13' Scamp is to small for us

[Beverly Korn]

Moderator's note: the subject of this thread ("too small Scamp 13") has been SOLD. What follows is a discussion of trailer design and dimensions, etc., but, again the trailer which inspired this discussion has been sold, is not available for purchase, and inquiries to the OP about purchasing it are no longer appropriate. Thanks for paying attention, folks.

Chalk it up to experience. We picked up our Standard 13' Scamp in January and looked forward to a 2 and half to 3 week trip from Ohio to Texas in March.
Got loaded and took off and found right off the bat that this unit is to small for us. We travel with our two labs. We should have known better. The original order was placed because of the tow weight restriction of our tv. Before taking delivery, we upgraded the tv but not the trailer size even though we gave it a brief thought.
The trip was complicated by the close quarters and a few trailer issues and thus became unpleasant. I will have to fix the few camper issues that I would not have expected from the first trip. I'm bummed!
We are planning to sell the 13' and move up to something that has a separate dinette and bed.
I'm still depressed by the experience since I was so looking forward to many happy trips.
If you know of anyone who is looking, we have a Standard 13' Layout 2 minus the shower for sale in northern Ohio.

[LyleB]

This is one of the reasons many folks recommend that your first trailer or RV be a used one to try out for a year or two. Nothing like actual experience to fill in the gaps of what you "think you know". Saves you from taking the financial hit when you drive your trailer off the lot.

The great news for you is that these egg campers do not take nearly as big of hit (if any at all) when driven off the lot. The long lead time in order to delivery helps to negate what other products experience in this regard.

Good luck in finding the right match.

[Mike Magee]

So sorry to hear of your unhappy first experience. I've taken a 2000 mile trip in a 13' with wife and 2 small kids (in the '80s), and the close quarters were way less than optimal; the most spacious storage area in that U-Haul CT was under the dinette seats, which meant having seated people move repeatedly and bending over to rummage in a dark space.

You might want to start a new thread in the "for sale" section with photos and price. If you are up for a possible trade with a 16' owner, you could mention that in the sale thread.

[Jon in AZ]

I'm really sorry to hear you had a bad first experience. New trailer bugs are not uncommon, especially in budget-priced units. My mother had several in her $100K Roadtrek. It's an industry-wide problem.

I am also struggling a little with the size of our Scamp 13 as our kids head into the teen years. We've done the tent thing, except now they want separate tents... LOL! Maybe try one in the small tent we already have and one in the back of the SUV... We don't take long trips or move from place to place, so that helps. Financially, trading up is not an option at this point, and in any case, teen years pass quickly!

Experience is a hard teacher, but it sounds like you are paying attention. I wish you the best going forward.

As for your Scamp 13, there are a lot of people looking right now, so the sooner you get it on the market with a price and pictures, the better.

[thrifty bill]

Originally Posted by Beverly Korn

Chalk it up to experience. We picked up our Standard 13' Scamp in January and looked forward to a 2 and half to 3 week trip from Ohio to Texas in March.
Got loaded and took off and found right off the bat that this unit is to small for us. We travel with our two labs. We should have known better. The original order was placed because of the tow weight restriction of our tv. Before taking delivery, we upgraded the tv but not the trailer size even though we gave it a brief thought.
The trip was complicated by the close quarters and a few trailer issues and thus became unpleasant. I will have to fix the few camper issues that I would not have expected from the first trip. I'm bummed!
We are planning to sell the 13' and move up to something that has a separate dinette and bed.
I'm still depressed by the experience since I was so looking forward to many happy trips.
If you know of anyone who is looking, we have a Standard 13' Layout 2 minus the shower for sale in northern Ohio.

We went through the same experience with our 17 foot Casita Liberty. 17 foot "sounds" roomy, but we like long trips (3 weeks or more) and we have a medium sized dog. In our case, the combination of really narrow twin beds (23 inches), and no other place to sit were really a problem. Secondary was the lack of storage. Sure, we could set up the bed as a queen or king, but then we lose the table.

While Casita had other trailers with separate (tiny) dinettes, each made the bed space smaller.

One lesson learned is to scrutinize the floor plan first. How tight is the bathroom? How big is the bed compared to your bed at home? Is there a dinette? If so, how roomy? Now for a weekend getaway, this criteria is too rigid. But if you are going to live in it for many miles and several weeks, it matters!

Once you figure out your next step in trailers, determine what tow vehicle is required. I recommend a TV that will not only handle your trailer choice, but as a minimum, one size larger. Its always good to have a little in reserve, and its nice to not have to buy a new TV if you do upgrade again.

The thing about molded FG trailers, they are not only shorter in length than most stick built trailers, but they are usually much narrower too! So space is at a premium.

The good news is F/G trailers hold their value well. So you should be able to sell without too much pain, and a lot less pain than if it were stick built.

Our prior camper (many years ago) was a conventional fifth wheel (22 foot). With normal width twin beds up front, gaucho couch, pair of swivel chairs, it was really roomy. We knew we were not going to have that much room in a F/G, so we were ready to compromise. We didn't appreciate the value of a separate bed and dinette, nor did I pay enough attention to storage.

[Darwin Maring]

that is why a Scamp 5r is so much better. The bed is up on the Top part and you never have to convert anything from dining to bed. And you have a shower and toilet.

[Kai in Seattle]

Wow, Bummer! That HAS to be disappointing!


We bought our 1973 amerigo in 2015 because after decades of hit-or miss camping in everything from a small tent to a van conversion with several trailers in between, we had finally found the "exact" configuration we felt would work for us and still be small enough to tow easily and park readily.


Not exactly patting us on the back, though--we ended up with nine months of a complete gut and rebuild inside, costly, exhausting, but in the end we were able to make it pretty much what we most wanted (all electric, relatively simple, with two permanent beds (both double as settees in the daytime) and a coupe of small freestanding folding tables. Today, as we look at our 2017 camping year ahead, we feel lucky at last and ready for our outings...glad the work and worry is over.


Someday you'll be there, too!


Happy trails, good camping, and may your find "your" egg (or whatever) sooner rather than later--but find it in the end.


BEST
Kai

[Kai in Seattle]

Paul had an idea--why don't you contact Scamp and see if they are interested/willing to take it in trade on a larger Scamp? Just a thought.


BEST
Kai

[sokhapkin]

My Scamp 16L4 is nice to me when I travel alone. It becomes a little bit over occupied when I travel with my daughter. I wonder how people travel in 13'...

[Jann Todd]

Originally Posted by Beverly Korn

Chalk it up to experience. We picked up our Standard 13' Scamp in January and looked forward to a 2 and half to 3 week trip from Ohio to Texas in March.
Got loaded and took off and found right off the bat that this unit is to small for us. We travel with our two labs. We should have known better. The original order was placed because of the tow weight restriction of our tv. Before taking delivery, we upgraded the tv but not the trailer size even though we gave it a brief thought.
The trip was complicated by the close quarters and a few trailer issues and thus became unpleasant. I will have to fix the few camper issues that I would not have expected from the first trip. I'm bummed!
We are planning to sell the 13' and move up to something that has a separate dinette and bed.
I'm still depressed by the experience since I was so looking forward to many happy trips.
If you know of anyone who is looking, we have a Standard 13' Layout 2 minus the shower for sale in northern Ohio.

You should be able to sell it for what you paid for it as long as it is still in like new condition. Put it on the market. I don't think Scamp would give you much for it even in trade since they are in the market of selling new ones. Someone in the public might give you a good trade but be careful of what you get. So many times things are not as they seem. My sister and her husband bought their dream trailer and the roof leaked and now the entire roof has to be replaced including the wood. A person in their camping group sold it to them and had to have known it leaked. Take a look at the Casita trailers. I do believe them to be of better quality than Scamp(sorry Scamp owners). We have the one where we can make the bed at the big table and have captains chairs at the small side table. Never make the big table out, it's always a bed with a sleep comfort mattress. Most Casita owners with this configuration do not either. They also have a bathroom and you can use the shower if necessary but we just use the campground bathroom showers. We've spent 2 weeks in ours with our cat. She needs litter box, etc and it works for us. Good luck.

[steve dunham]

We've owned a 16 ft Scamp and 17 ft Casita . Fine for short trips but for longer trips they are a too small for comfort IMHO.
We made a 2 month trip to the West Coast and after about 3 weeks we both came to the conclusion that we wanted a larger trailer and a different bed layout.
My wife and I travel with our 75 lb chocolate lab and it seems someone or something is always in the way.

I would take my time and make sure you get a large enough trailer to accomodate your needs. Up sizing just 2 or 3 ft isn't always the answer. Sometimes people just need their space.

[mary and bob]

Size is relative to needs or expectations. We have spent 3 months at a time in both our Uhaul 13 and Casita 17. Met a Scamp 13 owner last year that got a good deal because the original owner bought it, took it home, wife said no, it's too small, so he went right back to the factory and traded it back in on a 16.

[PilotPica]

I am continually amazed at how many people pull their campers with a TV!
--chuckle--

[thrifty bill]

Two ideas:

1. Go to the nearest egg campout, and spend time touring all the various rigs. This is what introduced us to Escapes.

2. In the case of Escape, they run a virtual showroom across the USA. If you contact Escape, they will contact owners in your area, who will show you their rigs. Escape gives those owners credits for doing this. Smart! Escape trailers tend to be wider than their competitors. Width matters to roominess.

[padlin00]

All to often folks buy a camper based on the too small vehicle they already own, you're certainly not alone.

At least you have a good chance of recouping most on your $ on the trailer, had it been a sticky...

[stude]

:maybe look around for a 21' Bigfoot trailer lots of room in one of these?
Stude

[Vtec]

When we started looking for FG trailers we didn't think we needed larger than a 13 and only considered ease of pull. When shopping we came across a guy selling both a 13 and a 16 Scamp and I said we would be happy with either one. He said you better come take a look before saying that, and I was like why? He was far away so we didn't see them. During hunt we camped next to a Scamp 13 and owners allowed us a tour. Within seconds we knew we needed bigger so grabbed a Scamp 16 and loved it for a few years. Over time we were annoyed by the 48 inch bed so Upgraded to a Casita 17.

Someone made comment that Casita's are better than Scamps. We had zero problems with our Scamp and I can't say that about the Casita. I would not say better but maybe better designed. The Scamp bed is too small and the wheels are too centered. When we had a full water tank and a couple bikes hanging on the back it would sway really bad on the highway. The toilet was a glorified porta-potty mounted a mile high over shower basin, hard to get up on. The Casita toilet is much better. The Scamp had no step to get out so it felt like you were jumping out of an airplane (the cool door even made it look that way). The dinette and beds were a whole step up off the floor which wasn't bad but the flat Casita floor feels better. But, hardware and other things, Scamp was right up there and better in some respects.

Scamp really needs to re-engineer their 40 year old design. Casita obviously took their design and improved it a long time ago. Time for Scamp to do the same. And when buying something you should always see whatever it is in person. Nothing could prepare you for the actual feel you get especially with campers.

[Darwin Maring]

Scamp had the ideal opportunity to implement an upgrade in design when their factory burned down and they had to retool and apparently did not change the design so I think this is what they will be manufacturing for years to come.

[Donna D.]

Originally Posted by Darwin Maring

Scamp had the ideal opportunity to implement an upgrade in design when their factory burned down and they had to retool and apparently did not change the design so I think this is what they will be manufacturing for years to come.

Escape has been building trailers now for 14 years. They've completely redesigned and built brand new molds 2x for the 17', 19' & 21'. They've build new molds 3x for the 5th wheel. Whether one manufacturer is better than another has a lot to do with budget and needs of the buyer. But one thing about Escape, they're constantly improving their product line and option offerings. With the recent expansion of the manufacturing plant and offices, if you wish to look at a trailer... you can leave your umbrella at home

[Vtec]

Originally Posted by Darwin Maring

Scamp had the ideal opportunity to implement an upgrade in design when their factory burned down and they had to retool and apparently did not change the design so I think this is what they will be manufacturing for years to come.

Exactly my opinion. I assume it's the small mom and pop business resting on their laurels, content with what they see has been successful all along. They had a golden opportunity to grab market share and the increase in product demand but that may mean growing the company which could be risky. Eventually they will have to but demand for product is just enough to keep them happy. Right now it's like printing money to them so why change? I think they do great job making what they do, but they should make something better.