Hey guys.
Just want to share my
Scamp building experience. This is 2005 13ft
Scamp that I've got over a year ago. Initially I was going to use it as-is, but after few seemingly minor mods and fixes here and there, this thing slowly became an always-improving project.
Here's what I've done so far
Exterior
1) Replaced all
lights with LED.
Side marker
lights were super easy direct replacement.
Tail lights were a bit more work. I wanted to replace those generic Bargman
lights with round LEDs, so it took some careful, measuring, drilling few new holes and patching some existing holes. Overall it turned out nice and I like the new look.
LED lights are 7" with halo rings:
2) Replaced the crumbling foam door seal with the new rubber seal.
3) Replaced door stop and gravel shield hardware. The old hardware was functional, but rusty, replaced it with a stainless steel
4) Added ShadyBoy
awning. Absolutely like this thing! Super lightweight, solid and easy to install. After some training, the whole setup/takedown takes less than a 5 minutes.
5) Added
solar panel to the roof. Did some research about panel/mounts options, ended up with Renogy 50w panel mounted on a no-drill brackets:
Brackets are glued to the roof with Sikaflex-252 adhesive, so far they hold up fine and feel rock solid. Wires go into the trailer through the cable entry gland on the roof:
Interior
1) Replaced all cabinet doors with custom made ones. Just a 3/8 baltic birch plywood with routed edges and flat yellow
paint. Also replaced all hinges and knobs with the white ones and painted the heater grill white.
(as a bonus - new plywood doors are a little lighter than original mdf, so I saved a few pounds)
2) Refinished the table. Previous owner had some flooring vinyl planks glued across the tabletop. I wasn't happy with it (too dark and too heavy), rip them away, cleaned the surface and then glued a piece of Formica:
3) New curtains. My wife made those. Really like the green/forest theme, adds some nice touch:
4) Got rid of both manual pump and separate faucet. Installed Shureflo faucet with integrated switch. New faucet works with both internal pump and external water hookup. Also replaced all plumping with the new hoses.
5) Installed a water pump. Initially I wanted to install a Shurflo 4008 (which seems to be a gold standard among RVs), but then decided to go with something smaller. Got
this small circulating pump from Amazon and it works great: pumps enough water to comfortably wash dishes, yet draws less than one amp and it is almost completely silent.
6) Fixed some wiring issues, added fuse box and two 12v sockets under the seats. One is the regular socket, another one has 2 USB ports, good for charging phones/tablets.
7) Added 12v fan. Just a basic car fan, nothing fancy, but it really helps on hot day.
8) Replaced old analogue thermostat with the new digital one
9) Replaced all bulbs with LED + added LED strip over the countertop
9) Installed Renogy Adventurer
solar controller. It is kinda overkill for my 50w panel, but this is the only model that allows flush mount, so I decided to spend an extra few bucks just for the sake of clean look:
Panel wiring comes from the gland port on the roof, then goes through the top front cabinet, then inside the vertical upholstery seam all the way down to the controller.
Things that I didn't add yet:
1) Additional
solar port. The idea is to have an option to hook up external 50w panel to the existing Renogy controller. Could be useful if trailer is parked in the shade. Still on my todo list.
2) Inverter. Initially I wanted to install one, but after few camping trips I just don't see what would I use it for. All my electronic stuff works just fine from 12v, so most likely I'll skip the whole inverter idea.
3) Trailer
brakes. Already have them sitting in my garage, just need a time to install. Our Subaru Outback has no problems pulling this
Scamp over the mountains as is, but my Jeep Wrangler with oversized
tires would definitely benefit from adding some braking power.
Scampy
Scampers
Its Bigger On The Inside
Linear Mode
