"Senga" - 1991 Scamp 13' renovation

[FelixVW]

Time to move the Scamp beyond the welcome thread

[FelixVW]

Here's the Scamp as we first saw it:







oh.. I'll let Tabitha explain how the name Senga came about

[DannyH]

Looks like your unwrapping a present, or a leaky top. Keep the images coming.

[Harlequin]

ok, right.. the name. well, Ollie started looking for Norwegian words due to the Scamp factory being in Minnesota (y'know.. vikings and all that) without much luck.

So, we were at Ikea on Sunday getting a mattress and looking around for other things, and found the cutest little guy.



He kinda became the mascot for the scamp, i think. his colors are a perfect match for new cushion fabric and other red stuff that will be going in. It's an Vandring Igelkott (Walking Hedgehog). Ollie didn't like Igelkott (Egglekott? lol) because kotz is german for vomit, and apparently there aren't many good hedgehog related names out there. So I was thinking about the strawberry, since we've got a bunch of red stuff, and the scamp logo is red, etc... Well, jordbær isn't very good for a name either, so I googled "norway strawberry" and came up with an article that talks about the different varieties they grow there and found "Senga Sengana". So, I put that into the translator and it turns out Senga means Bed... so it all just seemed appropriate to me.

(ollie says it sounds too much like Sega, but then it was pointed out that Sonic the Hedgehog was made by Sega, so he protested less. lol)


yummy yummy yummy



ETA: My other suggestion shortly after we went to look at it was Ludwig but he wasn't fond of that one either. (or Ludwegg, for that matter. hehe) that was based on this: "Ludwig was a surreal 1977 British-made children's cartoon animation about a magical egg-shaped gemstone who lived in a forest." -Wikipedia


iLudwig.co.uk

[FelixVW]

In the couple weeks prior to pick-up, we hit the computer and starting caching parts and materials to start the renovation:


First things first- the roof vent.
Here it is as-found:






On pick-up day, Eddie was generous enough to let us work on installing the new Heng's "Elixir" escape hatch we'd ordered from Amazon. We had bought a Craftsman multitool on sale for the task of cutting the fiberglass to fit the somewhat larger hatch- and when this proved pretty worthless, Eddie let us borrow his Fein tool- BIG difference

First task was unscrewing the plexi cover from the remains of the old vent. A blade under the edge released it
Next, all the rivets were drilled out (3/16 bit) and the blade run under the edge of the old frame to release the old butyl and silicon. Wood trim was unscrewed from the inside and it was free!


Next up, cleaning the silicon and butyl residue with the help of the a scraper blade on the Fein tool, some "Lift Off", and finally acetone

[Harlequin]

info copied from welcome thread, just for reference.

Originally Posted by Donna D.

So Tabitha, inquiring minds want to know... was all the work done by working from the inside... standing through the vent hole... or did someone need to work on the exterior from the outside? Does this make sense?

I'm just trying to find out if folks can replace the vent without getting on a ladder and laying on the roof.

Enjoy your trip!

Originally Posted by Tabitha

We were able to do a good deal of the work from the inside, especially since the hatch didn't have a proper lid. After unscrewing the sheet of plexi that was put over the opening, all the rivet drilling could be done from the inside. If it did have the lid/screen pieces, you could do 3 sides of the vent from the inside. The new rivet hole drilling was done from the outside, with me pushing up from the inside to help hold everything in place. Then the new rivets were put in from the outside also, so there was less movement of the vent assembly and better leverage angle on the rivet gun. Overall, i'd say about 40% of the process was done from the inside, in our case.

Also, with using ladders, there wasn't much laying on the roof required, but that could have to do with the fact that Ollie is about 6'4". There was definitely more leaning/sprawling required for me, at 5'6".

[FelixVW]

The new frame dimensions were measured out from the old hatch hole. We decided to cut wider in all directions since this would neatly eliminate all the old rivet holes. A 'T' square and a Sharpie gave us our guide line. We ended up cutting a strip about an inch wide from each side to give us necessary opening- got a pretty snug fit. Sorry we didn't get photos of the Fein tool in action- cords and ladders made photos a bit precarious at times. The shop vac was running continuously, gathering the dust.

We dry-fitted the vent and drilled the center holes in the two long sides and temporarily riveted these to hold the frame still, then drilled the remaining holes, working out from the centers to the corners to minimize the bunching/misalignment of rivets. Finally, we ran painter's tape around the perimeter to keep the butyl from squeezing onto the surrounding gelkote. The two temporary rivets were drilled out, the vent removed and the edge was wiped clean again with acetone.



Next, 3/4" butyl tape was laid, paper-side-up between the cut edge and the tape and the vent reinstalled. The inset in the frame at the point where it sits on the fiberglass led the frame to shift just enough to give us some grief lining up rivets. We tapped with a board and mallet from the inside and then lined up the holes by pushing a screwdriver shaft in and then substituting a rivet. The rivets are aluminum, close-ended, 3/16" ones we found on Amazon. We riveted from the centers out to the corners again using a handheld rivet gun- a bit hard on the wrists but it worked.

In the end, we have what looks to be a pretty solid escape hatch- will report when the first rainstorm comes!

[FelixVW]

While at Eddie's, I drilled out the remains of the old driver's rear marker light and riveted in a new one from Scamp.

Yesterday, we cleaned and polished the existing lights and replaced a missing bulb.

Tabitha then broke out the soldering iron and tackled the bug's trailer wiring which had been mangled by mechanics as well as by the torch the shop used to extract the seized drawbar from the receiver. The drive back had left us without a left taillight and other sporadic issues, now all fixed!


Yesterday was also Day 1 of the Great Icebox Overhaul- removing and disassembling the door, polishing the aluminum trim, cleaning the seal/gasket, and washing and painting the yellowed plastic ice tray and door liner. The next tasks are fixing the cracks in the icebox frame where it screws to the cabinet face and taking apart the hardware, coating it in POR-15 and replacing all the rusty screws with stainless. Additional insulation is planned once it's back in the cabinet.




Today has been interior day for Senga- Tabitha has been making cardboard bed cushion templates (original cushions were awol) and I removed the soft and warped cabinet doors to use as templates for making new ones.

[Harlequin]

In the 2 weeks between when we went to look at/buy the trailer and when we were finally able to pick it up due to draw-bar issues, we were itching to get to work. Having the trailer be 2-2.5 hours away wasn't helpful with that though. So once we got the majority of the materials we were going to need ordered and delivered, I got down to business taking care of the tedious bits of the cushion work that I could actually do with rough sizes in mind.

First, I made up 150 feet of piping...


Then I made 9 yards of zipper panels for the back edges of the cushions. Pretty sure I'll need another 2-2.5 yard piece for one of the front bench cushions, but figured i'd wait on that one to see exactly how much I'll need and not waste precious side panel material. (pay no attention to where one side wandered off from the other! ) Red piece is what the piping was made from.


Today, I made templates for the rear bench bottoms.


I think i've seen pictures where people take a chunk of cardboard and hot glue or tape smaller chunks on it to form the curve. That wasn't going to work out though, because the trailer is too far away from any possible 110v electrical source to use a hot glue gun, and the only tape that seems to be around is electrical tape. (Maybe a roll of painters tape somewhere, but that isn't much better.) So i put all my fancy skillz to work and came up with this way of measuring out the curve.

I did a rough version of this by hand with a sharpie and a metal ruler.
1) Tape down a piece of paper around the the "center point" of the curve.
2) Mark out a reference point to base measurements from. In my case it was 17.5" from the long edge (street side) and 15" from the back wall.
3) Drew a bunch of radiating lines from the reference point
4) Measure from the reference point to the curve along each line and mark the distance. I used Millimeters for this since it's much easier to get accurate numbers. Adjacent lines can end up being very close in length.


I made a template of this if anyone ever needs\wants to use it: curve template.pdf

After that's all done, on to phase 2!:
1) tape that paper to a rectangular piece of cardboard using the same distances for the reference point
2) for each line, make a mark on the cardboard using the distance recorded for that line.
3) Connect the dots... la la la! </Pee Wee Herman> I had fewer markings than the above template would give, so I didn't want to just freehand it. that might be possible with the template though. I used metal metal ruler on it's side like a flexible curve drafting tool to draw mine.
4) Cut!
5) Test fit! It worked pretty much perfectly. I only had to trim up one little space, and that's only because there was a slightly bunched up fold in the cardboard (it was the box our new roof hatch came in) that made measuring a bit tricky. it was easier to remeasure the line and trim it after the rest was gone.

[Harlequin]

Oh yeah. we got the title transferred and registration done today, too. Personal plates are ordered and everything.



we got the small motorcycle plate sized one instead of the full size.

[Harlequin]

Originally Posted by FelixVW

Finally, we ran painter's tape around the perimeter to keep the butyl from squeezing onto the surrounding gelkote.

Next, 3/4" butyl tape was laid, paper-side-up between the cut edge and the tape and the vent reinstalled. The inset in the frame at the point where it sits on the fiberglass led the frame to shift just enough to give us some grief lining up rivets. We tapped with a board and mallet from the inside and then lined up the holes by pushing a screwdriver shaft in and then substituting a rivet.

Hmm. that's not exactly what happened. In a couple places the vent was a bit of a snug fit, but the little inset between the flange and the lip let it shift enough during the test fit/drilling that it went in okay. Adding the Butyl tape increased the overall thickness and wouldn't let the lip down below the fiberglass to allow the extra wiggle room from the inset that there was before (without compressing the butyl tape to smithereens).

An Illustration, if you will:


As an aside, the painters tape that was put on during the test fit and drilling really helped more than keeping the excess butyl from sticking. It was a good way to easily tell where the vent wasn't lining up as it should, too.

[Donna D.]

OMG I've loved reading this thread! Such work, such enthusiasm.. what a great story.. with wonderful beginnings!

[Nancy]

Great info and work. Looking forward to watching your progress. Keep posting.

Nancy

[FelixVW]

Thanks Tabitha is definitely doing the bulk of the work so far and it's looking good!

For my part, today was spent cleaning some honey-like mystery goo out of the over-the-counter cabinet and cleaning out the lower one in preparation for a coat of Kilz and new lining. In the process of wiping the fresh water tube the plastic screw-on adapter to the faucet broke off - can't find it on Scamp's site and the "galley pump" design has changed anyway. Anyone know where I might look? General plumbing/RV store?

Also gathered stainless screws, new nickel-finish hinges and supplies for the cabinet doors. In the interest of efficiency and not overburdening my aging Volkswagen more than necessary, we are going to make aluminum ones in the style of a 1930s Bowlus.. pics to come

Finally, ordered a pile of stuff from Scamp: 30amp connection cover (orig. is fragile and chalky), two door hinge repair kits, two more markers and size 66 rivets (we got spade-type LEDs to fit in the other two new ones and the new lenses look so nice and clear, will go ahead and replace rest), new white trim and foam seal for door (I scrubbed the old trim forever with various products and figured the Scamp price was too good), two rear stabilizer jacks, new door handle (pitted chrome, no key, shaft stuck out into trailer interior), rivet snap caps, sink drain trap (bell-housing broken off), and new cabinet door roller catches all around.. they may get the price of a new Scamp out of us yet LOL..jk really very happy with how reasonable they are!

OOH Almost forgot- we had big rainstorms last night and more this morning - the new hatch is sealed tight! No leaks
That said, I did find a bit of slight weeping at the joints (bottom center) of the front and rear window seals. We have the new seals and lockstrips but will put a little sealant on the offending spot for now until we have a clear forecast to wash Senga, apply the Zep, and reinstall all the windows with fresh seals and butyl tape.

[Dan Jones]

WOW! You guys are doing a great job and, from the looks of it, you are taking the time to do it right. I am looking forward to seeing the final product as well as all of the steps along the way.

DJ

[CindyL]

I can't wait to see this finished! Great start! Thanks so much for sharing this information. Others will benefit greatly.

Off to Effingham tomorrow at 6 AM. I wonder if we see any campers there with VWs. We saw one the last time we were there, but the owner just had the camper; he was not bitten by the bug like the rest of us here. He didn't even know he had a Boler.


CindyL

[FelixVW]

Thanks! Lots to do but having a great time

That's a shame, Cindy.. what was he pulling it with?
As you might have guessed, we won't be doing Funfest this time. I got waylaid to North Carolina for the weekend and have gone a bit over budget lately on show travel/gas. Oh well- it will be more fun to hit the next show with Senga all clean and sporting actual bed cushions, etc.

[CindyL]

Sorry, I don't remember. Either a pickup or a van. Likely the latter. There are usually few/none pickups. If I find a picture, I will post it. I think I remember taking pix. I know we took pix of an Eriba camper.

CindyL

[Harlequin]

well, it's come to the realization that i'd make a terrible sweatshop worker.

Got one cushion sewn. the sewing part is easy... it's just a crap-ton of pinning!



it's just stuffed with a blanket here. going to wait until they're all sewn and we decide that the new mattress is a keeper before cutting up the old one.

[GingerB]

I am impressed beyond words. Our Scamp cushions are in perfect shape but the brown is a little boring. I think I'm going to try to make some colorful seat covers this coming winter.