Hi Everyone!
My name is Patrick. I just joined FGRV and over the summer we became the second owners of a 13 ft 1977
Scamp. I'm in Portland, OR and had to haul it back from Salem using the back roads because the
axle is nearly bottomed out. Original owners used it on some forestry land to hang out during coffee breaks. It sat in the mud for decades and developed a nice sappy mildew, rodent-chewed rotted plywood floor, torn up cushions, feces everywhere kind of look... and smell. But frame was in great shape and it was still towable after crossing my fingers a whole lot of times. I just started cleaning the ensolite (elephant skin?) with a spin brush and soap/water/bleach combo and it has become nice and bright so far. It has all of the original stuff- heater, stove, hand pump sink and 3 way "Trav'lr by Elixir"
refrigerator. Most of it is rusty. The
fridge looks OK but not sure if it works or even how to start it up. Anyway, I have appreciated seeing the wealth of info this site and it's members have put out there- especially with all of the questions about
axle swaps. So, here's another one: any place in Portland, OR to have this done? I saw that a member went through Potter Webster Co for their
axle (using another member's similar measurements?) and had some welders (who are familiar with Scamps) nearby to attach it. I live nearby one of the Potter Webster Co in Portland and saw there are a few different fabricators in that area- I guess I can call them all up. Also, I thought Potter Webster only dealt with commercial trucks so I didn't really consider them when doing a local search. I plan on keeping it simple: no lift, keeping the leading arm configuration and upgrading to
brakes and a 5 lug configuration with steel rims and hub cap combo. If I go through
Scamp, I heard they won't sign off on leading arm since they don't do that configuration anymore. They have the fastest service but with their trailing arm set-up it is my understanding that it comes as a 22 degree down angle which just might be too much lift for me. I DO LIKE the low-ish look. I understand the axle has to be reversed as well as the
brakes put into the correct orientation. It's not considered the ideal setup vs trailing arm... but it has worked for decades. Any thoughts from some PDX locals? THANKS! Sorry for the long post.