Campers from Colorado!

[BrowningSchubarth]

My fiancé and I just picked up an old Eco Camper. We believe it is a 1974, but we aren't completely sure. We started restoring the inside about a week ago. We are hoping to have it done ASAP to go camping in while the weather is still nice. I have yet to find another ECO camper. Ours is very similar to Boler or Scamp. We are excited to get this thing up and moving!
Here are things we are looking into:
Solar panels
Air conditioner
Electric stove (we are trying to use only electricity in our camper)

Some other ideas for decoration and getting the most out of our space.

Feel free to comment, and post any ideas! Thank you!

[Zennifer]

Originally Posted by BrowningSchubarth

My fiancé and I just picked up an old Eco Camper. We believe it is a 1974, but we aren't completely sure. We started restoring the inside about a week ago. We are hoping to have it done ASAP to go camping in while the weather is still nice. I have yet to find another ECO camper. Ours is very similar to Boler or Scamp. We are excited to get this thing up and moving!
Here are things we are looking into:
Solar panels
Air conditioner
Electric stove (we are trying to use only electricity in our camper)

Some other ideas for decoration and getting the most out of our space.

Feel free to comment, and post any ideas! Thank you!

Hi! There's a lot of good info on here about solar panels...do you want to stay mostly in places with electric plug availability, or stay off the grid on national forest/many national park campgrounds? A/C can't happen without a generator or AC power; look into the draw of electric stove tops to see if they can run on a battery or not. But...we live in Colorado and have s scamp...I added an extra window and took OUT the A/C as we never camp with electrical plugs and don't have a generator, and we have not found ourselves wanting one. maybe try camping without the A/C if you are staying mostly in Colorado for camping? The nights cool down so fast here!

[The Minimalist]

Welcome to the forum.

I just checked in the Gallery (see top of page), and found 4 Ecos on the site. However the the owners are not very talkative; the last posts are in 2010 and 2014. There are a lot of pictures though.........'a thousand words' and all that.

An electric stove is not likely, and I normally recommend against any resistance heat devices for solar in such a small trailer. The beauty of these trailers is their light weight, and the battery bank you would need to do any significant cooking would kill the light weight.

Is there a refrigerator in the trailer? If so, can it be run on propane?

You are not going to run an AC on battery either. Does it have a powered vent in the roof?

What battery does it have now; Group 24, 27, and 29 are the most common.

On my Little Joe, I am running everything off of a Group 24 deep cycle battery charged by 80 watts of amorphous solar cells. I have converted all of the lights to LED and changed the speed switch on the Fantastic Fan to a Pulse Width Modulated controller.(less than 6 bucks and an easy install.)
We do have a 5000 BTU AC mounted in the front, but we use that only in the humid flat lands of the Gulf Coast states, In campgrounds with shore power. The fan set to draw about .5 amp is all we need when we camp in the Smokies above 2500 ft.

Looking at the pictures in the Gallery, it appears that the trailers came with a sink, 2 burner LP stove and refrigerator. One tongue picture shows an LP hose and a place in the A-frame for an LP cyliner. There is one with a bath.

I'm assuming you have checked out the frame and suspension and all is OK?

[BrowningSchubarth]

Originally Posted by Zennifer

Hi! There's a lot of good info on here about solar panels...do you want to stay mostly in places with electric plug availability, or stay off the grid on national forest/many national park campgrounds? A/C can't happen without a generator or AC power; look into the draw of electric stove tops to see if they can run on a battery or not. But...we live in Colorado and have s scamp...I added an extra window and took OUT the A/C as we never camp with electrical plugs and don't have a generator, and we have not found ourselves wanting one. maybe try camping without the A/C if you are staying mostly in Colorado for camping? The nights cool down so fast here!

We want to do a little of both. Camping in random spots and camping in some rv hook up areas. I am definitely wanting to make this as self sustainable as possible! We have been working on the camper during the day and it was very hot inside, even with windows open and a fan on. Our two biggest windows are plexiglass and have no way of opening them. It just gets way too hot inside.

Also, where are your favorite places to go camping?
Thank you!

[BrowningSchubarth]

Originally Posted by The Minimalist

Welcome to the forum.

I just checked in the Gallery (see top of page), and found 4 Ecos on the site. However the the owners are not very talkative; the last posts are in 2010 and 2014. There are a lot of pictures though.........'a thousand words' and all that.

An electric stove is not likely, and I normally recommend against any resistance heat devices for solar in such a small trailer. The beauty of these trailers is their light weight, and the battery bank you would need to do any significant cooking would kill the light weight.

Is there a refrigerator in the trailer? If so, can it be run on propane?

You are not going to run an AC on battery either. Does it have a powered vent in the roof?

What battery does it have now; Group 24, 27, and 29 are the most common.

On my Little Joe, I am running everything off of a Group 24 deep cycle battery charged by 80 watts of amorphous solar cells. I have converted all of the lights to LED and changed the speed switch on the Fantastic Fan to a Pulse Width Modulated controller.(less than 6 bucks and an easy install.)
We do have a 5000 BTU AC mounted in the front, but we use that only in the humid flat lands of the Gulf Coast states, In campgrounds with shore power. The fan set to draw about .5 amp is all we need when we camp in the Smokies above 2500 ft.

Looking at the pictures in the Gallery, it appears that the trailers came with a sink, 2 burner LP stove and refrigerator. One tongue picture shows an LP hose and a place in the A-frame for an LP cyliner. There is one with a bath.

I'm assuming you have checked out the frame and suspension and all is OK?

The weight makes sense. I understand about the battery. I guess I should realize a propane stove is more realistic. I am just hoping to not buy propane and take the propane rack off the front to make it lighter. We have an ice box. No refrigerator. ice box is perfect though! No vent in the roof. also, no battery. Bare with me, I am trying to answer all your questions Ours came with a sink, no stove at all (but a place for one), and an ice box.

We are going to check on suspension and frame soon. Everything looks fine at the moment. We towed it home and it went fine, but definitely want to do a double-check before we take it out on a long trip.

[The Minimalist]

Originally Posted by BrowningSchubarth

No vent in the roof. also, no battery. Bare with me, I am trying to answer all your questions Ours came with a sink, no stove at all (but a place for one), and an ice box.

As to the stove, you could always use a small propane self contained unit in the trailer.

Whether you go with propane or not, do remember that you need to have 10-15% of the trailer's weight on the tongue, so some weight up there is good. The battery and propane bottle should be mounted as close to the trailer as possible.

With no AC, I highly recommend the powered roof vent, In cooler weather you may not need to use the fan, but in warm weather and especially if you are cooking inside, you will want the fan on....and they can be set to blow in our out, as the need arises.

[Zennifer]

Originally Posted by BrowningSchubarth

The weight makes sense. I understand about the battery. I guess I should realize a propane stove is more realistic. I am just hoping to not buy propane and take the propane rack off the front to make it lighter. We have an ice box. No refrigerator. ice box is perfect though! No vent in the roof. also, no battery. Bare with me, I am trying to answer all your questions Ours came with a sink, no stove at all (but a place for one), and an ice box.

We are going to check on suspension and frame soon. Everything looks fine at the moment. We towed it home and it went fine, but definitely want to do a double-check before we take it out on a long trip.

The first thing I would do is put a vent in the roof!! Give the hot air a place to go!!! We have the two big plexiglass front and back windows, too...but the two side jalousies plus the door window and the window we added over the stove, and it stays comfortable...key is having shades drawn during the day to keep solar gain out if you aren't in the shade.

Also, ours gets pretty warm sitting on our driveway on the front range....but taking it into the mountains and honestly even to lake mcconaughy in 90-100° temps but with the wind they have there, and it was comfortable. How much time do you anticipate spending inside your trailer between 9 am and 5-6pm? We occasionally eat lunch in ours, but otherwise are outside. Just things to think about, and why suggest that you take it out A/C less before deciding it is truly a deal breaker.

As far as favorite places....Lake Irwin has been my above and all favorite. Great views, great fishing, good hikes, nice boating...the north rim of the black canyon of the gunnison is spectacular...if you live up north, there's nice close stuff up hwy 14/red feather area...we really enjoyed sand dunes NP....so many great places.

[Zennifer]

We have ours running all on all propane with aaa battery powers lcd lights right now....no battery yet as we decide whether we need it or not...propane really is an efficient way to cook.....lots of people get a little Coleman stove or similar and cook on the picnic table outside with the small canisters, though. We are on our first summer with the scamp after 6 years with a canned ham, so we are taking it slow with changes we aren't sure of yet...

[Glenn Baglo]

Before you use a "self-contained" propane or butane stove inside your trailer, read the instructions. Most say not to use inside because they produce carbon monoxide, and then there is the potential explosion.
This was my butane stove, which my daughter was using outside. Shrapnel and flames in all directions.

[Orlen Wolf]

In what part of Colorado are you located (in general)? There is a rally later this month near Durango where you could get a lot of info and see a lot of fiberglass. Look up the Rocky Mountain Egg Rendezvous.

BTW - ECO campers were built by Scamp when there was a legal battle over the Scamp name. I don't know exactly what years but it was for a short duration.

[BrowningSchubarth]

I am in Colorado Springs so pretty central to Colorado. Durango looks very fun. If we can get it up and running by then, I would love to go!!

Also, thanks for the ECO info! I had no idea and I have been so confused! So, scamp is our safest bet for parts and such I assume. They say Eco was made from 70-73 but ours says it is a 74. Hmm.

Thank you for all the info!

[BrowningSchubarth]

Originally Posted by Glenn Baglo

Before you use a "self-contained" propane or butane stove inside your trailer, read the instructions. Most say not to use inside because they produce carbon monoxide, and then there is the potential explosion.
This was my butane stove, which my daughter was using outside. Shrapnel and flames in all directions.

Wow!! I am glad I read this! I guess I should suck it up and just put some propane on the front of ours and buy a propane stove. I like how one person on here talked about using Propane for everything. That seems very interesting. We do not have a battery yet for it, but that part still is not very clear to us. I am still doing a lot of research.

[BrowningSchubarth]

Originally Posted by Zennifer

We have ours running all on all propane with aaa battery powers lcd lights right now....no battery yet as we decide whether we need it or not...propane really is an efficient way to cook.....lots of people get a little Coleman stove or similar and cook on the picnic table outside with the small canisters, though. We are on our first summer with the scamp after 6 years with a canned ham, so we are taking it slow with changes we aren't sure of yet...

How hard were the LCD lights? I would like to make this as simple as possible. So, running on only Propane sounds perfect. The battery situation still has me slightly confused. We do not have a battery for it yet. We aren't sure what to look for. It is good you are taking it slow. That is what we should do. Trial and error.

[BrowningSchubarth]

Originally Posted by Zennifer

The first thing I would do is put a vent in the roof!! Give the hot air a place to go!!! We have the two big plexiglass front and back windows, too...but the two side jalousies plus the door window and the window we added over the stove, and it stays comfortable...key is having shades drawn during the day to keep solar gain out if you aren't in the shade.

Also, ours gets pretty warm sitting on our driveway on the front range....but taking it into the mountains and honestly even to lake mcconaughy in 90-100° temps but with the wind they have there, and it was comfortable. How much time do you anticipate spending inside your trailer between 9 am and 5-6pm? We occasionally eat lunch in ours, but otherwise are outside. Just things to think about, and why suggest that you take it out A/C less before deciding it is truly a deal breaker.

As far as favorite places....Lake Irwin has been my above and all favorite. Great views, great fishing, good hikes, nice boating...the north rim of the black canyon of the gunnison is spectacular...if you live up north, there's nice close stuff up hwy 14/red feather area...we really enjoyed sand dunes NP....so many great places.

I do need to figure out how to put a fan up there. I read somewhere a man used computer fans so it wasn't loud and it kept the place pretty comfortable. We have just been painting inside in about 90° weather with an oscillating fan inside and it has been miserable, but we also don't have curtains or anything yet. Since we were painting, you know. I was thinking of getting the insulated curtains?

Gunnison is beautiful!! I have not heard of Lake Irwin or Lake Mcconaughy. Thanks!

[BrowningSchubarth]

Originally Posted by The Minimalist

As to the stove, you could always use a small propane self contained unit in the trailer.

Whether you go with propane or not, do remember that you need to have 10-15% of the trailer's weight on the tongue, so some weight up there is good. The battery and propane bottle should be mounted as close to the trailer as possible.

With no AC, I highly recommend the powered roof vent, In cooler weather you may not need to use the fan, but in warm weather and especially if you are cooking inside, you will want the fan on....and they can be set to blow in our out, as the need arises.

Man am I glad you posted this! I was about to remove that plate in front. Wow!! I will keep it for sure and I think I am safe using propane the way it is meant to be used. I need to find a roof vent though. How hard are they to install? I believe our battery goes under the sink. I think. Hmm. Smart ideas! Thank you so much!

[Zennifer]

Originally Posted by BrowningSchubarth

How hard were the LCD lights? I would like to make this as simple as possible. So, running on only Propane sounds perfect. The battery situation still has me slightly confused. We do not have a battery for it yet. We aren't sure what to look for. It is good you are taking it slow. That is what we should do. Trial and error.

About as easy as sticking a sticker on. They are similar to this, AAA powered, and do a fine job.

Commercial Electric 2.99 in. LED White Battery Operated Puck Light (3-Pack) BA002 WH at The Home Depot - Mobile


Honestly, I'd love to figure out some solar powered lighting....my stepmom has a solar powered hanging light that hangs from the vent that I covet. you might look into something like that, too. (It's a self contained solar panels and light thing on a hook.). But for now, these fit what we need. They haven't used up a set of batteries yet....of course with dark being way past 9:00, it's mostly just 5 minutes getting into pjs and bed.

[Zennifer]

Installing our extra window was easy!! We used a jigsaw with a shop vac sucking the dust to cut the fiberglass.

[The Minimalist]

Since the Eco owners seem to have departed the forum, you may check with Scamp to see where the battery was originally located. A battery in the trailer needs to be closed off from the trailer interior and vented to the outside, as they produce hydrogen gas when charging. Not a good situation.

I believe you said you could weld. I would add a battery mount to the tongue and bolt a marine battery case there, routing the cables inside to power your lights and 12 volt accessories. Much safer.

Regarding the powered roof vent, once again you may want to seek help from Scamp owners on this forum. I believe that on most Scamps you might have to build a 1 to 1 1/2 inch tall frame so you can mount the fan flush with the ceiling. Otherwise, you will be hitting your head on the switches and the cover jack knob. Of course, you will have to run 12V to it.

[The Minimalist]

Originally Posted by Zennifer

Honestly, I'd love to figure out some solar powered lighting....my stepmom has a solar powered hanging light that hangs from the vent that I covet. you might look into something like that, too. (It's a self contained solar panels and light thing on a hook.).

Zennifer, if your mom's lights are inflatable, you are talking about Luci lights, a circle of bright LEDs mounted inside an inflatable cylinder with solar cells on the top. Leave 'em on the dash when you are traveling about and they are ready to go in the evening. Decent area lighting and also direct lighting for reading. They showed up in Walmart recently. Google Luci Lights.

[Zennifer]

Originally Posted by The Minimalist

Zennifer, if your mom's lights are inflatable, you are talking about Luci lights, a circle of bright LEDs mounted inside an inflatable cylinder with solar cells on the top. Leave 'em on the dash when you are traveling about and they are ready to go in the evening. Decent area lighting and also direct lighting for reading. They showed up in Walmart recently. Google Luci Lights.

No, but those are on my love to have list! This folded out in kind of a three winged helicopter? Let me see if I can find it.