scamp 19 questions

[curt meyer]

Hi, my name is curt, I am considering a scamp 19' but note the fresh water capacity is 12 gal. Other campers seem to have 25-30 gal fresh water. Do other Scamp owners feel this is a drawback. Can water be added to Scamp's with a bucket if needed.
Thank you for your info.

[sokhapkin]

Advice about WHAT?

[Jon in AZ]

By a number of accounts, it may be even less than 12 gallons. There's been some discussion that Scamp's capacities for both fresh and grey tanks may be overstated. If you desire more fresh water capacity, I believe adding a second tank is an option. We don't use ours (no bath and we cook outside).

[floyd]

We have had a 12 gal tank on our Scamp for eleven years and have found it plenty adequate even with two showers per day.

No valid question has been raised as to the fresh water capacity.
Twelve gallons is accurate... only the gray water tank has come into question.

The new Scamps have now changed the fresh water filler to one like the one on my trailer which makes filling from water cans much easier.

[papa-t]

You can always add a second 12 gal fresh water tank under the other dinette seat like I did on my 19 scamp that I recently sold. See my post. http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...-up-58971.html

[Mary F]

Our Casita of 16 years has a 12 gallon fresh water tank. If we'll be boondocking, we carry a plastic "milk" crate with 4 gallons of drinking water. We use those for filling the tea kettle, and in a pinch we can add them to the fresh water tank. (They're also handy for refilling if we camp without a hookup but where drinking water is close by. Additionally, we have a collapsible bucket that helps with that job.) So, you can easily manage with "just" 12 gallons. As someone else pointed out, the size of the gray water tank is more limiting, because it needs to be dumped... although, of course, there are ways to deal with that, too.

[Dennis mn]

I use a 6 gallon "Jerrycan" to fill the water tank. Two times to fill and one refill in reserve. 18'gallons lasts us for a weekend of camping. Water capacity has never been an issue.

[curt meyer]

Scamp 19 questions:
Thank you for replies. Good to know water can be replenished by container.+

Curt

[John Linck]

There is a boutique dairy nearby that sells their milk in squarish, very heavy duty gallon jugs. We carry four, sans milk, for our drinking water and then use them for replenishing the Scamp's fresh water tank. A gallon in each hand seems the best compromise in making pleasant water refill walks in campgrounds.

I do wish RV fill tubes would accept higher flow rates. Ours gurgles and burps back ending up with a puddle underneath. A bit more patience would help, but even one gallon jugs get heavy. Armchair musings have developed many solutions, but its just too small a problem to get very serious. As the kids say, "Its a first world problem." I'm told women and children in some places walk miles daily for water of questionable purity. See http://www.charitywater.org/about/mission.php. They are good folks.

John

[Evergreengirl]

Curt, I think a lot depends on how and where you're going to be camping. Are you planning on lots of boondocking for expended periods - say a week or more at a time? Or are you going to primarily camp for weekends at a campground with hook-ups? That may influence just how big a tank you'd like to have. My personal opinion is that for boondocking or camping in campgrounds without hook-ups, bigger is better. Our Bigfoot has a 28 gal. fresh water tank and we're glad we have it. It's always possible, like others have suggested, to figure out a way to refill your tank from jugs, but you need a source of water to begin with and that has to come either from water you've brought along in your TV or from a campground spigot or some other source.

[captsteve2002]

With our Scamp 19 we carry extra water (good water from Prescott, AZ.) in plastic milk jugs under the dinet. We don't fill the water tank until we get to our camp spot or near it (don't need to carry the extra weight). We find that the water in the tank is more than enough for dishes and sponge baths. We don't take showers in the Scamp, if we need to get clean we take sponge baths, and they don't use much water. PS I also empty the tank before moving to our next camping spot, unless it is a short distance of travel.

[Timber Wolf]

Originally Posted by Mary F

If we'll be boondocking, we carry a plastic "milk" crate with 4 gallons of drinking water.

This is what we do for all our drinking/cooking water. Helps with balancing the trailer weight too as the milk crate fits under the front sofa if I want more weight up front.

[sokhapkin]

I second that. I never use fresh tank water for drinking/cooking, but for washing/showering only.

[Paul O.]

Originally Posted by John Linck

I do wish RV fill tubes would accept higher flow rates. Ours gurgles and burps back ending up with a puddle underneath.

John, Look under the dinette seat and follow the small diameter tube that is connected to the top of the water tank. You may need a mirror to do so, and I bet you will find that at the highest point where it is clamped to the underside of the bench it is squeezed too hard and bent too sharp and it does not vent properly. Others here have suggested that sometimes mud daubers plug the small vent tubes, which would be visible on the outside. If it is clamped too hard, you can simply remove the clamp, I do not think it is necessary, since the tube is caulked where it goes through the floor, and will not go anywhere. That was the problem with my tank; it is so much easier now.

[Carol H]

I do a fair amount of boon docking and get by with just fine with the 12 gallon water tank even taking showers, cooking and dish washing. Simple carry with me a couple of collapsible water jugs and take them with me when traveling around and fill them up where ever I can and just add to tank as needed. Like others I don't use the water in the tank for drinking as I often pick it up on the road so its quality is never really known. I carry extra jugs from home or other known sources for drinking water.

[mbbear]

Originally Posted by sokhapkin

I second that. I never use fresh tank water for drinking/cooking, but for washing/showering only.

Hi Michael from VA. I have seen a number of posts from folks saying that they never drink the water from the fresh water tank - why is that? Does it taste bad; have a bad smell? As someone who will be boomdocking a lot I'm wondering what the issue is? Thanks

[Borrego Dave]

Originally Posted by mbbear

Hi Michael from VA. I have seen a number of posts from folks saying that they never drink the water from the fresh water tank - why is that? Does it taste bad; have a bad smell? As someone who will be boomdocking a lot I'm wondering what the issue is? Thanks

Good question Michael. From many comments on threads it seems to be about 50/50 on that. I think the biggest concern folks have is the water quality. I've had a number of RVs, all bought used and after bleaching/cleaning the system use the tank water for everything. Never had a problem with taste or smell. Maybe I've been lucky all these years

[Dennis mn]

We never drink the water from the tank because of the size of the tank. I carry extra water in a foldable jug that was our water jug from the days of tent camping. It's the drinking water.

[Jon in AZ]

Here's a thread you may find useful: http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...nks-67588.html. One poster reported ordering a second tank from the factory, and another retrofitted twin tanks that were larger than stock.

Water is heavy, so you will need to make sure you have adequate hitch weight and haven't exceeded the trailer's GVWR. That's a lot of weight behind the axle. I wouldn't recommend it at all on a bumper pull, but a fifth wheel is inherently more stable. It would make sense to fill the tanks near your destination if practical.

Whether you have one tank or two, I like the idea of adding a deck hatch (see post #9) for ease of cleaning/disinfecting.

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by Borrego Dave

I think the biggest concern folks have is the water quality. )

Thats why I don't drink water from the tank! If its water I have picked up during my travels. I don't know the state of the water facility or private well or community well the water came from. I don't now when the water was last tested so I would rather not risk drinking it and getting sick while I am traveling.

I am worried about the state of my tank - I clean it a couple of times a year and if I have filled it with water from a known source then I am fine with drinking it from the tank.