Looking for 13' to 15' FGRV for Family of 5!

[tinatoombs]

I came across this 16 ft Scamp near us for a great price. I have an inquiry to the seller about the bunks. Let me know thoughts. I imagine it be 2000 lbs tho...

Jon - this goes with your suggestion.

1986 16' Scamp Travel Trailer | Gray Court, SC | Fiberglass RV's For Sale

[tinatoombs]

Red Baron, Byron, Alan Reeves, and Jon -
Sorry - just saw I missed your posts! Yes - we want to infect our boys with a love for the outdoors. I, too, have many wonderful memories of camping in an old canvas tent as a child all over the Midwest and Southeast. My husband and I met on the Appalachian Trail and love to canoe, fish, hike, backpack, camp, bike... Its hard right now with our young 'uns, but I think a Scamp will make it fun with the little ones and it will be a new adventure!

I will take a look at the U-haul and the search tempest website! Thank you for your help! I saw a 16 ft Scamp for sale near us too...

[Jon in AZ]

I thought of you when I saw that. It'll be more like 2400 pounds loaded. The bathroom with related equipment (HW heater, extra propane tank) adds a bit. The unit in the photo in my earlier post originally had the bathroom, but it was was removed (you can tell by the window) and the bench added.

Biggest thing to watch for in one that old is floor rot. Inspect really carefully above and below, paying special attention inside cabinets around the perimeter of the trailer and under the bathroom. Repairing floor rot can quickly become a big project.

They are also prone to frame cracks in the area where the front A-frame (tongue) bends under the front of the cabin. That can be repaired and reinforced, but it's something to check before you buy.

You could possibly be looking at a new axle, too, in one that old ($600-800). Check for (1) unusual tire wear, (2) wheel well clearance- your fist should easily fit on top of the tire, and (3) axle arm movement- jack up the frame near the axle- the wheel should drop a couple of inches as the frame rises. Rubber torsion axles have a typical lifespan of 15-20 years. A new axle is not a big deal (and it's the time to add brakes if it doesn't already have them), but it's something to factor into the price.

As to the rest, you may want to download and print out the "Buyers Checklist" if you decide to go look at this trailer. In the "More" tab at the top of the screen, go to the "Document Center."

[tinatoombs]

Thanks Jon - those are the tips I was looking for! Getting the Buyers Checklist! Do you think we can decrease the weight to under 2000 if we removed bathroom? Or would it be even steven if replaced with bench?

Another thing... we haven't outfitted our minivan yet with the hitch. We wanted to make sure we had all our research before we got the type class hitch we need. I wonder if we could rent a U-haul pickup and tow a trailer when we buy it so we don't have to be in a rush to outfit the van?

[Jon in AZ]

I doubt you could get a 16'er under 2000 pounds loaded, but you could get closer. OTOH, with young kids, might want to keep the potty...

Regardless of whether you end up with a 13'er or larger, get the heaviest duty hitch available for your vehicle. It should be a Class II or III with a 2" receiver opening. Check your owner's manual and make sure you have all required towing upgrades.

[DeanCHS1980]

Kristina,

Nice looking rig, within your price range, relatively close by, and within the parameters of your tug (Kia Sedona - 3,500 lb towing rating). Given a 2,400 lb. trailer and 400 to 500 lbs of stuff, you can stay around 2,800 lbs, which is 80% of your tug's capacity. I think it is definitely worth a serious look. Plus, you are equipped with great wisdom and advice from Jon.

Keep us posted!

Take care,

Dean

[tinatoombs]

Are you kidding me?! It says sold now! Was just posted 3 days ago... lol.

[bpfick]

Originally Posted by tinatoombs

Are you kidding me?! It says sold now! Was just posted 3 days ago... lol.

Many clean units, when priced correctly? Sell in hours, literally hours, not days. We got an apologetic phone call at 7 am hoping we were awake. Buyer came within hours and that was that.

This is VERY typical for the "good ones" that are priced right.

[DeanCHS1980]

Hi Kristina,

Since August, I have watched FG rigs come and go on this and the other website in matter of days to a week or two. Not all move that fast and some are to be avoided, but there are fine rigs to be had. I mentioned we lost out on looking at a '03 Scamp 16' Deluxe back in November (about 425 miles from our home). The asking price was firm at $7,000.

Given I am such a newbie, I just didn't know enough to take the risky venture of buying without seeing or putting down a deposit. For good or bad, that is not my style to be that risky. There is nothing wrong with being patient. Now, you have a benchmark by which to measure other rigs.

Within a couple of weeks of missing out on the Scamp, we found a really nice '05 Casite 17' FD (one owner) with several upgrades. The Casita was well taken care of and the owner was outstanding throughout the process, including delivering the Casita to us (about 240 miles from their home to our home)!!!

Now, you have even more information and you are even more ready for the next opportunity.

Keep us posted.

Dean

[tinatoombs]

Yes - you are right, Dean. I need to stick to patience. So hard! I am not that type of buyer either. We have such a tight budget as it is - be hard to put money down on something just seen online... And also, that looked like a good one after I hem-hawed about it. Now I do have a benchmark and don't have to hem-haw as long!

[DeanCHS1980]

Hi Kristina,

There ya go!!! You now know more about what to look for in terms of FG rig, price, condition, age, etc. and you can feel better about moving quicker next time without being too hasty.

Dean

[bpfick]

Being prepared is your best bet. These are all things we had to reconcile ourselves to when we first began our search, almost a year ago. Maybe, just maybe we can speed up your orientation period a bit. We "wasted" months figuring much of this out for ourselves, the hard way, so to speak. Here are some things you can do.

1. Check here on this site, but also check on Molded Fiberglass Travel Trailers For Sale | Fiberglass RV's For Sale and checking every morning and night isn't a bad practice and takes very little time.

2. Finding anything within 100 miles would be like finding the poverbial needle in the haystack. Reconcile yourself to a much wider radius, I'm afraid.

3. Have ready access to your cash. Weekend banking hours and banking holidays just are what they are. Take these into your considerations.

4. There are often alot of Casitas in Texas (because they're built there) and more Scamps in the upper midewest (again, because they're built there). This is just reality and not a surpise. The sheer shortage of available units in your immediate area of the mid Atlantic or worse, in the northeast, means there is added pressure on those rarer units that do surface.

5. It is a bit "crazy" to consider having to drop everything and get over to evaluate a trailer 400 miles away, but again, we sort of had to reconcile ourselves to this as a possibility. We have a lifetime of "buying" boats, trucks, cars and lots of RV's but the very unique aspect of the FGRV had a buyer's learning curve that was new to us and so strange at first. We also got better at judging and discerning between those that were more likely to be well cared for and those that we were going to face a ton of re-working and we had to balance those things against the asking price. You learn how to ask better questions and make better "go or no go" judgements.

So, there are just a few of the things we learned. I'm almost embarrased to admit that when we first started, we spent way too much time saying, "What? THAT price for that?" Even the resale value was a bit shocking. Even that comes with a caveat because some sellers list their units at prices where the impatient buyer will be impulsive when they need to exercise some caution. It is challenging to discern between really nice units that require an immediate response versus those which are honestly not good buys at all and seller is merely looking to capitize on the current market conditions. You'll get better at this discenment process.

So, here's to hoping you find what you're looking for. Best regards.

[Jon in AZ]

Originally Posted by DeanCHS1980

... given a 2,400 lb. trailer and 400 to 500 lbs of stuff, you can stay around 2,800 lbs...

It realize it's a moot point now, but 2400 pounds is a realistic target for a fully-loaded-for-camping Scamp 16 side bath. It's on the lower end of the real world data in the "Trailer Weights in the Real World" thread. Without the bathroom and associated components, it would be even lighter.

Kristina, I'm afraid the others are right. The best deals sell in hours, not days. If this had lasted a week, it would be a sign that there were some major issues. But don't lose heart- yours will come along eventually.

[tinatoombs]

hey yall! Are you proud of us? We are now new owners of a 1989 16' Scamp! Yay!!

[Jon in AZ]

Very nice, Kristina! I recall you were looking for beds for 5... How close did you get? I can't tell from the photo for sure, but it appears to be layout 3 or 4. I like the high-mounted tail lights.

Happy camping!!

[Cathi]

Good going, Kristina! Congratulations on the new Scamp. May you and your family have many wonderful travel adventures with it.

[Thinh]

A 13 footer with kids is a lot of fun. I have one and we used to camp in...combo set-trillium and tent-Parent in tent with more privacy, 2 kids in trailer. But kids usually ended up in trillium with their friends, total ...5 kids. Two in rear bed, other 2 in front bunk and one ...on the floor. During storm, it can handle 5 persons with 2 in front bunk, 2 in rear bed and one on the floor. Just a family of 4 it handle OK for us. We used to be that tight and I love that....Some photos to share:

[Thinh]

One more to share about camping in ...COMBO STYLE-mini FG and tent- The pros of it is economy the cons is...space. But if you know how to manage it, like me, it will have a lot of comfort. The Trillium give be a safe-guarded shelter during storm, heavy rains, wild, dangerous animals areas. It also carry a thick mattress for tent which goes with it and like mine, the Trill could handle 4 to 5 bicycles inside. It has in door stove, microwave, fridge, drinking water tank, A/C. heater, radio/tv hook-ups. So even though its attached tent seems to be...tent, but it also has all of comfort, such as thick mattress carried by Trillium. That's why we camp as economy as we are, tight as we are but our campsite always end up with a lot of...little ones running, riding bicycles around and when the night falls, it will be packed with kids like ..sardines( even though other kids have their parents' trailer which are bigger than mine). We are happy campers, with each camping trip ended up more than 3 assorted trailers usually, average 4 families with about..20 coconuts, young and old, not including visitors..