgate!

[Donna D.]

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

Perhaps someone can link to the discussion we have had of it here.

Facebook pics from Scamp, on the Evelands page: https://www.facebook.com/#!/media/se...6801610&type=3

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by Donna D.

Facebook pics from Scamp, on the Evelands page: https://www.facebook.com/#!/media/se...6801610&type=3

Thanks Donna!
I avoid corporate Facebook pages; a company which forces me to interact with them through Zuckerberg's world risks losing my business.

There was also a discussion here in the forum, but in a quick search I didn't find it.

[Fran L]

Ted,
We measured our hitch and I've listed the measurements below...although I will say that if we had a choice, which we didn't at the time, we would have gone wiht the newer hitch that Donna and Brian mentioned.
These measurements are taken to the center of the ball in the hitch cross member:
Outside corner of back bumper to center (diagonal) 52"
Outside edge of back bumper (at center of bumper) to center of ball: 41"
Inside of tailgate to center of ball: 34"
Inside of front wall of bed (by cab) to ball: 25"
Outside corner of cab to center (diagonal): 40"

Hope that helps. Again, I really urge you to call Scamp and talk to their welding shop guy - they can give you great info for your particular vehicle. And it does NOT matter that you are buying it used from someone...they will still help.
Fran

[captsteve2002]

I had my hitch installed by a trailer company in the town were i bought the trailer. Figured if there was a problem I would let them take care of it. In fact there was a wiring problem, and they took care of it right away. I think I paid about $300 total for the brake controller and installation as well as the installation of the hitch. I'm very happy with the work that was done.

I do like the hitch as shown in the picutres on the page as I have a table that slide under the hitch, then I load a couple of totes in thr front. I also load things that are not as high as the hitch in the back (like my camp stove, leveling blocks, etc).

[papa-t]

Fran I really thank you for taking the time to measure. I will call Scamp to see what they have to say. Donna, I really think I will stay with the original hitch that Scamp has been using. For one thing it comes with the trailer. Second, I have spent many years with a regular 5er and one thing I hated was having to mess with the regular hitch. They are heavy and with a bad back I don't want to have to go there again. The Scamp's original hitch's cross bar isn't heavy. Steve, I can install the brake box myself, so that's not a problem. I just wasn't sure of the measurements. Thanks all, getting the 5er tomorrow, but then leave N.C. Wednesday; flying to Texas for five days for a wedding ( My DW best friend). I will let you know how it goes when I return and get busy with the hitch installation. Thanks again to all of you.

[Eddie Longest]

Looks like Fran had a short bed Frontier. I have a 6' long bed Frontier and I mounted my hitch in about the same place as her's in respect to the truck's rear axle. I can hitch up with the tailgate down and I can get two big black storage boxes in front of the hitch. I was able to attach my front and rear bolts on each side to supports that attach to the frame. Make sure you use grade 8 hwd. You also might want to weld brackets on your cross bar to attach your chains to.
Eddie

[Fran L]

Yup, Eddie is right. We have a short bed (5') Frontier. Our cross bar has holes drilled in it to attach the saftey chains. And yes, we can hitch up with the tailgate down too.
Good luck with your 'new' Scamp!
Fran in NM (used to live in Winston-Saem, NC)

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by papa-t

... I really think I will stay with the original hitch that Scamp has been using... I have spent many years with a regular 5er and one thing I hated was having to mess with the regular hitch. They are heavy and with a bad back I don't want to have to go there again. The Scamp's original hitch's cross bar isn't heavy.

Just a note: the crossmember with ball should be a lot lighter than the same crossmember with a whole side-to-side tilting fifth-wheel hitch head.

I would at least consider brackets under the box to tie the hitch mounting points to frame, although since the Scamp hitch is oddball the brackets would need to be custom-built.

[papa-t]

Just spoke to Kent at scamp and he is sending me the information with theit instructions on installing the hitch.

[papa-t]

He will send it tomorrow. He is leaving for today.. Sorry I started this post in the wrong section. It was moved to here. I've been bad.