Is It Possible to Add a Front Cabinet to Scamp 13? How?

[CampyTime]

Hi Everybody,
I recently purchased a 13er with side cabinets over the dinette. I have the sofa/bunkbed in the front but would really like to install the overhead cabinet that Scamp sells for above. I am imagining a nightmare of taking off the "rat fur" and all of this kind of thing, but is it easier than I expect? Not even advisable? I see Scamp sells it, but maybe only to replace for those that have been damaged, yet already were in the trailer?
I would appreciate the insight of anybody with experience with this, as I'm a newb with lots of ideas, but no prior knowledge. Thank you very much!

Sincerely,
CampyTime (Wendy)

[honda03842]

The Marine carpet does not have to come off to install an overhead cabinets.

[mszabo]

Wendy Lee, you well have to cut out small pieces of carpet and glue in wood blocks. The cabinet will mount to the blocks. That wasn't so hard was it?

[honda03842]

I 've done it two ways. Supporting it off the top of the front window and side cabinet and using the more standard thru shell rivets.

In our Scamp we have shelves and cabinets off the rear Window and side windows as well as over the door.

See Modifications /Preparing a 1991 Scamp for some examples.

[David B.]

Originally Posted by honda03842

I 've done it two ways. Supporting it off the top of the front window and side cabinet and using the more standard thru shell rivets.

In our Scamp we have shelves and cabinets off the rear Window and side windows as well as over the door.

See Modifications /Preparing a 1991 Scamp for some examples.

This is what we have done, based on Norms work. We really like it. Bought it a Home Depot and trimmed it to fit using a cut off wheel on the wire. L-shaped aluminum is screwed to the window frame using the existing screws.

[deryk]

Originally Posted by mszabo

Wendy Lee, you well have to cut out small pieces of carpet and glue in wood blocks. The cabinet will mount to the blocks. That wasn't so hard was it?

well I would use epoxy the 2 part for fiberglassing. cut out the carpeting where you want the blocks to go, sand it down to the raw glass with a heavy grit sandpaper so its rough, clean it with acetone. Roughen up the back of the wood blocks and mix the epoxy per instructions and put them in place...will need something to put pressure on them to hold in place till it cures but once cured its now part of your fiberglass hull.

Its what I did on my boat when adding shelves to the fiberglass hull..read it in a trailer sailing book and it worked out well for me.

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by mszabo

Wendy Lee, you well have to cut out small pieces of carpet and glue in wood blocks. The cabinet will mount to the blocks. That wasn't so hard was it?

Actually Scamp just installs them using rivets - three on the top front section (one in the centre and 2 off to either side of centre. Three on the bottom rear section - all though the outside shell. If done at the factory they actually often use the same rivet for holding the upper cabinet as they use to hold the front curtain rod holder - thus resulting in one less rivet through the hull.

The bin installs right over the rat fur. They will cut the hole opening on the front of the cabinet as big/long as you want it to be & sell you a custom door to match.

Lots of people add them after the fact so they do not need to have been in the trailer originally.

[Bob Miller]

Keep in mind that there are 13' Scamps and there are also 13' Scamps. Between several mold changes to the basic hull, as well as creep in the cabinet mold(s), a cabinet you buy new may not, as several have already learned, fit.

Check with the factory, as well as several peeps here, about what will and won't fit.

If it will fit, the factory rivet mounting technique has worked well for 1000's of Scamps. Just be sure that they are properly sealed.

[Carol H]

What Bob mentioned is correct regarding getting the overhead to fit really well into an older trailer. Scamp will probable ask about the age of the trailer and its size when you order - if they dont you should ask them.

I had another party pickup a front overhead bin at Scamp last year that I had hoped to use. Unfortunately Scamp precut the door hole in it and as they didnt know I had a 16 side bath Scamp (long story as to why they didnt know) the hole for the door was cut to large - basically if I put a door on it I would not have been able to open it fully as it would hit the front wall of the bathroom. It did appear other wise to fit my 16' 1992 Scamp fairly well though. Scamp hasnt changed the molds on the 16' over the years so if the trailer is in good shape and not experiencing any sagging etc (if your door isnt straight you may have a fiberglass wall sage issue happening) then it *should* fit.

I took that overhead bin to a number of rallys and a few folks tried it out on 13' trailers - both Scamps and Boilers. That was a different story. Scamp after the factory fire did change the molds on the 13's . On the older 13' Scamps it was tried out in the bins fit the rear area well but not the front area - lots of big gaps around where it should have been snug to the wall. Tried it on several older Bolers - a couple of them had the same issues as the older 13' Scamp - but two of the 13' Bolers which were also older it fit fine and at the end of the day my overhead bin found a home in one of those.

[stevebaz]

My 1986 Scamp has rat fur over 2 layers of reflextic bubble insulation and Scamp just installed the fiberglass end cabinets on top of it all and pop riveted it in place just like the fiberglass side cabinets. Its been there 27 years on its origional rivets. I replaced a few rivets last month due to lost snap cap bases. so seems installed good enough.

[Otters]

Originally Posted by stevebaz

My 1986 Scamp has rat fur over 2 layers of reflextic bubble insulation

I'm curious Steve, did you have Scamp custom install the double layers of insulation when you ordered it from Scamp??? How well has it worked in cold conditions?

[stevebaz]

Otters,
I didn’t buy my Scamp new I bought it from a nice elderly couple last November. When I installed the Fantastic fan I found the 2 layers of reflextic insulation under the rat fur. I have nothing to compare on how well it works as my 13 has so many windows and the windows are cold. Without a front bath I have the front window, the stove window, door window and 3 windows in the back. Not counting the escape hatch and Fantastic Fan that are not insulated. At 30 degrees F those windows are cold. My trailer didn’t come with a heater. I installed the heater and it runs about 10 to 15 minutes then off for about an hour and then runs about 10 to 15 minutes again in cycles to take the temperature back up maintaining 60 to 70 degrees inside. Most of the heaters run time is the fan starting up and hearer cooling down before shutting down and not much time with the actual burner on. I can tell you that their is a fair amount of insulative value as the inside is about 2 hours behind the outside temperature. If it warms up outside there is about a 2 hour lag before it affects the inside.

[Otters]

Originally Posted by stevebaz

Otters,
I didn’t buy my Scamp new I bought it from a nice elderly couple last November.

Now that you mention that Steve, I do remember you buying it last year right after I bought mine. You lucked out getting that bonus insulation. I just experienced my first really cold camping trip in the Scamp last week. Brrrrrrr! Next time I go during cold weather I'm going to put some reflectix insulation in the windows and foam mats on the floor. I'm such a woos.

[stevebaz]

Otters,
I dont know how people tolerate the floors in these things when they rip out the carpet and foam backed flooring and put in wood or vinyl. I still have the origional flooring. I knew when I bought mine no heater wasn't going to do so I installed the Atwood 2 heater and its been nice when its cold. I do not use a sleeping bag but sheets and a couple of light cotton blankets. Propane use has been good last trip my regulator switched bottles at the Lake Casitas rally for the first time. one bottle in 6 3-4 day trips is pretty good. Lake Casitas was the first time I camped and had 120 volt power. I have an electric cube heater but wont use it as I perfer the propane heater. The cube scares me.

[CampyTime]

WOW! This is why I love this place! Ask a question, and get a whole bunch of good people wanting to help you out. Carol, I'm not sure what you mean by top front and bottom rear...although I know what top and bottom is. Basically, how I picture it with my pea brain is that all the rivets are from inside the cabinet, 3 at the top and 3 at the bottom, or is there a "lip" of fiberglass that they shoot them into that surrounds the cabinet? Thank you so very much Carol, I read a lot of your posts and you are amazing to me.

Second, David & Paula...we have talked via private message several times, and I'd much rather do your wire shelf thing as it's cheaper, but isn't my trailer laid out different than yours? All I have are side cabinets over the bench seats at the dinette area, and I THINK they run clear to the end of the trailer. In your pic, there is a "space" between the end of the cabinet and the wire shelf...UNLESS, you used that angle aluminum between the space of the upper kitchen cabinet and the front of the trailer?? But then, there's no cabinet on the other side to adhere the angle aluminum to, so I'm perplexed how you did that. I thought it a fabulous idea when we were writing to one another, but I must be missing something, because since you suggested it, I know you are right because I'm a newbie.

I called Scamp today, just so you all know...they are (have) gotten rid of the oakey type cabinets and are now using a cherrywood color, so they're searching for oak type wood as we speak. Also, tables only come in white now.

Further, Devon at Scamp told me that a person sleeping on the top bunk would only have about 18" between his or her head and the upper cabinet. But I called a friend of mine who has a whopper of a travel trailer with the bunks, and she got about the same type of head height (18" of space above around a 7" width head...tee hee). I guess you just have to finnagle your way out of there, but hopefully, that upper bunk will be saved for just my wee grandchildren some day...

One further question to anybody who has read this far, I'm going to cut my closet space down to the height of the wheel well. The current door is 18 x 32...have any of you done this and can give me an idea of the length of the door I'll need from them?

Thank you so very much,
Wendy (Campy Time)

[Otters]

Wendy, I have the upper cabinet in my 13' Scamp with bunkbeds. Both the upper and lower bunk are tough, but my grandchildren ages 4, 8 and 11 have all slept on them with no complaints. I've slept in the lower bunk before and I have to kind of shimmy in and out. But it works. I wouldn't want it to be my full time bed but for ocassional use it works. And the grandkids love going camping with their Nonni. The only complaint is that they usually don't want to go home.

[Otters]

Forgot to mention that if you get the Scamp cabinet, you should get the largest door possible. Mine was small and vertually useless. So I took the doors off and cut the hole larger. No problems with stuff bouncing out and stuff in bins is very useful for me.
I'm wondering what you're planning for the current closet area. I love have everyone makes their trailers suit their needs. Post some pictures when you get started.

[CampyTime]

Hi Otters (Love your User Name),
You just sold me. I know it will be a tight squeeze, but I think the extra cabinet space will suit me well. I love Dave and Paula's wire shelf thingy, and he has given me plenty of his time already explaining it. I just think that somehow his layout is different than mine and it works...as I can't see what he supports it to on the left hand side of his picture (unless the angle aluminum on the window holds up the left side, and the angle aluminum anchored to the cabinet in his pic offers the frontward support). I'm no genius, but I do try to figure things out. In short, where would we all be without this forum?
Have a good night Otters. Hopefully, Scamp can find me the wood I need!

Sincerely,
Wendy (CampyTime) but not camping now cuz' we already have snow in Western New York! UGH!

[CampyTime]

When I call Scamp tomorrow I'll be sure to ask for a HUGE DOOR. Makes sense to me!

Wendy

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by CampyTime

WOW! This is why I love this place! Ask a question, and get a whole bunch of good people wanting to help you out. Carol, I'm not sure what you mean by top front and bottom rear...although I know what top and bottom is. Basically, how I picture it with my pea brain is that all the rivets are from inside the cabinet, 3 at the top and 3 at the bottom, or is there a "lip" of fiberglass that they shoot them into that surrounds the cabinet? Thank you so very much Carol, I read a lot of your posts and you are amazing to me.

The cabinet does have a fiberglass lip on it that you put the rivets through much the same as the overhead bins in your kitchen area so the rivets go on the outside through the lip area not inside the bin. You shoot the rivet from the outside into an acorn nuts on the inside of the trailer. By bottom rear I mean the lip part of the bin that sits right above the curtains. As far as spacing goes as mention one goes right in the middle of the bin/lip and the other ones go at just outside the width of the front window - Scamp often uses either the same hole to attach the curtain rob holder or if thats to low for a snug fit for the bin they put the bin rivet right above the curtain rod holder. By front top I am referring to the top front lip of the bin that attaches through the roof just above what would be the bins opening.