I'm currently camped in the UP of Michigan after having spent a couple of nights at Ruttgers PIne Mountain Camping in Backus. Ruttgers was a nice place--very clean, and the people who worked there were very nice too. When I arrived at the campground after picking up my Scamp, there were already two 16 Deluxes camped there. Didn't get a chance to talk to the folks, but they both appeared to be new. After I set camp, another new 13' Deluxe pulled in. Pretty good showing I'd say. I shook down my trailer pretty well while I was close to the factory, and thankfully didn't find anything wrong with it.
Since I didn't need the second day in Backus for shakedown, I drove up to Itasca State Park to see the headwaters of the Mississippi River. Saw a mama bear and a couple of cubs while I was there (of course, I see those pretty much every day at home in NC...) but still fun to watch them. Nice looking campground there too. If you're ever in Backus, I recommend making the drive up there. It's a nice park.
Anyway, back to the Scamp. We went through a pretty quick but adequate tour of our new camper, and everyone I met there was very nice. There were several nice surprises on my camper. All of the rivets are now covered with little plastic caps both inside and out. Maybe that will help prevent leaks--time will tell But they look nice. They're installing compressor type Dometic fridges now. 12V or 110V No propane. I can leave it running while I'm driving without any degradation of it's performance. This fridge works far better than any of the evaporative type RV fridges I've had in the past. Night and day better. Also, the stabilizers are now the crankdown BAL jacks. Another significant upgrade over what I expected to receive. I really believe they're trying to upgrade things on a constant but not necessarily advertised basis.
I pulled it from Backus to Michigan this morning in pouring rain with my Toyota 4Runner, and I honestly couldn't tell it was behind me. It didn't try to sway when big trucks passed by or in the pretty heavy crosswinds I encountered. It cost me about 5 1/2 MPG over what I normally get (when I filled up, it calculated to about 18 MPG).
Suprisingly, the bed is fairly comfortable. We got the 54" bed upgrade. The cushions are very firm, but not uncomfortable. Other campers I've had with multi part cushion beds have been uncomfortable at the seams, but with the seams running perpendicular to the sleeping direction of the bed, I can't feel them at all. I'm 6 feet tall, and the bed fits me fine without my head or feet hitting the walls.
Anyway, I'm a happy camper. I'll be camping my way down through MIchigan, Ohio and Kentucky/Tennessee on my way back to North Carolina. My trip is off to a good start, and hopefully that will continue!
Dave
Which model of Dometic compressor fridge did the factory install? Did they do anything different to vent and provide air flow to the condensor?
I believe it's a model CRX65E.There are no openings on the outside of the camper for the fridge--It appears to be installed per Dometic's specs. The main venting is underneath the unit from the way it appears, plus there is a "vent" control on top of the unit. It operates much cooler than an evaporative unit and doesn't require any special external vents.
It's not dead silent, but it comes pretty close. It really works well so far!
Dave
May you enjoy many years of camping. Looking at our Scamp always makes us smile.
Safe Travels.
2002 16 ft Scamp
Thanks!
Congratulations on getting your new Scamp!
A few questions for you. How long did it take you to get to Backus from NC? How many stops did you make, and what route did you travel? Did you make reservations at Ruttgers PIne Mountain Camping in Backus ahead of time? They'd told me by mid-Sept (when I get my Scamp) I probably won't need reservations.
Safe travels!
Just got back home. It's been a nice long trip for me. In answer to your question, I stayed over three nights on my way to Backus (could have done it with just two stayovers, but I wanted to visit a buddy in St. Paul on the way up). I stopped over in the Indianapolis area the first night, near St. Paul in Mauston Wisconsin the second and in St. Cloud the third to be close to Backus Wednesday morning. I did make reservations at Ruttgers, and when I was there the place was full. But, I was apparently hitting it at full "on season." There was quite a bit of construction the whole way, but nothing really terrible. At least I bypassed Chicago. Indianapolis traffic is diverted due to major construction, but the diversion kept traffic pretty manageable even at rush hour, at least in my experience.
A couple of follow up comments regarding picking up the Scamp. First, as many others have said, definitely re-torque the wheel lugs. Several of mine seem to have just been finger tight from the factory.
Second, after I left my last campground of the trip, I found that I had no 12 volts in the camper. I got out my meter and measured the battery, which was good, but got no voltage at the 12 V on/off switch. I pulled on wires at the battery box, and found one that wasn't hooked to anything (a black wire with a white stripe on it). I couldn't find a place where it might have been hooked up. Yesterday afternoon, I called the Scamp customer service number and the lady there was extremely helpful. She told me to check the inline fuse--I asked her where that was, and she replied in the battery box hooked to a yellow wire. I pulled on the yellow wire (which went underneath the battery--I had to lift the battery out of the box). Sure enough, there was an inline splice on the wire with nothing on the other side. A gentle pull pulled the splice off of the yellow wire too. Just a bad connection. I stripped the wires and put them back together with a wire nut and the problem was resolved. So, If you happen to lose 12 Volts, that's a good place to start. Kudos to Scamp customer support--very helpful and knowledgeable.
After a week and a half of camping and 1500 miles or so with the camper behind me, I can say that this trailer is the easiest pulling, best behaved trailer on the road I've ever pulled. I had a hard time keeping my speed down, because I'd forget it was back there. No sway even in a heavy crosswind. And no white knuckles driving through narrow "road under construction" lanes, even on bridges. I found the bed to be very comfortable, and the Maxx Fan is a truly amazing vent. If you leave the windows open in the rain, it WILL get wet inside though. Oops...
Good luck with your Scamp pickup! Hope your trip is as pleasant and uneventful as mine.
Dave
Congratulations on your new camper and the fun trip you had. I just ordered a 13 footer with front bath similar to yours. The given pick up date is May 2024. I have couple questions about the new components in your scamp. How are the new fridge and new water heater working out. There are some discussion about whether rv on demand water heater can deliver consistent water temperature when you need to mix cold water at the faucet. Some one suggests the workaround is set the water heater thermostatic at the water temperature you like and only use the hot/warm water from the heater when taking shower. Another question is about the new flat door, there are some complains about the new door sagging due to only bottom half of the new door has hinges. Do you have any sagging door problem on your camper.
thanks and enjoy.
Congrats on your upcoming camper! I've only had the Scamp a week and a half, but have camped in it the whole time until yesterday, so I do have some experience with it.
On the fridge--it's absolutely great so far. It does make a very faint compressor sound (barely even audible) that a conventional evaporative RV fridge doesn't make. BUT--it holds the temperature very well, it continues to run while you're on the road at "full strength" unlike using the 12V on a three way, it's less critical about having a perfectly level camper and it has fewer outside openings on the camper itself. I haven't found a downside yet.
On the water heater--to be honest, I set the temperature at where I want my hot water to be and don't mix cold water with it, so I really can't answer your question on that one. I do like the on demand heater though. I have one at home, and this one seems very similar in operation to my home unit. The one downside compared to a conventional tank type heater is that when you first turn on the hot water, it takes a few seconds for the water to come out hot. It's not instantaneous, but once it gets hot, it stays hot. My home unit does the same--seems to just go with the tankless territory. But not having to drain the tank when winterizing and not carrying the extra weight of the water in the tank are big plusses. I've had problems of one kind or another with the tank type water heaters I've had on other campers. I'm glad I got the tankless.
On the door, the hinge runs up the entire middle of the door--it's not just at the bottom half. It's probably a 3 or 4 foot long hinge with only the very top and the very bottom of the door (where the curves in the body start) not supported by the hinge. I don't see any way for the new door to sag on the bottom.
Hope this helps! Good luck with the new Scamp!
Dave
Dave, anything special about your hitch? Are you using an anti-sway or weight distribution hitch or just a basic hitch?
Just a basic hitch. Even with semis passing me at Interstate speed and in fairly heavy crosswinds, the Scamp didn't even try to sway. Especially with a semi passing, I've always had trailers want to sway in the past, even with equalizing hitches and sway bars.
I'm traveling with the water and grey water tanks empty--the balance seems very good. It pulls straighter than any trailer I've owned.
Dave
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