Also in another video a guy discusses using an evaporative fan for cooling.
My thoughts so far are no AC, no heater, as both can be accomplished with portables as needed and will cut down on cost, potential repairs and weight. One guy who purchased the heater discussed how noisy the heater fan is.
Living in New England, we did not order the AC. We did however order the propane heater so that we can use the vehicle earlier in the spring season and later into the fall. No sink? Why? It's so convenient to have a sink. Drink of water, cup of coffee, cup of tea. Stormy weather and you wish to watch something in the sink. Can't see spending that amount of money and leaving out the sink. I'd rather say, I ordered something but don't use it that often, then say I didn't order it and wish I did. Still, everyone outfits their camper for personal use, so whatever works.
No sink in the bathroom. No need for two sinks especially if solo, that was the explanation the guy in the youtube videos gave, though he ordered with shower. However, what I'm thinking for me is no shower, I'd rather have the front dinette so as to leave the back larger dinette in the bed position fulltime.
If there was an option for an outside shower, that would be more attractive than an inside shower.
the question about which options is really very personal - everyone camps a little differently. Having said that, based on 10 years of popup camping and just ordering my Scamp - a few thoughts:
AC - a must if you camp with high humidity or heat. We live in the mid-Atlantic region, so we have to have AC. We had it on the popup and it was a luxury worth the price. It's nice to come back after a day out and walk into a cool camper.
Heat - so on the popup we had the propane furnace, but on the Scamp we just ordered the heat strip on the AC unit. My logic is this: the Scamp is insulated and seems like it would heat up quickly. When you're camping you don't really need the camper to be 72 degrees, you just need it to not be 35 or 40. But again, this depends on where you live and when you camp. If you do get the propane furnace, I recommend changing out the Tstat before you actually use it, the Tstat that comes with it is cheap and not accurate.
we did order the bike rack - I'm excited about this option. If you decide not to use it for bikes, you could use it for a small box carrier for set up supplies (wheel chocks, hoses, etc.)
backsplash - I liked the idea of having the rat fur covered with an easily cleaned surface in the cooking area
did not order the stove cover - with such small space, it looked like something I would constantly be finding a place for
extra outlets - I did order these and placed them exactly where I wanted them.
I did not order the ceiling fan - though it looks like almost everyone does. I felt like with the AC unit, I can move air through the unit fairly well. while the fan would be nice to have, I didn't htink I'd need both.
I got as many upper cabinets as I could- front and rear side cabinets.
water heater & city water connection - very convenient if you ever want to use your sink as a sink.
vinyl floor - I much prefer to sweep the floor than vacuum it, and I can always put down mats. I just wish this wasn't an upgrade, seems like it should not be an upcharge. but worth it.
like I said -at the end of the day, you have to ask yourself how you will use it. this is one of the nice things about Scamps, you can pretty much order it exactly as you want. For example, I ordered mine without a fresh water tank. We never boondock, and if we do, it's for a short period and we'll carry bottled water. with such little storage, I'd rather have the cabinet under the dinette seat for storage.
We bought our 13 footer with AC. Went back to Backus the next year and had them install the power vent because it is 12 volt and can be used any time without being hooked up to 120 volt. It is really nice for lunch stops and when dry camping (which we rarely do on purpose...only when there is no room at the "inn" or there is no "inn" close by ...which happens occasionally since we travel back roads and are sort of free souls who do not care to make reservations.). The vent ends up being used much more than the AC unit even tho we do carry a generator with us.
When we are in really humid places the noisy AC gets used while it is hot but we have found that we can usually shut off the AC and use the quieter power vent for cooling air flow across the bed while sleeping later as the night air cools down. You will find that the AC will REALLY cool the little well sealed up 13 foot Scamp much more than the more open construction of the popup units. Our unit has 8 settings on its thermostat and we have NEVER had it past number 2 in the 12 years we have owned the trailer and we travel the eastern and southeastern states extensively during some of our Scamp-abouts.
257,000 trailer miles on our "Lil Critter" and leaving for TN and and driving the famous "Trace" and other interesting roads in that area in mid-June. The "Lil Critter" can hardly wait to get going on another two month Scamp-about!
There's a guy on youtube who just ordered a 13' and talks about which options he got. No AC (and he's in Texas), no awning, shower with no sink, no heater. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycyO9BEKmbw and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0--iGOGvFhI&t=860s.
Also in another video a guy discusses using an evaporative fan for cooling.
My thoughts so far are no AC, no heater, as both can be accomplished with portables as needed and will cut down on cost, potential repairs and weight. One guy who purchased the heater discussed how noisy the heater fan is.
Looking to buy used or new 13'
Living in New England, we did not order the AC. We did however order the propane heater so that we can use the vehicle earlier in the spring season and later into the fall. No sink? Why? It's so convenient to have a sink. Drink of water, cup of coffee, cup of tea. Stormy weather and you wish to watch something in the sink. Can't see spending that amount of money and leaving out the sink. I'd rather say, I ordered something but don't use it that often, then say I didn't order it and wish I did. Still, everyone outfits their camper for personal use, so whatever works.
Anthony Memoli
No sink in the bathroom. No need for two sinks especially if solo, that was the explanation the guy in the youtube videos gave, though he ordered with shower. However, what I'm thinking for me is no shower, I'd rather have the front dinette so as to leave the back larger dinette in the bed position fulltime.
If there was an option for an outside shower, that would be more attractive than an inside shower.
Looking to buy used or new 13'
the question about which options is really very personal - everyone camps a little differently. Having said that, based on 10 years of popup camping and just ordering my Scamp - a few thoughts:
AC - a must if you camp with high humidity or heat. We live in the mid-Atlantic region, so we have to have AC. We had it on the popup and it was a luxury worth the price. It's nice to come back after a day out and walk into a cool camper.
Heat - so on the popup we had the propane furnace, but on the Scamp we just ordered the heat strip on the AC unit. My logic is this: the Scamp is insulated and seems like it would heat up quickly. When you're camping you don't really need the camper to be 72 degrees, you just need it to not be 35 or 40. But again, this depends on where you live and when you camp. If you do get the propane furnace, I recommend changing out the Tstat before you actually use it, the Tstat that comes with it is cheap and not accurate.
we did order the bike rack - I'm excited about this option. If you decide not to use it for bikes, you could use it for a small box carrier for set up supplies (wheel chocks, hoses, etc.)
backsplash - I liked the idea of having the rat fur covered with an easily cleaned surface in the cooking area
did not order the stove cover - with such small space, it looked like something I would constantly be finding a place for
extra outlets - I did order these and placed them exactly where I wanted them.
I did not order the ceiling fan - though it looks like almost everyone does. I felt like with the AC unit, I can move air through the unit fairly well. while the fan would be nice to have, I didn't htink I'd need both.
I got as many upper cabinets as I could- front and rear side cabinets.
water heater & city water connection - very convenient if you ever want to use your sink as a sink.
vinyl floor - I much prefer to sweep the floor than vacuum it, and I can always put down mats. I just wish this wasn't an upgrade, seems like it should not be an upcharge. but worth it.
like I said -at the end of the day, you have to ask yourself how you will use it. this is one of the nice things about Scamps, you can pretty much order it exactly as you want. For example, I ordered mine without a fresh water tank. We never boondock, and if we do, it's for a short period and we'll carry bottled water. with such little storage, I'd rather have the cabinet under the dinette seat for storage.
best of luck!
We bought our 13 footer with AC. Went back to Backus the next year and had them install the power vent because it is 12 volt and can be used any time without being hooked up to 120 volt. It is really nice for lunch stops and when dry camping (which we rarely do on purpose...only when there is no room at the "inn" or there is no "inn" close by ...which happens occasionally since we travel back roads and are sort of free souls who do not care to make reservations.). The vent ends up being used much more than the AC unit even tho we do carry a generator with us.
When we are in really humid places the noisy AC gets used while it is hot but we have found that we can usually shut off the AC and use the quieter power vent for cooling air flow across the bed while sleeping later as the night air cools down. You will find that the AC will REALLY cool the little well sealed up 13 foot Scamp much more than the more open construction of the popup units. Our unit has 8 settings on its thermostat and we have NEVER had it past number 2 in the 12 years we have owned the trailer and we travel the eastern and southeastern states extensively during some of our Scamp-abouts.
257,000 trailer miles on our "Lil Critter" and leaving for TN and and driving the famous "Trace" and other interesting roads in that area in mid-June. The "Lil Critter" can hardly wait to get going on another two month Scamp-about!
Bob D
2005 13' Scamp "Lil Critter"
Brenda, AZ
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