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scamp travel trailer

Electric Basics for Your Small Travel Trailer

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Electric Basics for Your Small Travel Trailer

Small travel trailers aren’t too complex, but one important system you should know something about is the electrical system and how it works.  The most important reason for this is so that you always have the power you need to at least run the most essential functions necessary to keep your trailer operating (e.g. LED lights, water pumps, heater, and perhaps an electric tongue jack).  Most small travel trailers are powered by an on-board 12 Volt DC battery when off-grid or 110V AC onshore power when hooked up to a campsite’s electrical outlet (which is then converted to 12V DC).  Your trailer’s battery is about 12.7 volts when fully charged and a good rule to ensure long battery life is to never let your trailer’s battery go below 12 volts (about 50% of its capacity).  A battery voltage meter should always be used to monitor your trailer’s battery voltage throughout each trip (we had Scamp install one when our 2020 Scamp 13’ was being built and Scamp now installs them on its 2021 models).

A good way of explaining how electricity works in your small travel trailer is by using the water/hose analogy.  Your trailer’s battery can be thought of as a water pump; the charge of your battery is water, voltage is the water pressure pushing the water through the hose (trailer’s electrical cables), the current being the flow of the water (measured in Amps), and power is the total amount of water flowing in a given time (measured in watts).  Most campgrounds offer 110V AC 30 amp outlets (typically the amperage used in small travel trailer electrical systems) and sometimes 110V AC 50 amp outlets (used for large RVs – for running two or more high-powered devices simultaneously like an electric water heater and AC).  The higher number of amps means more power can be supplied to your trailer at any given time.  Campgrounds may also offer 15/20 amp outlets at 110V AC (like the ones typically found at home).  These outlets provide less power capacity than 30 / 50 amp outlets (meaning you may not be able to run your AC and electric water heater at the same time without tripping the circuit breaker) and generally should only be used as a last resort if a 30 amp hookup is not available for your small travel trailer (or if you are at a home using a 110V Male to 30A Female adapter).    It’s also a good idea to have an auxiliary battery power bank, like a Jackery 500, for use when you are off grid and want to preserve your trailer’s 12V battery power for essential devices.

Your small travel trailer will likely have a converter which converts 110 volt power coming in from your campground hookup outlet into 12 Volts.  This enables all the 12 volt devices in your small travel trailer to work off 110V, like your LED lights, pumps, etc.  When hooked up, you will also be able to use the 110V outlets inside your small travel trailer to power other plug-in devices you bring along with you on your trip (being careful not to exceed the circuit limits in your trailer – often 15 or 20 amp fuses / circuit breakers).  However, if your small travel trailer has 110V outlets, they are unlikely to work without hookups because most small trailers don’t have inverters (allows your 12V battery to power 110 volt outlets).  Common devices running off electricity inside your small travel trailer are LED lights, a fresh water pump that pressurizes your water system and allows you to use your fresh water tank (city water provided by a hose hookup does not require a pump since it in itself provides continuous water pressure), a water pump under the shower floor to keep the shower water draining into the grey tank and preventing the shower floor from flooding, the bathroom fan, the main overhead fan, TV, the electric furnace blower fan which blows the hot air typically produced by the propane heater, and other electric ignition systems used for lighting gas powered devices like the water heater, and potentially others.

One very important item that should be with your small travel trailer at all times is a 110V Male to 30A Female dogbone adapter.  This will allow you to connect your trailer’s 30A power cord into a regular household 110V outlet.  It’s essential when you want to hook up at a house or anywhere there is just a regular 110V outlet.  Since we store our Scamp travel trailer in our garage, we constantly use the adapter to keep our battery charged and also run the Scamp lights and other appliances when necessary.  Additionally, we often use the adapter so we can power our Scamp’s refrigerator the day before we leave on a trip so we can put our groceries in early [since our Scamp has 3 modes for running the fridge – AC, 12V (when driving), and Propane (when no electricity is available at the campground)].  Lastly, it’s very common for us to stop at a relative’s house during our trips and we use the adapter for power when we driveway camp.

A large external independent battery power bank can power many of your essential devices while preserving your travel trailer’s battery power for your super essential appliances like lights, fans, and pumps.  We purchased the Jackery 500 which has 518Wh of power (which can power a lot of devices for a long time).  To calculate how long the Jackery 500 (which is rated at 518 Wh) will run devices, simply divide the device’s total energy in the powerbank (518W) by the appliance’s energy draw (measured in Watts).  For example, our 12V TV draws 28W, so it should run about 18.5 hours (518Wh/28W).  We recently used our 12V TV powered by the Jackery on a trip from San Diego to Oregon and watched two hour movies each night for five nights and there was still about 50% charge left on the Jackery, confirming this calculation.  When boondocking (no power hookups), use your battery power bank to run your TV, charge your batteries (phone, camera, drone, etc.) and other portable battery powered devices.  This will ensure your small travel trailer batteries are completely dedicated to your essential devices.  The Jackery 500  has a 12V cigarette socket, USB ports, and even a 110V outlet.  It can even be used to run a portable air compressor.  You can charge it in your car while driving between camping locations, with 110V power outlets at campsites, and also with a solar panel.

Just because your small travel trailer is connected up to a 30A hookup, doesn’t mean all that current can flow through to your devices.  Your small travel trailer has fuses for each circuit to protect devices within your trailer.  Many of these circuits are allocated only 15 or 20 amps to protect the devices on the circuit and the 15/20 amp fuses protecting these circuits will blow if too many lights and appliances draw power from the circuit.  If this happens, the metal ribbon inside the fuse will melt and the circuit will go dead (meaning all the devices on the circuit will be rendered temporarily useless until the fuse if replaced).  This is designed to protect your appliances from getting too much power and, in turn, damaged.  So, it’s important you don’t plug anything in which may place too much demand on your small travel trailer’s electrical system (e.g. hairdryer).  So, when adding new 110V plug-in devices to your trailer, check the device’s power requirements (divide the device’s Watts / 110 volts = # of amps).  For example, if you want to use a small electric ceramic space heater, calculate the device’s amps and make sure it will draw less than the circuit can handle (let’s assume 15 amps) when also considering all other appliances on the circuit.  Each fuse in your small travel trailer should be labeled so you know what circuit it represents.  In this case, if there are already devices which are running at 6 amps on the circuit you want to use (you would have to figure out and calculate each device’s power requirements on that circuit if you want to be extra precise), then the ceramic space heater should use no more than 9 amps since 6 amps + 9 amps = 15 amps (and preferably less to be conservative).  If more than 15 amps is drawn, then the fuse will blow.  We just purchased a small electric space heater for our Scamp and calculated its current draws at medium (600W / 110v = 5.5 amps) and high heat settings (1200W / 110v = 10.9 amps).  We haven’t calculated all the devices’ power requirements on each circuit, but are comfortable we should be ok using the heater on the medium setting since the draw is only 5.5 amps (we wouldn’t risk using the high heat setting as just this heater alone is getting close to 15 amps and there could be other devices on the circuit we plug the heater into).  Alternatively, we could plug the heater straight into our Jackery 500 and run it on medium heat setting for about 50 minutes (518Wh/600W) or on the high heat setting for approximately 25 minutes (518Wh/1200W).  As you can see from this example, the ceramic heater draws too much power to run it for hours off a small portable auxiliary battery power bank.  In turn, it would be best to run this heater off of hookups at the campground or using the trailer’s propane powered furnace when off grid.

Some great electrical accessories to have in your small travel trailer are a good surge protector, a big box of fuses (in case you blow one), an electrical tester, and a solar panel.

  1. Good surge protector: It is common to hear stories about bad wiring at campgrounds.  And, plugging your travel trailer directly into a bad circuit or getting a power surge could cause damage to your trailer’s electrical system and appliances.  To avoid the risk, it’s best to use a good surge protector every time you plug in your trailer.  We have used the Progressive Industries EMS-PT30X for almost a year and have had a really good experience with it.  The scrolling digital display shows if there are any errors with the campground wiring and provides peace of mind that the power is clean.  It has a weather shield and a secure locking bracket to prevent theft.

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  1. Big box of auto fuses: It would be extremely annoying if an entire trip was ruined because no lights and other devices worked as a result of a blown eight cent fuse!  We purchased this 120 fuse set on Amazon (make sure to check your small travel trailer accepts standard-sized auto fuses) and we store it under one of our kitchen dinette benches in our Scamp.  Alternatively, there are also super cool GLOW fuses that glow when they are blown (but expect to pay more for these)!

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CLICK HERE TO BUY THE GLOW FUSES (50 pack)!

CLICK HERE TO BUY THE GLOW FUSES (10 pack)

  1. Electrical Tester: a digital multimeter is a great tool to check electrical continuity (such as seeing if a fuse is blown it’s not visible) or checking if power is coming out of the solar panel cables.

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  1. Solar Panel: a 100W solar panel is a great option to help recharge your small travel trailer batteries daily when camping without hookups.  We’ve found our solar panel can maintain our Scamp’s battery at 12.5V (a good place) for days on end as long as the sun shines. The solar panel may also be used to recharge your independent power bank.

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. I’m not an electrician or electrical engineer, so I just write about the basics above based on our experiences with our Scamp 13’ travel trailer.  Please consult a professional if you need expert help.

The Economics of Owning a Small Travel Trailer

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The Economics of Owning a Small Travel Trailer

If you’re like me, you probably want to stay in a nice place when travelling.  A place that is both clean and comfortable and located in a desirable location.  And, the lodging cost must not be exorbitantly expensive.  Everyone has different standards regarding what is an acceptable accommodation, and this will greatly determine the outcome of a cost comparison between buying a small travel trailer vs. staying in a hotel when travelling.  For people who don’t mind staying in inexpensive motels and whose main objective is to save money (and perhaps don’t desire or appreciate the experiences and beauty of staying right inside a National or State Park or are not concerned about bed bugs), buying a small travel trailer may not make economic sense.  But, for many, the case for buying a small travel trailer is compelling.

A lot of people who own small travel trailers likely don’t purchase one with the sole purpose of saving money.  They like the freedom of having their own home on wheels they can take with them whenever they get the desire to travel.   And they enjoy the comfort a small travel trailer provides — having a small travel trailer means the interior can be tailored to the owner’s preferences, including colors, deluxe bedding and personalized amenities (like shampoos, gourmet food, etc.).  And, there are far fewer concerns about germs since everything in your space is yours!  This is especially true during the pandemic.  For us, the main reason we decided to buy a small travel trailer is so that we could stay in the midst of beautiful State and National Parks (where it would be almost impossible, extremely expensive or uncomfortable to stay otherwise).

The average rate at a Hilton hotel in the U.S. last year was around $145 / night and slightly over $200 / night at a Marriott.  And, rates at hotels within National Parks are often much higher.  For example, as of this writing, the rate at the Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite for June 2021 starts at $341 / night (and goes up to $1,302 / night).  Lodging rates in larger popular cities, such as San Francisco, also tend to be particularly high.  In contrast, campsite rates at State and National Parks are typically $45 or less / night.  It is important to note that there is often rate inflation, annually pushing nightly hotel rates continually higher year after year.  In contrast, once you buy your small travel trailer, the only rate inflation you may experience will be the campground fees (which generally are very low).  And, after spending a night at a hotel, you’ve spent your money and walk away (just carrying away the experience).  In contrast, at the end of your trip staying in your small travel trailer, you get to drive it home and use it again and again!  And, interestingly, small fiberglass travel trailers like the Scamp, typically hold their value very well over time so you shouldn’t experience significant depreciation either.

Because everyone’s situation is different (e.g. hotel preference, RV preference, number of people travelling, type of tow vehicle, food preference, # of days travelling….), it would be very superficial to draw a specific exact numerical conclusion on the cost savings which may be achieved by travelling by small travel trailer.  But, in general, the savings tend to be significant because nightly rates at campgrounds are usually significantly less than at hotels and food can be brought along and prepared in the trailer vs. paying a premium at restaurants.  However, there are some considerations that may make travelling by small travel trailer more expensive or less desirable.  For example, if a tow vehicle is not already owned, this could be a significant expense.  Also, driving long distances each day can significantly raise the cost of a driving trip due to fuel costs.  Additionally, buying a more expensive small travel trailer (e.g. Airstream) or paying a lot to rent one can eliminate any cost savings as well.  And, some people may just prefer hotels and eating out at restaurants despite higher costs.  And, in some situations, hotels may be better situated for a specific location preference.

Having just completed our first year owning our 2020 Scamp 13’ small travel trailer — spending 31 nights during 6 trips and visiting 22 locations – our experience has been extremely positive and economically sound.  We paid about $18K for our almost fully loaded Scamp (with wider 54” bed and front bathroom), including the $2,195 delivery charge (driven from the Scamp factory in Backus, Minnesota to our home in San Diego, California).  We store our Scamp in our garage, so there are no storage costs.  We pay less than $400 / year for travel trailer insurance.  California PTI registration (for travel trailers 16’ or less) is only $10 every 5 years!  Maintenance costs on small travel trailers are extremely low.  Our campground stays for the year averaged around $33 / night for a total of just over $1K for our first year (31 nights) of travelling in our Scamp 13’.  One contributing factor to this low rate is that a number of stay overs were for free at either relative’s homes or Harvest Hosts or Boondockers Welcome sites.  We also brought our own food along for all our trips or had meals with relatives at their homes.  If we had stayed in hotels for the 31 nights and purchased meals each day, we probably would have conservatively spent around $200 / night or over $6K for our first year [31 nights x ($150 / night + $50 / meals / day for 2 people)].  So, in our case, based on our first year of travel, we saved roughly $5K in one year by owning a small travel trailer, which is almost 30% the cost of the trailer in savings.  It’s easy to see, that if one purchases a reasonably priced small travel trailer (<$20K), it will likely pay for itself in just a few years of travel if used regularly.

We’ve found the benefits of owning and travelling with a small travel trailer go way beyond economic.  We’ve been able to experience exquisitely beautiful locations in a variety of different settings in State and National Parks over the past year (see our Adventures section).  Despite what is regularly reported in the news, we did not experience crowds at the campgrounds we’ve visited.  We did have some difficulty in finding open campgrounds at the last minute, but always found alternative available locations.  The campsites have usually been extremely quiet.  And, we have not missed the typical noises coming from behind a hotel room wall, sheet inspections of a hotel room bed, being very hygienically careful in hotel bathrooms or wondering about food safety when eating out.  It’s been great waking up in nature and making pancakes on our stove or meeting up with friends also staying at the campground for a hike.  Watching a movie at a remote location is also a special treat (see How to Watch Movies in the Wild).  We’ve also enjoyed staying over in relatives’ driveways to visit as well as free stay overs at farms (Harvest Hosts / Boondockers Welcome).   Lastly, we’ve made a number of friends who we never would have met without staying in campgrounds.

Owning a small travel trailer can not only be an economic win as a travelling solution, but may also provide unexpected social, culinary, fitness, and soul filling opportunities along the way.  Highly recommended!

 

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. 

Is Converting the Dinette-Bed 2x/Day in a Scamp 13′ a Deal Breaker?

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Is Converting the Dinette-Bed 2x/Day in a Scamp 13′ a Deal Breaker?

One key consideration when selecting a small travel trailer is bed configuration.  Will the bed be the right size for two people?  Can I leave the bed down all the time and still use the kitchen table?  How easy is it to convert the bed into the dinette in the morning and back again into the bed in the evening?  These questions are often key variables when considering choices of small travel trailers.

Health experts typically recommend between 7 and 9 hours of sleep per night for adults.  So, if a person usually sleeps about 8 hours per night, they spend 1/3 of each day sleeping!  That’s a lot of time!  In turn, it’s really important to seriously consider sleep when deciding on a trailer brand and configuration.  With the smallest travel trailers (around 13’ in length), there usually is a compromise in order to get both a nice sized bed and dinette.  This compromise is the necessity to convert the bed to the dinette every morning (and back to the bed in the evening).  This is the case for our Scamp 13’, which has a very roomy full-sized bed for two people (54” wide x 76” long) and, after conversion, a generously roomy kitchen table for four people.  For many, the perceived time and effort it takes to make this daily conversion is a deal breaker.  Often, the solution for those not wanting to undertake these daily conversions twice a day is to buy a larger trailer with a bed which can be left down all the time.  For example, the Scamp 16’ allows for a side two-person dinette (offering the possibility for the bed to always be left down).  In this case, no daily conversion is necessary (however, if the bed is left down, the usable dinette table in the Scamp 16’ is much smaller than that in the Scamp 13’).

After deciding on a Scamp small travel trailer (see our article on Ordering our 2020 Scamp), we needed to choose between the 13’ and 16’ models.  While both allow for the low cost $10 every 5 years California PTI registration (available for small trailers 16’ or less), the Scamp 13’ fits in our garage better, is a bit lighter (up to 800 lbs lighter than the Scamp 16″ Standard according to Scamp!), and has the wider 54” bed option not available on the Scamp 16’ Standard.  We didn’t think sleeping on a 43” wide bed would be as comfortable for two people.  So, with that, our decision was made and we were committed to undertaking the twice a day dinette-bed conversion when travelling in our Scamp 13’.  We just hoped it was not going to be a real pain and get to be too much after a while.

In the end, undertaking the daily dinette-bed conversion was just not that big a deal.  Perhaps it’s because we only travel every month or so (up to 10 days at a time) and aren’t living in our Scamp 13’ full time.  However, it seems not much different than making our bed every day at home.  The actual conversion of flipping up the table arm, lowering the table into the bed position, and sliding the cushions over the tables is ridiculously easy (and similar for the reverse procedure).  Laying out the memory foam mattress topper and sleeping bag takes a little more time.  But, overall, the entire process is very doable and we are happy we chose the Scamp 13’.  If we were living in the Scamp full time, then it probably would be nice to have the bed down all the time.  If I were a solo traveler, I would likely order the Scamp 13’ with bigger 54” bed and implement a table modification to allow for a hybrid bed-table setup – so the bed can always be left down and still allow for a table (similar to the great approach presented in this discussion here).

In order to see how much time it actually takes one person to make the dinette-bed conversion, we made the above video and timed it.  In both cases of conversion (dinette to bed and bed to dinette), the time it took one person is less than three minutes.  So, if spending 6 minutes or less per day on making / unmaking your bed is reasonable and you don’t mind getting a little bit of exercise, choosing a smaller trailer (such as the Scamp 13’) could actually end up giving you more room for your dinette and bed than if you chose a slightly larger model trailer with a dedicated bed.  Additionally, you might also find you are getting into more campgrounds as a result of your smaller size (secret)!

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. 

It’s Hip to be Square

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It’s Hip to be Square

Sometimes a shape is very important.  This certainly can be the case when packing your small travel trailer refrigerator.  Small items tend shift when travelling down the road and the problem can be especially bad when items are cylindrical (like water bottles) and can roll around.  If the refrigerator isn’t completely packed, a loose water bottle can crash into other items, possibly damaging them in transit.  Additionally, a heavy item that is rolling around inside the refrigerator could potentially leak and create a big mess.

On our first few Scamp trips, we secured water bottles in the refrigerator with Velcro straps.  This method worked ok but made it a nuisance to quickly remove the water bottles.  We noticed that items that were in square boxes (like soup) didn’t move around much during trips.  So, we replaced our water bottles with one square water bottle that we refill with pure water when it is low (we carry two 4 gallon drinking water safe water jugs in our SUV which we fill with our reverse osmosis water system at home before we leave on a trip).  The square water bottle works great and tends to say in its place in the refrigerator without using straps!

Now, we try to choose square containers for anything that will need to be refrigerated, if possible. Since we like pancakes on Sunday mornings, we found a great brand of pure premium maple syrup (Parker’s) that we intend to refill with our favorite pure maple syrup when it runs out.  We took Parker’s maple syrup up to Mammoth Lakes on our last trip and it held its position in the fridge well!  Other items packaged in square containers that we enjoy and take in our Scamp’s refrigerator are Macadamia Milk and boxed soup.

Lots of other food items can either be found in square packaging or packed in square containers.  For example, fruits like grapes are nicely stored in sealed containers.  The bottom line is to avoid putting heavy cylindrical objects like bottled water or soda cans in your small travel trailer’s refrigerator when travelling because they can cause issues.  Instead, be aware, that it’s hip to be square!

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. 

Save Time & Money with a Home Dump!

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Save Time & Money with a Home Dump!

One of the biggest concerns of small travel trailer campers is the status of their Fresh, Grey, and Black water tank levels and the necessity to Dump the tanks before it’s too late.  A small travel trailer with sink, bathroom and shower generally has four tanks [e.g. Fresh tank to hold fresh water, Hot Water tank (usually fed from the Fresh tank), Grey tank (the water that is drained from the sink and shower), and Black tank (holds what is flushed down toilet)].  Our 13’ Scamp travel trailer with bathroom has a 12 gallon Fresh tank, 6 gallon Hot Water tank, 21 gallon Grey tank, and 9 gallon Black tank.

It’s important to monitor tank levels so you don’t run out of water or, possibly worse, have dirty or hazardous water / waste back up into your trailer!  Most campers get an idea fairly quickly how long they can go without dumping their tanks.  When we purchased our Scamp travel trailer, we had a tank monitor sent directly to the factory and had them integrate it into our Scamp when completing our custom build.  We use the SeeLevel II tank monitoring system (we purchased ours on RVupgrades.com because the price was much lower than on Amazon).   This monitor allows one to see the levels of all the tanks as well as the travel trailer voltage (which you want to make sure doesn’t go much lower than 12 volts – around 50% charge).  We rely on the monitor religiously to make sure we are keeping our tanks and voltage at the correct levels.

We have found that with two people each taking a fast shower every day, regularly using the Scamp bathroom, and using the sink sparingly (using paper plates or washing dishes outside if allowed), we need to Dump on about day 3.  If we are at a campsite with full hookups, then it’s no big deal.  However, if we need to move the trailer to Dump, then we try to be very careful in how we use our water so the need to Dump is less frequent.  The Achilles heel for us is the Grey tank which fills up after a couple of days (primarily due to showers).  The Black (toilet) tank usually doesn’t need to be refilled until day 5.  And the Fresh tank is generally not an issue since there usually is a spigot or water hose wherever we camp (even at areas with no hookups).  So, at campsites without hookups, we either have to use a shared Dump in the campground on day 3 if we are staying more than a couple of days or drive to a Dump.  For the future, we are considering using an outdoor shower to extend our time between Dumps since it’s the Grey tank filled quickly by showers which greatly limits our time between Dumps.

A home Dump is similar to the Dump hookup used to dump the Black and Grey tanks at the campsite.  The home Dump just utilizes the sewer cleanouts (for use by plumbers when they need to clear a clog inside the main sewer pipe going from the home to the City sewer system).  This pipe is the conduit which takes all the material flushed down the toilets in the home to the City sewer system.  The sewer cleanout covers can typically be found somewhere in the front of the home.  Our cleanout covers are located in our garage.  There are two covers which both go into the same sewer pipe, but each hole directs the plumber’s auger in a different direction (the cover closest to the road on ours directs the auger toward the house and the cover closest to the house directs the auger toward the street).  It really doesn’t matter which cleanout you use to Dump because material dumped from your trailer will go down into the sewer line either way.

A home Dump is fantastic if feasible and allowed by local laws.  It’s especially useful when arriving home after staying at a campsite with no Dump, or where the Dump had a long wait or wasn’t easily available, or was a bit too expensive (we’ve paid as low as $7.50 to Dump at a Valero station in Santa Barbara up to $15 to Dump at a private location in Mammoth Lakes).  In our area, the closest Dump is about 30 minutes’ drive away!  The home Dump also makes it possible for us to test our systems (shower, sink, toilet), sanitize and flush these systems with Happy Campers, and sanitize and flush our Fresh and Hot Water tanks.  It would be much less convenient and more expensive to do these tasks away from home.

We were very fortunate in that our sewer cleanout access areas happened to be located right in front of where our Scamp travel trailer sits in our garage!  In order to utilize them, we just had to have our plumber cut a few inches of the pipe down into the hole so an enlarged PVC cleanout adapter (available at Home Depot) could be attached to easily accommodate our 3” RV sewer hose with the cement cover still able to sit on top when not in use.

When searching for your cleanout, keep in mind that there is usually a cover (cement) that says “sewer” on it.  The cleanout is likely to be outside your home between the foundation and the street or could be on the side of your home (closest to the bathroom).  Hopefully, it will be located in an area that is convenient for you to place your travel trailer within 6 feet of the opening. It’s also best if the cleanout is either level or below your travel trailer so gravity allows the material being dumped to easily drain into the cleanout.  The cleanout pipe is usually 4 inches in diameter with a screw cap that has a square knob or indentation on the top.  Please let me know if this works for you!

Cleanliness is next to godliness!

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. 

 

Stop Cranking Your Arm and Replace Your Manual Tongue Jack!

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Stop Cranking Your Arm and Replace Your Manual Tongue Jack!

One of the first few things we replaced on our Scamp travel trailer was our hand crank tongue jack.  The tongue jack sits on the front of the trailer and allows one to raise and lower the ball coupler so the trailer can be attached to the tow vehicle.  It didn’t take too long to understand how much cranking is required when hitching and unhitching the Scamp travel trailer!  Not only can cranking over and over be repetitively hard on your arm, shoulder and joints, but it takes a lot of time and energy.  It’s also the time when you want to be concentrating on other parts of the process and cranking the jack up and down can be distracting.

Our process typically works as follows:  once the rear stabilizing jacks on the Scamp trailer have been raised, I crank up the front of the trailer, so that the ball receptacle is higher than the ball on our SUV.  I then back up our SUV so that the ball is aligned with the receptacle.  Sometimes, I have to get out of the SUV and crank up the tongue a little more to make sure it clears above the ball.  Then, I back up the SUV so the ball is directly under the ball receptacle on the trailer.  Then, once the alignment is perfect, I crank down the trailer tongue until the ball receptacle goes down completely over the ball and the coupler latch can be completely locked into place.  When arriving at the campsite, after securing the trailer with wheel chocks, I unlock the couple latch and detach all cables connected to the SUV, and then start cranking again to raise the front of the trailer until there is plenty of room for the ball on the SUV to clear when the SUV is driven forward.  When the SUV is driven forward and away from the trailer, the trailer again needs to be cranked (usually down) until the trailer is level.  And, all of the above cranking processes are to be repeated when leaving the campsite and arriving back at home!

It didn’t take too long for us to realize that all the manual cranking wasn’t a fun way to enjoy our Scamp trips!  Fortunately, changing the tongue jack is super simple!  And, electric tongue jacks are easy to install and not too expensive!  The Scamp travel trailer has just three bolts – so, it’s just a matter of securing the Scamp onto the SUV (like you are going on a trip), raising the manual jack all the way up, removing the bottom plate on the jack, unscrewing the three screws that attach the jack to the trailer, and lifting the entire assembly up and out of the jack shaft.  It’s important to make sure that whatever electric tongue jack your order has the same screw hole pattern as your original screw hole pattern so that when you lower the jack into place, the screw holes match.  Then, it’s just a matter of screwing down the jack into position and connecting the power cord to the battery (and possibly a ground wire).  Be careful in that often Black is positive for DC power jack arrangements (and White negative) – so, it’s important to check your manual to make sure the correct color is attached to the positive battery terminal and perhaps negative terminal if required.

We ordered the Barker 32454 VIP 3500 Power Jack for our Scamp travel trailer and have been extremely satisfied with the jack and the company.  This is one of the pricier power jacks, but we feel the quality is worth it and have had really good interactions with customer service when we initially had questions.  The jack has performed really well and is fast and quiet.  We have never had an issue with it, using it regularly for almost a year.  The jack is grounded by the trailer itself by the screw plate, so only one positive wire goes to the battery.

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I also had the opportunity to install a much less expensive jack for my friend Dana who has a 16’ Scamp.  She chose the Weize Power Jack, which is also a 3500 lb. jack and meant for A-frame trailers like the Scamp.  Installation was very similar to the Barker, except there were two connector wires.   Dana reports that she has been very satisfied with this jack.

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Both Barker and Weize power jacks have a manual bar which can crank the jack in case the trailer battery is depleted.

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.