Liner in 70's scamp

[Slonik]

Hi!
I have a scamp from the early or mid 70's. It currently has a liner that looks neither like the elephant skin nor the rat fur. It looks like the perforated vinyl that was often used in the 70's - 80's head liners in cars. You know the stuff that would hang sometimes and touch the top of your head when you sat in the back seat? That stuff is peeling off and cracking. I will unfortunately need to redo the upholstery. No, sadly, the elephant hide is not "hiding" underneath.

I have looked through the site to see what the recommendations are for reupholstering. All the methods I found are summarized well on the boler website Replacing Ensolite Wall Covering - Boler.ca

From those of you who have done this, what worked and what didn't? Are there any other better methods that you found? The bubble wrap seems like it would be hard to mold, I am leaning toward the ensolite- any comments about that?
Has anyone tried thick wool felt? It should be pretty easy to work with.
Has anyone managed to locate the pattern for the liner?
Also, I was wondering if anyone has managed to find the old elephant skin anywhere.

We live in the northeast and frequently camp in VT in the winter, so insulation is of importance.

On another note- has anyone managed to locate a source for the jalousie windows? I am missing one, and don't want to replace with the new style.

Thank you!
Yianna, MA

[Nor Cal Mike]

Just yesterday, I installed some of the original carpet back onto the walls of my Casita so have a miniscule amount of experience that I can relate.

Materials.
All of the materials used almost universally by the fiberglass manufacturers is some kind of man made fiber over a foam backing. Rat fur used by Scamp or carpet used by Casita are my examples. The importance of the foam backing is that it provides an insulation value and a vapor barrier. The vapor barrier function is an important one in that the fiberglass bodies of our trailers will sweat a little bit. Without the foam layer, that moisture will soak down into the fabric and likely result in mold. The rat fur and carpet used come from the fiberglass boat industry. I have done searches there and came up with new materials available for purchase. From a visual standpoint, I love the look of ensolite but I hear that it isn't available anymore.

Application
I used regular hardware store contact cement to glue the carpet to interior. I chose a warm, dry day, following the instructions on the can. Brush or roll the cement to both surfaces, let it dry for 15-20 minutes. press and roll in place. When pressed in place, the carpet stuck instantly and securely to the fiberglass.

Patterns I have seen no patterns in my searches on the net. Maybe someone else knows of one. I can say that with carpet, and probably rat fur, that the material is fairly forgiving along the seams. If you cut the material a little bit tight, the seam gets lost in the piles. If you screw up and get to wide of a joint, you can glue a strip in to fill the void. It will get lost in the sea of piles.

[Alex Adams]

Originally Posted by Nor Cal Mike

J From a visual standpoint, I love the look of ensolite but I hear that it isn't available anymore.

Ensolite is available just not faced in the white vinyl of the "Elephant skin". You can get unfaced or faced in black. Here are some links:

https://www.foammart.com/p-456-ensolite.aspx
https://www.professionalplastics.com...ITEPVC-NBRFAOM
https://www.scs-interiors.com/ensoli...-material.html

You could put the "rat fur" on top of the unfaced Ensolite.

[stevebaz]

https://www.grahamfabrics.com/72-mar...dliner-fabric/

[Slonik]

Thank you all for your input and sources. I am leaning towards PSA adhesive foam with vinyl or thick layer of felt. In theory it should be better than bubble wrap + vinyl.
Warm dry days are hard to come by these days. I am in Massachusetts.
I wonder if scamp would give me the pattern, I might try my luck, they seem like a friendly bunch. It sure would make things easier.

[stevebaz]

Go to the Scamp site and watch their assembly video.

[k0wtz]

made sure you keep your naughahyde stuff to use for a pattern for whatever you chose. personally I would go with ratfur!

bob

[David B.]

Michael, having had both a Scamp with the elephant hyde(vinyl) and one with the rat fur (marine headliner), I second Bob’s preference for the rat fur. If you want excellent results, Scamp will install it for you.
Best of luck with your outcome.
Dave & Paula

[k0wtz]

if the insulation stuff still on I would give it a good try myself mainly because I live quite away from the scamp factory.

they use a small strip to cover the seams up looks pretty nice in my opinion and not impossible to do

bob

[stevebaz]

I would glue the rat fur right over the elephant hide.

[Slonik]

The stuff that's on there now is barely holding on, I can take it off without any tools. I can't glue anything on top of it. What makes rat fur so good?

[Jon in AZ]

"Rat fur"- meaning Scamp's particular version of marine headliner- is great because it's soft and warm to the touch, non-absorbent, extremely durable, and completely eliminates condensation.

If I were doing it myself, I would choose one with a lower nap- less fuzzy- than the product Scamp uses. Different textures and colors are available through various suppliers.

You will probably want something under it, though. Foil bubble wrap (Reflectix) is popular. It's inexpensive and fairly easy to install but less effective as an insulator. Closed cell foam is more expensive and harder to install but makes a better insulator.

[k0wtz]

jon I think the thicker rarrur might cover up minor imperfections of the underlayment.

just my 2c I like mine which is a 95

bob