The value of time

Remember a few posts back, in the details the owner said he had all the original paperwork? That's like having the original dealer sticker on a classic car. It details all the standard equipment and any accessories. Most importantly it shows the original purchase price. In May of 1987 the original owner paid the following:

13 ft Scamp: $3795.00
Small window over cooktop (change from vent hood): $40.00
Spare tire and vinyl cover: $83.00
two rear stabilizer jacks (mounted) $30.00
Silverware drawer: $30.00
Delivery: $200.00

total $4203.00

In October of 2011 some 24 years later I paid the 2nd owner $3700.00. Currently a factory fresh 2011 model 13 ft Scamp costs between $11,000 and $13,000.00.

It is not known what he paid the original owner, but I do know that in the short time he owned it he did replace the tires, costing him $142.00. He also purchased all new cushions and covers from Scamp, at a cost of over $500.00, and replaced two plexiglass windows, $177.00. Somewhere along the way the Scamp lost part of its interior 12 volt system and its two burner propane cooktop.

There's no place like home

Much to my delight the trip home was uneventful.  My 4cylinder Tucson had no trouble pulling the camper on level ground, and only minor "I know it is behind me" issues on hills. The trick is to think like an 18 wheeler-generating speed and momentum on the downhills to carry you through the climbs. It was frightening to actually see the gas gauge go down as I was climbing the Berkshires!

Little did I know what was going on behind me...
Remember that plate I worked so hard to get from the RMV? Apparently it fell off shortly after I left Rome. Lucky for me there were no issues with the authorities on the way home, and even on my first camping trip the following week. You see I didn't know it was gone until I got back from my first camping trip. Also on that trip the entire lockset from the camper's door rattled itself loose and not only fell off the camper it fell out.

Finally after 5 hours out and 5 hours back I pulled in to my mom's driveway. The trailer dolly worked well enough that I could move the trailer by myself if necessary, and it was tucked away for the few days until my first camping trip.

I began to make mental notes about what I would need to buy or bring. This blog will hopefully detail some of my experiences outfitting the trailer with a new stove, interior lights, additional shelving, new 12V system, and new propane system and so on.

When in Rome

Plate and cash in hand I set off to meet the seller who was returning from his last weekend with the Scamp at a group meet in upstate NY. Although he lived another hour west we agreed to meet in Rome as it was on his way home and would save me two hours. I chose a Walmart parking lot just in case there were any last minute trailer related purchases.

Up to this point I had NEVER been inside one of these little egg campers. I'd seen many of them on the road or in campgrounds, and I'd seen many photos of the interiors, but never been inside one. In fact my last experience with any RV had been sleeping in my uncle Bill's converted school bus with about 12 kids ( his 8, my family's 4, and maybe a few others) when I was about 12 years old.

A visual inspection and a brief tutorial were offered by the seller, and the transaction was done. I put my plate on the Scamp, hitched up and was off. Well, off to the nearest Harbour Freight Hardware store. I decided that since the trailer was going to be stored at my mother's house, and that I would have to cross her lawn that I would buy a trailer dolly rather than drive my car across the lawn. The dolly will also come in handy maneuvering the Scamp around campsites. I have yet to learn how to back up with a trailer attached.

Finally it is mine. BTW I am pulling it with a 4cylinder Hyundai Tucson with a manual transmission. The Scamp only weighs 950 lbs. (dry)

Sure I can. Insure I cannot.

The seller and I agreed on a price and spent a couple of weeks negotiating a time when I could come to pick it up. In the meantime I had to get a license plate. Except I didn't know how. I went to the Mass RMV site and looked up trailers and campers. This being a Government site there was little or no information except the registration fee; $30.00 annually and they all expire on 12/31. Thus "informed" I went to the local RMV office and was told hat I needed to fill our an RMV-1 form and that I needed an endorsement from my insurance company.  When I complained that nowhere on the RMV Web site is this mentioned the clerk laughed and said '"You need insurance to put anything on the road". So I called Flo and asked. You know Flo, that very progressive sales clerk on TV. She didn't know what I was talking about, and stated that they don't insure campers in MA.  Incredulous I went back inside the RMV and told laughing boy that they don't do it. He said "of course they do". I put him on the phone with Flo. Minutes later, getting no further with Flo than I he suggested going to a local office and speaking to one of Flo's co-workers in person. Twenty five miles later... To cut a long story short it took three attempts to get the stamp on the form and get the plate. Now Off to Rome.

A long time coming

Turns out the NY Scamp is for real. The current owner really wants to build himself a custom teardrop, and has put the Scamp up for sale.  There's just one problem. It is in Rome NY, a 5 hour drive ( each way). If I do this I'm going to have to do this sight unseen. The pictures he posted look great. I asked for more and he sent them. So far so good. We talk on the phone. He details it all.

details: 1987 model 1013
13’ Travel Trailer manufactured May 19, 1987
Length 13’  Height 7’2”  Width 6’8”
Interior L 10’  Interior H 6’1”  Interior W 6’6”
Weight Approx. 950lbs.  Hitch Weight Approx. 85lbs.
Tire 600 X 13 (175/80D13) New
110V electric lights and outlets 15Amp
3 storage compartments under front bunks  Storage under dinette seat
30” X 42” fold down dinette table is center of double bed, (All cushions are new)
Large clothes wardrobe Cabinets over sink
All cabinet hardware and particleboard doors have been replaced with new birch plywood doors
Insulated fiberglass body with original finish
Stainless steel sink with 12 gal water tank
New carpet
New front and rear plexi-glass windows
Spare tire w/ original Scamp cover
Stabilizer jacks
New custom room darkening curtains
Just had the entire interior shampooed!
Second owner
All original paperwork included.

The Good Sam Club Theory

After many scams I asked an RV owning friend if he had ever heard of such a thing. John enlightened me. "Campers are by nature good and trusting people. An easy mark for scammers. Campers tend to be the type of person who would stop to help a disabled motorist, or lend you a cup of sugar at the campgrounds. All the scammer needs is one to send him the shipping money."

Still I wanted that Scamp. People all around me were buying trailers or teardrops or full blown motorhomes. My group of kite flying friends would go for weekends in Rhode Island or Maine or Connecticut. It seemed the ones with RVs were having the most of the fun. Not to mention my annual week-long camping trip to Cape Cod.
Finally after years of looking my teardrop owning friend found one for sale on the Tear Drops and Tiny Trailers forum. Only problem it was in New York and I am very leery of another scam...

Scamps and Scams part Deux

Wrong.

Was I that Naive? Apparently so. It never occurred to me that someone selling a camper trailer could be a scammer. I mean of all things to try and scam, a camper?
Several months later, not yet realizing that the first listing was a scam I came across another listing in Craigslist. Same story...nice price, nice looking camper, and it was in Billerica, MA.
me: "Hello, I'd love to see the Scamp if it is still available. I can be in Billerica today."
seller: "I'm sorry, that listing is wrong. The camper is on Oklahoma." (SNIP) "but I can ship it to you."

I immediately Googled "Camper Scam" and came up with this exact ploy. Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice...no frikkin way.

This went on for months and years. Every Scamp I came across on Craigslist was a scam. I was beginning to lose faith in humanity.

Scamps and Scams

One would think that finding a Scamp Camper would be relatively easy. They are still in production in Backus MN. They are relatively inexpensive, and because of the fiberglass construction, are long-lived. Simple is as simple does, so I went looking on Craigslist and the RV forums for Scamps for sale. Sure enough there were a few, but mostly in the midwest, west coast, or deep south. I was hoping for something more local, so I kept looking. Sometime later I found one in Boston! The price was right and the pictures shown on Craigslist looked really sweet. I emailed...
me: "Hello, Is the Scamp still available? I'm in Boston, and can come by today to take a look, and possibly buy it today."
seller: "Boston? I 'm sorry, I let my son list it. He must have posted it everywhere. I'm in Kansas City."
me: "Oh well, too far for me to travel."
seller: "Well, I could ship it to you. They're pretty light, and I know a good shipper."
me: "No, thanks, it already sounds complicated. I was hoping to see one before I buy one."
seller: Well I'll give you an option to return it if you don't like it. Just pay the shipping and we can send it out."
me: "Still, no thanks."
End of story, right?

In The Beginning

Several years ago I got it in my head that I wanted a small fiberglass RV.  Camping in a tent was getting old, and so was I. An Eriba Puck was my dream camper. Eriba is a Belgian company that makes "Caravans" for the European market. The realities of finding one here in the USA, and finding parts for maintenance, opened my eyes to other possibilities. Scamp makes fiberglass molded campers right here in the good old US of A. They make a 13 foot model with 10 ft of living space. The hunt was on.