Scamp Carpet?

[Bill Nolen]

At present my Scamp 13 floors are bare plywood that need a little rot repair, and resealing with some waterproofing.

As I was making a list of needed supplies, and considering different floor covering materials, I remembered that I had a very large section of carpet that was in great condition!

Anyone have any experance with using carpet in a small trailer? Good or Bad?

It's just a lot easier cuting carpet then laying tile!

Bill

[Rick Mooyman]

I would not use carpet unless you plan to bring a vacuum with you camping. Vinyl sheet or sticky tiles or any smooth surface is a lot easier to sweep out. Just my 2 cents worth.

Rick

[rdickens]

From recent personal experience I would suggest vinyl flooring.

Our last several trips, we have had sites with sandy soil ... mostly sand with a little soil.

At the recent Scamp Camp 2015, in Sebring Fl, it rained some and we were sweeping
sand (sometimes wet sand) off the vinyl floor and out of our trailer 3 or 4 times a day.
I could hardly imagine what a mess a carpeted floor would have been.

From that trip, I learned the benefit of having a "patio mat" outside of the trailer door
to maybe catch the worst of the grit before it actually gets inside the trailer. 😊

If you make paper/cardboard templates, it might be about as easy to cut vinyl flooring
as it would be carpet. If you really like the feel of carpet, you might then use those same
templates to cut sections of carpet (indoor/outdoor?) that you could put over the top of
the vinyl. Then you could occasionally pull the carpet section(s) out and shake (or rinse?)
the grit/dirt out of them.

You asked ...... 😉
That has been our recent experience.

Good luck!

Ray


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[Donna D.]

I own two trailers, one with carpet and one with sheet vinyl. The vinyl is 110% easier to care for, especially when camping. A damp paper towel makes clean up easy. Throw rugs that can be taken outside and given a good shake, means no vacuum cleaner needed. And, those rug(s) are warm on the feet for those nighttime excursions. What's not to like with vinyl (or some other hard surface)? YMMV

[Bill Nolen]

Thank Rick, Ray, and Donna D!

No doubt your comments and advice is worth following. Experamce is alway worth following.

Since my plan at this time is to make the dinette area into a fixed bed, the remaining floor space is quite small in actual sq ft. I had thought that the cut-to-fit carpet might be easy to take out and shake clean. Welll, sorta clean!

However, it also wouldn't be that much more work to lay some squares of vinal vinyl tile because in time any carpet will need replacement. In fact my dear wife things carpet should be replaced much more often then I!

Bill

[rdickens]

Individual tiles will have seams that collect dirt/mud and grit. I'd think you could get a very small roll/remnant of vinyl flooring and avoid the seams and the cutting/fitting of individual tiles?

Ray


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[honda03842]

Bill, We've had both over our years and like the carpet better under our feet. It's warmer and just feels better. We use two throw rugs in addition to the carpet, one at the door that catches most stuff because we generally take our shoes off inside and one in front of the sink.

We have a crumb sweeper that fits in your hand, about 3x6 inches. It has a roller brush and seems to sweep most items up. We use it to clean the carpet every now and then and it works great. When we get home we take out our power vacuum and give it a super cleaning.

Our first trailer had a vinyl floor, one piece not tiles. It was easier to clean than the carpet, sweep and wipe clean but not really faster. As well when you walk on vinyl it's usually cool or cold. AS well you feel any grit not swept and you're not sweeping all the time. On carpet you don't feel residual grit, at least small particles. We also had two throw rugs with it.

It's a personal choice. Our carpet is near replacement age and I suspect we'll opt for carpet. the trailers 24 years old.

When I pull up the carpet, I'll paint the floor under the carpet.. It seems to be enough to protect the floor.

[Bill Nolen]

Thanks Norm & Genny for a different viewpoint. What makes the Fiberglass RV Site so great is that folks are allowed to express their opinion without receiving a lot of flak!

I am learning that I'm very wishy-washy. Every opinion sounds so logical, that I'm thinking...yeah...that's what I'll do! Then the next opinion is expressed...and I'm going...yeah...that's what I'm going to do!

I really need a keeper! My lovely wife normally fills that role, but she says anyone crazy enough to pay good money for my Scamp is behond her help!

Thanks everyone...

Bill

[Durangodeb]

I just replaced the carpet in mine with rubberized exercise mat tiles. They are not as cold as vinyl and easier to clean than carpet. They fit together like a puzzle and did not need to be glued down except for the area under the sink. I am very happy with it so far!

[Darral T.]

Vinyl all the way in a 13' Scamp. That's what we own and I canNOT imagine having to deal with carpet. Remember, this is a smaller camper that's going to get a LOT of wear-n-tear in the SMALL piece of carpet! I can stand outside our door and, except for underneath the table, sweep our entire floor.

If you're that undecided, you might want to opt to get a "piece" of carpet AND vinyl and just "lay" it down and use it a time or two THEN decide. That way you'll have a better "feel" before you go to the trouble of cutting/gluing it down. Just a thought.

I also would not use "tiles" of any kind in a camper. But that's just my personal opinion. We've had our '10 Scamp 13 for 5 yrs now-- obviously, we opted for vinyl and it still looks new.

[Jon in AZ]

Our 13'er came with the factory carpet, and it's not that hard to deal with. I like the insulating and sound deadening properties. Like Norm, we remove shoes inside, and throw rugs catch most of the dirt.

I think the best advice, though, is the part about doing a non-permanent installation of whatever you have and using it for a while. You'll soon figure out what works for you, not someone else.

[Byron Kinnaman]

I think you get different opinions depending on style and length of camping trips. I like the carpet and whisk broom works, throw rugs both help keep stuff out along with removing shoes.
Norm and Ginny, and at least us are long term campers. We camp over 150 nights a year, starting with close to 90 day in one trip. Fair weather weekenders, Donna D. and Darrel T will have a different view point on many things. I'm not knocking anybodies style, just noting that different styles will have different view points.

[Darral T.]

Jon,

Just thought of something that I think would be pretty neat for carpet lovers. This would be if I was installing new flooring and wanted carpet but still concerned about tracking in and out. I'm speaking of the way my Scamp is laid out: Have a piece of vinyl at the door entrance that would come even to the closet. Then the rest would be carpet. That way when you step in...and IF you have on your shoes, it's on vinyl, not carpet. Pull them off and wahlah!!

Just a thought...

[stevebaz]

My 1986 13 foot Scamp still has the original foam backed marine carpet Scamp used back then. Through several owners it has held up well. At the beginning of the season I shampoo it with a spray can of carpet cleaner and vacuum it up. During the season I use my shop vac to clean it when I get home from a trip. During the trip you can broom it to keep the dust and grit at bay. I have sissy feet and like the warmer floor from the marine carpet.

When I had the Motor home the shag carpet just sucked as you couldn't broom it and always looked like hell. It was always dirty and terrible.

When I had the pop-up trailer it had a vinyl floor easy to sweep and clean up but the floor was always cold and any grit, dust or small rocks were hard or uncomfortable on my bare feet so you were constantly sweeping it. With the 2 of us and a dog this was a constant chore. Easy and quick but you had to do it.
Best to get a good open weave mat outside the door step and keep as much grit as you can out there.

I swore I would never haul around one of those plastic under awning mats but last year I succumbed and bought one and that has worked out well as walking the 6 feet across it and then stepping on the mat before entering the trailer has kept most of the junk out of the trailer.

Where we camp out in the forest campground and desert sand we deal with the dirt and grit every day we camp. Dry as a bone and dusty dirt everywhere. Half the time we camp in campgrounds near the beach and you have the sand to deal with.

[Jon in AZ]

Steve, we have Scamp's current low loop-pile carpet. We bought a 3x5 area rug (rubber backed, so nothing gets through), cut it down to 3x3, which covers nearly all of the lowered center floor (except the door, which has its own waterproof mat), and had an upholstery shop bind the cut edge. We chose a bright pattern to relieve the overwhelming Scamp beige-ness. It only takes about two minutes once or twice a day to shake the whole thing outside. Easier than sweeping.

Sand is one thing; fine clay dust on a windy day- that's the worst (unless it rains!).

[bobkatr1]

We are looking at cork for the floor covering for our '76 Scamp. We have had vinyl and laminate and carpet. The carpet just held too much sand and if we got it wet, took a long time to dry. The laminate was cheap enough to replace and wasn't glued down just interlocked, with throw rugs and vinyl at the doorway. We may also do real wood flooring since we are replacing all the fiberglass cabinets with wood cabinets. It is such a small space.


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[Hidalga]

Hi Bill,
It sounds like you want to make it an easy project, and you want to make the wife happy. I LOVE my laminate flooring. It's super easy to sweep out and maintain (no vacuum necessary), and fairly easy to install. I use a mat at the foot of the bed/dinette section for easy shake out and for cleaner, homey comfort.

I'll be happy to provide you the details if this is something you're interested in installing.

[Bill Nolen]

Originally Posted by Hidalga

Hi Bill,
It sounds like you want to make it an easy project, and you want to make the wife happy. I LOVE my laminate flooring. It's super easy to sweep out and maintain (no vacuum necessary), and fairly easy to install. I use a mat at the foot of the bed/dinette section for easy shake out and for cleaner, homey comfort.

I'll be happy to provide you the details if this is something you're interested in installing.

Hidalga, thank yo very much for the comments and offer of help. The floor on your Scamp looks very nice!

I'm totally engrossed at this time in finding ALL the many water leaks, and stopping them. Later when that task is accomplished, I may take you up on your offer.

However, at the rate that I'm working...it most likely will be far far future!

Thanks,

Bill

[Dennis mn]

I covered the carpet of our Scamp with a cork laminate flooring that I had purchased in excess for my wood shop project. We then cover that with a throw rug to protect the cork, and more importantly, to add an additional layer for warmth. We use the trailer for a winter respite from cold weather in the south. The additional floor insulation is very welcome.

[CampyTime]

I agree with Norm about carpet. I had a pop up camper with vinyl floor for several years and always felt cold and yucky on my feet. I swept it a lot each day because I could always feel grit.

Scamp carpeting is soft underfoot and holds particulate well. I whisk broom in e a day and vacuum when I get home. Have a simple rubber backed carpeted mat at door which catches most of the crud. We take shoes off either outside on patio mat or inside if were lazy and then throw them out the door. I shake out little mat and that takes care of most of it.

One friend I know just cut the carpet to basically fit floor but didn't glue it. You could do that to try before you buy so to speak.

Best wishes,
Wendy


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