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Old 10-22-2012, 05:54 PM   #1
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Trailer: 2005 Scamp 13'
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re-looking at a scamp

So an owner contacted us and let us know his scamp was still available. My main issues with this one was the overall kind of dingy look, the couple of mouse droppings that I found, the cracking on the top, and the price considering overall condition. Here is a picture of the cracking on the top. Is this just gelcoat? or something to be more worried about (this is a 2008 Scamp).... Also, the little plastic caps that cover the rivets (also seen in the picture)...there are a couple of these missing...are they just caps or is something going to leak without those caps.....

The cracked area is about 10" by 4".
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Old 10-22-2012, 06:06 PM   #2
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I'm getting invalid link message for the image.
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Old 10-22-2012, 06:14 PM   #3
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scamp top.jpg (155.4 K


Fixed it.....sorry....
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Old 10-22-2012, 06:17 PM   #4
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Humm, those look like just gelcoat cracks to me... wonder if it had a snow load at one time? For horizontal surfaces, some have fixed gelcoat cracks with this: Capt. Tolley's Creeping Crack Cure
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Old 10-22-2012, 06:28 PM   #5
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One of them in the middle was kind of wide....thin fingernail fit.....

Will that fix it stuff affect the gloss?
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Old 10-22-2012, 07:44 PM   #6
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The only thing that you are describing that I am not sure about is the roof issue and someone who is more knowledgeable will have to step in like Donna has already. The other things are more related to what price you can get it for. The missing rivet caps are an easy fix you just have to remove the rivets and put new ones in with the washers and caps.
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Old 10-22-2012, 08:07 PM   #7
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Another approach to rivet caps

On our Scamp I did not replace the rivets to replace about 90% ofthe rivet caps.

I simply cleaned off the top of the rivet, put a dab of clear Lexal on the rivet and a dab of Lexal in the cap and carefully put the new cap over the rivet. The caps have stayed on except for a couple that were not done properly the first time.

After a year of travel thru 33 states and 2 provinces, none have leaked.

It took much less than a day to do the whole trailer.
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Old 10-22-2012, 08:47 PM   #8
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The gel coat cracks, by themselves are not necessarily a big deal. It is probable that they were caused by snow. It depends if they are only stress cracks caused by some deflection of the roof or if the roof caved in enough to cause some damage to the underlying fiberglass. Very difficult to determine when you can't see the other side due to the covering. When you can see the fiberglass on the interior it's easy to see if any delamination etc. has occured. Don't want to overly alarm you, it's probable that the stress cracks are limited to the gelcoat but without being able to see the underside or getting a first hand report on what happened you can't be absolutely positive.

The gelcoat itself can be repaired so that it's impossible to see it was ever damaged. I won't go into a detailed step-by-step process, but yes, it can be repaired so that it doesn't looked like it was damaged.

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Old 10-22-2012, 09:09 PM   #9
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I replaced all the caps on my 98 Casita last spring. They are cheap and it is easy to do. I guess I was lucky. I didn't have to replace any rivets. After you do the repairs on the cracks like others mentioned work it over with Poliglow or Red Max to get the shine back.
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Old 10-23-2012, 08:30 AM   #10
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So without the caps, do the rivets leak? Or are the caps just decorative?
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Old 10-23-2012, 08:34 AM   #11
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Also, he didn't seem to know about the damage to the roof...so he didn't know what had happened....at least that is what he says. I am concerned though...this was at a consignment lot that his buddy has. He said over 100 people looked at it....someone broke the table while it was there, so he ordered a new one. When we looked at it he said he had a half dozen people out to look at it and when we passed on the trailer he said he had three more lined up to see it. I wonder if i am missing something or if it just priced too high.....
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Old 10-23-2012, 09:25 AM   #12
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Originally Posted by eggless View Post
So without the caps, do the rivets leak? Or are the caps just decorative?
The rivets are decorate.There are hundreds of old Bolers out there without any caps on their rivets at all.

If the rivets are installed correctly, ie correct size and tightly they should not leak just because they are missing a cap. As the trailer you are looking at is pretty new I would suspect that most of the rivets if not all are the originals installed by Scamp so they should be the installed correctly and not be loose or have much if any metal fatigue due to load stress. The only time you will need to drill out the rivet to put a new cap over it is if the plastic ring that the cap snaps onto has been broken or the rivet itself seems loose or has broken due to metal fatigue.

You can purchase a package of caps directly from Scamp that will have ever size used on the trailer in it or you can in most cases find one that fits from a place such as Home Depot. When I purchased my trailer which was 16 years old at the time, I did replace all the caps due to UV damage and did have to drill out a few rivets as the plastic cap holders had broken & a couple of rivets where a little loose. Its pretty easy to do and something you will want to know how to do if you are going to keep the trailer for any length of time. With time and stress rivets can become loose or sometimes snap in two causing leaks.
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Old 10-23-2012, 09:36 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by eggless View Post
Also, he didn't seem to know about the damage to the roof...so he didn't know what had happened....at least that is what he says. I am concerned though...this was at a consignment lot that his buddy has. He said over 100 people looked at it....someone broke the table while it was there, so he ordered a new one. When we looked at it he said he had a half dozen people out to look at it and when we passed on the trailer he said he had three more lined up to see it. I wonder if i am missing something or if it just priced too high.....
I would ask how many winters ago was it that he first noticed it? If he says it was last winter or he only just noticed it I might be concerned a little more than if he said 4 winters ago. If it was 4 winters ago and there was some fiberglass delamination happening on the underside due to the damage I would expect if the trailer is stored outside that you might see signs of leakage on the inside..... water takes the path of least resistance so if this is at the front section of the trailer I would be looking around the front window area and on the floor of the front hatches for signs of water damage.

Without seeing it first hand it really would be hard for anyone here to say one way or another if the damage is serious or not. Or if the price is to high.
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Old 10-23-2012, 09:57 AM   #14
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He said he hadn't seen the damage. I found it while looking it over and had to show it to him.... it has been stored outside and i didn't see signs of leaking (except under the sink).....
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Old 10-23-2012, 05:33 PM   #15
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I don't want to make too much out of it but in my own rating scale of what's important the rivet caps would rate a "1" and the cracks would rate much higher.

Delaminated fg doesn't necessarily leak, but it can be damaged internally and just be structurally weaker than it should be.

The value of the trailer is reduced if the cracks are only "patched up" but still visible. An invisible repair can be done but to have a fg shop do it would be very pricey. I've done similar repairs but I've had lots of previous experience and even then, when you're aiming for a repair that won't be visible when its buffed, waxed and glossy, its time consuming. While I usually encourage people to DIY, this is one job that I wouldn't recommend unless the person is experienced with fg. If a repair that is invisible is important then I'd recommend you ask a fg shop for a ball park quote.

The area under "Trio" had very similar cracks after a nasty Mistral put me sideways into concrete quay. Despite having done lots of these types of repairs previously, it took me a week to repair the damage.

Ron
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Old 10-23-2012, 06:04 PM   #16
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LOL....ron, I read your post on my phone and had no idea what you were talking about....then I saw the pic and it makes a lot more sense....I had no idea what a trio a mistrel or a quay was....the pic helped!
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Old 10-23-2012, 07:40 PM   #17
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Seriously, he put it on a consignment lot and didn't clean the mouse turds out first? Wowser, guess he doesn't wanna sell it.


A hundred people have seen it and passed? hmmmmmm, that would be a warning flag to me. But I live where they sell pretty fast. Have you crawled under it and look to see how the frame looks? Any cracks under there?


I think everyone is right about the gel coat cracks, but dang seems excessive to me for a 4 year old trailer. And they can be fixed. But I wouldn't purchase without getting the price down to what your comfortable paying. Good Luck!
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Old 10-23-2012, 09:21 PM   #18
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They usually sell pretty fast here too...which makes me even more concerned...
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Old 10-23-2012, 09:41 PM   #19
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Whatever its physical defects, if 100 people have looked and passed, it must be grossly overpriced or have some other defect such as "no title" that's interfered with its sale.

How much is he asking for it?
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Old 10-23-2012, 10:19 PM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ron in BC View Post
The value of the trailer is reduced if the cracks are only "patched up" but still visible. An invisible repair can be done but to have a fg shop do it would be very pricey. I've done similar repairs but I've had lots of previous experience and even then, when you're aiming for a repair that won't be visible when its buffed, waxed and glossy, its time consuming. While I usually encourage people to DIY, this is one job that I wouldn't recommend unless the person is experienced with fg. If a repair that is invisible is important then I'd recommend you ask a fg shop for a ball park quote.
If perfection is that important to you on the roof of your trailer. I do look at the roof of trailers when I buy them, I generally don't look at them much after that. Both of my trillium 4500's sag above the kitchen. I only noticed it on the trailer that we camp in when we were about to leave for BC. The trailer was parked so that I had a clear visual shot down the ridge. Other wise I never see it. I bet that half of the 4500's out there sag exactly the same. I still think they ROCK!

I know my mystery trailer, Launch Pad, sags exactly the same way, (among other flaws, see photo). Having never seen it, I asked my brother to take some pictures when he flew out there this summer. He said that this was the worst of it. My point is that repaired properly, but not perfectly would still work for me.

Nice boat though.
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