My wife and I are new to owning a Scamp. We gutted it and built out a new interior - sliding track door/room where the front bunks used to be, removed the range/sink and built a crib, and cut into the cupboard above the A/C and made a countertop. We will eventually move the A/C to be below the crib and add a sink in the new countertop.
We are on our first road trip and have gone about 1,000 miles so far. My question is regarding the axle and camber on the wheels. We hit a rough patch of pavement in Texas (at night) where the pavement transitioned from new to old surfacing. The diver’s side wheel seemed to hit rougher pavement than the passenger side. It looks like the driver’s side wheel of the Scamp has a slight camber (toe in / towards the trailer). The passenger side wheel, not as much. I’m trying to remember if that’s how it was when we left home - can’t remember. Is a slight camber (toe in) normal? I had a shop check it out yesterday - they thought it was fine. One slightly frustrating thing is that the mechanic who looked at it jacked the trailer up from the center of the torsion axle. I questioned the jack point to the mechanic, but he said it was fine...the torsion axle now looks like it has a slight bow in the upward direction. Again - is this normal? I can’t recall how that center beam between the axles looked before he used it as a jack point. We have over 1,000 miles to go before returning home. Hoping all will be ok / stay intact. If anyone can confirm the bow on the axle and the toe-in camber on the wheel, that would be helpful! From what I’ve read elsewhere, it seems maybe normal for both (bow on axle and slight camber on wheel to distribute weight when going around corners, when trailer is under load, etc), but looking for feedback from other Scamp owners for peace of mind. Bearings do not have excessive play / wheels are tight and rolling properly.
Thanks!
Dylan
Dylan,
My 2017 Scamp 16 has a slight arch in the axle, and having just replaced an aircraft trailer axle, I found it is by design that some axles are arched, some not.
Tom
The cool kids play outside.
Scamp axles come with an upward camber bend. Scamp axles have 1" mounting perches to allow for the bend to clear the floor bottom. Scamp also usually weld a piece of metal to the center top of the axle tube and attaches it to an angle iron floor brace. There are warnings to never jack on a Torflex axle tube. With a Scamp 13 you may be OK, just keep an eye on tire wear. With a 18 YO axle it may be nearing the end of it's useful life anyway.
Keep on rolling.
Eddie
Camber is the position of the wheel in or out at the top of the wheel. Toe-in, or Toe-out is the position of the wheel in or out at the front of the wheel. Damage that bends the axle could change camber or toe-in or both. Keep your eye out for tire wear. If the tires don't seem to be wearing unevenly you are probably okay. We have been over some roads that were very bad but the scamps seem to be able to take it in stride. The worst bumps we have hit were on east coast interstates! Off the interstates one can slow down for bumps or on rough roads.
athearn2 - I don’t know why I said toe-in after mentioning camber. Thanks for pointing that out/correcting. I’m noticing the camber is facing in a bit, a bit more on driver’s side; I don’t notice much toe-in, would have to have someone who does alignments check. I will keep my eye out for uneven tire wear. I agree with you re: bumps on interstates vs roads off the interstate. Thank you for your insight!
Just holding a carpenter's level vertically against the wheel could give you some idea of the camber. Check one wheel then the other. Do this a few times after moving the trailer to make sure uneven ground doesn't affect the readings. Good Luck!