One of the things most people fail to consider is what happens if you get a week of rainy days. How will you fit a family of six in a 13 foot Scamp for an extended period?
I'm impressed that you want to make a go with six people in a 13!!! I've never seen anyone talk about more than 4, and that even that was stretching it.
We just picked up our Scamp 13 last month so have not taken it out yet, but that is coming very soon. First trip will be just one daughter and I to test it all out and get the feel of it, but we intend on camping 5 in there. We are an outside family, so honestly I think we'll spend most our meals eating outside, cooking outside, and the days playing outside. Rainy weather is a bit of an issue as I can imagine the five of us in one trailer weathering a rainy day or two would get very tiring quickly. But sleeping 5 will be no problem. I have a wife and 3 daughters (will soon be ages 4, 4, and 7). My wife and I will sleep on the big bed, the two larger of my girls will sleep on the bunks, and then if you can imagine with me here......the scamp has a very small "aisle" when you walk into it, bunk beds would be on the right, fridge/sink/stove right in front of you. That little square area is probably something like 3 feet wide by 4 feet long??? I haven't measured. But the bonus is that this aisle does extend underneath the big bed. There is a small step up there, maybe 4 inches tall under the big bed. But we can lay one of those crib mattresses in that aisle space, which will then be flush with the step up section under the big bed, throw a sleeping bag on that and my little girl will have probably a 3 foot wide by 7 feet long sleeping space. Would I want to take a month trip to a rainy area like that??? Nope. But for us - living in Colorado where when it rains it comes down for an hour and then clears, we'll be great. About all we will do is sleep in there at night.
So - I think it really depends on your use, you sound a lot like us, that you plan to be outside a lot, and the way I look at it is that it is #1 - way nicer than any tent you would be stuck in during rain. #2 - much larger than any tent you'd be in, and #3 - much better equipped than any tent. If you are like us, we have grown weary of being in a tent during rainstorms, seams leaking, trying to lean on our elbows and play Uno. Being stuck 5 in a Scamp during rain is heaven compared to that!!! You can still cook and eat, and stay dry! For those who have maybe been Scamp owners or RV'ers for a long time, it's probably a different story because you are used to something more high class than a leaky tent!!!! For those of us just moving from a leaky tent to a Scamp 13 it is heaven!
I love the crib mattress idea! Then add an SUV tent when the kids are bigger. We are like you, just want to sleep in there. If it rains grab some ponchos and go about exploring!
Heck my girls actually prefer to be outside when it is raining, playing in the rain! I figure if we are camping somewhere and it rains for a few days straight we will most likely be getting a cabin or hotel for a night or two instead anyway. And as you mentioned, as the kids get older you have other options for sleeping. Based on the fact that you'll have a larger tow vehicle, you can always make a bed or two somewhere in the tow vehicle as well. I have a F150 and the back seat could easily throw a little foam pad on, or on the floor between the front and rear seats to make a decent sleeping area for a person or two. Ideal - definitely not, but again, if all you really intend to do is use the Scamp for sleeping, or hanging out in now and then to eat, it should work great. I'll let you know how my coming summer goes of trying to sleep 5 in the Scamp 13 standard.....maybe I'll have a totally different view!!!
Another thing - for me, and I know my house isn't quite the normal one, I have a two-car garage and then a single "economy" car garage on the side. I can fit the Scamp 13 in that economy garage, I just back down the driveway, unhitch and roll it in with a hand dolly - piece of cake. That means I don't have a $50 - $100 storage fee per month in some RV lot miles from my home. So getting a 13 vs a 16 became an even easier decision as I save probably $1,000 a year by not having to store it somewhere else.
As kids my parents and us all tent camped and it was great. As a teenager and through my 20's I tent camped. In my late 30's I decided it was time to sleep in a camper. We got a scamp. We have 2 children who are 3yr and 6 mo. They fit and sleep great inside in the bunks currently (we modified the bottom bunk to be a crib with gate (basically a baby dog cage). We added a railing to the top bunk and beefed up the lift up support system with 3/4 inch plywood and a permanent 2x4 frame as well for the top bunk. Now even my 230 pound frame can and has slept in the top bunk to test it out.
One the kids are ~8-10 years we fully plan to kick them out into a tent. I mean why not and for them it is more exciting to not have to sleep in the same room as mom and dad. I have thought about purchasing one of those modular pod like tents that can connect to each other and rigging up a connection to the scamp door so it could be an extension outward...and maybe share the AC on hot day/nights.
I don't think you could comfortably sleep 6 in a 13 foot scamp however. But you could have 2 inside and the older two in a tent... Or kick em all out when they get old enough. I mean honestly once they hit the teenage years they would probably much prefer a tent of their own.
I am new to this forum and to Scamps (mine is on order) but I do have 4 kids and am a long time camper.
The problem I see for you is this: right now the ages of the kids may allow you to use a Scamp - but in 5 years you will have kids from age 5- 14. During those years for my own kids I camped with pop-up campers just because of the bed space in relation to what you tow - I could tow something relatively light weight, and when it was set up everyone had a bed (3 daughters across the king bunk, son on the dinette). it worked great.
I'm getting into a Scamp now because those 4 kids are now 23, 23, 18 and 13. The most I have will have with me at one time is 2. If I were in your shoes I would think about what camping will be like as the kids got older.
I ordered the Scamp 13 - I thought about the 16 but I prefer the lower weight of the 13. At the end of the day, we are weekend campers and maybe one long trip each summer. We don't go to campgrounds to hang around the campgrounds, our camper is a rolling mini-hotel room. We play games, watch a movie, eat, and sleep.
For me, the 13 is perfect - but like I said, my kids are older and we won't all be together at one time. If we do, we take the tent and a few of them sleep outside :-)
I just finished paperwork and deposit on Friday - so I travel the 20 hours to Backus first week of January. We are planning a 2018 Yellowstone trip (a return trip for my 13 year old, as the others have been when we were popup people). I have to say, There really is nothing I do not like about the Scamp except maybe headroom, but I had the good fortune of touring one that was purchased new last year, and it felt roomier inside than I had thought. Really sold me. I'm trying to to get too excited, as I have a long time to wait -
One of the things most people fail to consider is what happens if you get a week of rainy days. How will you fit a family of six in a 13 foot Scamp for an extended period?
Just one more thing to consider...
As Always,
Happy Scamping !!!
I'm impressed that you want to make a go with six people in a 13!!! I've never seen anyone talk about more than 4, and that even that was stretching it.
We just picked up our Scamp 13 last month so have not taken it out yet, but that is coming very soon. First trip will be just one daughter and I to test it all out and get the feel of it, but we intend on camping 5 in there. We are an outside family, so honestly I think we'll spend most our meals eating outside, cooking outside, and the days playing outside. Rainy weather is a bit of an issue as I can imagine the five of us in one trailer weathering a rainy day or two would get very tiring quickly. But sleeping 5 will be no problem. I have a wife and 3 daughters (will soon be ages 4, 4, and 7). My wife and I will sleep on the big bed, the two larger of my girls will sleep on the bunks, and then if you can imagine with me here......the scamp has a very small "aisle" when you walk into it, bunk beds would be on the right, fridge/sink/stove right in front of you. That little square area is probably something like 3 feet wide by 4 feet long??? I haven't measured. But the bonus is that this aisle does extend underneath the big bed. There is a small step up there, maybe 4 inches tall under the big bed. But we can lay one of those crib mattresses in that aisle space, which will then be flush with the step up section under the big bed, throw a sleeping bag on that and my little girl will have probably a 3 foot wide by 7 feet long sleeping space. Would I want to take a month trip to a rainy area like that??? Nope. But for us - living in Colorado where when it rains it comes down for an hour and then clears, we'll be great. About all we will do is sleep in there at night.
So - I think it really depends on your use, you sound a lot like us, that you plan to be outside a lot, and the way I look at it is that it is #1 - way nicer than any tent you would be stuck in during rain. #2 - much larger than any tent you'd be in, and #3 - much better equipped than any tent. If you are like us, we have grown weary of being in a tent during rainstorms, seams leaking, trying to lean on our elbows and play Uno. Being stuck 5 in a Scamp during rain is heaven compared to that!!! You can still cook and eat, and stay dry! For those who have maybe been Scamp owners or RV'ers for a long time, it's probably a different story because you are used to something more high class than a leaky tent!!!! For those of us just moving from a leaky tent to a Scamp 13 it is heaven!
I love the crib mattress idea! Then add an SUV tent when the kids are bigger. We are like you, just want to sleep in there. If it rains grab some ponchos and go about exploring!
4 kids and counting on more
Heck my girls actually prefer to be outside when it is raining, playing in the rain! I figure if we are camping somewhere and it rains for a few days straight we will most likely be getting a cabin or hotel for a night or two instead anyway. And as you mentioned, as the kids get older you have other options for sleeping. Based on the fact that you'll have a larger tow vehicle, you can always make a bed or two somewhere in the tow vehicle as well. I have a F150 and the back seat could easily throw a little foam pad on, or on the floor between the front and rear seats to make a decent sleeping area for a person or two. Ideal - definitely not, but again, if all you really intend to do is use the Scamp for sleeping, or hanging out in now and then to eat, it should work great. I'll let you know how my coming summer goes of trying to sleep 5 in the Scamp 13 standard.....maybe I'll have a totally different view!!!
Another thing - for me, and I know my house isn't quite the normal one, I have a two-car garage and then a single "economy" car garage on the side. I can fit the Scamp 13 in that economy garage, I just back down the driveway, unhitch and roll it in with a hand dolly - piece of cake. That means I don't have a $50 - $100 storage fee per month in some RV lot miles from my home. So getting a 13 vs a 16 became an even easier decision as I save probably $1,000 a year by not having to store it somewhere else.
As kids my parents and us all tent camped and it was great. As a teenager and through my 20's I tent camped. In my late 30's I decided it was time to sleep in a camper. We got a scamp. We have 2 children who are 3yr and 6 mo. They fit and sleep great inside in the bunks currently (we modified the bottom bunk to be a crib with gate (basically a baby dog cage). We added a railing to the top bunk and beefed up the lift up support system with 3/4 inch plywood and a permanent 2x4 frame as well for the top bunk. Now even my 230 pound frame can and has slept in the top bunk to test it out.
One the kids are ~8-10 years we fully plan to kick them out into a tent. I mean why not and for them it is more exciting to not have to sleep in the same room as mom and dad. I have thought about purchasing one of those modular pod like tents that can connect to each other and rigging up a connection to the scamp door so it could be an extension outward...and maybe share the AC on hot day/nights.
I don't think you could comfortably sleep 6 in a 13 foot scamp however. But you could have 2 inside and the older two in a tent... Or kick em all out when they get old enough. I mean honestly once they hit the teenage years they would probably much prefer a tent of their own.
Charles & Martha (1990 Scamp 13)
I am new to this forum and to Scamps (mine is on order) but I do have 4 kids and am a long time camper.
The problem I see for you is this: right now the ages of the kids may allow you to use a Scamp - but in 5 years you will have kids from age 5- 14. During those years for my own kids I camped with pop-up campers just because of the bed space in relation to what you tow - I could tow something relatively light weight, and when it was set up everyone had a bed (3 daughters across the king bunk, son on the dinette). it worked great.
I'm getting into a Scamp now because those 4 kids are now 23, 23, 18 and 13. The most I have will have with me at one time is 2. If I were in your shoes I would think about what camping will be like as the kids got older.
Best of luck
Stumps, I'm curious! Which size did you order?
Anthony Memoli
I ordered the Scamp 13 - I thought about the 16 but I prefer the lower weight of the 13. At the end of the day, we are weekend campers and maybe one long trip each summer. We don't go to campgrounds to hang around the campgrounds, our camper is a rolling mini-hotel room. We play games, watch a movie, eat, and sleep.
For me, the 13 is perfect - but like I said, my kids are older and we won't all be together at one time. If we do, we take the tent and a few of them sleep outside :-)
I got Layout 1, regular size dinette.
You'll really enjoy the 13, it will even go on tent sites when the parks are full!
When is your hatch date?
Our Trailers:
2015 19 Escape
Buying or Selling Molded FG Trailers:
Fiberglass-RV-4Sale
I just finished paperwork and deposit on Friday - so I travel the 20 hours to Backus first week of January. We are planning a 2018 Yellowstone trip (a return trip for my 13 year old, as the others have been when we were popup people). I have to say, There really is nothing I do not like about the Scamp except maybe headroom, but I had the good fortune of touring one that was purchased new last year, and it felt roomier inside than I had thought. Really sold me. I'm trying to to get too excited, as I have a long time to wait -
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