Low Clearance

[Francesca Knowles]

I'm not as convinced as some that there's anything wrong with the axle- it might just be a matter of perspective. It doesn't look extraordinarily low to me when comparing it to Selina's position in the picture...
It's a little hard to tell by the picture angle whether the height's wrong- what's the measurement of the step up off the ground? Other Scamp owners could say if it's normal.

It'd be most helpful if you were to post a couple of straight-on pics of the wheels so we can see what if any gaposis there is. Also: what size tires are on it?

Francesca

[yyyyyguy]

I bought a new Scamp in Feb. towed it home and scraped pulling into driveway. Bought a different, lower, hitch, to raise the back, then the front scraped. Luckily I have a small park next door and I just cut thru there and avoid the driveway. I've heard you can install wheels in the back to help it roll in those situations but I have my doubts it would work in my situation. So far I have been able to avoid those problems on the road :-)

[Thomas G.]

Originally Posted by yyyyyguy

I bought a new Scamp in Feb. towed it home and scraped pulling into driveway. Bought a different, lower, hitch, to raise the back, then the front scraped. Luckily I have a small park next door and I just cut thru there and avoid the driveway. I've heard you can install wheels in the back to help it roll in those situations but I have my doubts it would work in my situation. So far I have been able to avoid those problems on the road :-)

Is this your house?

[Selina187]

Here a few other pics so you can get a better idea. I'm not sure what size tires...small ones! LOL
I've owned this lil guy for approx 12 days now

[Selina187]

Originally Posted by Selina187

Here a few other pics so you can get a better idea. I'm not sure what size tires...small ones! LOL
I've owned this lil guy for approx 12 days now

[Darwin Maring]

Looking at the pictures I think things look low,
You have been given some solid advice on how to check the axle and in doing so you will come to a decision to replace or not.

[Jared J]

Here's my old axle that was worn out, notice how the arms leading to the hubs are actually UP (axle is upside down in picture).



Here's the new axle, to show the difference, the arms are 25* down.



If yours looks like the first, it probably needs replaced.

[Selina187]

Originally Posted by Darwin Maring

Looking at the pictures I think things look low,
You have been given some solid advice on how to check the axle and in doing so you will come to a decision to replace or not.

Agreed....I will investigate and report back. Thanks again everyone!!

[Nancy]

Hi Selina,

Your trailer looks great. I don't think the fabric is original, it was available when we bought our trailer in '05.

Did the previous owner remove the support on the dinette side of the kitchen? They add support to the roof and I would feel more comfortable with them being restored. You probably don't have to worry about snow load on the roof, but with weight in the cabinets and bouncing down the road, the trailer flexing.....

The original supports were black, they are now white. People have replaced the Scamp ones with ones they feel are more attractive.

Have fun in your new home.

Nancy

[floyd]

I does look a little low, but a worn out dexter axle will be wearing the tires on the inside from progressively increasing negative camber and a developing tow out.
Early 13 Scamps used an up angle leading arm axle with a 1200# capacity, so it will sit lower than the later ones.
Below is a photo of a brand new circa 1978 Scamp 13 from the brochure, you can use it,along with other information to decide when it will be appropriate to replace the axle....

[Jared J]

Originally Posted by floyd

I does look a little low, but a worn out dexter axle will be wearing the tires on the inside from progressively increasing negative camber and a developing tow out.
Early 13 Scamps used an up angle leading arm axle with a 1200# capacity, so it will sit lower than the later ones.
Below is a photo of a brand new 1978 Scamp 13 from the brochure, you can use it,along with other information to decide when it will be appropriate to replace the axle....

oops, might want to ignore my post then, selina.

Good info Floyd!

[Cat futrell]

Welcome Selina and congrats on your camper. This may not be relevant to the Scamp at all and Im sure there are many here who will know, we had a similar problem when we purchased a 1973 Love Bug in July. It was so low, but we did the bounce test and the torsion axle bounced and didn't hit bottom, we were able to use our axle but had it blocked. That is when a piece of metal is welded between the axle and the frame to lift the shell. We gained almost 4 inches.

Just a thought!

Cathy

[yyyyyguy]

Originally Posted by Thomas G.

Is this your house?

Wow, not quite that bad, how could anyone live there? Hope it isn't near me in the snowy,ICY north country

[floyd]

Originally Posted by Thomas G.

Is this your house?

That is amazing! I have a Ranger Edge and a Ford Escape.It would take a tentative approach from either of these just to test for angle of approach and departure. I can't imagine a regular car being able to enter that driveway, let alone scale it or park on it!
You would need a winch and wheels on the rear bumper to get a Scamp into that garage, that's if the door were high enough.
I can't see telling the kids to keep the tricycle in the driveway!
What is that parked on the dirt road in the background??

[Donna D.]

AND, you definitely wouldn't consider driveway camping!

[Steve Hammel]

"AND, you definitely wouldn't consider driveway camping!"

LOL! Let me see you level the fridge in that driveway.

[Selina187]

Originally Posted by Nancy

Hi Selina,

Your trailer looks great. I don't think the fabric is original, it was available when we bought our trailer in '05.

Did the previous owner remove the support on the dinette side of the kitchen? They add support to the roof and I would feel more comfortable with them being restored. You probably don't have to worry about snow load on the roof, but with weight in the cabinets and bouncing down the road, the trailer flexing.....

The original supports were black, they are now white. People have replaced the Scamp ones with ones they feel are more attractive.

Have fun in your new home.

Nancy

Thanks Nancy. Yes she removed the support to do some painting, but I still have it. It's the black one....we can't store it at home (no parking in LA) but we are planning on doing some work over the weekend, so I'll make sure we get that guy back on!

[Selina187]

Originally Posted by floyd

I does look a little low, but a worn out dexter axle will be wearing the tires on the inside from progressively increasing negative camber and a developing tow out.
Early 13 Scamps used an up angle leading arm axle with a 1200# capacity, so it will sit lower than the later ones.
Below is a photo of a brand new circa 1978 Scamp 13 from the brochure, you can use it,along with other information to decide when it will be appropriate to replace the axle....

Thanks for the info Floyd! What a great old advertising pic!!!

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by Nancy

Hi Selina,
Your trailer looks great. I don't think the fabric is original, it was available when we bought our trailer in '05. Nancy

I suspect Nancy is correct - the original covers would have been the nice 70's gold plaid

[Francesca Knowles]

On the subject of the axle:

There was a lengthy discussion last year on this topic, and a member posted his very simple method of assessing a torsion axle's condition.

Here quoting from post #55 at http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...e-42849-4.html

Originally Posted by Joe in MN

Just a note about Scamp suspension - when replacing wheels on my new-to-me-last-fall 1988, the tires came off the ground almost the very moment that I touched the jack handle, so I'm assuming there's practically no spring left in the rubber suspension. This may be as good a way as any to assess the amount of life left in the suspension? Jack it up and see how long the tire stays on the ground as the frame rises?

He elaborates further on the next page:

Originally Posted by Joe in MN

Well, this is what I'm thinking, but I could easily be wrong - if the rubber is still springy, the weight of the trailer would be compressing the suspension somewhat all the time while sitting, and when the trailer was jacked up, the tires would stay on the ground for a bit until that "static compression" was taken out by jacking.

Think of it in reverse - if the trailer was suspended in the air and you gently set it down, the tires should rise up into the wheel wells a bit as the suspension compresses. This isn't happening in my case when I reverse the process, tires come off the ground IMMEDIATELY. There may in fact be some spring left between the resting position and the going-over-a-bump position (which is where you really want it), but I think my scenario means not a lot of springiness left anywhere.

I jack at the frame just ahead of the axle, which I believe is where Scamp recommends jacking. ($30 bottle jack from Northern Tool plus a Sears jack stand and chocks for safety - works really well for me so far.) I doubt that jacking up both wheels would tell you anything that one at a time wouldn't tell you, and it might stress the frame more - from what I've read, you have to watch how you jack Scamps up, as you can put stress in places where the frame isn't happy about it. On the frame, right next to the axle, preferably in front of it, and one side at a time is the best way, I think.

I think his is a good determinant for the question of whether or not to replace an axle.

That whole thread is pretty educational, by the way- a recommended read for anyone interested in the subject!

Francesca