I just bought a trailer so now we can be friends

[TappyGee]

Originally Posted by Mitzi Agnew-Giles

....I have been trying hard to cut down on the amount of leftovers, since that's where most of our fridge space goes...

And I go out of my way to make enough for leftovers so I don't have to prep and do dishes as often! To each his/her own.

[Kai in Seattle]

Welcome! Thanx for the pics! Nice looking trailer! How fun!

[Borden]

Welcome; looks nice

[raster]

Welcome. You have joined the FGRV world in style, that's for sure! I really love your camper - so open and so vintage, and distinctive.

[jlbails]

Great little trailer! That extra 2 feet gives you room for a dinette table, something the 13 foot Bolers have to re-configure to get. I have the same fridge in my 1977. Still going great on propane and electric. Anyone familiar with older propane fridges can help you to light it. It's a little tricky at first, but worth the effort if you are off the grid, have propane and want to keep things cold. Would be a good idea to check for leaks just in case. I didn't see a heater in your pictures, but mine was long gone, so I removed it and got more cabinet space. If you want to replace it, there are many great alternatives if you are using it in the winter. Hope it enjoy it!

[LaFille1]

Originally Posted by Gilda

What a beaut! Welcome to the club! Camping and hiking in British Columbia has been among the finest I've experienced!

Hi Gilda,

I am considering getting a 13' Scamp sometime in the near future. I am curios to know what kind of car your are using to pull your Scamp?


Happy travels!

Estella

[k corbin]

Originally Posted by Jorrap

Thanks everyone for your interest. I feel welcome. I think I lucked out with this little trailer, it's in good condition. I love the kitchen (but the sink smells and I need to figure out the water system ). It's so nice to make coffee in the morning with so little setup. I'm so looking forward to getting to know it and incorporate my own design elements. I look forward to getting to know you guys too!

The sink smell is going to be an issue of getting decent venting for the drain and the waste tanks working properly. There will be lots of information about that in the forum and also on websites that sell plumbing for RVs.

One place to start looking at for the stinky sink is the trap you have under the sink. The standard P trap arrangement relies on water sealing off the odor from the waste tank to keep it from coming back up the tube and into the sink. But many people have changed over to a waterless trap, the HepoV. It has the advantage of not needing to be filled with antifreeze for winterizing. You don't have to worry about water sloshing up out of it while driving over bumpy roads. There will be threads in the forum from people who have made the change to the HepoV style of trap. But the waste tank also needs to be vented properly as well and of course there will also be threads on that.

[Gilda]

Originally Posted by LaFille1

Hi Gilda,

I am considering getting a 13' Scamp sometime in the near future. I am curios to know what kind of car your are using to pull your Scamp?


Happy travels!

Estella

Hi Estella,
I imagine you are asking about our TV as it is pictured in my avatar on the day we picked up our Scamp in Backus, Minnesota. It is a 2008 Subaru Legacy. While it has been a great car for towing our 2011 13' Scamp, we purchased the car before considering towing. We chose the Scamp partially because our car could tow it. We've had great experiences camping with and towing the Scamp. We frequently get "second looks" and questions from curious observers as they cannot believe a sedan can tow a trailer!

There have been a couple small shortcomings. One is the low ground clearance which makes for occasional dragging of the hitch when we go over bumps or steep driveways. Frankly, we are thinking of purchasing a different TV soon. We LOVE our current Subaru and are interested in getting a Subaru Crosstrek as our next TV. One 13' Scamp owner on this listserve raves about his. Basically, the car is an Impreza that is raised to have higher clearance, which would address our issue. In addition, it is a hatchback which might make it easier to load and unload our camping paraphernalia. Some reviews say that the Crosstrek does not have great "oomph", pick-up.

Two models that have historically been very popular models with Subaru are the Forester and Outback. Nowadays they are much larger and more expensive than in the past and seem more like SUVs than a "crossover" (whatever that means). We, two, do not need such a large car as our TV will also be our everyday car and we are minimalist campers, aside from the fact that I like to "glamp up" our trailer. Although the Crosstrek is a bit smaller than our current Legacy it has enough torque and towing power to pull a Scamp. We have not yet gone for a test drive of the Crosstrek, but expect to do so soon.

Following is a photo of our camping trip in Lodi, California wine country arranged through Harvest Hosts, www.harvesthosts.com.
'Hope my answer helps you make your decisions.

[Jorrap]

That's great. Im surprised to see a Sedan towing too.

My initial plan was your install a tow package on my Crown Victoria and pull my little trailer with it. Then I was quoted $500 to install the tow package and the cars towing capacity just cleared the trailers' weight by 100 pounds.

So to be on the safe side I bought a 2000 Chevy Blazer. Its doing a good job so far and I like how it looks. So far I just have it attached to a bumper hitch but I will probably like to get a proper hitch receiver put in so I can use a drop hitch, as the height of my bumper makes the back of the trailer come too close to the ground.

[Jorrap]

And BTW, a friend of mine got the fridge working with a quarter turn of an unmarked valve. And I seem to have fixed the sink smell by cleaning the water lines with bleach.

[Donna D.]

Jordan, it's not just the rear bumper of the trailer is too close to the ground, towing tongue up makes the tongue too light and you could end up with a sway problem... a big one.


You want to tow as level as possible. Tongue down is far preferable to tongue up.

[Glenn Baglo]

You also need to check max weight for bumper hitch. It should be stamped on the bumper somewhere or in the manual. I sold my Ford Explorer because I didn't want to spend the money to equip an older vehicle with a proper hitch receiver.

[Jorrap]

That is good to know. Safety first. I'm in BC now, about 1800km away from home (Manitoba, Canada) right now. But im considering going back to visit my family and my mechanic. Renovations wold be much easier to facilitate there.

I just don't want to leave the mountains yet!

[LaFille1]

Originally Posted by Gilda

Hi Estella,
I imagine you are asking about our TV as it is pictured in my avatar on the day we picked up our Scamp in Backus, Minnesota. It is a 2008 Subaru Legacy. While it has been a great car for towing our 2011 13' Scamp, we purchased the car before considering towing. We chose the Scamp partially because our car could tow it. We've had great experiences camping with and towing the Scamp. We frequently get "second looks" and questions from curious observers as they cannot believe a sedan can tow a trailer!

There have been a couple small shortcomings. One is the low ground clearance which makes for occasional dragging of the hitch when we go over bumps or steep driveways. Frankly, we are thinking of purchasing a different TV soon. We LOVE our current Subaru and are interested in getting a Subaru Crosstrek as our next TV. One 13' Scamp owner on this listserve raves about his. Basically, the car is an Impreza that is raised to have higher clearance, which would address our issue. In addition, it is a hatchback which might make it easier to load and unload our camping paraphernalia. Some reviews say that the Crosstrek does not have great "oomph", pick-up.

Two models that have historically been very popular models with Subaru are the Forester and Outback. Nowadays they are much larger and more expensive than in the past and seem more like SUVs than a "crossover" (whatever that means). We, two, do not need such a large car as our TV will also be our everyday car and we are minimalist campers, aside from the fact that I like to "glamp up" our trailer. Although the Crosstrek is a bit smaller than our current Legacy it has enough torque and towing power to pull a Scamp. We have not yet gone for a test drive of the Crosstrek, but expect to do so soon.

Following is a photo of our camping trip in Lodi, California wine country arranged through Harvest Hosts, www.harvesthosts.com.
'Hope my answer helps you make your decisions.

Hi Gilda,

Thank you for your great answer! Very helpful, I got a better idea on what to do once I get my little Scamp. I hope you're having fun on your Lodi camping trip; some day (hope soon) I'll be doing that myself

Thank you again!

Estella

[Jorrap]

I was so close to passing this winter full time in my little camper, but I just found a housesitting arangement that puts me into a house. So I'm staying put for the winter, but I'll be running in place. You can follow my adventure at Astray Expression !!!