Hello from Buckingham County Virginia

[Arvonian]

My wife and I had been looking for a camper for some time, and were lucky enough to spot one recently on a road that I travel regularly. After a quick inquiry the 1979 16' Scamp was ours! It's a project to be sure, but at 700 dollars , I thought the price was right. With the exception of the closet and the front sofa base (it has the #4 interior setup) there is no interior. I'm busy already getting it cleaned up, and fixing some leaks. I'll be starting from the ground up on this one!

Pics are from last week when we towed it home

[David B.]

Congratulations on a great find, and welcome to the FGRV forum family.
Dave & Paula

[Jon in AZ]

Good eye, Steve! Have fun bringing her back to life, and we'll look for you on the road soon.

[LyleB]

"Farm Use" Huh? Hope there isn't too much evidence of livestock hauling.

Just joking, nice find - good luck on the project.

[Arvonian]

Just came in from the shop to do a little research. Have been under the camper, found out that it has electric brakes! I'm not sure if they came standard in '79 but the axle seems to be in good shape with plenty of spring. The hook up is the flat 4 pin, the harness looks original and the connections for the brakes are wrapped around and tied off at the axle. It makes me wonder if they were ever hooked up??
Have just finished removing the leaking vent (yes, I'm in for some floor repair...) and have removed most of the 5 pounds of silicone sealant from windows, side vents, etc. getting ready for removal. I think one of the previous owners had a lot of stock in Dow Corning!

[Kai in Seattle]

Hi, Yes, $700 is SUPER for even an empty shell, and you got a bit more than that. Best luck to you, please do let us know how your progress with it goes.


Kai in Seattle

[Cathi]

Steve, what luck you had finding that! You sound as if you know what you are doing. Yes, there are folks who never used the brakes. I am sure you would want them working. Seems as if you are on your way to a good rehab.

[Rick Mooyman]

Awesome deal, but make sure you have a title and register it in your name with the DMV before starting too much work on it. I have heard of so many so called good deals, only to have the police show up and tell you that want you paid for is not really yours to start with. That Farm Use plate looks like a BIG RED FLAG to me.

If all is legit you got a GREAT DEAL. Have fun making it your own.

[Arvonian]

Titles are a big deal for me too, it's very hard to get a title in Va. so I always steer clear of ANYTHING that does not have one. Title for this one is legit, even matches the vin on the frame rail!!

When I was looking for a camper and scouring the want ads, I couldn't believe all of the Scams out there!

[Rick Mooyman]

With a good title you are good to go. Enjoy working on it in your spare time. Make it your own, and make sure you post lots of pics for us to follow your progress.

Congrats again on your great deal.

[Borrego Dave]

Doubt that the brakes were ever hooked up as they take a 7 pin connection. Good find and close to you.

[redbarron55]

When I bought my 16' Scamp the small electric brakes were also not hooked up anf the trailer had a 4 pin plug.
It would seem to be fairly common that someone modded the wiring and changed to the 4 pin plug not knowing or not caring about the brake hookup.

[Jon in AZ]

More likely they changed the axle to one with brakes but didn't get around to upgrading the wiring. Pretty sure the flat-four without brakes was OE back in 1979.

[MRClaus]

nice , good to have you . looks good needs a bath lol

[Stan and Carol]

With the farm use plate and what looks like a Ford Jubilee tractor, you are good to go. I had a Jubilee for about 30 years before I got my present Massey Ferguson, with a bucket. Don't know how I got along without a bucket. The tractor is nice for moving the trailer up by the house to load for a trip.
Good luck in your rehab.

Stan

[Arvonian]

The tractor in the background is my '57 Ford 860. While I don't have a bucket for it, I too don't know how I would get along without it. With 26 acres to tend to, it sure comes in handy!

I'm pretty deep into the Scamp rebuild, right now I'm prepping for paint both inside and out, and getting ready to replace floors. Been doing some body work, and have finished prepping and painting the frame with POR15, one of my favorite products....