Adding water pump

[Jeff Peterson]

My wife and I are less than satisfied with the hand pump that came with our '08 Scamp 13 and are considering adding an electric pump. How much work is this? Anyone done it? What advice do you have? If it's too much work -- like having to pull the sink -- I'd be tempted to take it to Backus since I'm not that far.

[Wilder]

It's not that hard if you can handle some basic plumbing and 12V wiring. Here's a diagram of how our 1993 13' Scamp is plumbed with both a hand pump and electric pump. The hand pump has to be in good working order and have a check valve inside it preventing backflow so the system holds prime.

[terryjeffers]

Hi Jeff,
We installed a FloJet as pictured to replace the hand pump. You wont have to remove the sink but may have to either modify the hole where the old hand pump is or drill a new hole for a new faucet. It is really an easy project.

Terry

[peterh]

It should be an easy installation . . . I'll add two points. The first is that the city water connection fittings at RV stores generally have a built-in check-valve, the other is that you want to use a couple feet of 1/2" flexible hose to make a 6" diameter loops on the pump inlet and outlet connections to cut down on pump noise.

[Jeff Peterson]

It's not that hard if you can handle some basic plumbing and 12V wiring. Here's a diagram of how our 1993 13' Scamp is plumbed with both a hand pump and electric pump. The hand pump has to be in good working order and have a check valve inside it preventing backflow so the system holds prime.

Thanks for all the responses. Wilder, I like the idea of using the city faucet as you've diagrammed, in part because it appears the hand pump could still be used if necessary. Would I need a second check valve somewhere in the system? Now, to truly reveal my ignorance, I have to ask whether the system you've described requires a switch to turn the pump on, or if it comes on automatically when you open the faucet.

Thanks!

Jeff

P.S. Okay, I see you've already said a second check valve is required; I assume that goes just under the hand pump?

[Roy in TO]

There is the Low Boy 3 way faucet available for RV's. It handles city water, a hand pump and 12v.
UPC = 726638013143

[kentj]

Jeff...

Check out this link Rocker pump upgrade This was my mod, it works great and you can still use the hand pump too. Lots of flow and would drain the tank in a few mins I'm sure.

Kent

[Parker Buckley]

I just installed a Valterra Rocket hand pump/faucet in our 13' Scamp. The factory one that came in the Scamp leaked at the lever. I got a replacement from Scamp, and it started to go wonky after a year. The Rocket is WAY better. It is easier to pump, and it pumps more water per stroke. It also has a feature that locks the prime. I installed it in the original hole after filling the three original screw holes with white epoxy repair putty. The only minor snag is the Rocket doesn't quite reach far enough over the sink to prevent dripping onto the counter, so I added about 1 1/2 of clear vinyl tubing to the end of the spout. Problem solved. Too bad Scamp doesn't use the Rocket to start with (available from Amazon, plus the usual RV suppliers).

I considered going electric, but this thing works so well that I won't bother now.

Parker