Finally going to order my egg, unseasoned.

[Jeffee]

Hello campers. I had the order form and down payment in the envelope for a new Lil Snoozy (which I love) but one last measurement changed my mind. With the wheels outside the camper it wouldn't quite fit in the space between garages. So, now the Scamp 16' will be ordered by next week. By reading this forum for a while, I'm slightly concerned about some things about the Scamp. Water getting in between the fiberglass, especially at the door. Is this perhaps why the floors get water rot over time? Are Riveted cabinets a long term problem? Thanks to the information you have provided on interior AC installation, I will avoid the 9,200 BTU roof AC. Question; is 5,000 BTUs really enough for a window mount or a closet mount? Has anyone herd of the neet looking 7,000 BTU ClimateRight Portable Tent and Small RV Air Conditioner/Heater Combo $599 at camping world? My second project will be to turn the bunk beds into more comfortable beds. Again, this forum has provided great ideas. Well, as you can see, I'm excited about this purchaser. After owning 3 used pop-ups and a used Aliner non folding trailer, at 50 I'm ready to sacrifice for something new. I hope to share mods, adventures and some pains with you in the future.
Jeff

[Hambone]

Think floors rot from water leaks at lines or from water tank sweating, most seem to be in that area, or windows. My door core was soaked from not below the window but from the hole for the door latch, other than that no problems with my rivets beside the ones i replaced when replacing my snap caps, and that was to replace the part the snap cap snaps to. I dont have air....

[Donna D.]

Everything is a maintenance issue. Windows, rivets and covers, seals around doors, etc. I don't know of one single brand of molded trailer you can ignore and expect it to stay perfect. Each one has issues and sometimes they are different issues, but NONE can be ignored. Or, you pay the piper.

[Mike Magee]

Starting out new, you should be good for several years on those areas. But eventually they are likely to require attention.

In 95+ degree heat, my 5K doesn't do very well. Herschel replaced the 5K in his Snoozy with more BTUs. My vote would be to start out larger rather than maybe wishing later that you had.

[Donna D.]

And, truly... it depends on how you plan on storing the trailer when not in use. Under a carport, in a garage, a removable cover or out in the open. UVs are the killer of vents, rivet covers, etc. Wax and clean from acid rain certain helps, but nothing beats paying attention to the needs of the trailer and taking care of "issues" when they arise. It doesn't matter what brand of all-molded trailer you buy, differed maintenance is the devil. Just ask all the folks that purchased "stickies" and didn't or didn't want to... pay attention

[honda03842]

Jeff,
Our Scamp 16 is 21 years old and have no rivet issues other than having to replace the plastic rivet caps. The rivets themselves have held up well. If I had a new trailer I would consider popping the caps and spray painting them with gloss white to protect them from the UV.

People generally think our trailer is a new even though we are in our 10th month of travel. They stand up amazingly well. We have coated our's with Red Max Pro 3. It's been 12 months and seems to have stood-up well.

When we bought it we were concerned that it might rot from the bottom but any rot seems to be from the top and generally window leaks.

We bought ours last year and had a small leak at the front window which we quickly sealed.

As well we painted any of the floor white that was not covered by carpet. We also painted the bottom of our trailer white. In both cases we used spray can white. On this trip we had a pipe come lose on the hot water tank (my fault). Water that hit the painted area was easily wiped up, water that hit wood was at least surface absorbed, quickly dried with a hair drier with out damage. If I ever replace the carpet, I'll paint the whole floor.

We have a traditional room style 5,000 BTU AC installed in the bottom of the closet. It generally seems to be enough. It does not instantly drop the temperature to 70 but it relatively easily makes it comfortable the few times we've had to use it.

I should say with our travel style we generally avoid hot climates though we had a few hot days in FL, and AZ and even Montana. We seem to be happy to get into the 80s with a small fan blowing the cool air about plus it rather quickly removes the humidity.

[Ruth G]

I want my trailer experience to be the least amount of work. There are many pros and cons about all the different trailers out there. I have owned four or five scamps. I had trouble with the plastic rivet caps breaking on all of them. All had problems with the door hardware rusting on the outside.

I now have a lil snoozy. It has no rivets, I don't like the idea of drilling thru the fiberglass to attach cabinets.

I have a regular refrigerator. If it breaks, I can pull it out and replace it with one from home depot or lowes. Mine is not a three way. Some people would argue that a three way refrigerator allows more options. I like the hassle free idea.

The lil snoozy allows me to replace things that wear out on my own. Hopefully, I won't be needing this feature for a long time.

I am planning on upgrading my air conditioner to an 8000 btu unit this month. It slides out, and can be replaced easier than the rooftop air conditioners.

I like the propane on the scamp. I like the built in heater and cooktop. But if either breaks much more hassle. I carry a small heater and propane cooktop with me now.

The best part of the snoozy...........the openness of the space inside.
Non claustrophobic. A bed that is always a bed. A comfortable couch

Good luck on your choice

[Jeffee]

Yes I agree about the positives of Lil Snoozy but the wheel base, 7'11". Very hard to squeeze into my parking area and there can be tight driving situations that could prove dangerous. I figure that if I keep the Scamp covered for the 11 months it sits in the drive way i should be OK with minimal problems. Also I love the idea of Bunk-beds. When it's time to sleep, I like having my own bed. Also o0ne cralling over the other to get up at night is a pain. Thanks for all the comments on the realities of Fiberglass ownership, I'll take them to heart.
Jeff

[Ruth G]

The bunk beds appear to be made for children. These are not really sturdy enough. Maybe, just maybe, an adult could sleep on the lower one, but I doubt about the weight of an adult on the upper one. And the lower bunk would never work for me. Not comfortable at all.

I agree about climbing over each other in the bed. It's always preferable to be on the outside of the bed

And there is nothing for you to do, if the space doesn't fit, it just doesn't fit.

Good luck

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by Ruth G

The bunk beds appear to be made for children. These are not really sturdy enough. Maybe, just maybe, an adult could sleep on the lower one, but I doubt about the weight of an adult on the upper one. And the lower bunk would never work for me. Not comfortable at all.

Actually I have slept on the upper bunk on my Scamp a number of times. When traveling on my own and I wanting to leave the back table up but the dog wanted to keep ownership of the much wider lower bunk. The lower bunk with the banana cushion in place is actually quite wide and as far as comfort goes I have found it to be about the same as the main bed. The top bunk is narrow - have had a child fall off in the middle of the night so a removable rail of some sort is a good idea to add. Have also had other adults use the upper bunk from time to time. Dont know what the upper bunk is rated at actually but suspect if the person is under a 130lbs it should be fine.... or at least thats been my experience.

[Mike Magee]

The number that sticks in my head (for top bunk rating) is 80 lbs, but I could be remembering incorrectly. However, there have been some posts in the past showing how folks made their top bunks sturdier, so it certainly can be done. Also different ways of making rails can be found via search here.

[ericw]

From memory, I was told 150lbs. My 110lb daughter uses it consistently with no issues and it seems to be able to handle more than that. We also added a PVC railing to the upper bunk.

[kootenaigirl]

I sleep quite often on the lower bunk of our Scamp and find it very comfortable. It is a little cave like with the top bunk there and we will probably take that out for longer trips but it is handy to store things on.