New Scampers with our '84 Scamp 16'

[mkippen]

After browsing the site for a few weeks and finding some great information, decided it may be a good time to put up our first post. We are excited new owners of a 84 Scamp 16 we picked up locally about 2 weeks ago.

The scamp was owned by someone that picked it up in 'really rough shape' and had been doing some restoration on it. It looked perfect when we picked it up although the owner did say that the interior lights were never tested and that one part on the floor was getting mushy... oh well - we wanted a scamp and this was the one we would invest in



After getting it home however we spent time investigating further and found that the floor was worse than expected. They had redone the floor by the dinette already, but had mould already and wasn't done with the right plywood. Also it was not sealed underneath so... not that surprising.



So we went about cutting out the old floor. Some thoughts...
Here is what we went about focusing on first.

• Used Marine grade plywood, took about 2 1/2 sheets.
• We cut templates out of cardboard first to get a perfect fit
• Sealed both sides of the floor with S1 penetrating epoxy
• Cleaned up the surface rust and frame - repainted with POR 15
• Layed down some 3M 4200 to seal the corners and floor to the frame
• Used self tapping STAINLESS hardware!!

And for the finish we put down Vinyl plank flooring. We did a tight fit and I face nailed it on the corners. So much better!


With some heavy weather we found 2 windows were leaking (front and rear) and also the vent where the fridge was. If anyone has some information on how to remove and reseal the windows without skrewing it up would be really great!

Next... moved onto the wiring... MESS!!! found like 50 splices, some that went nowhere. Lots of frayed wires and this explains why the tail lights were not turning on with the towing lights. Brake lights worked, but good thing we never drove it at night. Got a brand new towing harness and moving onto a 12v upgrade this week with a new fuse panel and converter. We also decided to remove the furnace and fridge... we got a new furnace on the way and will wait to do the fridge later. Were not sure yet how useful the fridge will be in the PNW.



I hope to keep detailed track of my wiring adventure if anyone cares. All together its been a busy couple of weeks... we want to use this thing already!!!

Looking forward to getting to know the community - Hope you like our Scampi

[Chillywilly]

Welcome to a great club. Nice work! You are going to love that Scamp and so isn't the little one! I think that Scamp has found a home. You'll find a lot of good people here to answer any questions you might have. Enjoy your new Scamp.

[Borrego Dave]

Hi Mike and welcome. Dang, you're really going to town with it. People are going to be asking you for answers. At the rate you're going you'll be camping in it before the little ones head touches the table, good job.

[KevinPete]

Great work! Did you remove the whole floor without taking the closet and kitchen out? My floor is only bad under the fresh water tank and fridge, was thinking that I would have to at least pull the kitchen. Might do it still, depends on how soon I can source the wood I want for the cabinets.

Please do post about your re-wiring! Mine was in the same shape, I've cleaned up the really sketchy stuff, but I want to start fresh and do it right.

I pulled and rebuilt my small kitchen window, wasn't hard except for cleaning up the mess of sealant-like substances around the frame and opening. Painted the frame and reinstalled with butyl tape, I didn't think the frame fit to the body very well, but it sealed fine and hasn't leaked in over a year, so I call it a success. I have the fixed front window, it's a gasket mount, so the same as an old car windshield if you've ever done one of those. The rest of the windows should be clamp-ring sealed with butyl.

Keep up the great work!

[Nut501]

Mike,
Thanks for the pictures! Also, the detail is great! I have some work to do on my Scamp 16 and you are encouraging me to do it correctly! Please keep the pictures coming! I know you will enjoy your Scamp once you have completed all of the work. It appears that the old wiring was a big mess, now that you have rewired the camper, the wiring problems should be a thing of the pass! Also, the flooring looks great!
Thanks

[Timber Wolf]

Welcome! This old Scamp maintenance/restoration/modification thing is pretty much on going. But honestly is some of the fun for me. I can play with my Scamp even when I am home and not camping. I got mine good enough to go and then have been working on the rest along. We are heading out this weekend as a matter of fact. Looks like you are going to make some great memories with the little one. Good luck!

[Bob Miller]

Hi Mike and Welcome to the group.

Looks like you have done a ton of work all ready.

FWIW: if you haven't already bought the hardware, I always recommend the Progressive-Dynamics PD-4045 power center for rebuilds. It incorporates an AC dist panel with room for up to 8 breakers,, a 40 amp converter, about 12 DC fuse positions w/pigtails, and a three stage smart charger that will keep your battery very happy.

I have installed about 7 of them, including in two 13' Scamps and they have all worked out perfectly. If you look, they are available for less than $160 on-line.

Good Luck with your project

[mkippen]

Originally Posted by Chillywilly

Welcome to a great club. Nice work! You are going to love that Scamp and so isn't the little one!

Thanks, we are definitely looking forward to using it soon. We bought the Scamp with our little girl in mind - we grew up camping and want to make sure we do the same with her!

Originally Posted by Borrego Dave

Hi Mike and welcome. Dang, you're really going to town with it. People are going to be asking you for answers. At the rate you're going you'll be camping in it before the little ones head touches the table, good job.

Thanks... Ultimately were trying to tie up some of the more challenging stuff before winter gets here and the Pacific Northwest turns into mush. Using as much of this good weather and we can.

Originally Posted by KevinPete

Great work! Did you remove the whole floor without taking the closet and kitchen out? My floor is only bad under the fresh water tank and fridge, was thinking that I would have to at least pull the kitchen. Might do it still, depends on how soon I can source the wood I want for the cabinets.

Please do post about your re-wiring! Mine was in the same shape, I've cleaned up the really sketchy stuff, but I want to start fresh and do it right.
Keep up the great work!

We found that the floor in the close / kitchen was not that bad, had a bit of mold by the vent. We are going to seal the floor with a wood rot repair. We simply made a cut along the side of the fiberglass where the cabinet is and then put down new floor outside of that. Looks like the previous owners already did some work here too since ours was already cut and looks like some pieces were replaced inside the cabinets.

Originally Posted by Nut501

Mike,
Thanks for the pictures! Also, the detail is great! I have some work to do on my Scamp 16 and you are encouraging me to do it correctly! Please keep the pictures coming! I know you will enjoy your Scamp once you have completed all of the work. It appears that the old wiring was a big mess, now that you have rewired the camper, the wiring problems should be a thing of the pass! Also, the flooring looks great!
Thanks

Thanks we will definitely keep some of the updates coming. I am literally wiring all brand new from the vehicle harness to the taillights. I actually enjoy the wiring part of this. I'm surprised the previous owners didn't have a serious fire or something with how it was when we purchased it. We are also happy with the flooring just hope it holds up to use.

Originally Posted by Timber Wolf

Welcome! This old Scamp maintenance/restoration/modification thing is pretty much on going. But honestly is some of the fun for me. I can play with my Scamp even when I am home and not camping. I got mine good enough to go and then have been working on the rest along. We are heading out this weekend as a matter of fact. Looks like you are going to make some great memories with the little one. Good luck!

Thanks for the welcome. I really hope that we can do certain things only once and do it right... I never want to deal with the floors again or the wiring. I am looking forward to moving onto more fun things like picking new fixtures or window coverings. I just hope that were doing things the right way that it will not have any problems again

Cheers.

Right now i'm waiting for parts from Scamp directly. Ordered them mid last week and since were in Seattle they got a long way to go.

Parts en route:
Fuse Panel:
Electrical : Fuse Panel For Progressive 30 Amp Converter Charger

Converter:
Electrical : Progressive 30 Amp Converter Charger

Furnace:
Appliances : Suburban NT-16SE Furnace

Battery Switch:
http://www.amazon.com/HELLA-00284301...a+power+switch

Trailer Harness:
http://www.amazon.com/Conntek-Black-...CMSMJF0HDQGWRC

12v Gauge for Voltage/Time/Outside Temp. I am planning on wiring this inline from the battery and installing it in the kitchen somewhere. Should be really useful to keep an eye on the voltage and outside temperature.
http://www.amazon.com/DROK-Fahrenhei...age+clock+temp

Should have some more work done by later this week. Thanks everyone for the warm welcomes!

[mkippen]

Got home to a new box of goodies from Scamp! Had a little laugh at the packaging everything was already unboxed inside. It was like crawling through packing on Christmas morning trying to find everything. Felt a bit like the dad getting his prize in The Christmas Story.



So went about figuring out how to mount the new fuse panel. This one mounts flush, so obviously cannot mount to the skin of the Scamp. Also I wanted to avoid mounting it to one of the sides of the cabinet. I decided to cut a piece of wood to fit inside the cabinet and will use some L brackets to mount to the floor and the side cabinet supports.


The fuse panel did not come with any instructions, but spending several minutes looking it over carefully you can put 2 and 2 together. One thing about trailers that immediately drove me NUTS is that the black wiring is positive (+) and white is Ground... W T F!! Anyways, some diagrams actually show the black going to red and the white becoming black after the fuse panel. I have decided stay consistent and keep out of trouble. I am going to keep everything black for positive and white for ground.


That's it for the evening. Will start with the wiring to and from the fuse box tomorrow now that I know the lengths. I am planning on running 4 (12v)fuses initially from the fuse box.
1- Furnace
2- Fridge (for future maybe)
3- Lights
4- Water pump

Outside of that I am planning on using 1 15Amp AC for the fridge (future) and the other for wall plugs. Pretty simple really. I also need to wire up the taillights to the new harness. Looks like the next few days will be decent weather so I'm hoping to get this wiring wrapped up by the weekend.

Cheers.

[mkippen]

Got a few more hours to spend this evening.

• Hooked up grounds to the chassis
• Ran new wiring from the battery with a 30amp in line fuse
• Wired up AC power hookup to the fuse box
• Got the converter hooked up and works great
• Rough wired and mounted the gauge
• Rough wired a light to test it all out

I'm really happy to have the gauge. Shows mid 12's when on battery only and jumps to around 13.5 to 13.6 with the converter hooked up.

Hoping to wire up some AC plugs tomorrow and rough in the rest of the lights. Cheers!

[papa-t]

Welcome to the family. Looks like your off to a great start. Nice job. Looks really good.

[mkippen]

Been busy this weekend. The wiring has been taking a bit more time than expected, but I'm trying to take my time to do it all right.

All the lights were wired in from the fuse panel. I had planned on using some zip tie mounts with double sided tape, but they are not sticking to the raw fiberglass. All the wiring run I am going to use some WeldMount zip tie mounts instead which is made for mounting to fiberglass.

Moving down the list...

• Wired up lights on each side of the scamp to their own fuses
• Wired up for the new furnace.
• Wired up AC and installed new outlets including one with USB (charging phones and what not)
• Installed a Hella Battery Switch to keep from losing any battery power while not using the scamp.
• Sealed off the LPG from the fridge
• Purchased and installed some LED bulbs

Started final wiring this evening. Using the zip tie mounts on the new floor has worked really well. I am looming in places where its hard to mount.

Here is a before / after from the rear section and under the stove.


I am stuck on 2 things now....
1. The existing 1 1/2 inches of tail light wiring is not color coded according to the scamp diagram. So I have no idea what wire on the tail light does what. I'll have to wait hook it up to the car and try it with live wires.

2. I am not certain if I need to hook up the vehicle trailer wiring harness into the battery wiring. Should I hook the black and white from the car trailer harness up to the battery black and white?

Either way progress...

[Bob Miller]

Just a Tip from direct experience:
NEVER make connections based on wire colors that you did not verify first.....

And Yes, you will want to wire in the TV's battery to the trailers battery to be able to charge the trailers battery while driving. Be sure to use a 40-50 amp fuse or circuit breaker in that line, usually placed near or at the TV's battery. I use a #8 stranded wire for that line when ever possible.

[mkippen]

Originally Posted by Bob Miller

Just a Tip from direct experience:
NEVER make connections based on wire colors that you did not verify first.....

And Yes, you will want to wire in the TV's battery to the trailers battery to be able to charge the trailers battery while driving. Be sure to use a 40-50 amp fuse or circuit breaker in that line, usually placed near or at the TV's battery. I use a #8 stranded wire for that line when ever possible.

Thanks Bob

I wired up the trailer harness Black (power) to the battery with a 30 amp fuse and white with the negative and ground.

Turns out that my scamp doesn't have any backup lights, so the yellow will not be used.

The hard part right now is that our tow vehicle does not have a trailer hitch installed yet, so I cannot test live wires for the taillights until we get that done this week. Yup this is our first trailer and so we need to get that done before I can wire these up.

[mkippen]

Got the LPG hooked up this evening and finalized the wiring to the new furnace. Furnace rough wired, got it turned on and the scampi was nice and toasty in just a few minutes.

We are getting the tow hitch installed on our Ford Flex tomorrow, so I should be able to finalize the tail light wiring pretty easily.

Hoping to have everything loomed and finalized this weekend