Increasing Scamp 13 Ceiling Height / Headroom

[Jon in AZ]

Originally Posted by Lee Senn

Just a thought , since you only stand up in the middle of the trailer how about cutting a strip out of the roof just as wide as the middle portion and then have a shop fabricate a raised portion ( kinda like they do with vans ? Seems a lot less intense than other alternatives ) . Lee and Norma

Play Pac- I think that's the one- was built with a domed plexiglass skylight. That would be fairly inexpensive but not as durable. I suppose you might use one as a mold to make something out of fiberglass. I can picture the conspiracy theories left in the wake of a Scamp with a large white dome on the roof.

The van raised roofs are quickly becoming a thing of the past, and they use molds specific to the various makes and models of low-roof-only vans (with Chevy Express being the only one left standing). The molds are kept around for retrofits. Pop-tops will still be in demand, but they also use molds engineered for particular applications. Unless one happened to be the right size, they aren't going to fabricate a one-off.

[Jay H]

Hi Archie, interesting proposition really. First off, working with fiberglass isn't really that hard and I always say,. It's not really yours until your first cut. However, I'm not sure if the benefit of raising the roof. Hear me out, I'm 6'4" and own a 13' Boler. My roof is about 5'11". I honestly thought it would be an issue but it's not. If I'm prepping at the counter my head is bent. If I'm getting dressed, my head is bent. Even if there was room to dance, my wife is 5'1" so my head would be bent too.
I'm not how long you have had your scamp or how much you have used it but if you haven't been out in it much, give it a season of camping before you decide. If on the other hand, you have lived in it long enough to know that it's not going to work for you then I really look forward to following your thread. Lots of people tell.me not to do stuff but I do it anyway!
Jay

[FRED SMAILES]

Archie, instead of cutting the trailer and learning on it.
I would suggest you get some fiberglass supplies and
start with a small project or two.
Ive done quite a bit of glassing over the years,,, its not for everyone!
Raising the body at the center is a big job,,,, lots a labour.
Fred

[Mike_L]

Back in my college days I worked in a shop that did these kinds of modifications. While it can certainly be done, it isn't easy and is a massive amount of work even if you are familiar with these projects.
We worked mainly with (new) vans. We would split them lengthwise to make them wider. add a section to make them longer or replace the roof with a pop up to make them higher.
While fiberglass is good to work with your mod will need to be strong. You will also have to finish it on the exterior. Are you sure this project will be worth the time and effort needed to complete it?

[CharlesinGA]

Buy something you can go camping in and spend your time camping. It would be cost prohibitive to pay someone to do this and to do it yourself will take a good sized workshop, lots of tools, skills working on fiberglass and time, time, time.

Just buy something you can use and enjoy it.

Charles

[thekas]

It all comes down to cost effectiveness. I have worked with wood & composites in the boat building & repair trade for 40+ years. What you are attempting is like reinventing the wheel , lol.
If it is just to prove to yourself "I can do this" the easiest way would be to split at the belly band & extend from there, as would be a straight vertical extension. Very doable but if you have 250 + hours plus materials.
I would enjoy doing something like this an interesting project so long as someone was paying me by the hour !
Enjoying time creating is so rewarding , enjoy you project.

[Seacap10]

I rebuilt a 14 Surfside years ago and put a RV skylight on the roof to cure a sag issue, man did that ever make a difference and the trailer seemed so much bigger inside. I also added a Bomar boat hatch on the other end of the trailer, cheap easy fix and it looked good...

https://www.dayliter.com/rv-skylights/msf-acrylic.php

[Darrell in Al]

As many have said and beat this subject. I'm over 6ft tall and have been "full-time" in my 16 ft Scamp Deluxe my head touches the roof but noted by many about looking down most of time, I just don't stand with feet together much and normally facing one side or other. Now the shower /bathroom is a pain at times. But it has a drop down in shower pan. The "short" bed is more of a issue.
A full disclosure: I've spent years backpacking, camping, then deployed and or living out of military vehicles ECT ECT so comfort is what you make of it.😉🤪 Them days are behind me now... The Military side. Now I normally just take off with my Tent Cot or hammock and Jeep for trips.. I think of my Scamp as home 🙄

[Artist Chic]

Originally Posted by Eddie Longest

If you really need to add 4" inside height to the Scamp, why not just lift the trolley top? You would not have to extend the closet and the door which would be the biggest issue.
Eddie

I bought an Eriba Puck as my fiance was 6'2". The top can be raised several inches and has fabric which zippers open to reveal screening and allow ventilation.
I think this mod would be much easier.

Good luck! Following with interest!

[jeff green]

Originally Posted by Archie S

Hello

I have a 13’ Scamp from the 70s that I’m renovating which has a maximum ceiling height of about 5’10”. I’d like to increase it by at least 4 inches to comfortably stand up and walk around. I’d imagine it would involve to cutting the camper in half horizontally at the seam and add at least 4 inches of fiberglass around the entire camper, even extending the door, or cutting around it to avoid altering the door. A couple shops I called could not offer to do this as it is a project out of their comfort area. I found one nearby shop that would, though they are charging at least twice of what I paid for the actual camper.

Is it so daunting? I’ve found one thread on this site where one member cut their RV in half vertically and extended its length by a few feet after watching YouTube videos. To a person new to fiberglass, it seems very doable by cutting it in half, keeping the top half raised in place through adjustable supports then attaching wooden planks to both fiberglass halves to secure them in place, grind the edges of both halves, apply the fiberglass, and grind/sand it down before painting.

It seems simple enough, though I’d like to reiterate that I basically don’t know what I’m doing. I’ve only watched several videos on how to repair fiberglass and don’t have any actual experience.

Is there a safe and/or cost effective way of accomplishing this in a timely manner? I’d like to keep the scamp and not sell it to get a different RV that might be tall enough.

Best,
Archie

Do you have a link to the cut in half/extension thread? I'm considering doing that with my project casita.

[John in Santa Cruz]

one thing that immediately comes to MY mind when I saw the 'cut in half and raise' thing, was the wiring that goes up the walls behind the insulation. thinking back to my Casita 16, that was at least the DC wiring for the interior lighting, the fan, the kitchen hood, and the bathroom fan, and the AC wiring to the microwave cabinet. and oh yeah, you'd have to cut and fiberglass the bathroom shell too, unless this scamp doesn't have one. you're raising the trailers center of gravity, which will make it less stable towing, AND you're increasing its wind load and gust susceptibility.

[Mike_L]

I don't know if this will work here but I've seen this done with truck campers to raise the center of the roof of the unit but not the sides. It's made of fiberglass and is about 3 feet wide and 6 to 8 feet long. You cut a section of the roof out and attach this piece.

[John in Santa Cruz]

Originally Posted by Mike_L

I don't know if this will work here but I've seen this done with truck campers to raise the center of the roof of the unit but not the sides. It's made of fiberglass and is about 3 feet wide and 6 to 8 feet long. You cut a section of the roof out and attach this piece.

it seems like there should have been a picture or a link to go with this otherwise we're just guessing.

[FRED SMAILES]

If you go to post #187 in the thread in my signature cut the roof off. Section it to the width of your center rib then section it into the roof of the Scamp. Use the techniques I used in the following posts to secure it.
Cost- truck topper, that one cost me 100$ and about 150 in Glass and resin. Could be ready for paint with ~ 20 hrs labour.
When you out and about just keep your eyes out for trucks with caps and visualize the top 4-5 inches of it on your scamp.
It's quite simple actually.
Fred

[John in Santa Cruz]

then there's this approach....

[FRED SMAILES]

Lol, the bug on the van looks well done.

[FRED SMAILES]

Another idea
https://sportsmobile.com/penthouse-top/

[John in Santa Cruz]

Originally Posted by FRED SMAILES

Another idea
https://sportsmobile.com/penthouse-top/

my son had a Westfalia Vanagon for many years with a canvas sided pop-top.... the insulation factor of those tent walls is R0, so either its going to be FREEZING inside on a cold night, or you'll be running a LOT of heat.

We've noticed a huge difference in comfort between our previous Casita that had basically shag carpet on the inside of the fiberglass shell and single pane windows, vs our Escape which has double layer of Reflectix + Thinsulite + aircraft style foam/vinyl headliner on the walls, AND double pane windows, plus foam on the underside. The Escape 21" is easily 2-3X the interior volume of the Casita 16 SD, yet the similar sized furnace only needs to run a fraction of the time it did on the Casita on similarly cold nights.

[Seacap10]

https://www.dayliter.com/rv-skylights/msf-acrylic.php

I've used one of these on a Surfside 14 it made a huge difference and stiffened the roof, it was awesome thinking about installing one in the Scamp 19 "Bedroom"