We just picked up our Scamp from Backus after waiting a year for it. On day 3 headed back to California, we decided to boondock at Walmart in Evanston WY. To our horror. The battery was completely DEAD. Shouldn't have been
Right? We checked the connections and it was plugged in and charging on our Ford Ranger which we had just driven 400 miles. We had our refrigerator set on battery while going down the road. Could that be it? My husband checked the fuse and it's fine. So...what could it be???We're gunna call Scamp this morning. So far, I'm not a happy camper with our new Scamp we paid 30k for. We ended up in an RV park last night. We are traveling withbour little doggy and didn't want to sleep in the truck again! There are other problems too which I'll write about later. Just want to know if anyone has any answers. Thanks!
Most tow vehicles will not keep up with a refrigerator (or even fully charge the battery). I use the LP but remember to shut it off before pulling up to the gas pumps.
I know scamp says not to, but how do you keep the food cold with out running it. It may be OK for a 10 mile trip, but not a ten hour trip.
It's good to camp in the area so that you can return to Scamp with problems. I did but nothing started to fall apart until I had driven through Wisconsin, Iowa, and South Dakota. Reading lights and the furnace grill both fell apart in South Dakota. U.S. highways are a rolling earth quake! .
There are many discussions about running the fridge on the road and just as many work arounds. Always run the fridge on propane whenever parked and try alternating 12V on/off for two hour intervals. As for things shaking apart while driving - get the tires balanced and put the screws back in with glue on the threads.
It helps to have round tires, mine were not. The screws holding the furnace grill on had ONE thread into the wood. It fell part way off and marked up the wood swinging around. The LEDs in the reading lamps fell out because there is nothing holding them in, I Used RTV to glue them in. I was parked at Cabelas in Mitchell and when the sun came up I could see a Menards on the other side of the street.. I love it when a plan comes together.
As was mentioned Getting your tires balanced is your best friend. It is amazing how much vibration they can create. Also I added very large wire gage harness to the vehicle plug to help the 12V charge. The standard 12ga may not be adequate. I went with 10ga and took the ground all the way back to the battery and attached the ground securely to the rear. I charge fully before leaving and try to keep stops to a minimum as the fridge is hungry and will deplete the battery fairly shortly. This is normal for 3 way fridges of the industry. I have had terrible luck with the Propane staying lit under way but this is on our little 13 foot
2019 Scamp 13 standard
We travel with the fridge running on LP. It used to get blown out. After I blocked off about 1/2 of the louver vents, it stays on. We do check it at every stop by feeling the boiler tube (chimney).
-Paul
2004 Scamp 19 Deluxe,
2021 Tacoma, Double Cab, 6 cyl. 4WD
Colorado
We too tried blocking some louvers but not 1/2 of them. Did you block the ones closest to the burner/boiler area or something else
Thanks
2019 Scamp 13 standard
The fridge vent access cover has three tiers of louvers and I blocked the two that are toward the front, i.e. those toward the left, as you view it, or, upwind as you drive.
-Paul
2004 Scamp 19 Deluxe,
2021 Tacoma, Double Cab, 6 cyl. 4WD
Colorado
My latest, and most successful, work around has been running 110AC from an inverter in the car. Higher voltage AC can be run for miles. That's how the utility companies operate.
Thanks for all the advice and help!
The Enterprise: going where it's never gone before.
Rv ownership is harder than I thought
That may be, but it gets easier with time.
-Paul
2004 Scamp 19 Deluxe,
2021 Tacoma, Double Cab, 6 cyl. 4WD
Colorado
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