Preparing a 1991 Scamp 16

[honda03842]

We bought a 1991 Scamp 16 in FL this winter after using our son's Casita 16. We bought it on Craig's List. We looked at it for 15 minutes and gave the owner a downpayment.

The 16 was in excellent condition. No one had ever used the stove, the refrigerator had just been replaced and the carpet looked almost new.

Like many small trailers they are not designed for full time users. Many of the storage areas do not have easy access, and beyond that there are areas that could be used for storage but have no access.

Our goals are to provide easy access to existing storage areas, to add access to existing potential storage areas and to add storage areas where there is none but where there could be storage.

In general we travel on the light side, but we like everything to have a place and for no compartment to be stuffed.

So Far. We have added two drawers to the driver's side dinette. Each draw will contain a plastic storage bin with cover. Similarly the front center compartment of the couch also contains two identical plastic storage bins.

To the right of the couch's center storage compartment there is another storage compartment only accessible from the top of the couch. We have cut the front fiberglass and created an 18x18x8" drawer.

This variant of the Scamp has two kitchen counters, one with the sink and the other with the stove and refrigerator. On the stove side we have created a cabinet under the fridge (18x10x5). On the sink side we have added two drawers. One is 12x18x5 and the other, in front of the sink, is 12x4x5.

We have plans to add overhead storage at each end of the trailer, to be covered in another posting.

As well we have added 6 additional electrical outlets to the 3 that came with the trailer and a fourth breaker to the original 3.

I intend to photograph all changes and creat a document describing what we've done.

Having fun but tired,

Norm

[Mary F]

Drawers sound good. Do they have latches that will keep them from sliding open in transit?

[honda03842]

Originally Posted by Mary F

Drawers sound good. Do they have latches that will keep them from sliding open in transit?

Most things in Scamps use spring loaded roller snaps. However for our drawers we're using locking slides typically used in motorhomes.

Locking slides require you to lift and pull. They move on rollers in a metal track and operate very smoothly. Once closed travel will not open them.

Norm

[Carol H]

Sounds good Norm! I am not full timing but I also like to have a place for everything while camping. I have also added a door under my fridge as well as one to the bottom half of the closet and added shelving in the lower part. I have one drawer on the stove side but had seen photos of ones on the sink side and had been thinking of doing that - was there any special trick to mounting it? Is one of them over top of the hot water tank? Did you get the all the parts of making the drawers from Scamp?

I have the overheads on both sides at the rear but think I will add shortly an open self with rail right across the rear between the two for putting small stuff. Problem with a shelf between the two is due to the how high the rear window is mounted in our trailers it does not allow for a great deal of space between the shelf and the roof - not even sure there will be enough room for a paper back to stand up but I know I have a couple of items that will fit there :-) If I did not have to watch the trailer tongue weight one of the first things I would haved added would be an overhead across the front as well.

I currently have a small spare door that I'm thinking of putting on the passenger side of the rear bench - at the very end facing into the trailer so I can reach in and open the water tank drain and untangle the power cord without having to go through the hatch under the seat. If I was full timing (may actually do it one day regardless) I suspect I would also add an outside hatch opening to get at large items in the storage space on the drivers side of the rear bench without having to take the bed apart.

If you check my trailer register you will see I found a spot on the door pocket for storing the awning hook out of the way and a orginizer is attached to the inside of the closet door that has three removable pouches for first aid, card games and other odds and ends that are used often - it only goes about 5" into the closet leaving lots of space for hanging a number of pieces of clothing. I had to cut the top part of it down a bit to get it to fit and added a couple of new small hooks to the top and velcro to the back to stop it from swinging.

Thanks for the ideas and hope you enjoy your new to you trailer!

[honda03842]

Carol,
I have not ordered anything from Scamp. I asked them to quote me over head cabinets but they never replied.

As to drawers, the sink draw is a hinged draw that simply folds out. It has a plastic tray on the back that holds our toothbrushes and tooth paste. We have no sink in our bathroom so need a place near the sink for their storage.

Similarly because of the lack of depth under the fridge that will be a flip down door. We will use this area for soda and wine storage.

The cabinet beside the fridge will have a two level pull out pantry. Under these slide outs is a plastic container for onions and potatos.

The closet is going to be reconfigured, the bottom is reserved for a future small ac unit, the mid section for a hamper. The top of the closet will be split vertically, the left side will be used as a hanging spot for a couple of dressup outfits, the right side for appliance and box goods storage. This will require some door reconstruction on the closet.

The under couch and under dinette drawers are easy to do because the drawer slides can be attached to the floor. The sink side drawer is more difficult requiring a pair of wood blocks to be glued to the fiberglass.

As to front and rear storage, you're correct there's not a lot of space there but enough for the sheets and electric blanket we use to make up the rear bed. Maybe next year I can add side overhead cabinets in the rear.

A key addition is the cabinet that mounts to the rear wall of the bathroom and hangs over the couch to the level of the couch's rear cushion. This gives us a place to store bulky items like jeans and sweaters.

We have not figured out what to do with the passenger's side dinette. I do not like a push in power cord but am not ready to change it. I'd like to eliminate it and put in a larger water tank for those times we want to truck in more water to a boondocking situation. Next year....

Norm

[Bill K]

Here is what I used to replace my push in power cord, I just coil up the cord and put it in the car.

Bill K

Hover over image to zoom

RV Power Inlet 30-Amp

Catalog Item # 28231 This Item is In-Stock and Ready to Ship
President's Club Price $69.99
Reg. Price $77.77

[Carol H]

Norm thanks for the response.

IMHO dont bother with a sink in the bathroom - previous owner put one in mine and to be honest I have thought often of taking it out - the kitchen sink for washing up is only two steps away and the sink in the bathroom takes up more room than one might think. making a cramped space more cramped than need be.

You might be suprised at how much space is actually under the fridge when you cut it open. LOL there is a narrow stip along the front but over on the left side of the wheel well it opens up and there is a far bit of space which goes right back to the outside wall and into the drivers side rear bunk. There is no side wall on mine seperating the rear bunk storage from the fridge enclosed area - only thing between them is the power converter. Only restriction to using that space of course is the size of the door to get stuff into it! :-)

Thanks for the tip on glueing wood blocks to the fiberglass for the sink side drawer - what kind of glue do you use for that?

Had considered a cabinet on the rear wall of the bathroom but I do need to use the bunks from time to time and have a solar panel that stowes nicely on that wall - I use to keep my bunks up all the time and used them with a bungy cord to keep the solar from moving around. I keep the bunks down mostly now so was going to go today and purchase a couple of sets of small marine eye bolts and mount them on the wall and run a bungle cord between them to hold the panel in place. Might put a couple on the same wall inside the bathroom as well for holding the chairs upright while traveling. I already have a few other hooks on the couch side of the wall for hanging things. Might also put a small shelve near the top for odds and ends.

Sounds like you have some great ideas and lots to keep you busy with!

Enjoy

[honda03842]

Carol,

One of our handiest additions are small white, ribbed plastic trays from Walmart, 3 for $1.17, about 11" long 2-3 inches wide and 2-3 inches deep. We have two attached to the over head cabinet supports. At night we put our glasses in one, one for keys and cell phones. I'm sure I'll add more.

We also have three attached (held with short, large head screws)to the inside of the bathroom door frame. These are 4x5x2". We use them for those miscellaneous bathroom items like clippers.....

There is also a larger size that we use in drawers as storage seperators within the drawer, they all are typically 2 or 3 pieces for $1.17.

We had solar cells on our last trailer and will eventually add them to this trailer. Last time we permanently mounted them to the roof just to simplfy things.

I did notice that space back there under the fridge but couldn't figure what to put there.

As to the wood blocks and glue, I'll let you know. I just cut all the fiberglass holes last night. For draw fronts I'll make something up as I go along. They will not be identical to the exisitng fronts, probably stained and urethaned pine.

We recently remade but not installed a new dinette table 24x30", ample for the tow of us, gives a even more open look and makes it decidedly easier to get into the dinette while providing easier access to the under dinette bins.

Thank you, it helps knowing someone who's gone down the same path.

Norm

[honda03842]

Bill K,

I like your connector, thanks for the sourcing info. I just replaced all the plastic fill parts, 2 water and one electric. I plan at some date to do what you did, probably in the fall. Right know I have to get ready for the egg rally in Prince Edward Island in July. Thank you

Norm

[honda03842]

Carol,
I'm rethinking the underfridge draw based upon your comment about the depth on one side of the space. I think I can make an L-shaped draw and use the long part of the L to store a case of soda and the rest for can storage. Basically it almost doubles the space's usefulness.

Thanks Norm

[Ed Harris]

I know for me the space between the cabinets over the bed were ideal for storing pillows and bedding which are bulky but not too heavy.

I bought a nice chrome open wire shelf,made solid Oak brackets and stuck it up there.
Maybe the handiest mod I did?

[honda03842]

Ed,
How did you mount the oak brackets?

Thanks Norm

[Ed Harris]

Hope there is enough detail in the pics?

I took an oak 2x2 and cut it the length of the shelf side front to back minus the front and rear lips. I also beveled the inside bottom edge to clear the trim.
Then I cut a slot in it to receive the shelf sides again not the height of the lip but just the shelf itself.

I then positioned the brackets at the cabinet bottom edge running back to front and used a few coarse drywall screws through the oak into the cabinets.

The tricky part was mounting the 2nd bracket.
With the 1st on mounted and the shelf slid into the slot I angled the shelf down enough to slid the 2nd bracket onto the shelf and then raised it and screwed it into the other cabinet.

The result was a tight fitting,light weight shelf unable to slide sideways or front to back.

Like I said,I will try to find a picture it will look a lot simpler than it sounds.

Ed

[Ed Harris]

Oh
I also have the Marinco parts to change the power cord to the Casita and I have done this to each trailer I have owned.
I mainly want to prevent bugs and rodents from walking in.

Well last weekend I started to rethink this plan.

First someone else who had done this mod forgot his power cable at home. Not likely if it is attached like from the factory!

Second my trailer was positioned about 3 feet from the power pedestal and I only pilled out about 4 feet of cable not letting it touch the ground anywhere again not possible with the detached cord whose entire length would just on the ground if I did the mod?

So I am not so sure now......if it ain't broke,don't fix it!

[Bill K]

I did it to gain the storage space.

Bill K

Originally Posted by Ed Harris

Oh
I also have the Marinco parts to change the power cord to the Casita and I have done this to each trailer I have owned.
I mainly want to prevent bugs and rodents from walking in.

Well last weekend I started to rethink this plan.

First someone else who had done this mod forgot his power cable at home. Not likely if it is attached like from the factory!

Second my trailer was positioned about 3 feet from the power pedestal and I only pilled out about 4 feet of cable not letting it touch the ground anywhere again not possible with the detached cord whose entire length would just on the ground if I did the mod?

So I am not so sure now......if it ain't broke,don't fix it!

[Frederick L. Simson]

Originally Posted by Ed Harris

Oh
I also have the Marinco parts to change the power cord to the Casita and I have done this to each trailer I have owned.

Well last weekend I started to rethink this plan.

... my trailer was positioned about 3 feet from the power pedestal and I only pulled out about 4 feet of cable not letting it touch the ground anywhere again not possible with the detached cord whose entire length would just on the ground if I did the mod?

How long is the cord? How about keeping the cord coiled up with a bungee, figure out how to hang the coil from the Power Pedestal (Maybe rigging a portable hose rack), and extend a little bit from each end of the coiled cord?

[honda03842]

Ed, Thanks for the pictures. I know what you mean about rodents. Before we bought our Scamp one had been living near the water tank.

Carol, I looked at your pictures and was wondering what the box under the dinette is.

Norm

[Kevin K]

Not letting it touch the ground anywhere good point.

[Carol H]

The problem with the Scamps (or at least the 90's on) is the back window is so big/tall there is only about 6" between the top of the window and the roof so its use is pretty limited to very small stuff. Wish it was like yours ED as it would be far more useful.

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by honda03842

Carol, I looked at your pictures and was wondering what the box under the dinette is.

Norm

That box is for odds and ends - it actually has a large pot for cooking crabs etc in it that does not fit in the cabinets, within the pot are other items that I need to get at most trips - such as place mats, table cloth, outdoor lights, candles etc. It does tend to collect homeless *stuff* and needs to be cleaned out often :-) Its small enough that the bed can go down on top of it or 4 people can sit at the table without it being in the way of anyones feet.