New member with a 16' scamp project

[Gilles1]

Good morning, I'm very new here and what a great site. Here is our new to us scamp 16' project. We have been viewing lots of ideas on fixing her up for this coming summer. It appears to be in very sound shape, I think with some updating it will be a fun little camper... Scott

[kootenaigirl]

Welcome. Looks very nice, what year is it?

[papa-t]

Welcome to the forum. Congrats on the Scamp.

[Gilles1]

Thank you,I was told by the seller it was a 1989 but I don't know for sure..

[Donna D.]

Originally Posted by Gilles1

Thank you,I was told by the seller it was a 1989 but I don't know for sure..

Hi Scott, to FiberglassRV. I can tell you in fact, it's not a 1989. I have a 1988 that has rat fur, not ensolite and radius slider windows. Wish I had the jalousies! If you have the VIN, see if the info here will help you determine your Scamps age: http://scamp.n0kfb.org/VIN_Decoding/VIN-Decoding.htm

[Eddie Longest]

Standard square windows, and Ensolite make it pre 1985 for sure. 4 lug wheels on a 16 I would say pre 1984. Still a nice looking trailer.
Eddie
Floyd need to check in on this one.

[Gilles1]

I really wish I could find a vin on the tongue, not sure if it has been plated over but I added picture of my front frame

[Eddie Longest]

Yep, You would have to cutback about 8" of plate off the RH frame rail to find it. With a 4 1/2 grinder and metal cutting wheel it could be done without too much trouble. The VIN/ serial number should be on your title or registration.
Eddie

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by Gilles1

I really wish I could find a vin on the tongue, not sure if it has been plated over but I added picture of my front frame

I agree with others that its older than seller suggested but still a nice looking trailer. Was there no VIN on the paper work from the seller?

[carlkeigley]

to the Forum Scott.
Congratulations to your new find.
Lots of memory making in your future.

Be sure to let us follow your journey with
you in pictures. Thanks for the ones you
have already supplied.

[Gilles1]

I bought the scamp local here in N.H. with just a bill of sale only. No title and no reg as it was used as a hunting camp in the woods.. Thank god im in N.H. because it's very ez to reg vehicles in my state. But before I go that root im going to remove the diamond plate from the tongue to see if I can find the vin # first that way I should be able to figure out the year, instead of getting a state of N.H. issued vin #...

[Gilles1]

yesterday I removed the steel plate and there is my vin number. its a 1979 model,,

[Eddie Longest]

Scott
Good deal. You should have found the mfg. date and the reg. number should start with a E followed by six or so digits. The 17 digit VIN started sometime in 1982.
Eddie

[Donna D.]

I think you scored! And we can help with the interior cleanup and hiding those seams.

[RogerDat]

Welcome looks like a great find.

Noticed that the trailer does not seem to be sitting low on the tires, considering the age this may well mean the axle was replaced at some point. Bonus if it was.

Some scrubbing with LA Totally Awesome, new seam tape or caulk at the seams, a little shine and people will think it's a new trailer.

Think the support for your upper cabinet was homemade, stock would be double bars of twisted metal, somewhat like a metal porch rail between the counter and the upper cabinets.

One nice thing is the Scamp store stills sells most parts and hardware for their older trailers. Curtain rod brackets to seat cushions they still sell most of the parts.

[Gilles1]

well yesterday we scrubbed out the interior walls and boy they came out very nice, and yes the upper cabinet support is homemade and there was a crack in the roof because someone removed the stock brace, so we also repaired that yesterday also, came out great you could never tell its was cracked,(fiberglass is great stuff to work with) I should have taken a picture of that.. I think ill replace it with a factory support, did they take 2 one per side?

I think its still the stock axle because its a 2000lb unit, im putting a 3500lb axle in it, I don't want to chance a failure

Now the factory seem tape, how does it hold up? meaning is it super sticky. is one roll enough for a 16' trailer? I really don't want to caulk the seems unless I was to paint the interior walls

We bought 4" foam sheets and fabric and we are going to make our own cushions,,

All in all I very pleased with it, its amazing being 35 years old and the original plywood floor is still in great shape

now the snap caps and sealing washers should I buy them from scamp or get them online from a vender?

[RogerDat]

Only the one brace as far as I know, at the dinette end. But don't know for sure. Look for rivet holes at the end of the cabinets. That is where it attaches. Sides of lower cabinet to bottom of upper.

IMO it would be easier to just order the snap cap kit from Scamp for a 16 ft. Tip: Call and order over the phone, ask if they will ship US Postal. Shipping through the web site store with FedEx or UPS is super high. Also get some butyl tape, I think a tiny bit of that under the snap cap washer helps it seal.

The seam tape from scamp is "ok" but I had to use 3M spray adhesive in order for it to stick. That worked and was pretty easy. Just spray a quick line of adhesive along the seam, let it tack for a few minutes and put tape on over the adhesive. I found that going around window seams the curve did not work out so well. Stress of curving the tape made it keep coming off. Full job I think you will want two rolls, but I think all of the walls can be done with one. Windows will put you into the second roll.

Axle does not so much fail as it does just slowly allows the trailer to sit lower and lower. Like worn out leaf springs. Rubber inside axle provides torsion to the arm with the wheel on it. Rubber wears out over time and the trailer just rides lower. Yours does NOT appear to be riding low, maybe it was stored on stands as a hunting camp taking the weight off of the rubber?

Having replaced mine I suggest getting the 5 on 4 bolt pattern and doing an adapter bracket for the spare. Allows for larger tires (run cooler) and 5 on 4 hubs with brakes are common the 4 bolt brake parts are harder to find in stock. I went with 4 bolt to avoid replacing wheels but would not if I had to do it again.

I have some before and after pictures someplace. Wheel well came across the rim between spindle and rubber of tire with old axle. New axle (2200 lb for a 13 ft.) and the wheel wells sits right where yours does, about middle of the rubber above the rim. And the original down angle was used to determine height new axle should provide.

Keep the pictures coming, we all love to see people bring these old trailers back with some love and sweat.

[Gilles1]

im looking to place order with scamp, and 1 item I want is a front gravel shield but the sizes they offer are 18 1/2 x 37 and 20 x 44 my window measures 17 1/2 x 43 1/4.

[Wyowill]

Looks a lot like the '79 16 foot scamp we just got!

I measured all the seams inside and came up with 87 feet for the seam tape.
Ours has a 2400 pound Dura Flex axle. Petrified from age, no flex left at all. Couldn't find any current info on the web.

Visited with a very helpful lady at Dexter Axle and she told me that they can custom rate the #10 (3500#) torflex axle to whatever weight you need.
Have fun! We are!

Will

[Gilles1]

Wicked weather today,, washed down the scamp with my magic cleaner,, industrial toilet bowl cleaner mixed 50/50 with hydrogen peroxide. boy it does wonders..