I hope to order a scamp 13’ no bathroom/shower and therefore no water heater. What are the pros/cons of adding the electric pump vs the hand pump/ city water faucet combo?
Mon, 02/11/2019 - 20:58
#1
Electric pump yes or no?
We have a similarly equipped 16'. I ended up putting a pump in myself. It makes life much easier.
Lynn
I've converted all my previous Scamps to an electric pump water heater or not. It is so nice, wouldn't order new without it.
Our Trailers:
2015 19 Escape
Buying or Selling Molded FG Trailers:
Fiberglass-RV-4Sale
Well, gee, I'm odd man out. I enjoy the simplicity of my had pump. We do a lot of camping without water and shore power being readily available. Our hand pump maintains its prime. I've yet to go off and leave the water running, if I remember correctly, the 13 carries 12 gallons of fresh water. With the handle in the correct position the pump is self draining. If, for some reason, it was damaged, (2) screws and (50) minutes, it can be replaced. Yes, I have a new spare.
The hand pump and the tea kettle takes care of our water requirements. My wife and I enjoy the simplicity of leisurely camping in our 13'
BobH.
We like our hand pump. It is simple and works well. The only problem we have had is when we have lost prime. We had to do a lot of pumping to get the prime back. The handle needs to be in its rearmost position when not in use to maintain the prime. Our Scamp sits for several months each winter and the pump holds its prime. (We have antifreeze in the system.)
First thing I did was replace the hand pump, no disrespect for you that like a hand pump just for me I like the steady flow hands free
Gene C
Geno
Seems like this is truly a personal preference issue. Let’s look at it another way:
Is it easier to change from electric to hand pump later, or from hand pump to electric?
Easier and less expensive to change to hand pump from electric, but don't know why one ever would go that direction.
Kind of like when you put on an electric tongue jack and go camping a few times, don't know why you'd change back to a manual crank jack.
Our Trailers:
2015 19 Escape
Buying or Selling Molded FG Trailers:
Fiberglass-RV-4Sale
Most of the time when we arrive at a campground we have been driving/sitting for several hours. We look forward to some activity after being inactive for so long. Cranking the jack and setting up the trailer gives us a chance get moving. I believe "simple is better" too!
Having many trailers with water pumps they were a must for us as these trailers had water heaters ,indoor ,outdoor showers, toilet , BUT since the trailer your ordering has a sink for brushing your teeth and doing dishes , i would go for the hand pump ,keep it simple ! I also owned two trailers with hand pumps and that was great ! Im planning on ordering a new 13 foot scamp without a electric pump as the trailer will have no bathroom,no shower,no hot water heater ,just a sink . Like i said electric pumps are good if the trailer has a real need for it , i owned two new airstream trailers in the last 6 years and they were loaded , it all depends on what you want ,but if your ordering a simple trailer go with the simple hand pump ! Less weight ,less expense ,easier and cheaper to fix ,easier to winterize ,when the battery dies you can still hand pump water ! Also electric pumps are noisy ! There installed right under the dinette bed under your wife's head or feet , she might not be a happy camper if your up early and turn on that electric pump to make coffee or brush your teeth ! Lol
Don
I have a low-tech 13 and have the hand pump. The effort involved with the hand pump is pretty minimal, but I can see that if you were using it much the electric pump would be handy. It is super easy to winterize by just taking it out of the camper for the winter. The thing that impacts me isn't so much the pump, but the fact that I don't have a gray water tank. This means the water goes to a portable gray water container outside the camper (at least until I get around to the modification to put a smaller container under the sink). I tend to do a lot of traveling and not as much sitting at one campsite, so I often don't bother with water in my fresh water tank and just stick with a good old water jug.
There are as many ways to use a Scamp as their are people who own them.