Need help choosing layout, Scamp 16' deluxe

[anitakc]

Have done a lot of research and decided to order a Scamp 16' deluxe with layout A (front dinette). Anyone out there with this model who can give us some advice? I read on the forum that the front dinette can be hard to get in and out of. Is that true? Just two adults, and we're average size. Also, did you add cabinets over the dinette? Do you tend to bump your head on them?

We chose layout A because the bathroom is smaller. Hoping that will give us a tiny bit more floorspace for our dogs. What do you think?

So before we finalize our order, would love to get some advice on which layout you recommend, A (front dinette) or B (side dinette).

[Carl Pa]

We chose a 16` standard with side dinette front bath. We are a couple with a golden retriever. (Shudda got central vac) We will leave the bed set up and for just the two of us side dinette will be enough. May fix the bed as a sofa/lounge when not in the sleep mode.

[Briantb]

Have you seen the side washroom? Even for average size people while it's usable it's very tiny. You have to get the sink in the side washroom. It's tradeoffs - the front washroom has more fiberglass on the walls for hanging things to dry but you lose the big window.

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[honda03842]

We have the side bath and find it adequate and particularly convenient at night. Though we have all the hardware to use it as a shower we use campground showers.

It does not have a bathroom sink, but the kitchen sink is a step away. We have built a compartment in the front of the kitchen sink for our toothbrushes and toothpaste.

We used a Casita 16 with a front bath for a year and never used it's shower. It did have a sink, really the difference is size. In retrospect we like having the front window more than the front bath. Having a front window makes the Scamp seem larger inside. Virtually every Casita owner that's come into our Scamp comments on how much bigger the Scamp is...... an optical illusion, though the Scamp is taller.

As well we found that the Casita often developed mold on the bathroom walls that hardly ever happens in our Scamp's side bath.

Our Casita did have the side dinette with captains chairs, the chairs were very comfortable but wide and provided no storage. With the Casita we kept the bed made up all the time. We made long pullout drawers under the Casita's 'bed'.

In our Scamp we have made a folding table for two in the dinette area. Very easy to get into and really useful for sitting all the time. We decided that the bed is easy to make up, takes minutes. Full time bed or part time bed is a choice.

[anitakc]

Thanks for the responses to our question. So helpful. We've never even seen the inside of a Scamp. Gathering all our info from fiberglass owners like you or from the Web. The hardest part of ordering a Scamp is waiting for it to arrive.

Anita

[Jon in AZ]

Originally Posted by honda03842

It does not have a bathroom sink, but the kitchen sink is a step away.

My opinion doesn't count much here, because I've never owned a trailer with a bathroom, but from what I've seen of the size of the side bath, leaving out the sink seems like a sensible thing. Less in the way when you're taking a shower or dressing and one less set of pipes and fixtures to maintain. Leaving it out from the factory would make sense to me, so there would be no holes left behind in the removal.

I also agree that the big front window is nice to have.

One more thing, since you are looking to order from the factory: get Scamp to leave off the sewer hose tube on the front! It is so ugly, and makes four more holes through the shell. I've seen a number of much better ways to store the "stinky slinky" right here on this forum. Just my opinion, of course!

[Timber Wolf]

Originally Posted by Jon in AZ

One more thing, since you are looking to order from the factory: get Scamp to leave off the sewer hose tube on the front! It is so ugly, and makes four more holes through the shell. I've seen a number of much better ways to store the "stinky slinky" right here on this forum. Just my opinion, of course!

Sound advice right there.

[rdickens]

BTW - Wayne told me that Scamp will build Layout A with a front couch/bunk beds instead of the front dinette. Then you could sleep 2 adults & 2 kids. If you had the bed down in back, you could still have an indoor meal using the front couch and lightweight folding table. Just a thought .....
Ray


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[rdickens]

Addendum - Like you, most of the time there are only two of us .. my wife and I.
However, we do have some grand kids that occasionally like to travel with us. So, we were more interested in at least the option of being able to sleep 4.
Also, In our current Scamp13 Layout1, we do have an overhead front cabinet over the couch and we don't hit our heads on it. :-)
Ray


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[Jon in AZ]

Ray, have you ever used the upper bunk? If so, do you feel like the upper cabinet got in the way of the person sleeping there?

[rdickens]

Jon,

Two of my granddaughters have on different occasions.
One is 12 years old; the other is 10 yrs old.
Both requested the top bunk.
Neither seemed to have any problem with the overhead cabinet.

Ray


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[honda03842]

My personal favorite is layout #4 though I would probably be happy with any of them.

I like layout 4 because it has or can have the most usable storage space. There are two properties to storage space, presence and access. When you use the dinette as a full time bed access to the dinette storage space is difficult. We have put drawers in our driver's side dinette providing easy storage access. In addition we have room for rarely accessed items like our electric heater or crockpot.

Though the water tank is under the passenger's side dinette, we store a drill, and other tools along with a collapsible water jug, rarely used stuff but not difficult.

We do have a full width cabinet over the rear dinette. Yes you will hit your head sometime, but it's a rare event. We hang a couple of pieces of red yarn from it as a reminder. The overhead cabinet also provides a place for more lighting and for us a place to mount a TV.

We also have little shelves over the side windows between the rear overhead cabinet and kitchen cabinets. Also layout four has 5 over kitchen cabinets.

One of the most important things we did was to convert our rear dinette table from a table for four to a table for two. It can still fold out to sit four, a rare event. By having a table for two it makes seating at the dinette easier and more useful when you're not eating.

It's a great debate in trailers, permanent bed versus temporary bed. We've gone both ways and have decided the temporary is more effective, at least for us.

We found with the permanent bed making in the morning was a pain because it needed to look good for the day, making it at night it just needs to function. Also I can make up the bed in about 5 minutes and about the same time to take it down. Neither of us ever spend time in bed independently of the other, we are synced to the same sleep schedule. If one of us needs a daytime nap there's always the couch.

We love having the front couch. It's really a comfortable place to sit or lie down and read plus it makes it easy to have another couple in the trailer without crowding into the dinette.

Layout 4 provides a lot of counter space and makes it possible to have a lot of storage. We've added two drawers to the passenger's side of the sink side cabinets, shelve storage for pots and pans. On the oven side we have a pull out pantry and have added another storage volume under the fridge.

We have added storage under the couch. In the center opening we have two pullout plastic storage containers. Behind them we have two small tool boxes. On the passenger's side of the couch we have added a large pull out drawer.

We do not use the couches bunks for sleeping. As a result we have unhinged the back and removed the back's plywood. This allows us to store additional mattress material for the bed while reducing weight.

Since we don't use the bunk feature we have added a large cabinet that hangs off the bathroom's front wall. This deep, wide cabinet is shelved and holes a good share of our clothes.

The tall standing closet has been reconfigured with a two doors. The bottom of the closet contains our air conditioner. Above the AC is a hamper for dirty clothes it holds a weeks worth for two. Above that the closet is shelved for box storage, cereal, rice,.....

We also have a fair amount of outside storage, 5 under trailer storage boxes and 1 large rear bumper box plus 2 large 5" x 5" x 4' hollow containers.

As to the front sewer pipe, we like it. It is long enough to contain a sewer hose that covers about 80% of our dumping needs. We have a second container for a longer hose when we have to go a longer distance and the two hoses can be tied together.

If I were trying to minimize rivets I'd start with the curtain rivets. I think there are 24 of them. In our case since we have wood shelves above every window we can hang the curtain rods from the wood. However we bought the trailer used and the rivets were there.

Our trailer is now 23 years old and we have not had to replace an outside rivet yet. I can not say the same for the rivet caps.

Choosing a trailer has a lot to do with how you plan to use it. We travel a lot and need storage, particularly organized storage. We do not pile things in nor do we carry coolers or other loose items in our trailer. Rather we have added storage.

As to grand kids, we have traveled with ours. It's a rare happy event. Fortunately or maybe unfortunately they have lives and there is really only a small window where that's possible.

As I've written many times I find traveling with pets a burden for the owners and others. It's easier if you're an occasional camper but if you're like us and on the road for 200-300 days at a clip it's limiting, often unfair to the pet and neighbors. (I recognize that pets can be loved as much as humans and am not trying to fan any flames.)

We're typically on the road for 6 months followed by a 2 month trip, sometimes we're gone for 10 months. I just can't imagine what to do with a dog(s) in our case. My focus is Ginny and me her focus.

If you want to see our trailer take a look at Preparing a 1991 Scamp under Modifications.

The downside to layout 4 for many is bed width, 44". I believe 54" is available in the deluxe Scamps.

Choices, choices... it starts with figuring out what you're going to do with it...for us it's travel.

[anitakc]

Okay, so we might ask the Scamp factory to leave out the curtains and the bathroom sink. Sound like good ideas. Didn't know they were so accommodating.

We were originally going to chose layout #4 in the standard trailer, but the bed size was a deal breaker. A standard double bed is 52" wide. Can't imagine two adults in a bed only 44" wide. Anyone want to chime in?

Thanks so much for all the advice.

[Gene Masse]

My wife & I aren't small and we get by ok in the smaller bed. I would also suggest you get an outside AC plug. Ask them about AC plugs inside. If you want more or different during the build is the time. I also had a second 12V plug inside. One by the stove and one above the side dinette. I also opted to get my own microwave. If you ask them they will give you a set of the brackets to screw it to the floor of the cabinet if you get your own. They charge nearly $250 for a $120 unit installed. I got a magic Chef for $50 on sale that is every bit as good. Do you have bikes? If so you may want a receiver for a bike carrier on the bumper. If you are picking it up yourself instead of delivery, plan on staying over at least one night in the "hatchery" area to check things out. Lots of options for camping in the area.

[David B.]

Originally Posted by anitakc

Okay, so we might ask the Scamp factory to leave out the curtains and the bathroom sink. Sound like good ideas. Didn't know they were so accommodating.

We were originally going to chose layout #4 in the standard trailer, but the bed size was a deal breaker. A standard double bed is 52" wide. Can't imagine two adults in a bed only 44" wide. Anyone want to chime in?

Thanks so much for all the advice.

We have had both in our 2 13' Scamps, and since I tend to toss & turn prior to actually sleeping, and my wife is asleep as soon as her head touches the pillow, turning in unison isn't doable..... the 52" was great. We now have a home size queen bed in our Lil Snoozy.
Good Luck in your quest for a trailer that is perfect for you.
Dave & Paula

[Jon in AZ]

Originally Posted by anitakc

We were originally going to chose layout #4 in the standard trailer, but the bed size was a deal breaker. A standard double bed is 52" wide. Can't imagine two adults in a bed only 44" wide. Anyone want to chime in?

I'd have to agree. It's a very personal call. Some couples like to snuggle, others like their space. Scamp now offers the larger bed in the 13' standard, but I personally feel it gives up too much kitchen/storage space. I think it would work better in the 16' layout #4. In my mind it would be a logical next step for Scamp, but I have no idea if it's being considered. I'd be tempted if they did.

As to accommodating, my impression (based on others' reports, not personal experience) is that Scamp is generally willing to delete, but not to add or move, features. Never hurts to ask, though.

[Donna D.]

Anita, really.. it's not about us, it's about YOU. After all these years, I've read about folks that need a HUGE bathroom (what... you can't get clean in a small bath?) or a bed big enough for seven. I think it's funny. Everyone slept in a double (or less) before 1970... something. Queens and kings weren't even consider in sticks 'n bricks homes!

I'm not making light of your issues or concerns. But we are TALKING about limited space. And, no one can tell you what is the minimum "size" that works for you.

BUT, if you're expecting to be as "comfortable" as you are at home......

[RogerDat]

We are doing some work on the floor under the front couch since the couch is out we have been considering if we want something different in that space. One thought was a dinette but that idea is losing traction. We mostly cook and eat outside and if we were forced by weather or bugs to eat inside we already have a dining table in the rear.

A lot of people prepare food inside and eat inside so their need for a full time table or two tables might be greater.

Some people have added memory foam or even a custom mattress to the rear bed because they leave the bed set up all the time. For them a side or front dinette might be a real asset.

For us the front couch and bunk are mostly a really handy set of storage shelves :-)

+1 on it really depends on how you use the camper, storage or open space, bath or no bath, or smaller bath. Whatever you choose you will eventually work out how to use the space inside.

Folks are different, me I figure if I throw the dishwater into the wind it counts as a shower. Some people are a little more particular about some amenities.

I think it was Floyd who ordered his Scamp with a third bench seat between the two in the back. With a smaller pedestal table. Making a U shaped seating arrangement. The advantage is more elbow room to sit around the table if entertaining plus even with the table set up there is still enough room across the back for someone to stretch out for a nap or a little reading. If he does not weigh in on this thread you might want to PM him for the details.

[rdickens]

We have the 54" bed in our Scamp13 Layout1 and we like it (we sleep in a king size bed at home). If we'd had a more capable tow vehicle and Scamp had offered a 54" bed in the Scamp16 Layout4, that would likely have been our choice. As Jon suggested, we asked Scamp to leave the stinky-slinky hose holder off of the front of our trailer (those tubes turn yellowish over time).
Ray


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[honda03842]

When we bought our first trailer the width of the bed was a family joke.... things like they'll have to learn "synchronized rolling over". After 7 years in a small bed neither of us have ever woken and said we need a larger bed.

Now we find large bed's to be unsatisfactory and king size the same as sleeping alone, even our home's Queen feels too large. I know we're crazy.

We have two bedrooms in our beach cottage, one with a queen and the other with twins. When under 30 couples stay with us, it's not unusual to find them using a single twin for the night, smaller than our Scamp without supporting walls. They sometimes awake tired but happy, just kidding sensors...

Though our 44" bed has been satisfactory for us I know it may not be the case for others.

One thing about the Scamp's small bed that may not be obvious and is different from a home double is that it's a contained space, effectively making it larger. Ginny sleeps on the inside and can be right up against the wall if she chooses, at home she would never sleep that close to an edge.

The cabinets perform the same function on the other side, though not as warm as the wall's marine fabric.

Another complaint about small trailers is crawl over in the middle of the night. Ginny sleeps on the inside because she rarely gets up during the night. When she does I usually get up to let her pass. Both of us are quick to fall asleep.

In our first trailer I slept on the inside and was capable of virtually stepping over her. Again it was never a significant inconvenience.

For non-RVers these little issues are things they can see, for RVers they are just part of the lifestyle. There are very few free standing RV beds, beds that do not require a measure of crawl over.

On the other hand non-RVers can not measure or imagine the fun of RVing.