Travel trailer interior height question for older models

[kari13]

Question about interior heights on older travel trailers:

What year did Scamp start using new molds (I know the originals destroyed in fire, and when they rebuilt the new molds they made them a bit taller)?

Older Casitas are also supposedly shorter. Are all 15' and 17' models the same interior height with only the discontinued 13' and 16' models being shorter? Or is there specific year they started making taller interiors?

Any other older FG TT with short ceilings we should avoid?

We are looking to buy a used travel trailer. My husband is 6' so was comfortable in a newer model Scamp (and I think newer Casitas are similar), but would love to know which years are "short ceilings" to rule out of our search.

TIA!

[AC0GV]

Originally Posted by kari13

Question about interior heights on older travel trailers:What year did Scamp start using new molds (I know the originals destroyed in fire, and when they rebuilt the new molds they made them a bit taller)?TIA!

On Friday, January 13th, 2006 the main Eveland’s Inc. (Scamp) factory caught on fire. It was an electrical fire of some kind which started at about 5:00 pm. The main manufacturing plant along with all the fiberglass production molds, tools, equipment, inventory, and the main office with most records was totally destroyed. This resulted in Scamp being without a main plant until December of 2006. The rest of the story can be found at:
https://www.scamptrailers.com/about-us

[Jon in AZ]

The original Boler-based 1971 13’ Scamp was about 5’11” inside. The 16’ was added a few years later and was taller, about 6’2”, from the start. Only the 13’ Scamps grew after 2006 factory fire to match the 16’er. They cut down a 16’er to make the plug for the new 13’ mold. I have a 2008 13’er, and it’s 6’2” inside. (Note: factory specs say 6’3” but I can’t get more than 6’2” anywhere in the trailer.)

Casita 13’ers and 16’ers are all about 5’10”, while the 17’er is about 6’1”. The 17’ is a more recent design (c. 1999). The new-for-2025 15’ model is a shortened 17’er, so it also has the taller height.The 13’ and 16’ were discontinued c. 2015 and 2019, respectively.

Bottom line for your situation… All 16’ Scamps are over 6’ tall, as are all Casita 17’s. All 16’ Casitas are less than 6’ tall. Roof A/C steals 2-3” and can be an head-knocker even in the taller models. Scamp A/C is closer to the center, while Casita’s is farther rearward.

Other “tall” models to watch for include Egg Camper, Parkliner, and Lil Snoozy. The Parkliner is only 15’, but thanks to clever packaging, it has 6’5” headroom, a true queen-size main bed (60”x80”), side dinette/extra bed, and wet bath. It has a pretty wide aisle, too, and it’s the only one of the three with propane for camping without hookups. If you can find one, it might well check all your boxes. Weight is comparable to a 16’ Scamp.

[kari13]

Originally Posted by Jon in AZ

The original Boler-based 1971 13’ Scamp was about 5’11” inside. The 16’ was added a few years later and was taller, about 6’2”, from the start. Only the 13’ Scamps grew after 2006 factory fire to match the 16’er. They cut down a 16’er to make the plug for the new 13’ mold. I have a 2008 13’er, and it’s 6’2” inside. (Note: factory specs say 6’3” but I can’t get more than 6’2” anywhere in the trailer.)

Casita 13’ers and 16’ers are all about 5’10”, while the 17’er is about 6’1”. The 17’ is a more recent design (c. 1999). The new-for-2025 15’ model is a shortened 17’er, so it also has the taller height.The 13’ and 16’ were discontinued c. 2015 and 2019, respectively.

Bottom line for your situation… All 16’ Scamps are over 6’ tall, as are all Casita 17’s. All 16’ Casitas are less than 6’ tall. Roof A/C steals 2-3” and can be an head-knocker even in the taller models. Scamp A/C is closer to the center, while Casita’s is farther rearward.

Other “tall” models to watch for include Egg Camper, Parkliner, and Lil Snoozy. The Parkliner is only 15’, but thanks to clever packaging, it has 6’5” headroom, a true queen-size main bed (60”x80”), side dinette/extra bed, and wet bath. It has a pretty wide aisle, too, and it’s the only one of the three with propane for camping without hookups. If you can find one, it might well check all your boxes. Weight is comparable to a 16’ Scamp.

You are an encyclopedia of information. Thank you so much!

[Mike Magee]

Eggcamper might be the only one with a doorway specifically designed tall enough so that most people need not duck their heads. When I toured the Eggcamper facility in Grand Rapids MI (around 15 years ago), the founder/designer/builder was rather proud of this feature.

[mary and bob]

[QUOTE=Jon in AZ;873679]

Casita 13’ers and 16’ers are all about 5’10”, while the 17’er is about 6’1”. The 17’ is a more recent design (c. 1999).

Our Casita SD 17 is registered as a 1996. I believe that may be the first year for the 17 but haven't found anything to verify that. As far as we know we are the third owners.

[Jon in AZ]

Originally Posted by mary and bob

Our Casita SD 17 is registered as a 1996. I believe that may be the first year for the 17 but haven't found anything to verify that. As far as we know we are the third owners.

That’s earlier than I realized. But it was still a significant break from the older 13’ and 16’ designs, which never did get much love from Casita. The 17'er was a runaway success, while the smaller models languished.

Scamp, meanwhile, continues to invest in their smaller offerings with incremental changes over the years. The 13'er has always been their best-selling model, and increasing its height was a smart move, as was adding the big bed option to the 13' standard. People are taller now (and wider) than in 1971.

Originally Posted by kari13

You are an encyclopedia of information. Thank you so much!

More like Wikipedia- subject to crowd-sourced correction and editing!

Many have wished for a big bed option in the Scamp 16' standard, but that would require costly fiberglass modifications in their most popular layouts, 4 and 6. Once you get into that size and price range, more people are willing to step up to a deluxe, which does have the larger bed.

I have sometimes wished Scamp would develop a 16' standard version of Casita's Liberty layout, especially now that Casita no longer makes a 16'er. That ought to be possible using mostly existing fiberglass modules. Basically the front and back would be just like a 13'er, with bench extensions in the center to make twins or a large king-size bed. It could probably accommodate the larger fridge cabinet by the door.

[Jon in AZ]

It's both a little out of your search radius and a little over your stated budget, but this is the Parkliner I mentioned. They're rare and don't appear for sale very often. Worth a look at least. The ad says 16', but this appears to be the original 15' model. (It was later redesigned and sold as a 16'er by Liberty Outdoors with a longer tongue, different door, and fiberglass panels on the interior walls rather than the fuzzy marine headliner shown.)

http://www.fiberglassclassifieds.com...6-indiana-4349

[owenmaura]

I guess this looks at it from the other end, but my wife did a fair bit of investigating before we got our 1975ish SurfSide TM-14. As she recalls, it and Trillium models 4500 and Jubilee were the ones [in our anticipated price range] that were tall enough. I'm 6'1" and besides being able to stand straight, I can fully stretch out in bed [we took the table out and leave the bed that occupies pretty much the rear half of the trailer set up full-time]

[The Minimalist]

It all depends on your camping style, but if you spend most of your time outdoors and the trailer is mostly for sleeping and inclement weather, you might look into the Weiscraft Little Joe with a 6 foot interior height and when the bench seats/beds are converted the bed dimension is 63" x 78"