Found! - Support Bar for 13' Scamp

[April Wilcox]

Hello, I thought I'd try here first, before I go calling Scamp looking for a replacement support for the kitchenette cabinet to the upper cabinet.

[Larry&Carrie]

[quote]Hello, I thought I'd try here first, before I go calling Scamp looking for a replacement support for the kitchenette cabinet to the upper cabinet.

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A simple solution may be to go to a local welding/fab shop tell them what you need and they can prob build you one in a couple minutes. A more elaborate one could take 15 minutes more. It would come out of their scrap pile.... Larry

[Greg A]

I'd just go get some cool pre-made chair leg dowels at the depot, or possibly some type of metal tubing where you could run wiring to the top cabinet which is always difficult to get wiring in.

[Donna D.]

This is a chance to make something uniquely your own. We've seen panels made out of stained glass, twisted driftwood that's been stained and varnished, fancy table legs, just about anything that doesn't bend. There's also this setup as Greg mentioned, this is a Boler mod by Gail Schultze, wiring runs inside the tube.

[Larry&Carrie]

This is a chance to make something uniquely your own. We've seen panels made out of stained glass, twisted driftwood that's been stained and varnished, fancy table legs, just about anything that doesn't bend. There's also this setup as Greg mentioned, this is a Boler mod by Gail Schultze, wiring runs inside the tube.

I like that, especially with the option of adding wiring inside. However, I would think that it would perhaps add stress to the side of trailer causing more "middle aged bulge". Might be something to consider. Larry

[April Wilcox]

Thanks for all the great ideas! I had not concidered making it a way to hide wires, as we have many new wires running down near where the brace should go, I was going to hide them after we finished some of our updates. Luckily we have plenty of time to work this out. No major trips planned for a while. If anyone has any other photos of custom braces they have or have seen, I would love to see them posted here!

[Raya]

If anyone has any other photos of custom braces they have or have seen, I would love to see them posted here!

April,

Wasn't sure whether to continue here or to start a new thread, but here is one that could include wires. I would prefer this design to the one that angles out to the outside wall because I think it's better to transfer the stress down towards the frame than out towards the sidewall.

This trailer has supports on both ends of the kitchen, and while I'm sure that can't hurt, it's probably not necessary. These look like they could be stainless-tube fittings such as you'd find in a boating catalogue (they may be elsewhere as well). You would have to drill a hole into the center of the base in order to run wires (the tube is already hollow) - I've done that for boat wiring.





Another idea that I've used (for a different type of project) is thick-wall copper water piping with (in my case black) spray-painted iron base fittings. That might be a neat look with the earth tones inside your trailer (probably cheaper than stainless too).

I'm thinking I had a plumbing shop solder/braze the threaded end onto the copper pipe, but it's been years and I can't remember for sure (I wanted my pipes to be removable as they were part of a boat-rack system). Anyway, it was relatively inexpensive.

Raya

[Greg A]

That's exactly what I was thinking of eventually doing. Looks like standard marine hardware was used for the bases and the poles.

I love those cabinets, Raya!

[Raya]

I love those cabinets, Raya!

Me too, although I should have mentioned that's not my trailer! It's a photo I'd found on the Internet and saved because I liked the red countertop.

I do like the clean stainless post.

R.

PS: Their towels will certainly be dry....

[Parker Buckley]

April,

I'm thinking I had a plumbing shop solder/braze the threaded end onto the copper pipe, but it's been years and I can't remember for sure (I wanted my pipes to be removable as they were part of a boat-rack system). Anyway, it was relatively inexpensive.

I think you could do that by soldering pipe-to-tube adapters onto the ends of the copper (say, 1" dia) and then screw the adapters into floor flanges which are available in standard steel pipe sizes. The floor flanges are just what they sound like, a flange with usually four holes cast into them to allow attaching to a flat surface. Not as flashy as the boat hardware, but certainly functional for less cost and could be painted easily.

Parker

[Raya]

That's about what I did, Parker. I was using them for uprights on a set of roof racks. You can then stand whitewater kayaks up on edge and lean the whole stack against the upright. Because they were threaded into the bases I could remove them when they were not in use.

Some people used galvanized pipe (same as the bases) but I had copper-colored pinstriping on my car at the time and I wanted something just a bit neater.

I believe the shop recommended thicker-walled pipe than the usual you get at a home store. It might have been "K" wall? This is years ago so I can't remember for sure. I used 3/4" pipe and had copper pipe caps brazed onto the "skyward" ends (of course in this application you'd likely have flanges on both ends).

I think I spray-painted the bases black, but I might not have...

It did come out kind of neat, and it was different From the pre-digital-camera age though.

[Donna D.]

If anyone has any other photos of custom braces they have or have seen, I would love to see them posted here!

April, you may wan to cruise through the topic > Interiors, (Not a How To Thread) for inspiration.

[Raya]

I did think of one disadvantage of the mounting of those stainless tubes I showed above, and that is that their base(s) would be one (more) thing to collect gunge and to have to clean around on the kitchen counter. The original side mount wouldn't be as bad that way. Also less in the way if you use a cutting board there, etc.

Not that a tube couldn't be side mounted, although it would be a bit less straightforward.

Raya

[April Wilcox]

Thanks for all the help, we are thinking of making a removable support that when in motion will be locked into place, but when we stop, we can remove it out of the way, since we know there will already be such limited space inside, adding one more obstacle doesn't sound too appealing. We do realize the importance of having the support though, so having something we can put in durring transport should be a good solution. When we do figure it out, I will post updates.

[Coach George Jessup]

...., we are thinking of making a removable support that when in motion will be locked into place, but when we stop, we can remove it out of the way, ....

while transport is the most curcial time you need the support..... ehhhh.... not sure its not needed AT ALL the rest of the time though.

My vote is a support should be there full time to hold the weight of the cabinets above.

[Pete Dumbleton]

A three-year old Scamp parts list has the support for $18, plus shipping. Personally I like it because I can fasten little rectangular baskets to hold my flatware, pens, etc.

[April Wilcox]

I guess that all depends on how much weight we put in the upper cabinets. I don't know how long this trailer has been used without a support bar, but there does not seem to be any signs of bowing due to the support not being there. When we picked it up, it had really old tires with good tread, so we are guessing it was not really traveled much, and more likely just sat for a long time. I don't see any signs of bowing on the side without the support. We might find a solution that is just out of the way enough to leave it in permanently, as right now this is all in the planning stages. I would venture to guess that if we keep the weight in the upper cabinets to a minimum, removing the brace when stopped, even for only short amounts of time while we are actually using the counter space should not be a problem. I can definitely see issues with traveling unbraced.

[Raya]

I guess that all depends on how much weight we put in the upper cabinets.

One thing to keep in mind is that the brace is not so much to support the upper cabinets, per se, but to provide support for the roof and sidewalls of the egg.

However, if you really wanted to have the extra room when you were camping, I suppose you could take it out when you were camping but leave it in when traveling and when the camper was stationary (but you weren't in it).

I would still vote for permanent support, but the latter would still be much better than the situation you have now.

[Greg A]

Where you'll most likely start to see the results of not having the support is in the door fitting, aligning and sealing properly. This will usually rear it's ugly head when you put new hinges on the door, but sometimes earlier.
If you become afflicted with this issue there are many posts on here about how difficult-and of course expensive-this is to get corrected.
I would highly recommend replacing the supports, at a minimum with Scamps, as it is very cheap insurance and I would leave them in permanent.
They have not caused any relevant space or usability issues for us over the last two years.

[April Wilcox]

All good advice, and the more I read, the more convinced I am about making them permanent. I do appreciate all the help! Thanks! Maybe we can come up with something creative.