New Scamp Hinge Problem

[Jon in AZ]

Owners of late model Scamps with the new black entry door hardware should do a careful inspection of the hinges, especially the top one, for signs of fatigue or cracking. Now is a good time to do it as trailers are coming out of hibernation, before you’re ready to take that first big trip.

I recently became aware of a number of failures posted in the Facebook groups, including one in which the top hinge broke completely and the door fell off while towing. The trailer was less than a year old. A number of people have posted pictures of their cracked hinges, and I have become convinced this is not an isolated problem.

For now Scamp seems to be mailing replacement hinges to affected owners, but I think there may be a design flaw. One owner posted his observation that the hinge pins are not aligned due to the door and shell curvature, which puts a twisting stress on the hinge body every time the door is opened and closed, leading to metal fatigue and cracking. The old ball-type hinges are more forgiving of alignment variations.

I don't recall any mention of the issue on this forum, but I might have missed it. In any case it seems serious enough to warrant mentioning for those who may not follow the FB groups.

For those on Facebook, here's a link to one of several posts. It's a public group, so I think all FB users will be able to view it.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/6506...55917423726761

[Paul O.]

I was not aware of the new kind of door hinge on the new Scamps. I thought they only replaced the door handle assembly. From your description and from the pictures on the facebook page, I would say they made a serious mistake. The two bronze ball hinges are the only way to make it work. Not only is it impossible to align the pins of the two hinges on the curved surface, there must also be some slight flexing of the whole shell while traveling. I hope they do not replace it with the same thing. It is doomed. (Thus spoke a retired ME.)

[thrifty bill]

yep, replacing a hinge that only lasted one year with a duplicate is a failed plan. Hopefully there is more to it.

[Lockman]

I don't know if this may be the source of the problem but, its important to make sure the hinges are properly lubricated. I noticed that after returning home after spending some time in Florida this winter that my door hinges were squeaking, and opening and closing the door put some pressure on the hinge. I am sure that if this was left unattended they would eventually fail. Applying some spray lubricant allowed the doors to move smoothly.

So its possible, a little maintenance could go a long way in preventing the problem. Just my thoughts on the problem.

[Hospadaruk]

Yes, our 2018 13ft has had two top hinge failures with associated stress cracks in the fiberglass.
The is definitely a bad design here and I'm thinking bad pin alignment from the curved hull. We are now on our 3rd top hinge :-(

Micah Eveland from Scamp said that they had a bad batch of hinges and the the quality of the metal was not good. They send me a couple of hinges to tide me over, but he also said that the hinge supplier would be sending Evelands a new batch of hinges and that he would send those out when they arrived. I'm not sure I can believe him since I haven't heard from him or the company since last March.


2nd hinge failure less than a year after replacing the first. Starting to crack at arrow: