The factory add-on / options included are a roof top A/C unit, furnace, three speed roof fan, 4.6 CF electric-gas-battery refrigerator, electric brakes, side cabinets, interior 12 V receptacles, and a full wet bath with porcelain toilet. We modified the camper in the following ways to make it safer and more comfortable for boondocking and / or longer camping trips.
A “Jack-E-Up” receiver has been installed: This enables the tongue ack to be easily removed while the trailer is being towed, thus eliminating the risk of dragging and bending the jack foot when moving over uneven ground and also allowing the rear pickup tailgate or SUV hatch of the tow vehicle to be opened fully when the trailer is attached to the ball. Otherwise, an SUV hatch door or pickup tailgate is obstructed by the jack.
The aircraft style doors on these campers traditionally leak. Difficulty in exactly matching the molded aircraft style door to the camper shell and inadequate factory weather stripping is the cause of this. To correct this problem, the door hinges have been shimmed out to allow the door to fit closely to the camper shell and over a compression gasket that has been added to the door frame. The door is now properly sealed. Water is now channeled away from the door frame and the camper is air tight and quiet inside when the door and windows are closed.
A fully adjustable 3000 LB Flexiride torsion high-lift axle with electric brakes has been added. The factory built these campers low to the ground on a fixed torsion axel. We wanted to be able to “boondock” with the camper and be able to travel on dirt roads or open ground without dragging the underside of the trailer. The trailer is now lifted by about 3” and has 14” wheels on it. With the adjustable axel, the trailer can be lowered to the original factory height, or raised several more inches to allow for 15” rims. I found the current axel setting and tires to be the best balance of increased ground clearance and tow-ability.
They say the terrain of Western Maryland and West Virginia would flatten out to be the size of Texas. I don’t know if that is true, but I do know that leveling a camper when boondocking is very difficult in this terrain. To address this problem I have added two 5 ton drop leg jacks to the rear of the trailer. While the camper’s wet weight is under 1500 LBS, the 3000 Lb electric tongue jack and the 5 ton bumper jacks along with their 16” drop legs are not overkill. They allow the trailer to be safely and quickly leveled on steep hillsides and do not substantially add to the trailer weight.
The gas hot water heaters on these campers are very efficient and dependable, however, they will smoke and stain the exterior of the camper if you turn the gas up too high. We corrected this problem by removing the factory baffles around the exhaust ports and adding a removable 2” exhaust pipe. The gas flame can now by turned up without smoking up the camper shell and will produce hot water in a matter of minutes. We still have the original baffles and they can be easily re-intalled if that is your preference.
The shower pan is lower than the grey water tank on these campers. The manufacturer includes an electric pump between the shower pan and the grey tank. I have added a splitter and valve to the shower pan that allows the shower to be drained directly out to the ground or into a sewer via a garden hose. The valve can be closed when you want to pump the water into the grey tank.
The factory installed vent and control housing for the rooftop A/C unit extend down from the ceiling about 4” into the cabin. I imagine that Scamp was not considering rooftop A/C units when designing the original mould for the shell because the ceiling height is about 6”1” and the vent is in the center of the floor between the sink, closet, and dinette. Anyone over 5”10” tall will always be bumping their head on the vent. To correct this problem I made a new flush vent cover with recessed controls on the ceiling of the cabin. I am 6’ tall and can now stand up in the center of the floor without hitting my head!
The carpeted floor has been replaced with a hardwood floor.
A 12V charging outlet was added to the cabin.
Shelves have been added to the closet to increase accessible storage capacity.
A cloths hamper has been added a the base of the closet in what was formerly inaccessible space.
In order to have room to get into the dinette, Scamp shortened the table and cut off the front corners. This works fine for clearance when in use as a dinette, but the cushions extend over the edge of the table when lowered in to the bunk position and they tend to shift around if you sit on the edge of the bed. I designed and installed a removable one piece bed rail that corrects this problem.
LED lights have been installed throughout.
An oversized deep cycle marine battery and box have been installed.
A new auto switchover gas tank regulator and new high pressure gas tank to trailer line has been installed.
One year old paint job and tires.
This 2011 Scamp 13’ Deluxe is located near Frederick, Md. The Scamp 13’ is lightweight, designed to be towed by a sedan or SUV, can be parked in a single parking space or short driveway, and is the perfect “bug-out” trailer or “Covid Bubble”. These campers are hard to find and last forever. Their basic design has changed little over the years, it takes over a year to get a new unit from the factory, and resale prices stay high. The title is clean.
