Towing a Scamp 19 my experience

[Seacap10]

OK please let me apologize about invading other threads etc...I am not really good at all this computer stuff but I feel I should share my experience with the recent purchase of a 2015 Scamp 19 Deluxe?

I had a Scamp 16 D and Covid came along and I wanted to get something a bit more comfortable for my wife. A bigger washroom and a dedicated bed were two big ticket items. I found myself cruising the net and found a 19 deluxe that was in near new condition not to far from me. (I have been known to drive 500 miles to buy a dog or an old crappy boat with no engine)
I have rebuilt or fixed up several trailers over the years a Surfside 14 TM, A bigfoot camper, a Bigfoot 17 trailer a 16 foot Scamp and a bunch of other things like boats etc.

I live in British Columbia and I had my heart set on buying an Escape trailer, I believe the construction is top notch and much better engineered and designed than many other FRP Trailers... ( I called them there was a 2 year waiting list and that didn't work for me as a friend says "You only have so many trips left"

I sold the Scamp 16 and bought the pristine S 19 5er with only 1500 odd miles on it.

Well that was great, I Thought, I have a full size F250 Ford Diesel that can tow just about anything...

BOY WAS I WRONG... LOL

The rest of this "Blog" or whatever this is, is strictly my opinion.
Scamp trailers are great I have owned of fixed up several, but the "Scamp Trailer Hitch" system on this 19 D sucks big time! in my opinion is a serious lack of thought and imaginative engineering.

I had to build a "haywire" hitch to get this thing home after trying to figure out how to tow this thing home on my bumper with the high sides and tailgate that my F250 has, so I built a "Haywire Hillbilly Hitch" and it actually worked quite well on nice roads and only 50 miles or so to get it home...

The Hillbilly Hitch

[Seacap10]

Well I made it home and I am not bragging but that stupid bumper hitch wasn't that bad...

Now I have this cool trailer home I am happy, its light, my truck can pull 5 -6 of them but its not going to work (WTF?) My truck is too high and if I am not mistaken its already lifted 3" (which I will fix later)
I have hunted, fished, and consumed copious amounts of moonshine on farms and Ranches, I am a Mariner not a Farmer but I love the way Farmers and Ranchers just "Get er Done" No degrees, No BS, just backbone.

Well Farmers in my experience love to use Gooseneck Trailer hitches, they are great. The Scamp hitch wasn't going to work for me so I had another beer, hold on maybe 3 or 5 whatever...

My truck and many other new trucks have a "PUCK" towing or hitch system built in, so I was convinced that I wanted to use this amazing system instead of drilling holes in my lined deck just to mount some stupid hitch that was going to eat up my trucks bed. The PUCK system allows you to go back to a clean box bed in minutes.
My "Puck" gooseneck ball just pulls out and my deck is just like it was meant to be, clean ready to work...

You just drop in a Ball or put in a Fifth wheel hitch and "bada boom"

https://www.etrailer.com/question-403216.html

[Seacap10]

Towing a Scamp 19 Part 3

Well I have been measuring, "Thrinking" (Sitting in a chair consuming beer with a tape measure self doubting myself, measuring twice and convincing myself ?)
that you can come up with a better wheel and make it work...

My opinion is the Scamp 19 hitch system is crap!

So I researched and found sites where Fifth Wheel trailers are mounted to Bolt On Fifth Wheel hitch Adapters or bases similar to a Reese Gooseneck box ?

Well I cut that damn Scamp hitch off...

[Seacap10]

Damn That Felt Good.

Drank more beers, measured a lot of stuff, scratched my head and drew some pictures...

Sort Of...

[Seacap10]

Well the one thing I figured for sure is that every trucks owners and conditions will require different types of hitches...
So I welded on a Steel adjustable bolt on Hitch system. Why isn't this a standard system?
You can easily build a hitch that will adapt to just about and truck.

[Seacap10]

Some wise Ass once asked me "Where I got my Automotive Engineering Degree" Thankyou! that was the best thing ever, when someone calls me out and say's I can't do something you better get out of the way!
Thanks Parmigiano!

Grinding, cutting , welding etc, etc.
This rig will hold 10,000# plus a fair bit more when I am done.

[Seacap10]

I ain't done yet, but I better get going, on my way to the West Coast next week and this better work LOL, will post more when its all done.
Peace & Love and get your shots!

[Glenn Baglo]

Originally Posted by Seacap10

Some wiseass on another thread asked me "Where I got my Automotive Engineering Degree"

Your pictures are off by 90 degrees. You could work on fixing that.

[Seacap10]

I ain't done yet, but I better get going, on my way to the West Coast next week and this better work LOL, will post more when its all done.
Peace & Love and get your shots!

[Seacap10]

I have messed with those pics and for some reason I cant get them to rotate 90 deg.
I can move 300# of steel easier than those damn pictures...

[Glenn Baglo]

Originally Posted by Seacap10

I have messed with those pics and for some reason I cant get them to rotate 90 deg.
I can move 300# of steel easier than those damn pictures...

Download them to any photo editing app, rotate them, rename them and "save as" and then post them. That will strip the coding that causes the rotation problem.
What phone are you using?

[Seacap10]

the picture thing is frustrating thanks for the advice

[Glenn Baglo]

I use an iPhone or my camera and don't have to worry about orientation. Try looking for a setting in your tablet that turns off automatic orientation. I use Adobe Photoshop Elements for processing, but I think that's more than you want or need ( to spend ).

[Glenn Baglo]

Here's another thought. I'll shoot pix with my iPhone and I email them to myself. I open them in Mail on my MacBook Air. I then open them in in my photo processing app, or not, but I title them and save them on my Mac.
Try emailing them to yourself and changing orientation in your mail program ( preview mode ).

[Glenn Baglo]

Search "how to turn off Samsung tablet photo orientation and you'll find solutions.

[Jon in AZ]

Scamp 19s were designed around compact trucks of the 80’s. The 3” lift was a concession to the changing design of trucks, but it only goes so far.

Fifth wheels by their nature are designed around the trucks that pull them, kind of like slide-in campers but not quite as specific. Naturally a small fifth wheel is optimized for smaller trucks.

I use “ fifth wheel” loosely here; I realize Scamp’s in-bed ball mount is neither a proper king pin nor a gooseneck. But looking at your photo the coupler type is not the issue. The loft on a fifth wheel (in the loose sense) must clear the pickup bed rails when sitting level. Your truck is too tall.

Buyers of new Scamp 19s are given information about truck compatibility. Used, it’s caveat emptor.

You seem to have found a way to make it work.

[GOB]

I may be wrong but from your pictures it doesn't look like you have the bed corner clearance to be able to turn.

[Phil Underwood]

subscribed to this.. i like it

[parmm]

Originally Posted by Seacap10

Some wise Ass once asked me "Where I got my Automotive Engineering Degree" Thankyou! that was the best thing ever, when someone calls me out and say's I can't do something you better get out of the way!
Thanks Parmigiano!

Grinding, cutting , welding etc, etc.
This rig will hold 10,000# plus a fair bit more when I am done.

Not questioning your welding ability. Welds are normally stronger than the metal on both sides. Have you considered fish plating? The saving grace is that your trailer is not heavy.

[jwcolby123]

The hitch that comes with it is designed to place the load over the axle. A bumper mounted ball forms a cantilever, which tries to raise the steer tires. For small loads it is ok, but the more weight you place on the ball, the more the steers move skywards, reducing the steering. Further as you bounce down the road, the weight on the ball increases and decreases, causing the steers to change traction.

I have no idea about gigantic modern trucks. I use a 2000 Dodge Ram, a "light(ish)" truck and with the weight properly distributed on the axle my truck pulls this trailer without a hitch (pun intended). No bouncy bouncy, no steering issues. If I tried to use your design it would likely cause serious problems (for my truck).

Yep, it takes up much of the bed, but then so does a real 5th wheel. Notice where real 5th wheels are placed. Over the axle.