New Member from Pacific NW

[Henchlock]

Howdy! I'm in the market for my first trailer. The Scamp 13' is the strongest contender with the bathroom layout. I plan to tow with my 2016 Ford Escape (2.0L EcoBoost AWD). I'm still doing my research and look forward to getting your advice.

[tractors1]

Originally Posted by Henchlock

Howdy! I'm in the market for my first trailer. The Scamp 13' is the strongest contender with the bathroom layout. I plan to tow with my 2016 Ford Escape (2.0L EcoBoost AWD). I'm still doing my research and look forward to getting your advice.

Look in your owners manual and see what the vehicle is rated to tow. You want to be at least 15% under that weight (fully loaded for camping) and start with a hitch that has a 7-pin connector If you don't have one. Probably need a brake controller installed, too. Scamp 13 Deluxe weighs up to 1600 lbs dry - figure another 300-400 pounds with your stuff and 1/2 tank of fresh water to use the toilet while traveling.

[Henchlock]

Thanks for the information! I used this travel trailer weight calculator. It estimated the max trailer weight between 1,867-2,333 lbs. I don't intend to buy the deluxe model since I want to save as much weight as possible. Before any of that happens of course, the first step will be to get the hitch and wiring installed.

[tractors1]

This may be helpful.......


https://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/...rld-43010.html

[gretchens]

I tow with an escape 2017 2.0l with a factory installed tow package. With a factory package rated 3500 pounds, without 2000 pounds.

[Casita Greg]

Originally Posted by gretchens

I tow with an escape 2017 2.0l with a factory installed tow package. With a factory package rated 3500 pounds, without 2000 pounds.

Don't forget to add all the combined weights of all equipment carried, (in both the tow vehicle as well as the trailer,) such as water tankage, gear, food and supplies, and weight of all passengers to your load calculations, as they also factor in to your total load towing capacity. It's not just the weight of the trailer itself.

[Jon in AZ]

It is rare for a 13’ standard to exceed 2000#. Payload or cargo carrying capacity (CCC)- including passengers and gear as well as the tongue load- will be the limiting factor.

With a smaller tow vehicle I’d recommend sticking with a single LP tank, saving around 40# on the tongue. You can stretch your propane by turning off the water heater between showers and limiting furnace use to evenings and mornings. Honestly if it’s cold enough to require all night heat, I’d be inclined to find a site with electricity and use a ceramic heater. A tank should last a month or so with judicious use, and refill stations aren’t hard to find.

Other than that, you’ll have ample margin. Should be a nice combination. You will need electric brakes on the trailer. Not all 13’ers have them.

[Bgreat1]

Good luck. We have a 17ft Casita Sprit Deluxe and live in Lake Stevens. If your vehicle says it will handle the tow weight of the trailer then all is well.

[Gilda]

Unless you have compelling reasons to have a toilet and shower in your 13' Scamp, I would suggest opting out of that arrangement as they are heavy, take up a LOT of space and really are not used often. Most campsites have, at the very least, an outhouse and most have clean and attractive toilet facilities. Many also have clean and attractive showers. While the porta-pottie takes a little getting used to, it is really all you need when there are no facilities or you "have to go" in the middle of the night. It is easy to maintain with a little water and the right chemicals. To "dump" it you need only pour down a toilet and flush. I suggest NOT putting toilet paper into the pottie and to only use it for #1 if you have the choice. Liquids-only make for easier dumping/cleaning. A small, foot activated, lidded trash can will keep down trash smells and you empty it everyday anyway (right?). Sorry to get as graphic as I have, but once you start RVing everyone has to deal with this issue. Note: We are in our 70s and find it difficult to squat so low to the pottie, so we put it securely on top of a low folding stool. When not in use it stores in a lower cabinet made for that purpose. When we set the pottie out for nighttime use we put it in the little alcove in front of the door. We can push on the sofa/bench to aid in getting up. Hope this all helps you.

[Henchlock]

Thanks Gilda for your responses! I certainly have a lot to think about. I would still opt for a bathroom; it would be a useful mud room when not in use. I could hang wet gear or use the shower for rinsing. I could also use the room to store some food if needed.

[MJo]

Hi! I was concerned also, kept getting cautionary calls from friends. I have a 2004 Volvo XC-70 with 250,000 miles on it and old it and old me and my old dog and old cat went to Minnesota from Cape Cod and picked up my 13 ft. Scamp with bathroom and 2 propane tanks. I didn’t fill the water tanks so that I don’t have to winterize, but could have. I left the Cape on Thursday afternoon and got back to Cape at 11 p.m. on Tuesday. Quick easy trip. The Scamp follows great and no problems. I had been told by my Volvo dealer, just think of the weight of the Scamp as 4 fat people. Sounds silly, but logical. And I drove my usual 65 mph. on good highways, slowed down when I needed to. Oh, and Scamp’s electric brakes include a remote for your keychain and now Scamp includes a gadget added to your hitch which sets the electric brakes if your Scamp should become unhitched from your tow vehicle. (I only have a 4 pin connector on my Volvo hitch so until I correct that, I can’t use my electric brakes.).

[thrifty bill]

On any of the 13 foot molded trailers, realize the body of the trailer is only 10 feet long, by a little over 6 feet wide. Map out a spot in your living room 6 x 10. Then put a door on one side, bed at the rear, closet next to door, a kitchen area and a center aisle way. On trailers this small, space is at a premium. A little used bathroom eliminates the space that you could use to sit down (more frequently, particularly in fowl weather). And the bathrooms are incredibly small. Map one of those out, and imagine taking a shower or using the toilet.

This is one reason some decide to use a portapotty instead. Pull it out of a cabinet, use it, and store it back in its spot.

I have a 13 foot vintage Trillium, square-ish side walls so its roomier than a Scamp 13. Still its quite small. Typical gaucho couch up front, small bed across the back, closet next to the door, and tiny kitchen on the opposite side.

As you move up in size (like a Scamp 16), then you can get a place to sit, a rear bed, and a bathroom (still tiny).

My experience when I lived in the PNW and camping, most of my trips were from the wet western WA where I lived, across the mountains to the sunny and dry eastern WA. I quickly found I needed more tow vehicle, and upgraded. Too many grades and mountain passes, something you don't see as often in the eastern US. Note, here in the mountains of NC we have some serious grades as well.

Given a choice between using the shower and bathroom in my Escape 19, or using one supplied by the campground, the campground facilities are always my choice. And the bathroom on my Escape 19 is significantly larger than what you find in a Scamp 13.

We came from a tenting background, so the lack of a shower or toilet is not that big of a penalty.

[MJo]

Originally Posted by thrifty bill

On any of the 13 foot molded trailers, realize the body of the trailer is only 10 feet long, by a little over 6 feet wide. Map out a spot in your living room 6 x 10. Then put a door on one side, bed at the rear, closet next to door, a kitchen area and a center aisle way. On trailers this small, space is at a premium. A little used bathroom eliminates the space that you could use to sit down (more frequently). And the bathrooms are incredibly small. Map one of those out, and imagine taking a shower or using the toilet.

This is one reason some decide to use a portapotty instead. Pull it out of a cabinet, use it, and store it back in its spot.

I have a 13 foot vintage Trillium, square-ish side walls so its roomier than a Scamp 13. Still its quite small. Typical gaucho couch up front, small bed across the back, closet next to the door, and tiny kitchen on the opposite side.

As you move up in size (like a Scamp 16), then you can get a place to sit, a rear bed, and a bathroom (still tiny).

My experience when I lived in the PNW and camping, most of my trips were from the wet western WA where I lived, across the mountains to the sunny and dry eastern WA. I quickly found I needed more tow vehicle, and upgraded. Too many grades and mountain passes, something you don't see as often in the eastern US. Note, here in the mountains of NC we have some serious grades as well.

Given a choice between using the shower and bathroom in my Escape 19, or using one supplied by the campground, the campground facilities are always my choice. And the bathroom on my Escape 19 is significantly larger than what you find in a Scamp 13.

We came from a tenting background, so the lack of a shower or toilet is not that big of a penalty.

Everyone has different priorities, I am a youngish 85 year old single woman. I prefer not to go out of my Scamp at night and I don’t want a porta-potti. I like having my Scamp self contained and for 1 person (friends say 2) it’s plenty roomy. But, you decide what’s important to you (very economically) with Scamp.

[John in Santa Cruz]

I tented, backpacking, bike-packing, car and motorcycle touring, for years, and having had baths in both our casita and escape, wouldn't have it any other way anymore.

[John Colangelo]

I would strongly recommend the HELIO. Check out the O2 Model, it has a toilet but not an indoor shower. Truth is, you probably won't use the indoor toilet much, we never have. The Helio RV is made in Canada. Helio RV dot come. They are molded fiberglass panels (3) and are made by boat manufacturers so they are solidly leak resistant. Check them out before you decide.

[John in Santa Cruz]

Originally Posted by John Colangelo

I would strongly recommend the HELIO. Check out the O2 Model, it has a toilet but not an indoor shower. Truth is, you probably won't use the indoor toilet much, we never have. The Helio RV is made in Canada. Helio RV dot come. They are molded fiberglass panels (3) and are made by boat manufacturers so they are solidly leak resistant. Check them out before you decide.

those look more like teardrops than molded fiberglass, and the O2 and O3 at least DO have both toilets and showers, but with 10g holding tanks, nearly useless.

and it looks like on all 3 models, the bed IS the dinette, which means you need to store your bedding somewhere each day if you want to be able to use the dinette.

2000 lb GWR for a 14 foot trailer is nice.

[MJo]

the teardrop is for the person who wants a teardrop. But for me, on the occasional rainy cold days and even sunny days, I like to have windows so I can look out and I like the spaciousness of the Scamp, high ceiling, walls far enough away so I don’t bump into them, or think about them, more room that I need, so I’m not folding myself up to fit into the space. looks like there’s something for everyone though.

[Jon in AZ]

Originally Posted by MJo

the teardrop is for the person who wants a teardrop. But for me, on the occasional rainy cold days and even sunny days, I like to have windows so I can look out and I like the spaciousness of the Scamp, high ceiling, walls far enough away so I don’t bump into them, or think about them, more room that I need, so I’m not folding myself up to fit into the space. looks like there’s something for everyone though.

We're talking about larger trailers with the teardrop shape. They're similar in size to a Scamp 13 with stand-up headroom, and some versions even have a a small bathroom. T@B is the best known, but the Helio also fits that category. Neither is all-molded in the traditional sense, but Helio is a newer type of all-composite construction.

But I'm with you and prefer the all-around windows and traditional all-molded construction of a Scamp over either.

[k corbin]

Under the current public health situation there is a lot to be said for having your own bathroom rather than using public ones. Even at the very nice state park I am currently at the park attendants are talking about cleaning up the restrooms and finding that the public has been going into them to shoot up drugs which also comes along with some very difficult and expensive to treat disease related issues.

So even if it does make things a bit more crowded to have a shower and toilet I say go for it as the trade off might well be worth it for piece of mind as well as personal convenience. The times are changing, how we did things before has also changed.

[MJo]

Yes, things are changing. When I decided to go ahead and get the Scamp, I considered using my old wonderful tent that my sons and I had such a wonderful time in in one summer at Mt. Blue in Maine. But I wouldn’t feel as safe now, drugs, homelessness, people used to be ‘neighbors,’ and the law used to support people defending themselves. Now we’re supposed to let the government take care of everything but they admit they can’t. so back to having your own Scamp that you lock up at night and don’t have to use public facilities. When you look around, maybe you have to realize you’re on your own. Unless people decide to take charge and realize that they’re “the government,” and take care of each other and vote for people who realize that we elected them to represent what we want. Unless things stay the way we want, or change the way we want.