Miriam traveling alone with 2 kids now with SCAMP

[Ruralredhead]

Greetings from Rural Northern California.
I would like to reintroduce myself. Not 48 hours ago I introduced myself as the mother of two littles (1.5 and 6) in search of a trailer with bunks to travel alone with the kids (husband has work commitments). As fate would have it, a kind stranger responded to a local Facebook "wanted" add that I had posted over a month ago. She said there was a "small egg shaped trailer" for sale a few houses down. The owners are not "online" so it was just sitting in their yard with a "for sale" sign. She's a 2002 Scamp in decent condition (more on that later). We struck a deal and she followed us home. I think we will call her "Lucy" after Lucille Ball in the Long Long Trailer movie.

It will take a little work to get Lucy road worthy. She has a leak in the front window and two owners back removed the fresh water tank. There is no fridge and one of the burner knobs is stuck. The plaid upholstery situation could use some beautification. I am crafty and hubby is handy and there is all the good information and advice in this forum so we will figure it out, right? Will you join me on this adventure? I already have questions so you will see me meandering the threads and posting some of my own. For now, here is the one quick picture we took on the way home (I know she is riding high, I need a 4" drop hitch).

Thank you for including us in this community. Happy Scamping!
Scamp.jpg Views: 56 Size: 190.5 KB ID: 92670" style="margin: 2px" />

[Jon in AZ]

I love your story, Miriam! We also found our Scamp locally sitting by the side of the road with a for sale sign.

I'm not seeing your picture. It's a two-step process to attach a photo. First click the paperclip icon in the top row of the tool bar (if it's not there, click "Go Advanced" at the bottom). Choose and upload your pictures. That's step one. Second, return to your post, place your cursor where you want the picture to appear. Click the paperclip icon again and you should see a drop-down menu of your pictures (if not, they're still loading). Click the one you want and an attachment will pop up in your post. Repeat for each picture. That's step two.

It's always a good idea to preview your post before you hit submit. Then you can verify that the pictures are displaying as you intended.

Sometimes pictures won't load if they're too large. I use this site to resize pictures.

The "fridge" that was removed… was it a refrigerator or an icebox? Vents on the outside would indicate a fridge.

Scamp sells new covers for the cushions. Even with shipping it might be cheaper than custom upholstery work. The site says they fit 2006+. I can't think why they wouldn't fit an older unit, but you could ask. If you are handy or have connections, you can probably do better than the plain jane fabric options from Scamp (though I can vouch that the material is sturdy and stain resistant).

I'm not thrilled about the on-board water tank. If you decide to replace it, some people install a marine deck hatch on the top to make cleaning easier. An alternative is an external tank like the one member Ian G. designed for his custom Boler project (scroll down for information on the water system). We mostly cook outside so we just use a 5-gallon container that is not connected to the trailer plumbing and bottled water inside.

For the leak in the front window, I think I would just take it to an auto glass shop and have them remove it and reinstall with a new gasket. You may or may not want a fresh piece of plexiglass depending on its condition- it's not expensive. It's possible to do it yourself, but it's a bit tricky. A search should turn up some old threads with some of the tricks if you decide to go the DIY route.

[Ruralredhead]

Jon in AZ, thank you for the welcome. I appreciate all the insights and information you have. I think I got the picture loaded correctly.

I don't think my unit ever had a fridge. Is that possible? There are no exterior vents and there is a wide shelf that runs the interior of my kitchenette cabinet (under the sink and where the fridge would be). There is no partition sectioning off a fridge compartment. There is a cabinet door and it matches the rest of the set. I will try to get a picture but it has been raining so she is in my dark garage.

I may go with Scamp factory covers. I am going to request fabric samples and talk to them about the fit for a 2002. After reading several threads on DIY upholstery, I am seriously reconsidering doing it myself. I think I will get a quote from a local vender. I am also considering a DIY no sew approach with a masonite back and staples. This would be a quick fix to get me on the road. I just washed the old covers so I can always just put them back on.

Thanks for the info on water tanks. I already have a jug with spout in my camping gear so that may be what I use, at least this year.

My husband just replaced windows and gaskets on a suburban so he is experienced and willing to take a crack at it. All else fails, we have a good mobile glass place in my area. I will take a closer look at the condition of the plexiglass. It looks like a replacement on Scamp's site isn't too expensive and might give us clearer views.

Again, thank you for the warm welcome. I feel like I am part of the family already.

[Mary F]

Wow, good for you, Miriam! Your kids gonna have memories of good times camping with their mom. I'm impressed!

[David B.]

Welcome to the FGRV forum family Mirium. When you replace your cushion fabric, either after washing them or if you get new ones from Scamp (we did along with curtains) you should try to get some of the very thin dry cleaners bags to put the foam in. You then just twist the open end around your vacuum cleaner hose to compress the foam and slide it into the fabric. You can leave the bags on or rip them out. Good luck.
Dave & Paula

[reeves99]

Congratulations Mariam-- happy camping!!!
Sounds like the start of some great family adventures.

[Donna D.]

Neato for you and the family Miriam. Fate was surely shining on you! My suggestion is to go ahead and use the current upholstery. You got it clean! With littles, accidents happen. It will be less stressful and a heck of a lot more fun to not worry about ruining new stuff. While the original upholstery may not be to your desire or theme, save the money and use it to make wonderful memories for the kids.

[Jon in AZ]

Based on your description, Miriam, it sounds like it started life with an icebox which was later removed and converted to cabinet space. An ice box is standard, and there is no partition between it and the under-sink cabinets. It's possible it was ordered without either fridge or icebox, though. Scamp will accommodate some delete requests.

You might think about just using an ice chest for now. Later you can evaluate options: 2 or 3-way fridge, dorm fridge, 12V fridge,...

I wouldn't order the plexiglass from Scamp. Shipping will kill you. You can get it from Home Depot and cut it to fit using the old one as a template.

What a beautiful family! Those kids are going to have so much fun! I have two girls, and they thought the Scamp was a kid-sized playhouse when we first got it.

[Roger H]

I agree with Donna about your upholstery. And besides, it's unique, right?

Yes, it's entirely possible that your unit was shipped without either a fridge or (as many 13' Scamps were equipped) without an icebox. It looks like some of your rivet caps are degraded and/or missing too... you'll want to get them taken care of pretty quickly... most parts for your Scamp are still available from the factory at Backus, Mn.

I've had five Scamps over the years, a '76 13', a 2000 13', and an '02 and '04 16' (deluxe and bare bones) and a Scamp 19' Deluxe fifth wheel that I ended up buying and reselling, so I'm kinda familiar with them.

Let us know if you have questions along the way. Egg owners are pretty helpful folks.

I lived in NoCal for a bunch of years in Lake County. Where are you?

Roger

[Leej]

What an adventure!
My friend had a 13 ft scamp with simliar issues... She purchased the fabric from Scamp and I recovered her cushions, the fabric is great, good quality. She also had the water tank removed, she left it out and enjoyed the extra space. She had an icebox but never used it...she cooked outside so had her water there, had an ice chest for cold food..I liked her setup, she used plastic rubber made bins for cooking stuff...and would just set up her cooking area on a table. She did make hot water inside for tea or hot chocolate.
Interestingly enough, after I bought my Casita she bought a 16 Scamp with all the goodies, but she still cooks outside! You will find your favorite way no doubt!
I am also Northern California, don't we have beautiful areas to camp?

[David Tilston]

I love that picture! What lucky kids.

[alan H]

Great story & i agree about kids & cushions.... But if you decide to recover them .. Here is a suggestion
We visited our local adult education center that offers upholstery classes
As luck would have it they had a student looking for a project
Well the rest is self explanatory
In fact the lady refused payt and she did a fantastic job... My wife donated to the school and made her a huge
dinner for her and her family as a token of our appreciation
And as a joke she made us a cover for the porta potty so it resembled a small end table
The class and teacher had a great laugh that it was the first toilet that was ever upholstered



Sent from my iPhone using Fiberglass RV

[Gilda]

I, too, am from California, the San Francisco Bay Area, alas, not rural. I'm curious as to where you live.

There's much to love about a 13' Scamp and you were charmed to "luck" into yours. I agree with keeping the cushion fabric as it is now, especially with young ones. It is very easy to change up the look of the cushions by simply draping fleece blankets or lengths of fleece. This is one of my favorite ways to vary the look of my interior. In addition, I love to sew curtain panels and pillows to complete my changing themes. This may be more than you want to attempt as you, obviously, have your hands full with young ones. Perhaps you'd like to settle on one theme and leave it at that. You can see by my photos that I also love to bring small stuffed "critters" along. The themes you see here are "wine country", the Southwest, and autumn hiking.

Any questions you have about sewing decor I'll be happy to answer.

[Ruralredhead]

Thank you all for your input and advice. It's amazing to feel so much support. I am very appreciative.

We live in Humboldt County, Redwood State Park and the Lost Coast. There are amazing places to camp up here. We could probably spend two weeks and not drive more than 100 miles. Come visit!

[Roger H]

Originally Posted by Ruralredhead

Thank you all for your input and advice. It's amazing to feel so much support. I am very appreciative.

We live in Humboldt County, Redwood State Park and the Lost Coast. There are amazing places to camp up here. We could probably spend two weeks and not drive more than 100 miles. Come visit!

I LOVED Humboldt County. I used to get up there from time to time... we were in Lake County and lived on Clearlake. You have some gorgeous territory to go and play in.

Well done!

[SactoWendy]

What an exciting new adventure for your family!! Welcome. I am newish and have "met" the nicest most helpful people on this site. I am taking my 2014 new to me Scamp on our first adventure next weekend. Half the fun has been getting the Scamp outfitted and ready to go.