Posts Tagged :

scamp trailer

20 Essential Safety Items for Your Travel Trailer

 150 150 gavin
By:
0

20 Essential Safety Items for Your Travel Trailer
Now that we’ve owned our 2020 Scamp 13’ for almost four years and have done a bit of travelling in it (205 nights at 116 locations so far, but who’s counting?), we’ve had a chance to identify some essential safety items one may consider (especially if travelling to unpopulated locations with no cellphone service, like Bureau of Land Management areas).  We’ve created our safety item list below.  Before all else though, it’s important to note that having a reliable tow vehicle (keep maintenance up to date and run it regularly) is a major key in keeping out of trouble.

#1.  Smoke Detector
Our 2020 Scamp 13’ did not come with a smoke detector and the service representative I spoke to at Scamp couldn’t say why Scamp doesn’t install them.  Perhaps the reasoning for not installing one is that the kitchen is in the same room as the bedroom and false alarms might happen often.  Regardless, we feel having one is a very important safety item, so we purchased a smoke detector with a 10 year battery and installed it in the far corner of our Scamp under one of the cabinets.  We are happy to have it installed and there hasn’t been one false alarm!

#2.  Fire Extinguisher
All RV’s are required by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) to have a fire extinguisher.  The fire extinguisher should be located within 24 inches of the main exit to provide means of escape in case of fire.  Travel trailers should come with them from the factory and they should generally be replaced every 10 years (or after use).

#3.  Carbon Monoxide / Propane Gas Detector
It’s essential that every small travel trailer has a carbon monoxide / propane gas detector alarm because carbon monoxide and propane gas exposure can be lethal.  Carbon monoxide (CO) is a poisonous gas that cannot be seen or smelled and is produced by liquid propane.  CO gas can potentially enter the travel trailer via a gas stove or gas powered water heater (or gas powered heaters and generators).  Carbon monoxide is especially toxic when built up in a small enclosed space like a small travel trailer.  Propane gas is an asphyxiating gas, making it difficult or impossible for one to breath if exposed to large concentrations.  So, it’s really important that the detector is functioning properly, tested regularly using the test button, and is replaced by the manufacturers recommended replace date.  It’s also imperative that an alarm be taken very seriously as it could mean the difference between life and death.  If an alarm does sound, the recommended procedure is to quickly exit your trailer and turn off your propane tanks outside (leaving the trailer door open to ventilate).

The Atwood Carbon Monoxide / Propane Gas Detector in our 2020 Scamp 13’ is located near the front door under one of the dinette seats.  It has a Test/Reset button which we use on a regular basis to make sure the alarm works.  If the fan on our Scamp isn’t running and bringing in fresh air, the detector often has false alarms when we shower (related to moisture).  For more information on false alarms, click here.

Atwood rates the detector’s lifespan at 7 years, after which time its sensors are no longer reliable and should be replaced.

Propane Safety
Propane gas is highly flammable and can start a serious fire or explode, so never drive with open LP tanks (although some people do, so they are able to run their propane refrigerators on long trips – tip:  if you have a 3-way refrigerator that can run on 12V, consider a DC-DC car charger – click article here).  All it takes is a small leak when the propane valve is open and one spark (perhaps from a flat tire, road debris, or the refrigerator’s pilot flame) and the trailer can go up in flames.  If propane isn’t necessary in the campground (e.g. not needed for cooking, furnace, refrigerator, etc.), then consider keeping the tank valves closed as a safety precaution.  And, if pets are being left in the trailer (even for a short time), keep the tank valves closed (to prevent catastrophe if a pet accidentally turns on the stove).  Lastly, when cooking with propane, always make sure the window above the stove is open and the fan is running to vent the fumes to the outside of the trailer.  Note:  we use our fan on low setting and keep a window open when we sleep (regardless of the outside temperature or if we are running the furnace) to make sure the air is fresh inside.

#4.  First Aid Kit with Case
Without a doubt, this is an important safety item anyone travelling in a travel trailer should have.  There are a couple ways to put the kit together.  One is to buy an already made kit, like this one.  Or, you can put together a customized kit by purchasing a first aid bag and individual items.  We decided to do both so we can have the basics hanging on our wall but also have a more comprehensive first aid bag with specialized items in our Scamp’s closet.  At a minimum, the first aid kit should have adhesive bandages, gauze, tape, wound disinfectant, and pain relief solutions (pill and topical).

Our Scamp 13’ custom first aid kit includes:

Supplies (click on links below):

Bag

Disposable gloves

Adhesive bandages

Self-adhesive bandage wrap

Cloth tape

Neosporin Antibiotic Pain Relief Ointment

Sterile Gauze Pads

Calendula Cream (rashes, skin irritations, bites, sunburn)

Hand sanitizer spray

Surgical wound glue closure

Emergency wound closure device

Medications:

Pepto Bismol  

Antibiotics to treat infections / gastrointestinal illnesses (by doctor prescription)

#5.  Cellular Phone
This goes without saying, but in many cases having a phone can really save you in case you need to call for help (and the most recent iPhone has an emergency satellite communication feature).  If one plans on travelling often to areas without cellular phone coverage, then considering an iPhone with satellite communication or a satellite phone / messenger may be a good idea.  Cellular phones are also great for providing maps.  We recently started using Gaia GPS and think it’s great.  It offers up-to-date maps (including National Geographic maps and high resolution satellite imagery, which can be downloaded for offline use), shows trails, and can record and map hikes (providing detailed statistics).  At the time of this writing, the “Outside” membership is discounted to $24 for the first year.

#6.  GMRS Radios
Two way radios are a great way to stay in touch at the campground (when cellphone service may not be available).  GMRS radios are like walkie talkies, but generally have better range and can receive NOAA weather channels.  They can also be used on GMRS repeaters to greatly extend their range.  We use them when backing up our trailer into a campsite, allowing one of us to stand outside and behind the trailer to give the driver directions.  We also like using them when one person stays in the Scamp and the other is walking around the campground.  We really like these radios because they are rechargeable (and can be charged during our trips via their USB-C connectors).

Note:  an FCC license is required to operate GMRS radios in the United States, but no test is required.  Simply go to the FCC website, register and pay the $35 fee (at the time of this writing) which covers the entire family for 10 years.  This should only take a few minutes and the license is usually issued within 24 hours.

#7.  Flashlights
When things get dark, you need these!  You can’t do much in the dark without light.

Nice small one:

https://amzn.to/45G2wB8

Medium sized:

https://amzn.to/3sLjfV8

Lantern lights:

https://amzn.to/3LdeB8U

#8.  Portable Car Battery Jumper
If your tow vehicle battery goes dead when you are out in nature (or anywhere), you are going to need help to jump start your car battery.  If no one is around, and it’s in a remote area (as seen in this video when we stayed at Alabama Hills), the situation could be very serious.  If you bring along jumper cables, you will still need to find someone with a car who is willing to help (and no one may be around).  However, if you get a 12V lithium (rechargeable) portable car battery booster, you will not need anyone’s help!  These devices can jump start a car battery using their own power and cables!  (This is what many AAA tow truck drivers now use to jump start dead batteries).

We went with the Hulkman Alpha85, which can jump start gas engines up to 8.5 liters and diesel engines up to 6 liters.  We really like the Alpha85’s large display and high capacity (20,000mAh).  A nice feature of this battery is that it has auxiliary ports (12V DC, USB-A, and USB-C) which can be used to charge a variety of devices like cellular phones.  It also has a built in flashlight and has different flashing modes.  It comes with all the necessary cables and fits in our Volvo XC40’s inner trunk area, even with its complete packing box (with all cables inside).

The Alpha85 is rated to hold charge for up to 18 months and provide up to 60 jump starts on a single charge!  Even so, make sure to leave it in your trunk with a good charge and remember to charge it periodically (e.g. every 3 months).  It charges from 0% to 100% in about 90 minutes using a wall charger.  Don’t leave home without it!

#9. Portable Power Station (Lithium)
Speaking of charging up auxiliary devices, having a portable lithium battery dedicated for that purpose leaves your trailer house battery energized to focus solely for its main tasks (powering lights, water pumps, furnace blower, fan, …).  We purchased this Jackery 500 in 2020 (hint:  it’s often on sale on Amazon, also check Costco deals) and use it for charging our camera batteries, drone batteries, phone batteries, electric toothbrushes, smart watches as well as running our Scamp’s 12V television when we are without electric hookups.  The Jackery 500 has 3 x USB ports, a 12V/10A DC port, as well as an inverter for a 110V plug.  It can be charged while driving with the included 12V DC cable, using AC with the included 110V wall charger, and with optional solar panels (Jackery sells solar panels separately or as an add-on with matching input plugs).

#10. Car Tire Inflator
Having a portable air compressor on board the tow vehicle is a great idea.  It’s inexpensive and small, so it’s easy to carry in the trunk.  It can be used to inflate car tires as well as camping air mattresses.  We purchased the Hausbell Portable Air Compressor.  It has a nice digital display and runs off the tow vehicle’s (or trailer’s) 12V DC outlet.  One sets the desired pressure and turns on the unit and it pumps and turns off automatically when it reaches the set pressure.  We use it at the start of every trip to ensure our Scamp’s and Volvo’s tires remain properly inflated.  This can save on fuel as well as make the car/trailer’s handling reliable.

When our Scamp is plugged into an AC outlet, we use this AC-DC converter accessory and plug it into our Scamp’s auxiliary 110V outside outlet.  We then plug the air compressor into the converter so it’s not necessary to use our tow vehicle’s 12V DC outlet.

#11 & #12. Shovel & Tire Traction Boards
There have been times during our travels when a shovel and tire traction boards would have been a godsend.  One was at a remote location near Trona Pinnacles, California.  We were on an off-road trail (due to bad signage and directions) and the temperature was over 100 degrees.  You can watch a video of us on this trail here.  Fortunately, we did not get stuck, but we did break a water pump underneath the Scamp.  On another recent trip, we were temporarily stuck in sand when we were unable to turn around at a beach campground due to the turnaround being washed out by a recent storm.  We were able to get out by unhitching our Scamp and having another camper push our tow vehicle.  In scenarios like these, where the tow vehicle’s tires lose traction with the ground (e.g. sand, mud, snow), having a small shovel and tire traction boards can mean the difference between being stranded (or getting an expensive tow) and quickly solving the issue yourself.  If the tow vehicle is stuck and the driven wheels are just spinning, use the shovel to dig sand/mud/snow away from the front of the driven wheels and insert the tire traction boards under each of the tires before attempting to drive out.   It’s best to do this right after traction is lost to prevent the tow vehicle from digging itself in too deep.  Having had close calls in the past, we recently purchased this shovel as well as this tire traction board set.  The shovel folds into a small bag and is made of high quality powder coated carbon steel and only weighs around 2 pounds.  The mini recovery traction boards are made of reinforced 100% Nylon and are only 22” long (so they easily fit in our Volvo XC40’s inner trunk along with the shovel and car starter).  The “tooth surface” of the boards’ “recovery track” provides a “bite effect”, or friction, to help the vehicle climb out of the situation.  The boards are rated to withstand extreme temperatures and weights up to 22,000 pounds.

#13. Wheel Chocks
Heavy duty wheel chocks are essential for properly securing one’s trailer.  The chocks keep the trailer’s wheels from moving.  Upon arriving at the campground, the wheels should be chocked before the trailer is unhitched.  We have been using these wheel chocks for almost two years and have never looked back – they are the best chocks we’ve ever used.  These rubber chocks are large and heavy (4.2lbs each) and provide solid support for our Scamp 13’ (they are also rated for aircraft, boats, trucks, and RVs).  They are described as “slip resistant, weather resistant, and oil resistant” and rated for heavy usage.  They have a long connecting rope between each chock, so it’s easy to pull the chocks away from the wheels when one is ready to depart the campground.    We ordered two pairs for our Scamp 13’ (one pair for each wheel).

#14, #15, & #16. Receiver Hitch Pin Lock, Trailer Coupler Lock, & Safety Chains & Trailer Brakeaway
One significant concern to most trailer owners is the possibility of the trailer becoming unhitched from the tow vehicle.  This could possibly lead to a devastating crash or, in the case of a parked tow vehicle/trailer, the trailer being stolen.  To mitigate this risk, one can use a high quality hitch pin lock to secure the trailer’s hitch to the tow vehicle’s hitch receiver and a premium trailer coupler lock to keep the coupler secured and locked down on the hitch ball.  Note:  safety chains should always be used to secure the trailer to the tow vehicle just in case the two become disconnected, as well as the emergency breakaway which activates the trailer’s brakes if the trailer and tow vehicle become separated.

Instead of using a traditional hitch pin & clip, to secure the trailer’s hitch and ball mount to the tow vehicle’s hitch receiver, we opted for a more secure hitch pin which securely locks on the end (vs. a clip that can be pulled out).  This provides piece of mind that the hitch pin will stay secure while driving (locked end less likely to fall off than a clip) and while parked (preventing easy theft of the trailer).  With a clip, thieves can easily pull it out, swing the trailer away from the parked tow vehicle and attach it to the getaway truck (thieves can use a trailer dolly if the trailer hitch weight is too high to move the hitch manually).  We also use a trailer coupler lock to keep the coupler secured and locked down on the hitch ball.  This not only keeps the coupler from opening while driving, which could result in the trailer detaching from the hitch ball (tow vehicle), but also prevents thieves from easily opening the locked coupler when the tow vehicle/trailer are parked and stealing the trailer.

#17. Repacking Wheel Bearings and Brake Adjustment
The wheel bearings on a trailer are located inside the wheel assembly hub (behind each tire).  This connects the wheel to the axle to allow for frictionless movement.  Greased bearings allow the wheels to spin freely.  However, over time, the bearings can get dirty or damaged which can lead to serious issues on the road.  Feeling the wheel hubs (center cap of wheel) immediately after driving the trailer can help to identify issues – the hubs should be somewhat cool after driving (not hot).  If the center hubs are hot (which can occur when there is resistance with the bearings or brake issues), this indicates a problem.  But, it’s best to be proactive and not wait for a serious problem to occur with the bearings and brakes.  Instead, have them serviced on a regular basis.  Service interval recommendation times vary – however, a general recommendation given by many mechanics is that RV bearings should be repacked with grease every year or every 10,000 to 20,000 miles, whichever comes first (brakes should be checked and adjusted, if necessary at the same time).  Still, there are varying opinions on the interval.  When we first had our bearings repacked two years ago (after about two years of regular use), the mechanic said the bearings were still super clean so he recommended coming in every two years.  We take our Scamp 13’ to Sonrise RV in Escondido (San Diego).  They currently charge around $270 per axle (the Scamp has only 1 axle with two wheel hubs) — to remove our Scamp’s wheels and drums, clean and inspect the brakes, clean/inspect & grease/repack the bearings, replace the seals and reassemble & test brakes.  The brakes are adjusted by jacking up the trailer and spinning each wheel.  The wheels should spin freely with little resistance.  After the brakes are adjusted, the trailer should be test driven on hills and, then, the hubs should be checked.  They should be cool or lukewarm to the touch in most cases.

#18. Replacing Travel Trailer Tires
Important Note:  Never use passenger tires on travel trailers!  Passenger tires are usually rated at Load Range B to allow for flexible sidewalls for a smooth ride.  They are not engineered to stabilize heavy loads or handle the temperatures that build with them.

Recommendations on when to replace travel trailer’s tires very widely.  Various recommendations found online are:  every 10,000 – 15,000 miles, when the tread is worn down to 2/32nds of an inch, between 3 to 6 years,… How and where the travel trailer is used are very important considerations on replacement timing.  For example, if the trailer goes off-road often or is stored outside in the sun then these factors could expedite the need for tire replacement.  Risk tolerance is also a factor – more conservative trailer owners will replace their tires more frequently.  Because tires are so critical for travel and a blowout on the road has the potential to be disastrous, our rule is to replace our Scamp 13’s tires every three years (even though the tires appear fine).  Tires for small trailers are inexpensive and can be replaced at local tire stores, like Discount Tire (America’s Tire).

Our Scamp 13’s first tire replacement was last summer.  We purchased Hartford ST175/80R13 tires at Discount Tire for around $50 each.  Since the Scamp 13’ is single axle, there are only a couple of tires to replace which makes the process inexpensive.  These Hartford tires are rated to carry a maximum load of 1360 lbs (C1 index).  The index indicates the maximum weight a tire can support with proper inflation.  These tires have a speed rating of up to 87 mph.

Amazon also sells similarly rated trailer tires, like this one.

#19. Sanitize Fresh Tank
Algae, bacteria, and other harmful microorganisms can grow in your trailer’s Fresh and Grey tanks as well as other parts of the water systems such as the pipes, hoses and water heater.  It may be possible to see the algae or it might just be that your water has a funny smell.  Algae and other microorganisms have the potential for not only making the trailer water smell funny and clogging up water lines, but also could be dangerous to one’s health.  Personally, we only drink water that we bring from home that is produced in our reverse osmosis system and stored in 4 gallon BPA free plastic jugs.  But, even showering and washing dishes and hands with contaminated water could be potentially dangerous (e.g. skin, stomach, and lung issues).  Whenever possible, use a water filter when filling the Fresh tank.

For complete instructions on sanitizing tanks, click here.

#20. Keys & Cash Stash
There may be a time when having cash or access to your extra trailer/car keys will be a life saver.  When we first started travelling in our Scamp 13’ we never carried cash.  However, over time, we found that carrying cash is a good idea for a number of reasons.  First, cash is sometimes needed to pay Iron Rangers (metal lock boxes sometimes found at BLM and other remote campgrounds).  We found this to be the case at Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada.  It is one of our favorite campgrounds and we wouldn’t have been able to stay there had we not had cash.  Cash also comes in handy for paying small businesses one might encounter when travelling.  For example, we enjoyed a great horseback ride when visiting Alabama Hills and cash was the only payment method accepted.  Finally, when on long trips, we find it very convenient to have several rolls of quarters in our Scamp’s closet so we can use coin operated laundry machines.  We recently used our quarters when doing laundry at the Laughing Alpaca RV Park & Campground in Cave Junction, Oregon.

Along with cash, we keep a set of backup keys in our Scamp 13’ (the Volvo backup keys) and Volvo XC 40 tow vehicle (the Scamp backup keys).  That way if our keys for a vehicle aren’t able to be located we likely will have access to its backup keys.

We use a small zippered pouch to store the cash and keys together in our Scamp 13’.  The pouch prevents loose bills from getting lost as well as keys from moving around or falling into gaps.  In our tow vehicle, we use a small compartment in the center console to hold the cash/keys.

Final Thoughts on Travel Trailer Safety
We use many of the above items and ideas every day we travel, and others we carry for peace of mind (an insurance policy) which, hopefully, we will never have to use.  Or, it might be that we use them to help others.

Beyond the above mentioned safety products, there are other serious considerations to think about when taking adventures with your travel trailer.  It’s important to make sure that the “house battery” (the one that powers everything electronically operated in the trailer, such as lights, pumps, blower fan, etc.) is capable and that solar panels (we carry a solar panel briefcase) are available to charge the house battery if necessary.  It’s also important to make sure you carry enough propane if you have a gas powered furnace, refrigerator, stove, and water heater.  We carry two 17# Viking composite propane tanks, making sure each is full for every big trip.  We’ve been on 20+ day trips where we’ve completely exhausted one tank and have had to switch to the 2nd tank.  We’ve seen unexpected snow showers, watching campers run out of their single tank of propane exposing them to freezing temperatures.  Our advice is carry two propane tanks if you plan on taking trips lasting more than a week.  Packing enough food and water for your trip is vital, as well as carrying appropriate clothing (including hats, jackets, sunglasses, and sunscreen).  And, your small travel trailer should also have sleeping bags and blankets just in case the furnace malfunctions (or propane runs out).  With proper planning and utilizing appropriate safety essentials, stress levels will fall and the odds of having a safe and fun trip will be greatly increased!

 

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. 

Exploring Remote Jalama Beach and Lake Cachuma (Santa Barbara County)

 150 150 gavin
By:
0

Exploring Remote Jalama Beach and Lake Cachuma (Santa Barbara County)
March 6th – 13th, 2022 (7 nights)

The California coast is beautiful in late winter / early Spring and provides the perfect transition from winter desert camping.  On this trip, we were accompanied by a number of friends:

  1. one family of three and a friend plus their Great Pyrenees dog in a rented 27’ motorhome
  2. neighbor friends couple in their RPOD trailer
  3. friend couple from Oxnard in their Class A Southwind 32’ motorhome

For this adventure, we chose two beautiful campgrounds in Santa Barbara County.  The first campground we visited was Jalama Beach, a remote beach location about an hour north of downtown Santa Barbara and close to Vandenberg Air Force Base.  Since the drive from San Diego to Jalama Beach is a long one (about 5 hours), we decided to break up the trip by stopping for lunch in the small beach town of Carpinteria along the way.  We discovered, by chance, a park above the beach called Viola Fields (which happens to be a sanctioned model aircraft field!).  There’s a nice bluff trail here which looks down over the sea and the Carpinteria Seal Sanctuary.  There were lots of seals to view during our visit!

After a nice lunch in our Scamp, some drone flying and Frisbee games over Viola Fields, and a leisurely hike along the railroad tracks to the Seal Sanctuary overlook, we headed back onto the 101 North toward Santa Barbara.  Following an hour and a half drive and the 14.5 mile curvy road from the freeway to the coast, we arrived at the remote Jalama Beach Campground at around 4 p.m.  We chose a no-hookup site (#72, $30/night) close to the sand (2nd row) with some ocean views.  The wind was howling (Jalama Beach is known for being very windy) and we spent the evening in our friends’ rented motorhome playing the game Sequence for the first time (which we really enjoyed).  The location is very isolated and there wasn’t any cellphone service or HDTV signals.  However, we were able to log onto the free campground WiFi and use the internet and make phone calls (using WiFi calling).  The internet speed was decent for simple browsing, internet, and phone calls (at least for my phone).

Jalama Beach is located on a beautiful wide sandy beach and the campground has around 107 campsites (with 31 sites having electrical hookups).  There are water spigots throughout the campground and a free central dump station.  The beach is great for all sorts of activities, including walking, surfing, kite flying, surf fishing, fat tire e-bike riding, rock collecting, and more!  Jalama Beach has a grill restaurant that serves their “world famous” Jalama Burger.  We tried the burger and it is very good and juicy!  We road bikes, flew kites (including my new Scuba Diver kite!), explored during the day and played games and watched movies at night (and had a campfire and made s’mores one night)!  I flew my radio-controlled CR Climax sailplane over the bluffs one afternoon.  Riding bikes on the sand is super fun, especially since the beach goes on for over a mile!  One thing to be careful of though is tar on the sand.  As we discovered, it is very difficult to remove tar from shoes (our friend recommends rubbing olive oil and leaving on the tar for several minutes and then rubbing off).  The best defense though is to take a pair of beach shoes or flip flops that you just use when on the sand.

Following a couple of relaxing days and nights at Jalama Beach (and some beautiful sunsets), we packed up and headed to Cachuma Lake (around a one hour drive).  Cachuma Lake campground is very large and is located on one side of the lake.  Our site, #106 ($45/night), has full hookups and a partial lake view.  We walked the campground with our friends and identified some nice looking dry camping sites with beautiful lake views for possible future visits (#315, #313, #455, #453, #289, #288, #230, #231).  We arrived in the afternoon and had a nice lunch at the HOOK’d Bar and Grill (with outdoor seating overlooking Lake Cachuma).  There is a tackle shop (sells fishing licenses too) and a boat ramp near the restaurant to accommodate fishermen.  Lake Cachuma is a big fishing destination featuring trout, bass, and crappie.  Our friend rented a pontoon boat and caught a rainbow trout during our stay.  There are plenty of trails for hiking and biking around the campground.  Our friends told us they took a fantastic nature walk with a park host on Saturday after we left (sign up in person at the Nature Center).  Additionally, there are guided lake cruises by Lake Cachuma park naturalists on Saturdays and Sundays (Adults $15, Kids $10).  Reservations should be made as early as possible as these tours sell out.  Lastly, there is a world class Frisbee golf course that is very expansive.  Frisbee rentals can be obtained at the Lake Cachuma store (which also has a gas station and propane refill station).  Overall, we had a relaxing stay for a few days and nights at Lake Cachuma.  The campground was pretty quiet and it seemed there were a number of snowbirds camped out here for several months.

The last stop on our trip was at my cousin’s house in Santa Barbara, located only about 30 minutes down the CA-154 from Lake Cachuma.  We had fun walking within the Douglas Family Preserve, strolling Shoreline Park, having lunch at our favorite Mexican restaurant in Santa Barbara (Taco Pipeye), and exploring the Ellwood Monarch Sanctuary.  The highlight of our trip to Santa Barbara was seeing my cousins and having a nice dinner with them in downtown Santa Barbara.

On this trip we learned that one doesn’t have to travel very far to have a fulfilling getaway if the holiday is combined with beautiful locations, close friends and family, and fun things to do together (like games, hikes/bikes, kites, and meals).  So, don’t hesitate to book a quick trip close by and make sure to pull the above elements together to ensure a happy adventure!  RV there yet?

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. 

Anza Borrego and Julian California

 150 150 gavin
By:
0

Anza Borrego and Julian California
November 8th – 14th, 2021 (6 nights)

After recently returning from cool Oregon, we thought it might be nice to take a warm sunny trip to the California desert followed by a visit to a local mountain town.  Since we really enjoyed the Borrego Palm Canyon Campground in Anza Borrego State Park a couple of years ago (our very first Scamping trip), we scheduled a return visit.  The campground is only a couple of hours drive from our home in San Diego and offers some great hiking and biking as well as a cute desert town (Borrego Springs) with its fun shops and tasty restaurants.  When we arrived in the late afternoon to our full hookup site (#A26), it was warm (in the low 80s) and the sun was casting a red glow on the desert sand.  Surrounded by cactus and wide open space, there is a unique kind of vibe in the desert which one feels as soon as stepping outside.  Tall mountains serve as a dramatic backdrop to the Borrego Palm Canyon Campground whose campsites are nestled right up to rocky mountain’s edges.  After setting up our Scamp 13’, we took a long walk around the campground before watching a movie and going to sleep.

The next morning our goal was to hike the Borrego Palm Canyon Trail, a 2.9 mile trail that leads to the third largest palm oasis in California (with California’s only native species of palm, the Fan palm).  The trail was closed when we were at the park our first time a couple of years ago due to recovery from a fire, so we were looking forward to seeing the oasis.  We left early to avoid the heat and followed the trail up to a v-shaped gorge where we glimpsed the palm grove (note: the waterfall wasn’t visible when we visited).   Along the way, we kept our eyes open for bighorn sheep on the mountain ledges above us, but these elusive animals remained out of our sight during our hike.  When we reached the oasis we spent a few minutes appreciating the spectacle of the huge grove of tall palm trees in the middle of the desert.  A handful of other hikers were also enjoying the same experience at the viewpoint.  We didn’t spend too long at the top because it was starting to get hot and we still had about an hour hike back to the campground.  Returning to the campground was easier than reaching the palm oasis because it was mostly hiking back down the mountain to the desert floor.  Note:  always hike with a partner and bring plenty of water if attempting this hike because it can get very hot here and there is no cell phone reception on this desert/mountain trail.

Once rested after our morning hike, we decided to ride our bikes into town and have lunch at Carmelita’s (Mexican food).  We were really glad we brought our bikes along because the roads are mostly wide open and flat and having bikes makes it really convenient to explore.  We even road our mountain bikes across portions of desert sand and it was really fun.  The bike trip into town was an easy 15 minute ride.  We sat with our bikes at Carmelitas on their outside patio and enjoyed a fantastic lunch (chips and salsa followed by excellent chicken mole enchiladas).  After lunch, we browsed items at the Borrego Outfitters shop next door (two years ago we purchased really interesting metal interlocking canteens and UV sun sleeves here).  Then, we biked to the Anza Borrego State Park Visitor’s Center on the West end of the park and purchased some t-shirts.  After all the day’s excitement, we enjoyed watching the stars in the evening.  Anza Borrego State Park achieved its International Dark Sky Park rating in 2018 and, as such, is recognized as a premier place for stargazing.  We retired in the Scamp after a long and fun day and watched a movie before bed.

We asked one of the park rangers if it would be OK to delay checkout from Noon until around 12:45 p.m. and we were told that was fine.  We wanted to eat lunch before stopping off at Bike Borrego (a local ebike tour company) to pick up a new bike lock (the one we recently purchased had failed).  The owner could only meet us at 1 p.m. to sell us one of his locks (and there are no other bike stores in town).  After purchasing our new bike lock, we drove an hour and a half to our next destination, the Salton Sea.  Unfortunately, conditions were not pleasant at the Salton Sea.  It was 88 degrees with many small flying insects and the air smelled of rotten eggs.  The Salton Sea, California’s largest lake, was formed from runoff of the Colorado River in the early 1900s.  In the 1950’s and 60’s it became a resort destination.  Bird watching was also popular as the wetlands were a major resting stop on the Pacific Flyway.  In the 1980s, contamination from farm runoff promoted the outbreak and spread of diseases.  Massive numbers of birds and fish died.  During this time, large amounts of water evaporated which resulted in very high salinity, further destroying fish and other wildlife.  What remains is a toxic wasteland.  It’s not recommended to go into or touch the water and the air often smells.  The air smell is caused by elevated levels of hydrogen sulfide gas coming from the Salton Sea (it’s a highly toxic gas created by organic decay in the absence of oxygen at the bottom of the Salton Sea).  Needless to say, we left the Salton Sea Mecca Beach Campground after only about 5 minutes.  We called ahead to our next planned stop in Julian, William Heise County Park, and fortunately were told we could arrive a couple of days early as our campsite was open!

We arrived at William Heise campground in the charming mountain town of Julian right around sunset after a two hour drive from the Salton Sea.  We usually like arriving to campgrounds earlier in the day as it’s easier to see the campsite, locate a good pad position for the Scamp, and set everything up.  However, this was an unusual circumstance and we didn’t have much of a choice on timing.  Fortunately, we were able to quickly find our campsite (#41) and get everything in order because as soon as we finished setting up, it became extremely dark.  We chose a non-hookup site because the hookup sites at this campground are only partial (water & electric) and generally not as spaced out as the non-hookup sites.  There are water spigots located throughout the campground which we used to fill our Fresh Water tank daily.  And, we used our solar panel briefcase and Jackery 500 lithium battery to supply all the power we needed.  There is also a free central dump at this campground (which we used in combination with our Holy Grail Portable Grey Water Tank Solution to avoid having to move our Scamp).  The weather was nice and cool in the afternoon and evening (a relief from the 88 degree temperatures we left a couple of hours earlier).  Daytime temperatures, in the 70’s, were also much cooler than the desert as Julian is located at over 4,000 feet elevation.

Julian is an old gold mining town where the gold rush happened in the 1850s.  Since then, apples and tourism have become the town’s new gold, and pie and gift shops line main street.  Julian is a very popular day trip destination for people who live in San Diego and Los Angeles because it’s only a two or three hour drive respectively.   People come here for the day to visit the apple orchards in the early Fall and throughout the year to eat apple, apple berry, and other varieties of pies.  Downtown Julian is about a 12-minute drive from William Heise County Park, which we found was good because downtown was very busy when we visited!  We did venture downtown a few times for the mandatory sampling of some of the different types of apple pies at both the Julian Pie Co. and the Julian Café and Bakery!  But, we mostly enjoyed staying in the campground and hiking the numerous trails (e.g. Cedar Creek Trail, Canyon Oak Trail, Desert View/Glen’s View Trail).  The Desert View Trail with a hike up to the Glen’s View outlook is notable because at the peak one can see both Anza Borrego and the Salton Sea on one side and San Diego and the ocean on the other.  Because we arrived two days early, we had ample amount of time to explore Julian and the William Heise County Park.  One interesting stop before leaving on our last day was the Julian Wolf Center.  We were able to observe a couple of wolf packs on our one hour wolf conservation tour ($30/each).  The center seeks to breed wolves and release wolf pups back into the wild. We found the wolf center to be an interesting experience.

This relatively short trip reinforced a couple of our Scamp travel principles.  First, travel to locations which have favorable weather conditions for a more comfortable trip.  We did find both Anza Borrego and Julian to have very favorable weather conditions this time of year (Fall).  Second, be open-minded and flexible if you don’t feel comfortable at the campsite to which you pull up.  And, have your usernames and passwords with you for all your campground reservation websites in case you need to cancel your reservation, make a change, or make a new reservation.  If you do need to cancel at the last minute because you don’t want to stay at the campsite (like in our case with the Salton Sea), you will likely forfeit at least a day’s campsite fee (which usually isn’t much), but it will be worth an overall more enjoyable trip!

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. 

Central and Northeastern Oregon

 150 150 gavin
By:
0

Central and Northeastern Oregon
October 1st– 18th, 2021 (17 nights)

Fall is one of our favorite times of year for Scamp travel as campgrounds and small towns tend to quiet after the busy summer months.  As long as one doesn’t go too late into the fall, the weather can be very nice and the fall colors spectacular.  We had a great coastal trip to Oregon in Fall 2020, so this October we decided on central and northeastern Oregon.  We left earlier in October this time to minimize the chance for bad weather.  And, as a hedge against costly last minute cancellations due to weather or fire smoke (which is very common this time of year), we booked most of our stays through Boondockers Welcome and Harvest Hosts (no charge for stay overs other than annual membership and easy to cancel plans last minute).  Because we had a lot of one night stops on our previous Oregon trip, which at times became tiring, we made sure to schedule two night stay overs every few days to break up continuous travelling. In turn, this was our longest trip in our Scamp 13’ to date.

When going north, we have a couple of usual stops we like to make to see family.  The first is my cousin Jon’s house to see him and his family in Santa Barbara (about a 4-hour drive from our home in Carlsbad, California) followed by a stay with my sister and her family in Oakland (6-hour drive from Santa Barbara).  This trip was no different and we enjoyed seeing my cousin and his family briefly before heading up to Oakland the next day.   We had a nice fajitas lunch with my sister and her family and did some walking along the canals.  There was a very loud party behind our Scamp (parked in my sister’s driveway) at night, so we listened to white noise of water and animals in our earphones to block out the party and go to sleep.  The next morning we had time to hike in one of the many forests in Oakland before heading to our next stop, Lake Siskiyou.

We arrived at the private Lake Siskiyou Camp Resort on Lake Siskiyou at around 4 p.m. (after a 6-hour drive from Oakland).  This would be our last California stop before heading into Oregon.  Lake Siskiyou is near Mt. Shasta and is a beautiful lake with hiking, biking, fishing, and boating.  Although we usually stay at State campgrounds, there really wasn’t much else around and this private resort looked nice (although more expensive than State campgrounds).  We had a great campsite (REC2) with full hookups adjacent to the lake.  The campground wasn’t busy as their season was pretty much ending, although the weather was in the 80’s and they were still serving soft serve ice-cream in their general store when we arrived!  The highlight of our stay here was riding our bikes around the 7-mile Lake Siskiyou Trail Loop.  The lake and pines make a beautiful location to bike.  We had so much fun stopping and exploring on the ride that we lost track of time and had to rush to make the 11 a.m. checkout time to avoid getting charged for another day!  We set an all-time record in how fast we were able to get our Scamp set up to leave (less than 20 minutes)!  Since we left before lunch, we set up camp on the side of the road outside of the campground to eat (and even captured some drone images of Lake Siskiyou and Mt. Shasta!).

Our first stop into central Oregon was the town of La Pine (about a 3-hour drive north from Lake Siskiyou); the town is very close to Bend, Oregon and is in the valley of the Little Deschutes River.  The main road, the 97, which runs all the way to the top of Oregon, also runs north-south through the entire city.  We were fortunate to be able to stay at Red Oak Farms Alpacas, a Harvest Hosts location.  The farm is run by a husband and wife team and has a small number of Alpacas.  When we arrived, Ken showed us their alpaca fiber and explained the ways and economics of alpaca farming (the fiber currently sells for $4/ounce).  Ken’s wife, Nancy Lee, let us be amongst some of the alpacas and pet and walk a few.  Being at over 4,200 feet elevation, the weather was noticeably colder in La Pine, with morning temperatures around 30 degrees.  We parked our Scamp on one of their fields.  Fortunately, the Scamp’s furnace kept us warm all night.   After a quick overnight, we headed a bit north to Bend, Oregon (only a 30-minute drive away).

After a short drive from La Pine, we set our Scamp up in the driveway of a nice home in Bend, Oregon (a Boondocker’s Welcome location).  The hosts were away travelling but instructed us to park in their pull through driveway.  The weather was sunny and we set up our solar panels since we didn’t have any hookups here.  After lunch in our Scamp, we drove over to the Old Mill District close by and walked the Deschutes River Trail (while one of our bikes was being serviced at REI).  The area is very scenic and well developed with nice paths and parks along the water.  We also walked from the Old Mill District to Drake Park and then up to downtown Old Bend where there are plenty of fun shops and restaurants.   Bend has grown rapidly over recent years due to its attraction as a retirement destination and gateway for outdoor sports.

After spending the night in Bend, we continued north for 3 hours to the top of central Oregon and stopped at the Deschutes River State Recreation Area Campground.  The location is where the Columbia and Deschutes rivers join on the borders of Oregon and Washington State.  The site (A05) we stayed at has water and electric hookups.  Other than hiking and fishing, this location is pretty remote with not too much going on.  It was cold at night in the 20’s and the furnace came in handy again!  The deal breaker for us about this campground is that trains run all night long close by the campground and blow their loud train horns at all hours!  We did a long hike in the morning along the river and up on some of hill trails with scenic views over the entire area.  We saw another couple with a Scamp 16’ from Boulder, Colorado who we talked to a while, as well as seeing some other fiberglass trailers.  It’s the first time we’ve seen another Scamp in a campground.  After lunch, we were ready to move on.

Following the 84 Freeway east along the Columbia River and Oregon-Washington border, we made our way to Pendleton, Oregon (a small city best known for its major annual rodeo called The Pendleton Round Up).  We were headed to 5H Ranch, a 20 acre farm (Boondockers Welcome location) right outside the city.  The hosts offered us a great parking spot next to their blue barn with both water and electric hookups at no charge!  After setting up, we spent the afternoon walking around the farm and country roads.  The next morning, we set out and explored the small historic downtown of Pendleton.  The historic area has some nice Queen Anne Victorian homes built in the 1800s.  In addition, we learned about the Pendleton Underground – a vast network of tunnels that was once a hidden city underneath Pendleton built in the late 1800s by Chinese immigrants to provide safety from persecution.

We reached our main destination on this trip, Joseph, Oregon, a few hours after leaving Pendleton and spent four nights here.  Our campsite was at the Wallowa Lake State Park campground (site C55).  Wallowa Lake is a short drive from the quaint little town of Joseph and is in an area known as “The Little Switzerland” of Oregon.  Snowcapped tall mountains surround the lake, making it a uniquely picturesque destination.  Our campsite had full hookups, but since nights were forecasted to be below freezing, we didn’t hook up the fresh water hose (instead we relied on our interior fresh water tank).  We also poured RV antifreeze into our shower drain to protect the pump and left our hot water heater on at night.  Additionally, we kept our furnace set to 58 degrees each night so everything inside the Scamp (including ourselves) would stay warm.  In the morning, when getting ready for the day, we usually let the furnace pump hot air for a while to make the Scamp nice and toasty inside.  We took a pedal rail car tour on our first full day in Joseph at Joseph Branch Railriders!  The tour goes from Joseph to Enterprise and returns passing through farmland with stunning views of the mountains along the way.  The entire journey takes about 2 hours and is 11 miles round trip.  The pedal rail cars have electric pedal assist, so travelling back up hill to Joseph was an easy pedal (I even flew my drone and took pictures while we pedaled back!).  On the days following, we enjoyed hikes in the hills above the lake and walks through the campground and lakeside.  We did our laundry one morning at a coin-op in downtown Joseph and shopped along the tree lined streets until our clothes were washed and dried!  The tree leaves were mostly bright red as Fall had decisively set in up in this mountain town.  We even enjoyed some snow flurries a couple of the nights in our Scamp!  Joseph was our favorite stop on the trip because of its natural beauty and scenic town center.

To make up some time after the long stay in Joseph, we headed directly to Madras which took about six hours as we retraced our steps back along the 84 and then down through central Oregon on the 97.  Madras is a small city about an hour north of Bend and home to the Erickson Aircraft Collection, a privately owned collection of airworthy vintage aircraft.  This is a fantastic aviation museum located on the tarmac of the Madras municipal airport.  This airport used to be the home of a B17 bomber base during WWII.  We had the great fortune of being able to stay on the tarmac at this airfield and tour the museum (Harvest Hosts location)!  There are some notable WWII airplanes, including a B17, P38 Lightning and Corsair, among many others in the hangar – most of them kept in flying condition.  When we were there, the hangar was open and planes were being moved out onto the airfield so one plane could be taken out for flying.  The museum also has a great shop with some really awesome aviation related t-shirts.  There was only one other RV staying overnight so we each had plenty of space in the large lot adjacent to the runway.  After the sun set, air traffic stopped and it was very quiet all night.  We really enjoyed our stay at this historic stop.

The next day we drove only ten minutes to stay on a farm in Culver, Oregon (Boondockers Welcome location).  The area is extremely flat with wide open plains and mountains in the distance.  The owners of the 100-acre working potato farm put us up at the side of their barn and supplied us water and electricity at no charge.  We launched our drone and took some aerial images of the farm which we shared with our hosts (who later requested additional images).  In the wee hours of the next morning it became very cold inside the Scamp; the furnace had stopped because we ran out of propane in tank 1 (it was in the 20’s at night).  Fortunately, a quick flip of the propane tank selector and we were on tank 2 and getting warm air again!  An important point is to never travel on long trips in cold climates without two full propane tanks.  We enjoyed going for a walk in the fields the next morning with one of the owners, Karen, and her dog Zeke.  She told us about what life is like on the potato farm and gave us a tour of her home and garden.  Life on the farm sounds like a lot of hard work!

Our next stop was Train Mountain Railroad Museum in Chiloquin, Oregon (about a 3-hour drive south from Culver, between Crater Lake National Park to the north and Klamath Falls to the south).  This is the largest miniature railroad in the world!  The trains are small, but still can pull carts carrying people!  There are over four miles of tracks that weave through the surrounding pine covered hillsides.  The longest loop takes over four hours round trip!  On top of a fantastic location with a nice outdoor full scale train exhibit (you can go inside most of the trains on your own self-guided tour), Train Mountain has several great campgrounds.  We stayed at the free campground provided to Harvest Hosts members.  Although there are no hookups, we did find a water spigot.  We enjoyed the fun self-guided train tour the afternoon we arrived, the highlight being the mega beast radial snowplow train.  The next morning, we were lucky enough to be offered a free tour ride by a member volunteer.  We spent about half an hour on the train touring some of the park and hearing about how these little trains work and the hobbyists who run them.  This is a must stop for anyone with even a remote interest in trains!

After travelling over two weeks and a couple of thousand miles, this fantastic journey was finally coming to an end.  We made our way through Klamath Falls and then into California.  We could tell we entered California on our 4 ½ hour drive from Chiloquin, Oregon to our next stop in Corning, California when we noticed the price of gas jump over one dollar per gallon!  We stayed in the driveway of someone’s ranch home (Boondockers Welcome location) in the small city of Corning, a farming community with many olive tree farms (known as the Olive City, with an olive festival every Fall).  We had a nice walk down a flat farm road at sunset and a quiet overnight stay.  The next morning we continued to head south for three hours to Oakland and stayed over once again at my sister’s house.  This time we had a nice lunch at one of our favorite eateries, A+ Burger.  Now, with the 31st only a couple of weeks away, many homes in Alameda were spookified for Halloween.  We had a nice evening walk with my sister and nephew viewing some of these scary displays.  The next morning, we headed out early and arrived in Santa Barbara in the afternoon and set up once again in my cousin’s driveway.  We enjoyed vegan Chinese take-out that night with my cousin Jon.  We arrived home early the next day and washed our Scamp 13’ inside and out along with our tow vehicle to be fully prepped for our next upcoming adventure!

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. 

Lassen Volcanic National Park (with lots of fun stops)

 150 150 gavin
By:
1

Lassen Volcanic National Park (with lots of fun stops)
July 3rd – July 14th, 2021 (11 nights)

This was one of those epic Northern California summer adventures with the highlight being a stay at an otherworldly campground high up in the mountains surround by volcanoes and set on a beautiful lake.  Throw in some underground lava tube exploration and geothermal boiling sulfur pools and this trip is a recipe for a lot of fun!  And, best of all, it’s only about four hours north of San Francisco, right here in the United States!

Whenever heading north, our first stop is usually Santa Barbara to visit my cousin Jon and family.  The ride from our home in San Diego is usually about 4 hours.  But, on this strip, since it was the start of 4th of July weekend and a Saturday morning, we decided to leave really early to beat traffic.  We left at 5:30 a.m. and arrived in Santa Barbara at 9 a.m. making record time (3.5 hours)!  It seems not many people are on the roads this early!  We had a great day with my cousin Melvin and even tried an excellent Mexican restaurant called Tacos Pipeye which serves fantastic tacos, mole chicken, and enchiladas, for a very reasonable price!  We missed my cousin Jon and his wife Ida on this stop as they were on a Tesla drive trip out to Santa Fe, New Mexico, but we would see them at the end of the trip on our final stopover.

We usually break up the drive from Santa Barbara to Oakland with a middle stop in between (following our rule of driving no more than 4 hours per day), but since we wanted to experience 4th of July at my sister’s home in Oakland this year, we did the trip straight with just short breaks for gas.    We arrived in Oakland at around 12:30 p.m. (after a 6 hour drive) and used wood boards to raise the rear of our tow vehicle so that our hitch cleared the driveway transition, allowing us to get our Scamp tucked away in the narrow side yard space between my sister’s home and the bordering neighbor’s fence.  Since it was expected to be a very rowdy 4th at night, we felt like it would be safer in the driveway than sleeping on the street.  And, East Oakland did not disappoint – the mostly illegal fireworks started even before sundown and exploded all night long!  People were out on the street right in front of my sister’s home exploding firecrackers and igniting other illegal fireworks, so we were glad we weren’t sleeping in our Scamp out there this trip. Thankfully, with our ear plugs, white noise app, and the Scamp’s insulation, we were able to sleep soundly!  We had a great time with our family in Oakland, including a nice walk on Alameda Island the next day.

We met our San Diego friends Alexis, Chris, and Ben at Anthony Chabot Campground on Sunday (only a 30 minute drive from my sister’s house).  They rented a camper van and we arranged to have two adjacent campsites (#11 and #12) at this really woodsy campground overlooking Lake Chabot in East Oakland.  Although the campground is very close to Oakland, it feels very remote (a 20 minute windy road entrance).  Many sites are full hookup and under tall trees.  There are nice trails for walking and bike riding, including some that go down to the lake.  There is no swimming in this lake due to algae.  We had fun with our friends, went on a hike down to the lake, and even had some s’mores by the fire!  The next morning I was surrounded by a big group (rafter) of wild turkeys while I was writing my travel log at the picnic table!  They didn’t mind my presence and were just intent on looking for food on the ground.

We left for Russian Gulch State Park the next morning, a campground along the Mendocino coast about four hours north of San Francisco.  On the way, we stopped at the picturesque town of Healdsburg (just north of Santa Rosa in Northern Sonoma County) and had lunch in our Scamp.  We spent a little time walking around the charming town center and window browsing the quaint shops.  When we arrived at Russian Gulch State Park later in the day, we found our site #17 in an empty meadow, as it turned out the surrounding sites in the same meadow were closed during our visit.  There are no hookups at this campground, but there are water spigots close to each site.  There are great hiking trails here and we hiked the North Trail and Water Fall Loop Trail in the morning (which took us 3 hours for the 8 mile hike).  The trail goes through redwoods and fern forests and features a small waterfall.  In the afternoon, we walked the less rigorous Headland’s Trail (along the bluffs with spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean) to view the Devil’s Punchbowl.  This is a 100-foot by 60-foot sinkhole basin created when a tunnel penetrating inland from the ocean collapsed.  When the tide is high, the sinkhole becomes an explosive cauldron of sea water.  Although our friends Alexis and her family couldn’t get a spot at Russian Gulch State Park, they did find accommodation at nearby Caspar Beach RV Park (just a few minutes’ drive from our campground).  We enjoyed s’mores and hot dogs (and steak) with them (in that order)!  They are great chefs and provide fun company!  The next day we explored the coast including walking the quaint seaside town of Mendocino village, where I purchased a “Been Squatchin” tshirt (Big Foot / Sasquatch is a local legend in this area).  We did not spot Sasquatch on this trip though.  Note:  we had no HD TV or cell phone service down at the Russian Gulch SP campsite.  Instead, just a short drive up the hill to the parking spots next to the Ranger entrance booth provided cellphone service.

After a couple nights and fun times at Russian Gulch State Park, we left for Lassen Volcanic National Park (a 5 ½ hour drive:  7 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.).  I find if we leave early in the morning on long drives and still arrive early, then it doesn’t feel like we’ve spent the entire day driving.  There were a lot of curves and climbs driving from the coast, crossing the mountains, descending into the Central Valley (Redding), and then ascending again into the mountains to get to Lassen.  Lassen Volcanic National Park is at over 6,000 feet above sea level.  We stayed at Manzanita Lake campground which is right on a scenic lake with volcanoes in the background (including Lassen Peak).  The first thing we did on arrival was dump ($8 honor system) because we had just stayed at Russian Gulch State Park without any dump station there.  The dump station is right before getting to the entrance to the campground and was empty whenever we passed by.  The weather was warm (in the 80’s).  After we first arrived and had lunch, we went to a ranger talk close to the Loomis Museum (at the entrance to the park).  Our site (#A17) was completely shaded with very limited sunshine (which helped tame the heat).  This meant that we needed to move around our solar panels during the day to maximize our charging.  We left the solar panels out overnight and did not have any issues with them being disturbed (or getting wet since the air was very dry).  The spots are nicely spaced out, and although the campground was full, everyone seemed to have a good amount of room around their own campsite.  We had to drive up the road about a mile to Mile Marker #14 in order to get a cell signal (there is a turn out with usually a few cars parked making calls).

There is a little trail to the lake from the campground and a nice walking path that goes all the way around its circumference.  It takes about an hour to walk the full lake loop, which is a nice easy flat walk along the water.  People were swimming, kayaking, and fishing on the lake and everyone seemed to be having a great time.  We weren’t able to bring our inflatable kayak on this trip as our tow vehicle was full due to having to haul items up to Oakland for my sister.  Although it was warm during the day, the nights were cool (60’s) and sleeping in the Scamp was very comfortable.  We enjoyed watching movies at night (see article “How to Watch Movies in the Wild”).  Our “Holy Grail Portable Grey Water Tank Solution” saved us a lot of hassle and money during our three days at Lassen.  Instead of having to completely decamp in the middle of our trip and drive the Scamp over to the Dump and spend and then set up our Scamp again at the campsite, we stayed put by using our portable jugs and dumped them along with our regular Black and Grey water on our way out of the park!

One relaxing and really fun thing to do at Lassen is to drive the 30 mile Northern – Southern route to the other end of the park, stopping along the way at various mile markers which have different scenic activities (it’s about an hour without stops each way, so allow at least several hours and take your time).  It’s recommended to download the NPS (National Park Service) app at the Google Play store for free before you go and also download Lassen Volcanic National Park from within the NPS app into your phone so you won’t need an internet connection to access all the park information.  It’s also a good idea to download audio files you can play on your phone about the park here.

There is a reasonably priced gas pump at the campground store (Regular Unleaded only), so it’s best to fuel up before taking the Northern – Southern route drive since there are no other gas stations anywhere close by.  Along the way you can see Choas Crags (an area with volcanoes and rocks covering the ground due to a volcanic eruption 1100 years ago), the Sulphur Works (hydrothermal pit of bubbling stinky mud), various lakes, great views, …..  We spent a little time at the visitors center at the South side of the park relaxing before heading back (there are refreshments and food for sale inside the center).  Another fun activity which doesn’t take too long is to drive to Subway Cave Lava Tubes (just about 20 minutes outside the campground).  It was 102 degrees when we arrived at this lava tube but, after walking down the stairs into the cave, we experienced very cool temperatures (the temperature inside the cave remains a constant 46 degrees year round!).  The night before leaving for our next campground, we hiked around Manzanita Lake under no moon to take some Milky Way images!  It was pitch dark and we wore headlamps.  We saw deer and some other night creatures along the lake trail!  We were rewarded by a stunning Milky Way which rose above Lassen Peak and Manzanita Lake at around 10 p.m.!  We dumped (including 3 Grey containers) before leaving early in the morning for Oakland.

After a four hour drive to Oakland, we reached my sister’s house around lunch time.  We decided to set up the Scamp in the driveway again since it worked out so well on the 4th of July.  After lunch we took a long walk along Alameda Island beach (watching some kite surfers) and then had A+ Burgers for dinner at my cousin Rebecca’s house in Oakland.  We also played some card games and Qwirkle with our family before leaving for Washburn Campground in San Simeon the next morning.

Washburn Campground is about a four hour drive from Oakland and is located in the San Simeon / Cambria area on the coast.  It is a “primitive” campground (only $20/night + $8 reservation fee), although there are water spigots here.  For us, since our Scamp has a bathroom and we have solar panels, the type of campground really doesn’t matter too much if we are only staying two to three days.  In any case, we filled up our Fresh tank at my sister’s house in Oakland before we left.  We had site #W264 which had plenty of sun for our solar panels!  The sites are well separated and the area did not seem crowded.  The campground is high up on a hill with a nice view of the mountains and ocean below.  We walked down to the beach from our campsite along the road and it’s only about a mile each way.  There are also trails but signs warned of ticks with Lyme disease and recent mountain lion sightings so we stayed on the road.  The campground area was overrun with “cute” ground squirrels and they were not very shy.  Some even jumped up into the undercarriage of parked tow vehicles (not sure what they were doing under there).  We made sure to keep our Scamp door shut so as not to discover any unwanted guests inside.  Our San Diego friends were camping in the adjacent campsite (San Simeon Creek Campground) and we met them there in the evening for some excellent chicken burritos and salad!  Washburn Campground / San Simeon Creek Campground has a Dump Station at the entrance and the charge is $10.  Since our Grey tank was only 50% when leaving and we only had one more night left on our trip (and we also had our Holy Grey solution just in case), we skipped it and saved the money.

Our final drive before heading home to San Diego was back to my cousin Jon and Melvin’s house in Santa Barbara.  After the three hour drive, we decided to go to Tacos Pipeye again with our cousin Melvin since we enjoyed it so much at the start of our trip!  Once again, it did not disappoint!  We also had a nice walk through downtown Santa Barbara before and after lunch.  My vegan cousin Jon and his wife Ida were back from Santa Fe and treated us to a wonderful homemade dinner (risotto and Beyond Meat burgers) that night.  And, we also got to see our cousin Carolina.  The next morning we drove back to our home in San Diego (4 hour drive) and arrived early enough to get our Scamp cleaned up and ready for our next trip!

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. 

How to Consistently and Easily Hook Up your Hitch Ball

 150 150 gavin
By:
2

How to Consistently and Easily Hook Up your Hitch Ball

One of the trickiest procedures for new small travel trailer owners is backing up and lining up the hitch ball so the hitch coupler will drop securely on top of it.  Getting the ball (on your tow vehicle) properly aligned with your trailer coupler takes some practice, but gets easier with experience.  One trick I like is taping a ribbon (about 6 inches long) on the travel trailer’s tow coupler so the ribbon hangs straight down (I attached the ribbon with Gorilla Tape so it stays for a while!).  I use my SUV’s rear camera (set to Tow Bar line) and slowly and carefully back up, keeping my SUV aimed at the ribbon.  If your tow vehicle doesn’t have a rear camera, I recommend purchasing one aftermarket.  It’s important that the tow vehicle is aligned so it’s on the same line to the trailer to ensure the hitch ball will fit properly when the hitch coupler is lowered (e.g. no angles between tow vehicle and trailer).  Also, make sure the coupler is raised high enough so the hitch ball doesn’t hit it when you back up under it.  Once I get fairly close to the hitch coupler, I very slowly inch my way back until the ball on the SUV hitch brushes up against the ribbon and then a smidge beyond.  At this point, the tow coupler is right over the ball.  Make sure to take your time and don’t be concerned if it initially takes a number of times to get it right.

If your ball is directly below the hitch coupler and your tow vehicle is aligned with the trailer (e.g. no angles between vehicle and trailer), you can now drop (hand crank or electric power jack) the coupler onto the ball and it should sit so that none or barely any of the bottom of the ball will be visible if looking at it from the side.  If the coupler doesn’t go all the way down and it seems the lower portion of the ball is visible, it’s likely that the alignment wasn’t quite right.  In this case, it will also not be possible to secure the hitch latch into the locked position.  If this happens, raise the trailer coupler, pull away, line up your tow vehicle, and try again.  Never try to force the coupler to lock.  It does take some force to latch the coupler down, but not an excessive amount.  I had one experience, when we were boondocking on a farm in Bakersfield, where everything appeared nicely lined up but the hitch latch wouldn’t close.  The ground was dirt and very uneven and I suspected the coupler just wasn’t seating properly on the ball, so I pulled away and lined up again and everything worked smoothly.  I was glad I didn’t try to force the coupling.

After locking, I recommend pulling up on the travel trailer coupler a couple times to watch the tow vehicle rear end go up and down to make sure the ball is really securely locked into place in the coupler (again, none or barely any of the bottom of the ball will be visible if looking at it from the side).  In addition, I recommend using a coupler lock, not only as a theft security device, but also to help prevent the coupler latch from popping open while driving.  After securing the coupler latch, it’s imperative to attach your safety chains and plug in your trailer to the tow vehicle so your trailer’s lights and emergency brakes are communicating with the tow vehicle (and check that the trailer lights are working before leaving).

Securing the trailer coupler onto the hitch ball is one of the most important things you can do to ensure a safe towing experience with your small travel trailer.  With practice and following these tips, securing your trailer to your tow vehicle should become a successful, easy, and stress-free experience.

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. 

How to Replace Your Particle Board Table Bed in Your Small Travel Trailer

 150 150 gavin
By:
0

How to Replace Your Particle Board Table Bed in Your Small Travel Trailer

I had wanted to replace our 2020 Scamp 13’ particle board table bed ever since we first received our new trailer directly from the Scamp factory about 12 months ago.  Lifting it up and down to make and unmake the bed was a real chore because of the table’s heavy weight.  And, our table actually has an additional smaller particle board piece because our Scamp 13’ has the bigger 54” bed.  The larger piece, which is the table, is 32 inches long x 29 ½” wide and weighs about 23 pounds with hardware.  The smaller piece, which is necessary for the extended bed support, is 20 inches long x 29 ½” wide and weighs about 12.4 pounds.   So, with both pieces stacked together, the table weighs over 35 pounds!!!  No wonder why I always had to wrestle with the table to lower and raise it!  Note:  weight is one of particle board’s ugly not-so-little secrets.

Because our Scamp 13’ is so new, I was hesitant to replace the factory table.  However, that all changed when the table deconstructed itself one day when I was lifting it up and back into position (structural weakness is another bullet point on particle board’s not so impressive resume).  As I was elevating the table to its upright position and sliding the thin metal brackets into their clamshell receptacles attached to the wall, one of the hardware fittings attached underneath the Scamp table ripped right out (all the screws and the particle board they were screwed into), leaving a big crater underneath the table!  I called Scamp and they told me it was probably time to replace the table.  Given that I didn’t like the weight of the now ruined table or the look of the faux wood grain, I decided it was time for an alternative.

I did some research and discovered that I wasn’t alone in wanting to replace at least some of the particle board in our small travel trailer.  Lots of campers do it to lighten the weight of their rigs.  I even wrote an article based on my research called “5 Reasons to Replace Particle Board in your Camper”.  At this point, it was clear that the table breaking in our Scamp was actually a very good thing because it forced our hands to replace the particle board tables!

A very popular material choice for making tables in RVs which can also be used for bed support is ¾” lightweight plywood.  It’s strong, super light, and looks great!  It’s also widely available at home improvement stores like Home Depot and Lowe’s and it’s inexpensive.  Additionally, these stores can cut the plywood for you at a very low price (or possibly for free).  Be aware though, these stores will only make straight cuts, so if you want a table with rounded corners (like we did), you will need to make those cuts yourself or have someone else do it for you.  I did notice though that the saw blade used by the guy cutting our wood at Home Depot was likely dull because there was a lot of splintering of the edges of the plywood (he also didn’t tape the edges to prevent this from happening).  In the end, my builder brother-in-law Bobby not only did the rounded cuts for us, but also had to redo a lot of the Home Depot cuts to replace the damaged edges (fortunately we had a lot of extra plywood to work with in the 4’x8’ piece we purchased).

We chose Maple plywood (non-toxic version) which looks beautiful and has high dramatic impact when varnished with multiple coats of interior crystal clear high gloss polyurethane.  We purchased one piece of 3/4 in. x 4 ft. x 8 ft. PureBond Maple Plywood at Home Depot for around $60.  Since we didn’t need nearly that much wood, I also measured our particle board stove cover and had pieces cut for its replacement.  As mentioned previously, the Home Depot cuts were a bit dirty, resulting in a lot of splintering.  Regardless, my brother-in-law Bobby redid some cuts, rounded the corners, and otherwise cleaned up the wood edges.  Once satisfied with all the pieces [main table 32” x 29.5”, smaller table 20” x 29.5”, and materials for the stove cover (Top 15” x 20”, Front/Back two of 3” x 20”, Sides two of 3” x 13.75”)], I glued the stove cover pieces together with white wood glue and let sit overnight and then applied the polyurethane varnish with three high gloss coats to the two tables and stove cover. The finish came out beautifully, with very high luster revealing the maple’s exquisite golden rippled grain patterns.

The next step after finishing the table top is removing the old table from the Scamp, which is fairly straightforward.  Before removing the existing table with hardware from the Scamp, I labeled both the left square metal bracket affixed to the wall and the square metal part above it which is attached underneath the table with an “L”, to keep the orientation the same when mounting to the new tabletop.  I used a square #2 screwdriver bit with my mini cordless screw driver to remove all 8 square head screws holding the folding table mechanism to the wall (don’t touch the metal clamshell pieces located at the table’s back edge against the wall below the window).   The table should stay standing up once you remove the square metal wall anchors because the top of the table is still held by the clamshell brackets and the front of the table is resting on its singular leg.  Now, to completely remove the table from the Scamp, just lift the front like you are making the bed so the thin brackets in back slide out of the clamshells.  It’s good to have help in holding the table, as you will also need to retract the table leg.  Once done, you can carefully remove the table from the Scamp.

Find an area on a carpet or smooth service and set the old Scamp table face down on the floor right next to the face down new table top (back edge to back edge so you can locate where to install the metal brackets into the new table).  I used blue painters tape and a tape measure to mark the exact locations for the brackets on the new table.  Remove the 8 square head screws holding the folding mechanism metal brackets to the old table and place them over the new table in the same location (and using the holes, mark each hole with a felt tipped pen).  Use a small diameter drill bit (smaller than the diameter of the screws) and wrap the drill bit to a length shorter than the screws with blue tape to ensure you don’t drill the pilot holes anywhere near through to the top of the table.  Drill shallow holes where you marked the dots.  Then, being careful to install the Left mount under the left side of the table; use your square #2 screwdriver bit with drill to slowly install the screws until they are tight (I also dipped the tip of each screw with white wood glue to prevent them from coming loose).  Now, remove the table leg from the old table with your screwdriver and position on your new table so it is in the exact same position.  Like before, drill pilot holes and then screw down the leg onto the new table.  Next, install the new table into the Scamp by slipping the back thin metal brackets into the clamshell receptacles and extending the table leg.  The table should stand by itself while you screw down the 8 square head screws attaching the metal brackets for the table folding mechanism back into the wall.

I weighed the tables after completing the project.  The new main table weighs 14.6 lbs. with varnish and hardware (compared to the particle board’s 23 lbs.) and the smaller table weighs 6.8 lbs. (compared to the particle board’s 12.4 lbs.); together the new plywood tables weigh 21.4 lbs., about 40% lighter than the original particle board factory tables which weighed in at 35.4 lbs. !!!  And, in addition from being so much nicer looking, the new maple plywood tables are much easier to raise and lower!  You will love your new light tables!

 

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. 

5 Reasons to Replace Particle Board in your Camper

 150 150 gavin
By:
1

5 Reasons to Replace Particle Board in your Camper

Particle board is an engineered wood product made with wood chips and glue (synthetic resin).  The main reason manufacturers of small travel trailers use particle board for tables, countertops, doors, and drawers / cabinets is because it’s cheap.   Here are 5 reasons you may consider replacing particle board in your camper:

(1).  Particle board can be very heavy. It’s held together with glue (resin) and the weight can add up quickly.  We are in the process of replacing our 2020 Scamp 13’ table (actually two tables since we ordered the 54” bigger bed option) and we just weighed the smaller bed support table (20” long x 29.5” wide).  We used ¾” maple plywood purchased from Home Depot for our new table.  Our original particle board small table weighs 12.4 lbs., compared to our new fully varnished (high gloss interior polyurethane with 3 coats) small table at 6.8 lbs.  That’s a huge weight difference (the particle board table is about 80% heavier).

(2).  Particle board can be very weak. Because it’s made from wood chips and glue, it doesn’t have the structural strength of real lumber.  For most purposes in the small travel trailer, that’s OK because putting food or other items on a table generally won’t break the particle board.  However, any metal fittings that are screwed into the particle board have the potential of ripping out if exposed to a load.  That’s what happened one day recently when I was setting up our Scamp table.  As I was elevating the table to its upright position and sliding the thin metal brackets into their clamshell receptacles attached to the wall, one of the hardware fittings attached underneath the Scamp table ripped right out (all the screws and the particle board they were screwed into), leaving a big crater underneath the table.

(3).  Particle board is highly porous. So, if any moisture happens to leak underneath its veneer cover, the particle board can easily absorb the moisture, expand, and warp.  Additionally, it can be susceptible to mold which may eat through the board and cause various health issues.

(4).  Particle board can be toxic if manufactured with formaldehyde resin (which it commonly is). The resin can break down for years and release formaldehyde gas (called “off gassing”).  The gas can pollute the interior air of the small travel trailer and cause eyes to water, throats to burn, and difficulty breathing.  This gas is also known to be carcinogenic and toxic, meaning it may cause certain types of cancer.  It’s also been linked to an increased risk of allergies and asthma in children.  The U.S. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) states that “chronic exposure to formaldehyde may also cause general damage to the central nervous system, such as increased prevalence of headache, depression, mood changes, insomnia, irritability, attention deficit, and impairment of dexterity, memory and equilibrium.”

(5).  Particle board can be ugly. Although this may be a matter of personal preference, I’ve always found the wood veneer skins that are glued to many particle board surfaces to have a dated and artificial appearance.  In contrast, maple or birch veneers on plywood are really great looking.

It’s understandable that a manufacturer producing hundreds or thousands of units of travel trailers would choose particle board to save extensively on build costs.  However, that doesn’t mean you have to live with what some describe as “cut rate cheap junk” in your travel trailer.  For the 5 reasons listed above, replacing the particle board (or at least some of it) in your small travel trailer is worth serious consideration.  Because particle board has a lower expected life span compared to plywood due to being weak and porous, you might just have to replace it anyway in the near future (as in our case with our 12 month old 2020 Scamp 13’ table / bed).  If you do decide to replace any of your particle board with plywood, just make sure that the plywood type you choose is constructed with non-toxic adhesives (e.g. no formaldehyde).  The maple plywood sheeting we purchased at Home Depot is made without formaldehyde using a soy-based technology, “producing a water-resistant, nontoxic decorative plywood panel that is not prone to warp like solid wood and will not emit harmful fumes or degrade interior air quality.”

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. 

Should I have a Camping Logo?

 150 150 gavin
By:
0

Should I have a Camping Logo?

It all started in November 2019 when we took delivery of our 2020 Scamp 13’ travel trailer without any logos… for a clean all-white glossy look.  The only Scamp designation on the trailer was on the rear spare tire cover, which is printed with Scamp’s logo and phone number.  After a few months, the all-white vinyl tire cover was getting yellowed and didn’t look great.  (It was getting to be a bit embarrassing.)  Time for a replacement?  But, we preferred something unique and special for our next tire cover.

At about the same time the Scamp spare tire cover was ready to be replaced, we thought it would be great to start a small travel trailer blog to help others flatten their learning curve.  While developing the website, a friend recommended we have a logo.  Although not necessary, we thought this would add a nice touch on each web page as well as on our profile image for our scamptrailer Instagram account.  In addition, it would provide an opportunity to order a high quality custom spare tire cover with our own logo to replace the yellowed one we had.  So, next project: develop a logo!

The first thing we did to create our logo was develop a concept of what we wanted.  Our initial thoughts were that the logo should have a bear, owl, Scamp 13’ travel trailer, some trees, and mountains – things we love to experience while camping.  Choose design elements that are meaningful to you when creating your logo.  We also wanted the artistic elements to be integrated in some way so that it looks like a real logo design and not just a drawing.  To save a lot of time and expense, we sketched out the initial design idea ourselves with pen and paper.  Once we were satisfied, we sent the drawing to our illustrator friend and had her professionally draw it out.  The initial rendering was created with black lines and then a second drawing added just a few elements yellow (windows, owl’s eyes, and moon).  Later, we gave the completed design to a relative who is a graphic artist and he colorized the entire illustration.  Having a few color variations provides some design options for different logo uses (e.g. website, Instagram profile, spare tire cover, stickers, t-shirts …..).

The process of creating a logo can be very quick, depending on you and your ideas.  It’s also not too expensive.  If you are an artist type, then you can probably create your own logo for free in a graphics design program like Photoshop.  However, we decided on using a professional for illustrating our design.  Our logo cost around $140 to make (although our relative did not charge us to colorize the final illustration).  In the end, creating a camping logo is more than worth it if you are actively using your small travel trailer because you can not only use the logo for a spare tire cover, but also for online profile images, giveaway items like stickers, as well as t-shirts you can wear on your trips.  If your logo is on your outside spare tire cover, it will be seen quite a bit and you will really enjoy the customized look and most likely get a lot of compliments and questions.  The logo gives your small travel trailer a bit more personality, both on the road and in the campground.  Additionally, if you choose to make stickers with your logo, you can give them away to new friends you meet at the campgrounds as your calling card as well as trading them on Instagram.  You might even create t-shirts with you logo!  The list of possibilities for your logo is almost endless!

CLICK HERE TO BUY ON AMAZON

Email Marianne if interested in Logo design:  mariannerf@gmail.com

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. 

Why Motion-Activated Lights May be a Dim Idea

 150 150 gavin
By:
0

Why Motion-Activated Lights May be a Dim Idea

Our Scamp travel trailer arrived from the factory with a handful of LED lights (7 x 12 volt LED lights per our custom order), which more than adequately light up the interior of the trailer.  There is a light above the stove, one facing the dinette/bed, one in the bathroom/shower, and two bright reading spot lights over each side of the dinette/bed (there are also two bright outdoor lights – one outside the entry door and one in front of the trailer near the battery).  These lights do a great job of lighting up the inside and outside of the trailer at night.  However, there are no lights in the closets or cupboards and, when it’s dark, and it’s not practical to turn on the interior lights because someone is still sleeping, having good light inside the closets is very beneficial.

We use the front lower closet for storing clothing on the hanger and for our toolbox and other essential camping supplies, like cables and wood blocks (which sit on the floor).  The front upper closet contains our double sleeping bag, pillows, paper products (TP & Paper Towels), and indoor floor mats.  I discovered on our first Scamp trip that these cabinets are very dark inside because they are big and deep.  Without adequate light, it’s often difficult to find items inside these cabinets.  Because we didn’t want to wire new 12 volt lights into the Scamp, we purchased a rechargeable battery powered motion-activated LED light made by Sylvania to try in the lower closet.  Although this light provided plenty of brightness and was nice in that it instantly turned on just by opening the closet door, we found it was quickly running out of power.  We noticed it was frequently turning on by itself inside the closet and we figured this was maybe a defective light.  We replaced the light with a circular battery powered motion-activated light.  This one, powered by AAA batteries, also turned on by itself in the closet (and by the end of just one trip, the AAAs were depleted).  We finally figured out that the slight motion of walking around in the Scamp was activating the motion sensors!

We tested the theory that the motion sensors are too sensitive for use inside our small travel trailer (which tends to slightly move when walking inside) by trying the original Sylvania light again.  But, this time, we used the ON/OFF switch setting and avoided the motion activated feature.  That did the trick!  The light was only on when turned on and the charge held for a very long time!  After learning this lesson, we now use a simple switch-on LED light in the closets.  The VIBELITE is inexpensive (we purchased in a pack of 4), bright, and comes with various mounting methods.  It’s powered by 3 x AAA batteries.  We mounted the lights by using the supplied Velcro adhesive strips on the back of the lights.  Although we have to physically switch the VIBELITE on, we are now assured we will have reliable bright lighting in the Scamp closets on each trip. Phew!

CLICK HERE TO BUY ON AMAZON

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.