I'm 3 for 3 of ridiculously bad luck after purchasing my used Scamp last week. Tire blew out on the interstate which shredded my floor and water pump. Trying to line up the hitch to the jeep a week later by myself to take the pump to be looked at and bent the locking pin on the Scamp frame. So now I can't go anywhere and have no water. This seems hopeless and I'm close to saying f-it and sell this thing!!!!!!
Wed, 06/22/2016 - 07:15
#1
Re-thinking my Scamp Purchase
What year and model trailer did you buy? What locking pin did you bend?
Eddie
2012 13' w/ wet bath. It's the bolt that locks the ball hitch to the scamp. When I hooked up the scamp to my hitch it basically has free room to scamp back and forth on the ball bc the pin is bent.
Suzanne Herndon
My guess is the coupler ball catch is jammed up into the coupler. This happens fairly often not a big deal. Unhitch from the jeep, look up into the trailer coupler and you will see the ball catch. The ball catch should move around freely if the ball lock lever is released. If it is jammed you will need to take a big screwdriver and try to move the catch fwd. and down until it moves freely. Once free pull the ball catch down and to the rear then try to hook up again.
Eddie
Is this what is bent?
https://www.etrailer.com/Accessories-and-Parts/Curt/C25194.html
Sorry to hear that you have had a bit of bad luck.
With experience things will get better.
It is not unusual for someone to have problems with tires whenever they buy a used Camper. Oftentimes, the camper has been sitting around, un-loved, with the tires exposed to the sunshine. Sunshine eats tires. This is why you should always cover your tires during storage. Additionally, the un-loved camper has probably been sitting for a long period of time and the tire pressure has leaked out, to the point that a blowout is inevitable when the new owner gets on the highway heading home. It is a good habit to check the tire pressure in all tires before each trip to ensure they are properly inflated.
One additional note regarding tires, any tires over 5 years old should be replaced. Tires over 5 years old are simply unsafe (especially camper tires that sit around a lot).
Good Luck and...
As Always,
Happy Scamping !!!
Rough start Suzanne, but in a few years you'll look back at this and smile. Don't throw in the towel yet, let's get her fixed up and back Scamping for you. Water pumps aren't expensive or difficult to replace. Shredded floor we'll need some more detail and pics on, but again can be fixed up. Tires were probably due for replacement. One thing you have to be careful of with trailers is sometimes the tires have good tread and not many miles but like MWaV says above if they are older or near 5 years replace them. You can google how to tell the age of the tires from the codes on the sidewall.
First two things I usually do on a new to me trailer is new tires and new battery just so I know when they were purchased. Sometimes the seller just did them and can provide a receipt, if not, best to start out with new ones.
So let's start with the shredded floor, can you give us some more detail and some pics of the damage and then we can help direct you? The tire replacement is obvious and you may already have done that. As Eddie says above, the hitch issue may be fairly simple to resolve.
Hang in there, you're in the right place to get everything straightened out and get Scampin again.
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Since this has not yet been addressed;
Your Insurance Company should pay for the repairs to your trailer and replace your tire.
This should take some of the sting out of your "Bad" experience, thus far.
Just Hang in there !!!
As Always,
Happy Scamping !!!