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Reflections on Owning a 2020 Scamp 13’ for Five Years

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Reflections on Owning a 2020 Scamp 13’ for Five Years (Nov. 2024)

Note:  This is a follow up article to one written after two years of owning our Scamp

It’s already been five years since we took delivery of our new 2020 Scamp 13’ from the factory in November 2019!  It seems like just yesterday when the friendly Scamp driver pulled up to our house in San Diego after making the several day drive from Backus, Minnesota.  Since that time, we’ve taken 39 trips to 148 locations and have spent 266 nights in our Scamp!  To see complete articles on every trip we’ve taken, click here.  It now seems like a good time to reflect on our decision to buy our 2020 Scamp 13’ and what’s happened over the past five years.

We were very hesitant before purchasing our 2020 Scamp 13’.  We never had a travel trailer before, or even camped anywhere.  We were used to travelling, but did so by airplane and staying in spiffy hotels.  Before getting our Scamp, we had already travelled to six out of seven of the world’s continents (all but Antarctica) — but had hardly seen any places in the U.S. or Canada.  We figured that travelling by land would be a great way to see North America.  But, we weren’t sure if we would even like camping or towing a trailer.  We could have rented a used travel trailer to get some idea of what it’s like, but, instead, decided to go all in without a trial since it had been in our dreams for awhile.

At first, we did a lot of online research until we narrowed our choice to the Scamp and a few other models. We seriously considered other brands, including Airstream, TAB, and Safari Condo, before choosing Scamp.  And, we visited dealerships and spent a lot of time comparing models.  We even flew to Quebec City, Canada to visit the factory of Safari Condo!  For a detailed article on how we compared different trailers, click here.  We also visited a local Scamp owner who was referred to us by Scamp who owned a Scamp 16’.  She was very friendly and let us check out her trailer and told us stories about her adventures.

We ultimately chose Scamp due to its construction, features and size.  We wanted a fiberglass trailer because fiberglass trailers have a reputation of excellent quality and longevity generally not found in other trailer construction types.  We also desired a trailer we could fit in our garage and tow with our four cylinder car.  We did modify our garage height so we could have our Scamp at home (great for getting ready for trips) and not have to pay monthly storage fees or spend time driving to RV storage lots.  Click here to see how we raised our garage height from 7’ to 8’ to accommodate our Scamp 13’.  We learned that in California, trailers 16’ or shorter aren’t subject to yearly annual registration fees (it’s just an inexpensive permanent trailer plate fee every 5 years – currently $10), so getting a small trailer made good economic sense as well.

Our concerns about getting a travel trailer were quickly dissolved after taking delivery and experiencing our first couple of trips.  Although there was a learning curve, it wasn’t very steep.  When something didn’t work like we expected, we figured it out (sometimes by calling Scamp).  We also made good friends on trips and a few became excellent references for answering trailer questions.  Towing the trailer didn’t take much time to get used to (here are a couple of articles on our experiences towing and how we hitch up — towing and hitching up).  We learned a lot as we took more trips and rigorously documented our Scamp journey by blogging so others might benefit from our experiences.  Our Scamp blog not only lists all our trips, but also everything we have encountered along the way and all the modifications we have made on our Scamp 13’.

Having a small travel trailer has allowed us to travel considerably more often and more spontaneously than we would have if travelling by air / car / hotel.  It’s great being able to schedule a trip on a moment’s notice whenever we want.  Although campgrounds can be difficult to get into during peak months, we’ve always been successful at either booking last minute (if we didn’t make a reservation in advance) or finding alternatives.  And, it’s satisfying knowing that we will be sleeping in our own comfortable bed with our own clean bedding (and not having to be concerned about extra fees or hidden nightmares).  Additionally, the cost differences between taking a trip in our Scamp and reserving a hotel room are substantial.  Since we usually stay in State and National Parks, we generally don’t pay more than $40/night for a campsite (and, if you are 62 years old or older, National Parks and other federal lands, such as BLM & Forest Service parks, slash these costs in half if you buy a Lifetime Senior America the Beautiful Pass — currently $90 including fees).  A lot of campgrounds in the Eastern Sierra are run by the Forest Service and fees are generally around $32 / night (so, someone who has a Lifetime Senior America the Beautiful Pass would only pay 50%, or around $16/night at these campgrounds).

The average daily rate of a hotel room in the US was $148 in 2022 (Statista).  That’s at least a $100/night savings by travelling in a travel trailer versus staying in a hotel.  A simple calculation based on the 266 nights we’ve already stayed in our Scamp 13’ over the past five years shows we would have spent at least $39,368 (266 nights x $148/night average) for hotel rooms had we opted to stay in average priced hotels instead of buying our Scamp 13’ (which cost around $18K, including shipping)!!!  For an article on how we selected options and purchased our Scamp 13’, click here.  And, generally, prices for nice hotels in California are well north of $200/night.  And, hotels within National Parks (if they are available) tend to be very expensive.  For example, room rates at the Ahwanee Hotel in Yosemite National Park currently range between $578 and $1,347 per night.  Travelling in a small travel trailer brings other cost savings as well, such as not having to go out to eat for every meal.  We enjoy great home cooked meals in our Scamp for most days of our trips (although we do enjoy going out to eat occasionally).  Driving instead of flying plus renting a car can also be less expensive.

Over the past five years, we fortunately haven’t had any significant issues or maintenance costs with our 2020 Scamp 13’.  There have been some minor issues (e.g. replaced exterior door handle, bathroom door handle, hookup valve handle,  toilet spring cartridge kit, shower drain pump, and shower valve — all of which we installed ourselves), but nothing very expensive.  We take our Scamp 13’ to Sonrise RV every two years to have the bearings repacked and greased and the brakes adjusted (about $200).  And, we replaced the standard battery with a SOK 100ah lithium battery ourselves (now priced about $300) — click here to see how we did it.  We had a shop install a RedArc DC-DC battery charger (about $1,000) for fast charging of our Scamp’s lithium battery when we drive.  We have replaced the Scamp 13’ tires once ($50/tire) and plan to replace them every three years regardless of wear (see this article for more details).  We do most repairs ourselves, but a local shop could also easily do them for someone not wanting to do work on their trailer themselves.  We wax our Scamp 13’ every spring with our favorite marine wax.

Putting aside how doable buying and using a small travel trailer is and the potential huge cost savings small travel trailers provide compared to other types of travel, the main question for us when getting a travel trailer was “will this be fun?”.  Looking back over the past five years, the answer for us to this question is a resounding yes!  We have had so many outstanding adventures and met so many good friends during our travels, that getting our 2020 Scamp 13’ has been extremely fun and rewarding.  And, one of the biggest benefits of owning a small travel trailer is being able to stay in highly desired locations only possible by having one (such as inside a State or National Park).  We’ve been to so many beautiful areas with the closest hotel/motel lodging being thirty minutes or more drive away.  And, experiencing these places at night takes the park experience to another level (e.g. many animals come out at night and hearing and seeing them is fantastic!).  Plus, the quiet spent in nature once the day users leave is very special.  For anyone considering buying a small travel trailer, we would highly recommend the experience.  Owning a small travel trailer might change your life for the better!

 

Disclaimer:  You will get the same great Amazon price by clicking on the links here compared to buying directly on Amazon, but by buying here you will also be supporting the continuation of this website as we get a small commission from each sale.  These are products and procedures we use for our own Scamp that we selected and developed from our own research and experiences.  However, we do not endorse any specific product and cannot guarantee that the products we use are exemplary and the procedures we use are complete, accurate, detail the correct recommended procedures, or apply to your model small travel trailer.  It’s always best to double check with your manufacturer or operation manuals to ensure you are doing everything

Why We Bought an RV and Chose a Small Travel Trailer

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Why We Bought an RV and Chose a Small Travel Trailer

I always thought it would be an adventure to be able to travel around the U.S. and Canada over land and visit State and National parks.  However, making the final decision to actually buy an RV took some time.  There were a lot of considerations such as what type to get, how big it should be, where to store it, and if it really was worth the expense versus just staying at hotels.  This was all before the Pandemic hit which now would seem to make some of these decisions no brainers.

In considering the different types of RVs, I long thought I would enjoy travel trailers the best.  I didn’t really want to drive a motor home around and have to find parking places and storage for it or have to deal with the engine / transmission maintenance.  I also wanted to easily be able to drive around the area after we arrived somewhere without having to navigate and park a big rig.  I considered a Sprinter type van but knew I didn’t want that as my daily car and didn’t want to have the van sitting out in front of my house since it wouldn’t fit in the garage.  Additionally, the Sprinter would need registration and insurance similar in cost to another car (and possibly even more expensive as the Sprinter can cost over $80K).  Also, I didn’t want to risk paying a lot of money for something that we might not want to keep for more than a few years.

I always thought Airstreams were outstanding designs.  Its streamlined aerodynamic metallic look as well as its history with NASA seemed very appealing for someone into aviation and design.  My wife and I went to a couple of Airstream dealerships and sat in some of them.  The designs are sleek and the interiors very appealing.  We spent time considering different models and doing more research on them.  A friend of ours had a 27 footer and sold it a couple years after buying it new.  He said it was just too much to pull and navigate around towns.  After taking a closer look at a 25 foot International and considering the cost of the Airstream, the weight of the trailer, and the price of a capable truck to pull it, the total would be well over $100K; we shelved the idea.  We wanted something reasonable in cost and light weight since we didn’t know if we would like camping, and also something that would be easy to tow and welcome at the smallest parks.  It would also be nice to have something that would fit in driveways for stayovers at friends and family.

After a lot of online research, I identified a trailer called Safari Condo Alto as being something that would maybe meet our criteria.  This Quebec City manufactured trailer is super stylish, extremely light, and has a great interior layout.  We would be able to tow it with an SUV.  They even have a model with a retractable roof to allow for additional height and window area.  We flew to Quebec City for a mini vacation and visited the showroom.  The people were very nice and we really liked the Alto (non-retractable roof version).  We put a deposit down on one, but ultimately decided that since the trailer was fairly unique and the only place that could provide factory service is in Quebec City and we live in San Diego, California that it would be better if we purchased a trailer made in the USA which could either be serviced locally or within the US.  Safari condo was very nice in refunding our deposit.  I think we would have been very happy with the Alto and we have seen a number of them at campgrounds at which we have stayed.

I noticed a stylish little trailer on a ferry in Canada and decided to visit Little Guys Trailers in San Diego to check out the model.  The NuCamp TAB trailers are tear drops and are light and easy to maneuver while towing.  Additionally, they will fit in small spaces.  At about this time, we thought it would be really cool to be able to store a trailer in our garage and these TAB trailers would qualify in this regard.  That way, we could avoid storage costs and also have access to the trailer for doing anything we want to it such as adding things, and decorating.  And by having it at home, we could prep the trailer so it would be ready to leave the next day without having to run out to a storage facility first (including filling up the Fresh tank and dumping using our existing Sewer cleanout).  We really liked the TAB 320S as it had everything we wanted in it including kitchen, bathroom, and dinette which converts to a bed.  The sales people at Little Guys were great and explained that any trailer in California 16 feet or under avoids the annual registration (saving hundreds of dollars per year) and qualifies for a PTI (Permanent Trailer Identification) instead, which only has to be renewed every 5 years for $10!!!  With a couple of more visits and careful thought we ended up scrapping our plans for a TAB 320S.  The deal breaker was that the interior height is only five feet nine inches, which meant I had to bend my head whenever standing up in it.

We met a helpful neighbor who lived next door while we were on a house sitting trip to Northern California.  She had a trailer in the driveway and we started a conversation letting her know we were looking for a trailer.  She immediately recommended the “best trailer” she ever had, a fiberglass “egg”.  Her favorite trailer she had owned was a Casita (made in Texas), but she said a very comparable trailer was made in Minnesota called the Scamp, and she encouraged us to look at both models.  Because these “eggs” are fiberglass, they tend to last much longer than most other types of trailers and may have fewer issues (e.g. not prone to water leaks).  They are extremely light and easy to maneuver and set up.  We researched both and picked the Scamp because of the more generous interior head room (6’3”) as well as the 13 foot length option.  The 13’ Scamp is also considerably lighter than the shortest Casita model.  We also learned that the Scamp is a cult icon and Scamp trailers built in the 1970s are still on the road!  There are Scamp camping meets every year and many Scamp owners who attend these events become lifelong friends.  Another great aspect with these “eggs’ is their price – which generally run below $20K for a nicely outfitted new model and tend to hold their value really well.  In addition, they can be towed with most SUVs and even some cars so an expensive heavy duty truck is not a required additional purchase.  Although not dirt cheap, these eggs are still modestly priced when compared to other types of trailers.

After finally feeling like we found a trailer that would suit us, I called Scamp and placed our order in May 2019 (about a 7 month waiting time is usual).  The salespeople were very nice and walked us through the entire process, which included picking options from a long list since all Scamps are custom orders.  We pretty much got most options except for the AC which would sit too high on the trailer’s roof to fit into our garage, which we still had to modify (I will write about this in a future blog post).  Note:  there are now low profile ACs that may allow the Scamp trailer to fit under an 8’ garage height opening and Scamp usually is willing to work with the customer on special requests.

I received an email from Scamp in September 2019 advising that our trailer was about ready to start production and to confirm options choices.  I called on the phone and we reviewed everything along with things like outlet placements.  I also wanted to add a digital tank monitor so we could see what percentage full our tanks were and they did this as well for a small service fee (I had the part shipped from an online store directly to Scamp).  We opted to pay a Scamp driver to deliver our trailer from Minnesota since we didn’t have the time right before Thanksgiving to make the trip (although I’ve read many owners highly recommend visiting the Scamp factory).  Our 2020 13’ Standard Scamp trailer with bathroom and larger bed showed up at our door right before Thanksgiving 2019!

Disclaimer:  You will get the same great Amazon price by clicking on the links here compared to buying directly on Amazon, but by buying here you will also be supporting the continuation of this website as we get a small commission from each sale.  These are products and procedures we use for our own Scamp that we selected and developed from our own research and experiences.  However, we do not endorse any specific product and cannot guarantee that the products we use are exemplary and the procedures we use are complete, accurate, detail the correct recommended procedures, or apply to your model small travel trailer.  It’s always best to double check with your manufacturer or operation manuals to ensure you are doing everything correctly.