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Old 06-19-2014, 09:01 AM   #1
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Questions about Scamp Water/Waste System

I hope this is the right forum, but total novice here has a couple of newbie (aka idiot) questions about our Scamp systems. I'm sure I'm going to use the wrong language describing all this, so please bear with me! And feel free to educate/correct/scold me.

Just picked up our 1990 Scamp 16' w/ bath on Sunday, and I'm a bit confused about our new Scamp and its systems. I have been crawling all over, under and inside of this beautiful baby, and I *think* I have most of it figured out. Here are the bits I am confused about...

1) It seems a little different from most RVs from what I remember from my childhood... Our Scamp seems to have a separate gray and black water hose valve, so you have to hook up and dump each one separately. Is this correct?

2) I'm assuming I only fill the fresh water tank (labeled "fresh water connection") if we are NOT hooking up to city water with a hose (labeled "city water connection"). Is this correct?

3) And here is where I am really confused... the black on/off water pump switch inside... Below I've included a photo of the source of my confusion. (I'm in the Scamper right now, it's just sitting here staring at me, daring me to do some damage with it.)

It seems I remember from past days of RV camping with grandparents that you run this (turn this on) only if you are running the water, flushing toilet, etc, when you are either on battery or parked totally off the grid (no battery)???

The Scamp YouTube video seems to say to turn it on all the time, whenever you are using the water systems. I thought if you were running hooked up to full electric, you don't need it?

That sucker (literally) is loud. And if we are camping and cooking or cleaning, it seems odd to leave that on all the time? And it seems a little odd to turn it on every time we need to run water, flush the toilet, etc. But maybe we are supposed to???

So basically, I have no idea what to do with that black on/off button. Feel free to roll your eyes at me.

I grew up RVing with both sets of grandparents, but that was light years ago. As far as I know, Husband has never spent a night in one but he is extremely handy and smart, and we're both experienced tent campers, so we're hoping my (childhood) experience plus his brains will make us successful Scamp owners.

If not, we're doing it anyway! ha!
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Old 06-19-2014, 09:13 AM   #2
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ok...
1) yes 2 separate tanks...one you could dump in your driveway, the other I wouldn't lol

2) correct, fill your water tank with the water fill spot, the threaded one is for city water(i've never used mine...people recommend a pressure fitting to limit the pressure going into the city water line so you don't blow a hose line inside.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/14504323?w...679950&veh=sem

3) I leave mine on as long as the tank isn't empty....turn off if using city water because its already pressurized. It will pressurize your water system, if you have a leak somewhere it will keep running and you will have a flood lol. fill your water tank, and turn it on it should run for a minute or so untill all the water lines are full. In the spring when the lines are empty it might run a bit longer. Mine powers on when I turn the faucet on and shuts off a few seconds after i close the faucet.
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Old 06-19-2014, 09:21 AM   #3
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I leave mine on as long as the tank isn't empty....turn off if using city water because its already pressurized. It will pressurize your water system, if you have a leak somewhere it will keep running and you will have a flood lol. fill your water tank, and turn it on it should run for a minute or so untill all the water lines are full. In the spring when the lines are empty it might run a bit longer. Mine powers on when I turn the faucet on and shuts off a few seconds after i close the faucet.
Ok so you only use it when you are using water off of the fresh water (aka storage) tank, right?

Quote:
It will pressurize your water system, if you have a leak somewhere it will keep running and you will have a flood lol.
Well I guess that's an easy way to discover that! ha! When we bought it, the lady told us that she had no idea if the systems worked, that she had never used them. When I began cleaning it out and up, I was delighted to find that everything appears to be in working order. Oh yeah, except the shower drains into my driveway... Plants got a little water yesterday!
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Old 06-19-2014, 09:29 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tonya Lee View Post
I hope this is the right forum, but total novice here has a couple of newbie (aka idiot) questions about our Scamp systems. I'm sure I'm going to use the wrong language describing all this, so please bear with me! And feel free to educate/correct/scold me.

Just picked up our 1990 Scamp 16' w/ bath on Sunday, and I'm a bit confused about our new Scamp and its systems. I have been crawling all over, under and inside of this beautiful baby, and I *think* I have most of it figured out. Here are the bits I am confused about...

1) It seems a little different from most RVs from what I remember from my childhood... Our Scamp seems to have a separate gray and black water hose valve, so you have to hook up and dump each one separately. Is this correct?

2) I'm assuming I only fill the fresh water tank (labeled "fresh water connection") if we are NOT hooking up to city water with a hose (labeled "city water connection"). Is this correct?

3) And here is where I am really confused... the black on/off water pump switch inside... Below I've included a photo of the source of my confusion. (I'm in the Scamper right now, it's just sitting here staring at me, daring me to do some damage with it.)

It seems I remember from past days of RV camping with grandparents that you run this (turn this on) only if you are running the water, flushing toilet, etc, when you are either on battery or parked totally off the grid (no battery)???

The Scamp YouTube video seems to say to turn it on all the time, whenever you are using the water systems. I thought if you were running hooked up to full electric, you don't need it?

That sucker (literally) is loud. And if we are camping and cooking or cleaning, it seems odd to leave that on all the time? And it seems a little odd to turn it on every time we need to run water, flush the toilet, etc. But maybe we are supposed to???

So basically, I have no idea what to do with that black on/off button. Feel free to roll your eyes at me.

I grew up RVing with both sets of grandparents, but that was light years ago. As far as I know, Husband has never spent a night in one but he is extremely handy and smart, and we're both experienced tent campers, so we're hoping my (childhood) experience plus his brains will make us successful Scamp owners.

If not, we're doing it anyway! ha!

!) Yes dump each separately - if you position the trailer at the dumping station so it is sitting with the dump hole in the middle of the trailer you will have no problem doing both tanks without moving the trailer. Dump your black water tank first then the grey water so that it cleans out the hose.

2) Yes

3) You will need to use the water pump switch at the end of the kitchen when you are using the water from the trailers water tank only and not when you are connected to city water. Nothing to do with whether or not you are connected to power or not. Do not leave it on if there is no water in the tank as you will burn it out quickly & it will be loud if no water is going through the pump. If its loud even when primed and pumping water if you do a google of this site there are a few ways of damping the sound. Mount it on a piece of foam as well as add a small reserve tank to it. Or if its original to the trailer a new one might result in a bit less loudness.
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Old 06-19-2014, 09:39 AM   #5
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Thanks! This really helps. And one more question that I almost forgot...

How do I know when the gray & black tanks need to be emptied?

I'd rather not wait until they are backing up in my trailer. My grandparent's RV had nifty little gauges that lit up when it was time. Our Scamp is a little less sophisticated than this. I'm thinking I will need to get a little more intimate with my holding tanks to tell?
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Old 06-19-2014, 09:40 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tonya Lee View Post
Oh yeah, except the shower drains into my driveway... Plants got a little water yesterday!

There should be on the wall of the bathroom a pump switch that you use when you shower to move the water from the shower drain to the grey water tank. There should also be at the point the water exits the trailer right under the shower drain a small pump. If the pump is missing you can get a new one from Scamp. Could also just be its been disconnected or the power wires to the pump have been broken.

There is a thread called fixing the shower drain on our 98 Scamp that may help you see what your missing.
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Old 06-19-2014, 09:46 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tonya Lee View Post
Thanks! This really helps. And one more question that I almost forgot...

How do I know when the gray & black tanks need to be emptied?

I'd rather not wait until they are backing up in my trailer. My grandparent's RV had nifty little gauges that lit up when it was time. Our Scamp is a little less sophisticated than this. I'm thinking I will need to get a little more intimate with my holding tanks to tell?
something like this RV Holding Tank Systems Monitor II Panel
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Old 06-19-2014, 09:48 AM   #8
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There should be on the wall of the bathroom a pump switch that you use when you shower to move the water from the shower drain to the grey water tank. There should also be at the point the water exits the trailer right under the shower drain a small pump. If the pump is missing you can get a new one from Scamp. Could also just be its been disconnected or the power wires to the pump have been broken.
Yeah I had read about this on Scamp's website but there is no switch in our shower, and the photo shows you what I have underneath. (That white bulb is the underside of the shower drain.)

The green garden hose has been run through the side of the frame to the gray water tank, but the clamp is loose and is no longer attached to the gray tank. Hence the watering of the plants.
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Old 06-19-2014, 09:50 AM   #9
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deryk, that looks AWESOME but until then... any suggestions? Peer down the toilet with a flashlight? (Ew.)
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Old 06-19-2014, 10:02 AM   #10
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How do I know when the gray & black tanks need to be emptied?
The black tank is simple to tell - you can see the level of it every time you flush, you don't need a flash light to do that.

The grey water tank is also simple.

One way is to go into the bathroom in the middle of the night and if your feet get wet you know your grey tank is full! That is if there is no check valve to stop the grey water tank water from coming back up into the shower pan which is the low point in the trailer!

A more comfortable way is to just keep tabs on how much fresh water you have used. If I have used up 2 tanks worth of fresh water its time to start thinking about emptying out the grey water tank real soon.
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Old 06-19-2014, 10:06 AM   #11
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Yeah I had read about this on Scamp's website but there is no switch in our shower, and the photo shows you what I have underneath. (That white bulb is the underside of the shower drain.)

The green garden hose has been run through the side of the frame to the gray water tank, but the clamp is loose and is no longer attached to the gray tank. Hence the watering of the plants.
Tonya, my 92 has the shower pump but as you have no switch then its a good bet the trailer never had one and it is just gravity feed to the grey tank, which was the norm on older Scamps.

You may want to reattach the hose before you use the trailer otherwise your grey tank will also dump out to the ground through the hole the missing hose leaves every time you do dishes!
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Old 06-19-2014, 10:18 AM   #12
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Tonya, I have a porta potty so mine is real easy to tell when its getting full lol. My grey water tank is a lot larger(30 gallons) then my fresh water tank(15 gallons) so I haven't had to worry about it over flowing...yet lol. Also I'm not against watering the grass with it lol
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Old 06-19-2014, 10:21 AM   #13
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Tonya, my 92 has the shower pump but as you have no switch then its a good bet the trailer never had one and it is just gravity feed to the grey tank, which was the norm on older Scamps.

You may want to reattach the hose before you use the trailer otherwise your grey tank will also dump out to the ground through the hole the missing hose leaves every time you do dishes!
Thanks, Carol. I'm pretty sure you are correct about our Scamp never having the shower switch. The shower/toilet combo looks all original, and I don't see a place where a switch would have ever been.

I could see why they added the switch. After scrubbing down the bath/shower, I had to make waves and use my arms as jetties to get all of the water to go down the drain. It was a slow process. We aren't 100% level in my drive at the moment either, which doesn't help.

And yes, reclamping the hose is top on my agenda! Again, much thanks!!!
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Old 06-19-2014, 10:26 AM   #14
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Tonya, I have a porta potty so mine is real easy to tell when its getting full lol. My grey water tank is a lot larger(30 gallons) then my fresh water tank(15 gallons) so I haven't had to worry about it over flowing...yet lol. Also I'm not against watering the grass with it lol
I don't mind watering the grass either! Husband is the type who may eventually set up a Scamp gray water recycling program for our garden. (He's kind of like an everyday, suburbia Tony Stark. ha!)

I do mind going to the bathroom in the middle of the night and stepping in gray water. We'll have to come up with our system until we can purchase & install a fancy gadget. The to-do list grows!
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Old 06-19-2014, 10:47 AM   #15
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[QUOTE=Tonya Lee;465362

I do mind going to the bathroom in the middle of the night and stepping in gray water. We'll have to come up with our system until we can purchase & install a fancy gadget. The to-do list grows![/QUOTE]


Tonya, I thought at first I would need some gages as well but as mentioned you can see the black tank level and just keeping track of how many times you refill the fresh tank works well for the grey tank so I no longer feel the need for a gage. I have used gages in the past and call tell you that I had my far share of issues with them..... not fool proof for sure. Cant tell you how many times TP gets stuck on a sensor for example and the gage will tell you an empty tank is full etc. Wasted time trying to power flush out the tanks to clear the sensors etc...

In such small trailers I have decided they really are not worth the time and money.
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Old 06-19-2014, 11:21 AM   #16
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!)Dump your black water tank first then the grey water so that it cleans out the hose.
Great advice that should be obvious but I had never thought of it. I have not had any water hooked up to the Scamp yet but will use this advice if/when.
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Old 06-19-2014, 12:34 PM   #17
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thought at first I would need some gages as well but as mentioned you can see the black tank level and just keeping track of how many times you refill the fresh tank works well for the grey tank so I no longer feel the need for a gage... In such small trailers I have decided they really are not worth the time and money.
Thanks, Carol. I do appreciate the different opinions and advice and your post makes a lot of sense. Our only goal right now is to make sure it is safe for travel & camping ready, which to us means that you can sleep in it without it coming apart around you. We wanted to get the systems up and running eventually anyway, so it was totally a bonus that the toilet & water appears to be working. However, we just bought it so I want to play around with the trailer for a while - and most importantly, use it - before we start sinking money into it.

I think camping is the best way to find out what you need while, you know, camping.
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Old 06-19-2014, 12:48 PM   #18
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Tank usage

1) It seems a little different from most RVs from what I remember from my childhood... Our Scamp seems to have a separate gray and black water hose valve, so you have to hook up and dump each one separately. Is this correct?

2) I'm assuming I only fill the fresh water tank (labeled "fresh water connection") if we are NOT hooking up to city water with a hose (labeled "city water connection"). Is this correct?

3) And here is where I am really confused... the black on/off water pump switch inside... Below I've included a photo of the source of my confusion. (I'm in the Scamper right now, it's just sitting here staring at me, daring me to do some damage with it.)

1. The Scamp does have separate black and grey tanks. You dump the black tank first. We often have a 2 gallon jug of water. After we dump the contents of the black tank I close the black valve and dump the two gallons of water down the toilet and dump the black tank again. Does it have value, I don't know but do it.) I follow by dumping the gray tank.

2. We always carry a half tank of fresh water for using the bathroom while traveling or for what ever reason. We carry a 10 Liter/2+ gal expandable plastic container for filling our fresh water tank.

When connected to city water, we do have a pressure regulator at the faucet.

We also carry bottled water in our tow vehicle, for hikes and as we drive. As well here in Newfoundland every provincial park and some communities have a boil water order though few locals follow it.

3. We only turn that switch on when we're not connected to 'city' water and only when we want to pump water like when using the bathroom or washing dishes. We never leave it on when away from the trailer, actually never leave any water on when away from the trailer. Over the years I've seen trailers fill with water while the owner's away.

We have a 1991 Scamp 16 and it does not have a pump on the shower output. It drains directly to the gray tank. That said we never take showers in the Scamp.

As to filling the black and gray tank, we can go up to 4 days without dumping if we are careful and of course taking showers somewhere else.

Hope this helps. If you do not intend to shower in the Scamp blocking the end of the hose to the shower drain is a good idea. That forces the gray tank to drain on the ground instead of on the shower floor.

Wishing you well with your Scamp
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Old 06-19-2014, 03:28 PM   #19
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Oh this is excellent, Honda! Thank you so much for taking the time to reply. We really don't shower much when camping (should I have confessed that?) and would rather use a bath house. The scamp shower is too tiny, even for our 10 yr old. I told the kids it was a foot washer!

Your example of how you do things really helps. Again, much thanks.
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Old 06-19-2014, 03:56 PM   #20
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However, we just bought it so I want to play around with the trailer for a while - and most importantly, use it - before we start sinking money into it.

I think camping is the best way to find out what you need while, you know, camping.
You are right on the money! I know when I first got my trailer I assumed I was going to need this or add and change that and went out and bought a bunch of items that I never installed or used so rarely I no longer carry them in the trailer. Many of the things I did add or change where never even on my radar when I first got the trailer.

Just get it safe and usable and spend a year or two camping in it before making big changes or spending money adding this or that.
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