Newbie questions about a Scamp 13'

[Stephanie L]

Greetings everyone! I have a question for experienced trailer campers (they are specifically regarding a Scamp 13')...we are hoping to buy our first travel trailer so I'm really learning the basics at this stage...so please bare with me:


1. In the deluxe with front bathroom, is the bed size 44" or 54"? We would need the 54" so wanted to make sure we could get that with the deluxe otherwise we'd need to look more at the std model.

2. How many interior 120V outlets are standard? Also, what does one use the 12V outlet for?

3. I understand that the heat strip is something that is added to the A/C (which we will want) but if you get the heat strip does that mean you have enough of a heat source that you don't need to get the furnace as well?

4. What is the splash guard? Is it something outside but separate from the gravel shield?

5. We will want the electric brakes. If we need to wire everything up for the trailer lights anyways, does it make sense to get the wireless brakes?

6. If we wanted to have the possibility to dry camp for a day or two, how much of a difference would the 27 battery pack be vs the std 24 pack?

Any insight is greatly appreciated!
Many many thanks!!

[Jon in AZ]

Originally Posted by Stephanie L

1. In the deluxe with front bathroom, is the bed size 44" or 54"? We would need the 54" so wanted to make sure we could get that with the deluxe otherwise we'd need to look more at the std model. 54"

2. How many interior 120V outlets are standard? Also, what does one use the 12V outlet for? One, but you can add more. Many get the outside outlet. The 12V outlet is typically used for charging electronics.

3. I understand that the heat strip is something that is added to the A/C (which we will want) but if you get the heat strip does that mean you have enough of a heat source that you don't need to get the furnace as well? If I have power, I'd rather use a small ceramic heater. It's quieter. If I don't have power, the furnace is the only means to heat.

4. What is the splash guard? Is it something outside but separate from the gravel shield? Not sure... mud flaps behind wheels, maybe? Or could mean the optional galley backsplash.

5. We will want the electric brakes. If we need to wire everything up for the trailer lights anyways, does it make sense to get the wireless brakes? It depends on the vehicle. I prefer a wired brake line, but some newer vehicles are tricky to wire. Wireless is also nice if you have more than one vehicle used to tow the trailer. Discuss with whoever is going to wire your tow vehicle.

6. If we wanted to have the possibility to dry camp for a day or two, how much of a difference would the 27 battery pack be vs the std 24 pack? Depends on what you're planning to run. We last 3-4 days with a G24. You can always upsize later and/or add a solar panel.

Responses added in blue.

[AC0GV]

Originally Posted by Stephanie L

2. what does one use the 12V outlet for?

3. I understand that the heat strip is something that is added to the A/C (which we will want) but if you get the heat strip does that mean you have enough of a heat source that you don't need to get the furnace as well?

#2 Any thing that you would use the car 12 volt outlet for. There are many 12 VDC camping items out there, like fans, slow cookers, phone chargers, etc. they will all run the battery down with out a solar panel.
#3 The heat strip is great for taking the chill off in the morning but remember that there is no thermostat so you still need other heat source.

[gordon2]

Originally Posted by AC0GV

#..
#3 The heat strip is great for taking the chill off in the morning but remember that there is no thermostat so you still need other heat source.

Great? It requires the A/C fan to be on.. and thats very loud. It adds heat at the ceiling and since heat rises, its only the fan that get the heat down to you. As mentioned, it runs full time when turned on, no matter what in the temp is inside the camper.

My small ceramic heater puts out the same amount of heat but has none of the other disadvantages. It does have a fan but its not nearly as loud as the A/C fan. And its less than half the cost of the heat strip.

IMHO the one and only great thing about the heat strip is that it does not take up any extra space.

[Civilguy]

Originally Posted by Stephanie L

Greetings everyone! I have a question for experienced trailer campers (they are specifically regarding a Scamp 13')...we are hoping to buy our first travel trailer so I'm really learning the basics at this stage...so please bare with me:

5. We will want the electric brakes. If we need to wire everything up for the trailer lights anyways, does it make sense to get the wireless brakes?

The Scamp is a very nice trailer. I don't know what tow vehicle you have, but you should have trailer brakes; most states require them for trailers over 1,000 or 1,500 lbs.

I would personally never be comfortable towing with a wireless trailer brake controller. There are many devices cluttering up the atmosphere with signals nowadays; phones, tire pressure monitors, wireless backup cameras, and others. As an example, the poor reviews on wireless backup cameras continue to underscore how unreliable their wireless transmission is.

The negative reviews I just read for a Curt wireless brake controller offered on Amazon were sobering. One common theme was the controller applying the brakes when you don't want or need them. The other risk, naturally, is that they won't apply the brakes when you really do need them to.

We have a great deal of sophisticated wireless technology in our lives. However, I believe that this is not the place for it. This is an application that will benefit from a traditional wired controller.

It's not that difficult or expensive to have a vehicle set up for it. Many vehicles are essentially wired for a plug-and-play installation, while other vehicles may require a bit of shop time to set up.

In summary, I believe this is a question which concerns your safety.

[Civilguy]

44 negative reviews out of 189 total reviews means that almost one in four reviews is negative.

https://www.amazon.com/product-revie...ews-filter-bar

[Jon in AZ]

Mike, I’m thinking the OP may be referring to the Autowbrake system Scamp offers as an option.

[Stephanie L]

Thank you Jon, Mike, Kenneth and Gordon. All of your responses and feedback have been most useful. I am very grateful. Have a great weekend!!!

[floyd]

Originally Posted by Stephanie L

Greetings everyone! I have a question for experienced trailer campers (they are specifically regarding a Scamp 13')...we are hoping to buy our first travel trailer so I'm really learning the basics at this stage...so please bare with me:


1. In the deluxe with front bathroom, is the bed size 44" or 54"? We would need the 54" so wanted to make sure we could get that with the deluxe otherwise we'd need to look more at the std model.

2. How many interior 120V outlets are standard? Also, what does one use the 12V outlet for?

3. I understand that the heat strip is something that is added to the A/C (which we will want) but if you get the heat strip does that mean you have enough of a heat source that you don't need to get the furnace as well?

4. What is the splash guard? Is it something outside but separate from the gravel shield?

5. We will want the electric brakes. If we need to wire everything up for the trailer lights anyways, does it make sense to get the wireless brakes?

6. If we wanted to have the possibility to dry camp for a day or two, how much of a difference would the 27 battery pack be vs the std 24 pack?

Any insight is greatly appreciated!
Many many thanks!!

We have a Scamp13D front bath.
3] the heat strip is the best and most consistent heat available when on shore power.
Our furnace is used only when there is no shore power.


4] I can only imagine you mean "stone guard" ...
Not needed on a front bath as there is no large front window to cover or protect.


5] Electric brakes are now standard and have been for some time.
We have just recently upgraded our brakes from 7" to 10" with our new axle.
If you find a 13 without brakes which is no more than a couple of decades old , the axle can be retrofitted with a simple bolt on.


Get a wired brake controller, it is better,more reliable and cheaper.
I like the new "Insight" but you can't go wrong with a "Prodigy"

6] we started with a 24 battery and upsized to a 27. The main reason was that the 27 had double the warranty. Most Tow Vehicles will charge the battery while towing. We have not run out of battery in many years, but it depends on what you use. The furnace is the biggest battery hog on my Scamp.
I had a 24 get low at the race track after several days and I simply hooked-up jumper cables for about 20 minutes at an idle and brought it back to full charge.
Since that time we have gotten a more efficient television and LED lighting and the 27 battery and haven't given it a second thought.
Get a battery voltage reader(can be plugged in to your 12V outlet.
use it like a fuel gauge, read it under no load and keep it above 12V.

12V is like "E" on the gauge... 12.7-12.9V is like "F"

[rdickens]

IMHO - If your tow vehicle permits, a wired brake controller is better. With the cabin layout of our 2014 Ford Escape, mounting a wired controller was going to be difficult and we did use the Techonsha Prodigy RF.

We have always used Group 27 batteries. Even a 35 watt portable (non-mounted) solar panel will likely keep your battery topped off for multi-day boondocking outings if your lighting is LED and you don't run the top-mounted fan all day and night. We use the 12v outlet both for charging electronics and for a 12v table fan when we are boondocking (i.e. at the Oshkosh Air Show).

Good luck with your decisions!

Ray

[Civilguy]

Originally Posted by Jon in AZ

Mike, I’m thinking the OP may be referring to the Autowbrake system Scamp offers as an option.

Ah. I looked at the Autowbrake video. On the plus side, having the accelerometer mounted to the trailer and having it actuated by the brake light wiring is an improvement over how I thought these controllers might function. However I still have concerns and objections, though somewhat distinct from those I cited above concerning the Curt controller.

The key-fob remote on the Autowbrake retains my objections concerning the wireless aspect, and adds another concern about it's dependence on a small (presumably) coin battery. I also prefer several other aspects of our wired controller:

• Visual confirmation in the tow vehicle of of the controller's "powered-up" status and of the current setting on an easy-to-read numeric display.
  
• Our Prodigy P3 and other traditional wired controllers have many more settings compared to the three settings offered on the Autowbrake, allowing for finer increments and greater flexibility in the setup.
  
• The ability to apply the trailer brakes or to adjust the controller's settings inside the tow vehicle while driving with a device which is firmly affixed in a known location. (In fairness, I guess you could try and Velcro the key-fob remote to the dash, but I'm not really a fan of the notion.)
  
• The Autowbrake controller with it's electronic circuitry is mounted outside and exposed to the weather, theft and other vagaries, not in the tow vehicle where it is much more protected.

There's also currently a very limited number of reviews on Amazon (28). The Fakespot analyzer applies an "F" grade to these mostly-positive reviews. While this doesn't mean that they are all fake reviews, it's certainly not a positive signal upholding the existence of a robust number of independent user reviews.

https://www.fakespot.com/product/aut...ake-controller

[Jon in AZ]

I have read a number of positive reports over on the Scamp Owner's Facebook group. They are mostly regular contributors, so real people, though not long-term users. There are a lot of Subaru Outback owners pulling Scamp 13's, and late model Outbacks seem to have issues wiring a conventional controller.

If the remote is dead (or gets lost under the seat, which seems more likely) you still have full braking function, just not the ability to activate the trailer brakes independently or to adjust settings.

I agree that a conventional wired controller is preferable when feasible.

[Tony D]

I have the autowbrake wireless controller in my Scamp. I think there is some misinformation floating around. First off I like it and trust it.

More importantly, the wireless feature is only to manually apply the trailer brakes or change the settings. I think there are 4 or 5 settings for the amount of braking applied to the trailer as the tow vehicle brakes are used. You need a 7 pin connector for the autowbrake and there is a brake input to the controller in the trailer. I think it is just like the brake input to a traditional knee knocker in the tow vehicle. Plus you won’t fry the tow vehicles electronics, a common occurrence in a Subaru. If you have a tow vehicle with good circuitry for adding electronics, then the traditional is probably better. If your shoehorning one in your tow vehicle, I’d recommend the autowbrake that Scamp has as an option.

[Civilguy]

Tony and Jon,

I'm glad to hear voices and see reasoning for the advantages of the Autowbrake controller, particularly regarding Subaru applications.

Our two 7-pin tow vehicles had factory wiring for brake controllers conveniently located behind the dash. One of my installations involved buying a few wires and connectors from the vehicle manufacturer, and the other only required purchasing an aftermarket connector which fit our vehicle.

In each of these cases I was grateful to find that there was not a prospect of having problems with the can bus wiring. So, yeah, apparently there are other vehicles where that's a potential problem.

While I'm a guilty of talking off the cuff here, I'd still tend to regard the "wireless" option as something to evaluate in terms of the trade-offs. I'd hate to see folks give up the functionality and/or reliability of a more traditional wired controller just because they were concerned regarding what "might" happen. In that case, one just might end up purchasing a solution in search of a problem.

[Stephanie L]

Thanks again for all the additional responses!! They are all very helpful!
Does anyone want to give their two cents on the gas vs gas and electric water heaters? I'd love to hear your considerations and feedback but also thoughts on if there are differences in the sizes/weights.

On a whole other note: how does the scamp 13 handle in windy conditions? If we order now we're looking at a december delivery date.
We're both from northern countries so driving in snow (in a volvo V60 CC AWD) is no issue but we were wondering if it made sense for us to pick it up then and drive south...wind, freezing temps, etc....

OK, one more question just popped into my 'chef' mind: does the range hood option exhaust outside or does it just filter it and blow it back into the trailer?

Thank you all again!!!

[gordon2]

Originally Posted by Stephanie L

.
Does anyone want to give their two cents on the gas vs gas and electric water heaters?

..

I think that depends on how often you plan to have shore power, which is required for the electric heater part. A full time boondocker would have no need for the electric. A full time RV park type who is always with shore power would have no need to the gas part.

But there are after market devices that add an electric heating element to a gas water heater. I never had one but I understand they are slower to heat but work OK. So if you get gas only and regret it, you might have that option.

BTW, I'm in the camp that thinks the water heater is more trouble than it is worth in a small Scamp. I had one in my 16 and took it out. But if you plan on having city water (AKA shore water) AND ALSO showering in the camper then its good to have. But I find showering in the Scamp far less than ideal. I would even rather use a truck stop shower. If you are boondocking or don't plan on showers in the camper, then its not that helpful to have.

[Tony D]

I do like the electric/gas water heater. It just seems like a waste to be plugged in to shore power and not use it to heat the water. They cost more, But I don’t think they are that much heavier.

[Civilguy]

Originally Posted by Stephanie L

Does anyone want to give their two cents on the gas vs gas and electric water heaters? I'd love to hear your considerations and feedback but also thoughts on if there are differences in the sizes/weights.

Propane will heat the water faster if you're in a hurry. However, when we pay for a site with "shore-power" electric service, we use the electrical power to reduce the amount of propane that we use. That generally means running a little cube heater instead of the gas furnace, and operating the water heater on electric power.

As we use hot water frugally, we've never tried to run both gas and electric at the same time, though I have heard it's possible.

I can't imagine there being much difference in the weight of the water heaters. One retail site lists both at ten pounds; the 6 gallons of water in the heater adds 50 lbs additional.

[Civilguy]

Originally Posted by Stephanie L

[V]olvo V60 CC AWD

You may be at or over some of the manufacturer's published towing capacity limits for your vehicle. Volvo has some unusual language concerning exceeding their stated capacities in their manual for the 2020 model:

Important
When driving with a trailer, it is permitted to exceed the vehicle's gross vehicle weight (including towball load) by a maximum of 100 kg (220 lbs), provided that speed is limited to 100 km/h (62 mph). National legal requirements for the vehicle combination, such as speed, etc. must be observed.

https://www.volvocars.com/ph/support...d-towball-load

It would be helpful to review the trailer weights in the real world spreadsheet, and it's always very important to understand the manufacturer's stated capacities and limitations for the actual model year that you own.

http://lakeshoreimages.com/spreadsheets/Weight.xls

[rdickens]

Because of the rounded shape, the Scamp13 is far less affected by crosswinds than other trailers. Because they are generally a bit taller than the tow vehicle(s), you should expect that headwinds may very seriously affect gas mileage.

My sister and brother-in-law had a range hood and my B.I.L. took theirs out ... said it was a head-knocker and limited the size of toaster oven/microwave/coffee pot that could fit underneath. Space inside a Scamp13 seems often to be limited.

We have the combo electric/gas water heater and we almost always have run it on 110v shore power. Sadly, it takes up a bunch of space under our sink. Since we don't generally shower in the trailer, I almost think that a small electric tankless "insta-hot" would work for us. If you do plan to shower often in the trailer, then maybe not .... ???

Different folks have different wants and needs, so ... "Your mileage may vary!"

Ray