Hello everyone, newbie here and I just wanted to get some opinions and what your thoughts and what others with 13ft scamp owners do. So here was my thoughts, I ordered Ford Maverick back in December and somehow a Scamp caught my eye and thought they where pretty neat little campers. So I tentatively put my order in and 500 dollar deposit on a 13 footer. I wanted something that would tow easily pull behind the Maverick. I ordered a deluxe front dinnett, outdoor shower, twin propane tanks, solar panel, furnace, A/C, and some other goodies. I am planning a mixture of off grid and some hookup camping. So here is the question I am asking myself, I ended up changing my order on the Maverick to a Ford Ranger, and now playing with the idea of going up to a 16 with a bath. I love the thought of the simplicity of the 13 with the outdoor shower and a port a potty and not have the complexity of a black tank. I don't know I got 2yrs before the Scamp gets scheduled, plan on going up to Backus after I get the Ranger and tour the facility and see if I can walk through some campers to get a good feel of the 13 and 16. Just wanted to get your alls thoughts and what you do or use and works best for you all, maybe the bath on the 16 does not add that much extra work or headaches.
Fri, 03/04/2022 - 12:28
#1
Bath or not, that is they question
You have a lot of decisions to make. First, you need to decide on the size. A 13-footer is fine for one or two people who know how to pack light. I have a 16-ft Deluxe and there are two of us, a dog, a cat, and too much stuff--I grump about the lack of space sometimes. The Ranger, which can tow 3500 lbs, is a much better choice than the Maverick for the 13-ft. However, for a 16-ft Deluxe, I would order the towing package on the Ranger because it will give you up to 7500 lbs towing. The towing package probably has a bigger radiator, transmission cooler, bigger alternator, heavier suspension, etc. and will be better if you do lots of long trips. I have a Dodge Durango with the towing package and it is great. I would order the bathroom. It is great to have a toilet if nature calls during the night, especially when it rains or is cold. Furthermore, when we traveled during Covid surges, we never went into gas stations because we used the Scamp bathroom, which was cleaner, and we paid for gas at the pump. Rather than fill the water tank, we often just carry 2-3 gallon jugs and pour water into the toilet as needed. The black water tank is not a big problem. It is easy to dump at campgrounds. At home, I use a 5-gallon pail (about two days waste) and dump it into a house toilet. The tank is easy to clean by adding Dawn detergent. We have used the shower. It is OK but I usually use a clean camp ground shower because there is no clean up needed. If I had purchased my Scamp new, I probably would have tried to save money by forgoing some of the options that you listed. However, mine came with all extras that you list and I am so glad to have them. They probably help with the resale value, which might be an important consideration. If you post on Scamp forums, you might be able to find someone close to you who would show you their trailer.
Scamp used the "old" Ranger in their videos years ago. Do you currently have an RV? If so you may want to attend the "Scamp Homecoming" in July. Lots of Scamps and factory tours.
Getting the towing package on the Ranger is solid advice. Even though the 13' is super-small and cute, I would go with the 16'. I have a 13' no bath, a friend has a 16' with bath. The black/grey tank isn't such a huge deal once you get used to the routine. Having your own bath and a larger fridge with a little freezer? Priceless! Plus you can leave the back bed/dinette as a bed and still have your little side dinette set up. If you planned on setting up/taking down the bed/dinette in a 13' every day, that gets old very fast. I hated doing it the few times I have had to with a second person camping with me.
Rhonda Riebow
I have the 16' front bath and love it. But I never drive with the tables up. Others have had damage to the rear table wall bracket or the side table pedestal due to the harsh driving conditions on the highway.
I have always traveled with the table up. This trip, I had the table collapse and bend the leg. I will put the table down for traveling in the future.
2020 Scamp 19’ Deluxe, 2021 Nissan Frontier Pro4X
We love our 16 with the front bath. It is very convenient when traveling to stop have lunch and a clean bathroom. With it stops. at free overnight locations such as walliworld are better.
We travel with the side table up but put a pool noodle on the table edge against the wall. The pool noodle stabilizes the table top. So far so good thousands of miles.
I store my solar panel, strapped down on the side bed, that gives me a VERY large food prep area. I place the panel face down so that the frame keeps stuff from sliding off when driving.And because it's 41 degrees in west central Wisconsin today I went out and took a picture. It's been a month so it was time for an inspection. It's my first year to have an RV plugged in all winter.(It will be zero f again this weekend.)
We went through the same decision and moved up to a 16ft which we got in November. I decided I didn't want a blackwater tank and so ordered it without the toilet and built a separating composting toilet. No fuss, easy to deal with and no black tank. Here's a picture of it with the lid closed. If you'd like more info, I have all the details.
Rick
I do like the idea of a composting toilet.
I think the bath is a giant waste of money. You got to winterize and that limits where you can go in the winters. I use a 5 gallon bucket, but there are many small porta potties around. I gotta planet fitness for showers, but usually stay at acoe parks which always have showers. Last resort is sponge bath outside in the canopy.
save weight, save money, save space, the bath is a waste.
safe travels, jim
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