Help Comparing Casita 16' with Scamp 16

[thrifty bill]

Originally Posted by Jann Todd

We've compared many Scamps and they do not have the amenities that a Casita does. Seems like Casita makes a lot of amenities free but Scamp doesn't. Many Scamps don't have bathrooms where Casita puts them in all their trailers. .

My understanding is while with the Scamp almost everything is an option, the price is also much lower. So for those that want a very basic trailer, Scamp provides that. Once you load it up with options, the price is pretty similar to Casita.

I wouldn't call those Casita amenities "free", surely they are built into the price.

Molded fiberglass trailers come with less standard features then the stick built trailers out there. Scamp comes with the least. Of course, less features makes for light weight too, which a lot of people want.

[Mike Magee]

Originally Posted by Carl Pa

So there you have it. If you have a Casita, that is better.
If you have a Scamp, that is better

And if you have one of each, better still.

[Mike Magee]

Originally Posted by Jann Todd

... Anytime we've seen a Scamp the exterior is dull. When we see a fiberglass coming we always know the Scamps vs the Casita's by sight. Casita's are mostly bright and shiny if taken care of at all...

Aha! Apparently, Casita owners are more anal about waxing their trailers!!

[steve dunham]

Originally Posted by Mike Magee

Aha! Apparently, Casita owners are more anal about waxing their trailers!!

Spring in our area came on May 1st this year when the ice came off our lake
Today I put the 4th coat of wax on our Casita for the 2018 summer season
Two more coats before winter and then into storage she goes
I agree Mike , at least this Casita owner is anal

[Borrego Dave]

Originally Posted by Phil E

Thanks, it's been so helpful to read yours and other comments. I'm getting a much clearer picture.

Phil, the responses have been interesting but in reality you need to see, first hand, each model. The eyes/hands on may give you a the "this is the one" moment. Go to a rally or contact Scamp & Casita for an owner location near you that you will be able to tour their TT's. There have been a few newbies that had the perfect one picked from the sales ads...until they went to a rally and had the tour . Good luck in your search.

[trainman]

I'm anal about everything, so all is in tip top shape, I sometime wonder just how much of my time is spent in keeping it that way. We own a Casita, very popular in Texas and the plant is just 91 miles from our front door. One other deciding factor is that you can get a new Casita built in 3-5 months depending what time of the year you order it and I thought I read on this forum that Scamp takes about one year to get one and some are still waiting. Casita takes a $2000 deposit and it is totally refundable if you want to cancel you order before your trailer is started in production, if you wait to cancel after that date you will be charged $500 and deducted from the $2000 deposit, sounds fair to me.

trainman

[tmaken2157]

Well having purchased both a 2013 scamp 13 with no bathroom and a 2014 casita LD17.

I can say the one engineering difference I found is the Scamps use OSB for the floor. It gets epoxied on the road side but there isn't much to protect it from water if something happens on the inside of the unit.

The Casita fit and finish is lacking, their cabinet latch bezels are undersized, and the really annoying slow drain black and gray tanks is ridiculous. And at the time of my purchase they had a substandard charge controller which did not have smart charging capability.

Other than that you have to pay for the options you want. I loved the way these trailer track when you tow them. And I love the way you can get into spots other campers can not.

I think if I was in a position to get a scamp 16 back in the day I probably would have.

Currently we sold our casita and wet to a stick built 20 ft surveyor, I know I will miss the casita when we start towing this thing but the extra space is worth it.

[madjack]

When the DW and I decided to move on from teardropping, I was looking hard at Scamp 13's...
...at a campground one day, there was a 13' Scamp big bed delux version...just what I was looking for...there was also a 16 Casita delux...was not particularly impressed...also, there was a 17' FD...as I walked into it, bells, whistles, buzzers and lights started going off in my head and I knew I had found "our" camper...the DW whole heaartely agreed and the rest is now history in the making and hopefully for any years to come...

...the absolutely best advice I could give any prospective buyer is, goto a rally and compare all you see...there will probably be almost all variations of FG campers and you will be able to compare them side by side...good luck in your hunt!!!!!
madjack

[Nelsonex]

My first and only trailer is a Casita 16’ Freedom Deluxe. I was considering both the Scamp and Casita which to me was a toss up, however, I could get the Casita in about 4 months as compared to the Scamp in about 10 month (as I remember). The Scamp deliver would have been in November, meaning that I would miss out on summer and fall use. Actually, at the time that I contacted Casita, I could have taken delivery in a couple of weeks because they had a cancellation of an order that was nearly through production. I passed on their first delivery offer because I was due at a wedding in Texas in May.
I think the Casita 17’ is more for your money but it wouldn’t fit in my garage (my wife’s criteria).

[Dick Kasnick]

I bought a used Casita and upon close inspection was amazed that the frame under the unit was so undersized. It looked like it came off of a 6 x 8 flat trailer. It was not box steel, or even C channel. I could push the trailer sideways and it would deflect the frame. I sold the trailer within 60 days and would not go back to Casita. Not good engineering in my opinion.

[jazzjunkysue]

I haven't seen a scamp in person, but from the photos alone, I just prefer the look of the casita, inside and out. That might not be important to everyone, but, personally, my casita makes me smile, and that's its sole purpose.

After that, location of the battery access, and water fill access, and things like screen doors and door latches can possibly make the difference.

[trainman]

I won't single anyone out on reasons for not buying or selling either the Casita or the Scamp, but reliability on both trailers has proven the test of time.

trainman

[ShelbyM]

Originally Posted by Dick Kasnick

I bought a used Casita and upon close inspection was amazed that the frame under the unit was so undersized. It looked like it came off of a 6 x 8 flat trailer. It was not box steel, or even C channel. I could push the trailer sideways and it would deflect the frame. I sold the trailer within 60 days and would not go back to Casita. Not good engineering in my opinion.

Interesting perspective! What did you replace it with, specifically how does the frame compare?

[Dick Kasnick]

Originally Posted by ShelbyM

Interesting perspective! What did you replace it with, specifically how does the frame compare?

I replaced it with a Chinook Motor Home. Fully fiberglass and a wonderful unit.

[Lynnphil]

A 16 ft Casita does not have a bathroom...

[madjack]

Originally Posted by Lynnphil

A 16 ft Casita does not have a bathroom...

...depends on whether it is a Standard or Deluxe...........................

[thrifty bill]

I don’t know about Scamp, but I was surprised when I toured the Casita plant they make their own frames. Myself I would have out sourced that activity, plenty of skilled welders in TX and it would free up space too (which Casita was short on).

[ccox]

Have you looked at and compared the Escape trailers?

Chuck

[trainman]

Originally Posted by thrifty bill

I don’t know about Scamp, but I was surprised when I toured the Casita plant they make their own frames. Myself I would have out sourced that activity, plenty of skilled welders in TX and it would free up space too (which Casita was short on).

Nothing like doing it all in house, owner keeps all the money, controls production, and quality. Others might out source, but then your at someone else's mercy, pretty smart if you ask me to keep it in house. When I was there, there were two stalls where the frames were being built, they didn't take up to much room as I recall. Don't really see your point as Casita has the fastest turn a round time of any fiberglass trailer manufactures, what is Scamp, one year, ridicules.


trainman

[semievolved]

We found that all these trailers lacked counterspace (including Escape and Oliver). We chose Scamp largely because with the small frig, it had good counter space and also because we couldn't get a bathroom without getting an A/C with the Casita. We were quite disappointed with the build quality of the Scamp, will provide details upon request and with the thought or lack thereof that went into interior space usage. We did realize after purchase that it was being assembled during the Stanley Cup playoffs so it's easy to imagine somebody with 80% of their attention glued to the TV while they were drilling holes and putting in rivets at a slant.
We have the basic version and the space inside the cabinets is essentially open and very difficult to organize until you build your own shelves and organizers in. Additionally, the entry closet has a door on top but is not organized beyond that - envision a deep well below the door. And the hanging rod is front-to-back which makes it pretty difficult to access clothes behind the first couple of hangers. I built shelves in the lower section and cut out the fiberglass and turned it into a door to access that lower section. That really helped because we have easily accessed and organized space below the hanging closet. THe closet is now long enough for coats and I remounted the hanging rod side-to-side so we can access everything. Other gripes with the Scamp is that they mount the water tank dead center in the rear hold which effectively eliminates usable (accessible) space in that hold and it put s the center of gravity farther back than it needs to be. I remounted the tank forward and reoriented it such that the back space is easily accessible and usable now.
There were many DOH moments as we looked at the camper and thinking about how long Scamp has been making these it seems remarkable that they haven't put a bit more thought and care into design and manufacture.


All that said, after extensive modifications and clean up of their work and installation of a nice solar system and electric front jack we love the Scamp. We love the lightness and openness and interior room. Compare it sometime to the 16' Airstream which is like walking through a narrow maze. Of course, that openness means less storage and cabinet space on the sides but it really feels nicer when you're spending a lot of time in it. We've gotten into Casitas and as mentioned, they lack counter space and seem more cluttered inside although the quality has always seemed good to us.