Insure I can Insure I can

Like The Tittle Engine that could I am approaching the long hill climb to the RMV. Round Two: Preparing for the upcoming season I am now in the process of re-registering the trailer. Two things have happened , well three really. (1) I lost the license plate. It probably fell off 5 minutes after I left Rome. I'm not really sure if it matters, since (2) all trailer registrations have to be renewed annually in MA. I knew this going in, and thought it absurd since most auto registrations are good for two years*. Finally (3) I changed insurance from Progressive to Allstate.

Allstate does not have a physical presence in MA. Which begs the question: How do I get their stamp on the RMV form? Perhaps there's a new device or system of interconnected communication that could help? But alas this is Massachusetts, and we are talking about and the RMV.  Form One must have a stamp!

A call to Allstate hooks me up with a lovely lady in Mumbai who at first tells me that Allstate does not insure campers in MA. (So did Progressive if you recall.) I, now an expert at this, informed her that all I needed was an endorsement proving insurance-just like for my car. This seemed to work. However the nice lady in Mumbai can't do it and has to transfer me to another department which at the moment is not answering their phones. She promised she would send them a message and that they will call me.... we'll see how that goes.

* Seriously? One year registrations for trailers? If Massachusetts didn't change the director of the RMV more often than most people change underwear they may be able to address this and other absurdities and anachronisms. E.G. The MA RMV does not notify you that the trailer registration has expired, so I guess there's no automatic renewal, no on-line option for trailers. The most egregious offense, they stopped notifying people that your driver's  license is about to expire!

Barking and Clucking

A waste of an opportunity.

Remember a few posts ago I mentioned that I was purchasing a 15 gallon Barker waste water tank? Well it arrived, and quite frankly I am underwhelmed. The cost of these units seems extraordinarily high compared to the amount of thought that actually went into the design of the unit. Please understand this is not a complaint about quality, the tank and the components are made of quality materials, rather me just shaking my head and clucking at the poor user interface. First, the tank comes complete with a 1 ft section of hose, far too short to reach the gray water outlet on my rather small Scamp. Three to five feet would be far more useful for most people. Second, it came with a 3"solid cap, and a 3" discharge cap for dumping waste water, a 3" by 4ft wire wound coiled vinyl tube, and a hose clamp. Nice except the tube does not fit over the discharge cap. No amount of force could make it fit. Now I see this as a quality control problem too. Did anyone at Barker try to assemble these? Third, the so-called tow handle. Supposedly this is designed to wedge under the tank's molded plastic handle and allow someone to tow it to the dump station. Really? It has no mechanical attachment to the tank. From my early assessment, towing this along most camp ground roads could easily dislodge the handle from the tank. (Please reply if your experience is different) Finally other than a cap tether, which broke after only a couple of uses, the lack of any storage or attachment points for these various accessories. Would it have killed them to mold in a place to store the hose and handle, or add a tether to the garden hose cap at the top of the tank?

Problem solving: I can't do much about the missing storage points, but I did find a cheap alternative to the ill fitting 3" dump hose. WalMart has a $3.47 cap that has a standard garden hose attachment point. Now since this will always be a grey water tank I think the garden hose outlet will be plenty adequate for dumping. For the price of these tanks I think that the manufacturer should offer this instead of the plain Jane cap that comes with the tank, and they should probably make sure hoses fit the caps they were intended for.

Show Power

Yesterday I went to the Boston RV show with a few camper buddies. I knew going in that Scamp would not be an exhibitor, I was there to tag along as one couple decided whether and when to upgrade their own RV, and to see some parts dealers. I had a shopping list, but was disappointed to find only one parts dealer at the show. Also disappointed to see that his prices were not so show special. I wanted to purchase a 15 gallon Barker waste water tote. He had it at $126.00 plus Mass' 6.25% sales tax. I have found them online for as low as $94.00 including shipping...tax free.

For a while now I have been on the fence about which power converter to buy. I need to start assembling the pieces required to rebuild the 12v system in my Scamp. As we were touring through the RVs on display I began to notice that almost all of them used WFCO converters. I have had my eye on one on eBay for some time, so this morning I went ahead and purchased it. The WFCO 8712.

 

The WFCO8712 features

30-amp main AC breaker and a total of up to three 20-amp branch AC circuits can be installed (breakers not included). DC circuits include LED lights that illuminate to indicate open circuits.

Warranty Period : UL® and cUL®-Listed.  FCC Class B Two Year Limited Product Warranty Output Power : 12 amps DC output

I'm pretty sure 30Amps AC will be more than enough to power my 10 foot Scamp. Currently (current-ly, get it) it has a 15Amp main breaker. I have been told by some that 12Amps DC is quite enough, and not enough by others. So far I will be powering 4 LED dome lights, a standard car radio, (this will be discussed in an upcoming post), an exhaust fan, and possibly a TV/DVD player. I will have 12v plugs for people to visit with their Game-Boys, or iPads, and when I am not on shore power I will have 110V from the 400watt converter mentioned in an earlier post.

Somewhere out there is an electrical wizard that may be able to tell me if 12amps (DC) will be enough, but for now I'm satisfied just by the sheer number of manufacturers that use it, that the WFCO brand is the way to go.

addendum 2/10

I just received the WFCO 8712. Nice looking, well built unit, but the manual is lacking. For example it states that on the AC side the 8712 supports a 30 amp main and up to three branch circuits. Not so much. The box only has room for two breakers. Sure I could take one of those spots and install a double breaker, but the other? Is it for the mains power? Is it another branch? Is it both?... Somewhere out there someone has published a better manual. I saw it, I just didn't bookmark it at the time.

First Light

A 59 degree day in February gives cabin fever a whole new meaning. So today I unwrapped my Scamp and ventured inside to begin the installation of the new LED lights. Part one is simple enough, replace the two existing OEM incandescant fixtures with the new LED ones. The OEM lights are riveted onto the fibeglass cabinet above the sink and stove. It became a matter of drilling out the old rivets and replacing with the new. Finding long rivets is a problem. The Home Center had a fairly limited choice.  The longest I could find was 1/2" and that required me to drill new mounting holes on the LED lights. The built in holes would requre a much longer rivet. The new fixture is taller than the old, but not as wide, so that leaves two holes visible from the old rivets. As of now I will leave them but I hope to find some little caps or plugs. Oh, by the way I wasn't able to test these new lights. I still have no battery. but am thinking of the Exide 34X. Seems to be a good compromise. it is an AGM, deep cycle multi-duty, and at around $150.00 fits my target price.

Event Planning

I'm a big fan of Bob Thomson's book The New Victory Garden. In it he displays a child-like enthusiasm waiting in the early weeks of January for the seed catalogs to arrive so he can start planning his garden. When they arrive he sits and sorts and plots and plans until his entire garden is completely planted in his head. He knows to the day when he will be able to pick that first tomato.

Up until now however I have not a big fan of planning ahead. The only thing that for me is certain is an annual August  camping trip that must be reserved in February. Other than that I wake up on a Saturday morning, look at the club calendar and decide what to do that weekend. Since the Scamp I have started to change it up a bit. I have been looking deeper into the calander, several months in advance, planning which events I will attend, which will require camping overnight, and starting to look at campsites in the area of the event.

Yesterday I learned that what would have been my first camping friendly event this year may be cancelled. Bummer.  I learned this from a couple who were also planning to bring their new camper to the event. So we started to plan alternatives, and that got me thinking, why not plan my own camping events? There's plenty of State parks in New England with plenty of available spaces. So I jumped on the ReserveAmerica Web site and picked a few choice weekends in the Spring. My garden may suffer this year, but the Scamp will get used as often as possible regardless of cancelled events.

I also found out that the New England RV Dealers Association's Boston RV & Camping Expo will be next weekend, February 2-5, 2012 at the Seaport World Trade Center - Boston, MA. I went last year, and though there were no Fiberglass eggs on display I did get a ton of information about campgrounds in New England. Each state was represented, and all had nice guidebooks available for the asking. The guidebooks not only list state parks but private campgrounds, attractions, restaurants and some events and festivals that occur annually.

Getting a handle on things

I think I am starting to get a handle on some of the minor repairs that my Scamp needs. The previous owner managed to mangle the handle of the tongue jack which is used to level the trailer.  I thought in this disposable world I would have to replace the entire jack. Easier said than done, because it is welded onto the frame of the trailer. Problem solved. Instead of replacing the welded on tongue jack I found the mother load of all replacement handles. http://accessories.etrailer.com/search?w=jack%20handle. It looks like this one will work.

The Web site even has a quick video showing how to remove the old broken one and replace it. http://www.etrailer.com/Accessories-and-Parts/Dutton-Lainson/DL22674.html

Note to E-trailer.com - the video does not work properly on a Mac using Firefox. Or should that be a note to Firefox? Well, considering it works fine in Safari...

Feeding The Habit.

Since buying my scamp I have been downsizing other hobbies to fund some of the improvements I want to incorporate into the scamp. I've mentioned new lighting, a revamped 12 volt system, cooktop and others. I've been selling some old collectibles and vintage toys, but yesterday I sold my first hobby...photography. I've been shooting since I was seven or eight years old. My first camera used 120 roll film and was purchased from an ad in the back of a comic book. I graduated to the Kodak Instamatic and flash cubes, and eventually to a real beauty; the Yashicamat 124G. All these cameras, and a job at a camera store led to developing and printing my own pictures in a darkroom fully equipped with an enlarger, sink, safelight etc.  Over the years I went through all the phases of photography. I at one time or another owned a Nikon, Canon, Olympus, even a WWII vintage Leica. I went from 120 to 35mm to 4"X 5" with a beautiful Nagoka field camera. Later I decided that this was all too much, and that the equipment was getting into the way of photography. And besides, color was becoming my preferred medium. I sold it all. Every bit of it except for one Olympus OM3 camera. I was determined to concentrate on the image instead of the tech.

Cut to 25 years later. Lomography is in vogue. For those who don't know Lomography consists of using vintage cameras or modern reproductions of them to shoot. Some use 120 film, others use 35mm. I have always had an original Diana. I never did sell this little plastic camera, so I thought I'd try my hand at shooting some black and white. Since the advent of digital photography there are few resources available to develop and print black and white, so I proceeded to reacquire a complete darkroom setup. I was able to find an otherwise $250.oo enlarger for less than $50.00, and quickly accumulated all the other equipment. And that's as far as it went. Yes I did shoot some film, and yes I developed it, but never got around to setting up the darkroom.

I sold it all yesterday.

I will use the funds to purchase a nice battery for my Scamp.

Oh, that photo above? I took that with a Nikon F2, 1/60th sec. 400mm F5.6 lens, Ectachrome 400 film pushed two stops. (developed 3x longer than normal to increase the ASA to 1600).

Through the roof

So I've determined that all of these side cabinets mentioned in a previous post are home made. For the 13 foot model Scamp only ever made a rear cabinet over the dinette, and a front cabinet that hangs over the bunk beds*. I think the one over the bunks would be a bit intrusive on headroom. The Over the dinette cabinet can be ordered from Scamp for $150.00 and about the same in shipping costs. A number of people have just put up an open shelf, often matching measurements of certain accessories or games that they want to store there.  I think I am going to explore that option. In my mind I envision a place to get stuff off of the table when it comes time to make up the bed. My major concern is properly supporting the shelf. Remember the Scamp is nothing more than a fiberglass shell. No wooden frame exists to screw things into. All additions would require drilling through the fiberglass and either bolting or riveting. I imagine the shelf would have to be supported from above. That means drilling through the roof. Something I am not looking forward to.

Another project is a folding countertop extension. Looking at adding about 18" of countertop next to the stove. this would be hanging over the lower bunk.  This too would have to be mounted directly on the fiberglass cabinet. So I'd need to figure out how best to support a folding bracket or hinges.

I'd appreciate any comments from anyone with experience with fiberglass (campers or boats)


* UPDATE: Apparently some models of the 13 come with back and side upper cabinets ( over the dining/bed area.

Some assembly required

As the title states, some assembly required. I am in the process of assembling the bits and pieces that I need to update or replace old or outdated, or even missing items.

My first goal was to reinvigorate the propane system and install a new two burner cooktop. I found one on eBay for only $36.00, and it looked suitable. It fit right in the empty hole from the missing cooktop. I then needed a new propane regulator, and finding one wasn't as easy. You see the problem is I am cheap. Some people may say frugal, but I am just cheap. I went to the local RV dealer, only 52 miles away, and looked over their "Giant closeout sale" that did not include any of the stuff I needed. Their two stage propane regulator was around $70.00, so I thought surely I can find one cheaper. Amazon had one for $16.70, they also suggested that I purchase a regulator to tank hose. Only problem was the two did not fit. The regulator had a flare connector and the hose had a NPT connector. NEWSFLASH! NPT stands for Normal Pipe Thread. A quick trip to the Home Dept plumbing department turned up nothing that would convert these to fit each other. Luckily Amazon returns run smoothly and they soon replaced the hose with a proper one with a flare connection. Now I'm cooking with gas.

Here's a bunch of stuff that I have purchased so far. I still need a deep cycle battery, and a AC to DC converter/charger. I guess RVers call that a Power Center.

LED lights for the yet to be reinstalled 12V system. Including two singles to replace existing fixtures, and a new double dome. The Scamp currently does not have any overhead lighting. Talk about cheap, these were only $15.00 and $19.00

A double 12V cigarette lighter style socket that will be mounted into the cabinet ( somewhere yet to be determined). I purchased this at a local marine supply store.

A 400 watt DC to AC inverter. This too will be mounted so that I can easily access it. It has two 110V plugs and a single USB plug. It will be wired directly to the battery...when I get one of those. I'm hoping that this will be adequate for the few times I would need to briefly run 110V stuff when not attached to shore power. I do however find myself flirting with the better endowed 700 watt inverters.

The People's Camper

Now that I have been on my first night I have started to see some of the issues involved with owning a 1987 camper. Age is always a factor when it comes to older cars or campers. In some cases parts can only be obtained in junk yards. But where does one find a junk yard for fiberglass campers?  By way of history this is not the first old moving thing I have owned. My first car was a powder blue and primer grey 1970 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia Convertible. My mother has been quoted to say that all she ever saw of that car was my ass. I had my head inside the engine compartment more than I drove it. But it was a Volkswagen, and aided by John Muir's book "How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive" I felt that there was nothing not fixable. The Ghia was basically a dolled up VW Beetle. Many of the mechanical bits were the same as the Bug, and were easy to find as they often spanned many model years.

In a way I have come to see the Scamp as the Volkswagen of RVs. The 1987 model isn't that much different than the 2011 model. I can go on-line or call the factory and order everything from body parts to interior accessories. I can even order a complete toilet and shower kit. This lessens the fear factor when attempting repairs or modifications. I have already had to order a new inside door handle and rubber gaskets for the door. I was just about to order the propane tank hold downs until the guy I bought the Scamp from called and said he found them in his garage. I've talked with the factory reps about ordering and installing additional overhead cabinets. Initially I wanted another cabinet to mount over the dinette at the rear of the camper, but just yesterday I saw a photo of an additional side mounted cabinet. I need to do some research to see if this was available for the 13'. It may have only been for the 16' or19'. Or I could just call the factory.

First Night

Meant to post this last night ( New Year's Eve)...

So after getting the camper home a break-in trip was planned. My friend John who owns a 24 ft camper was planning an early October week in the Monadnock mountains in NH. Specifically Crotched Mountain. We do an annual Kite festival there for the Crotched Mountain School for brain injured children and young adults. It is part of their family day event. We fly kites outdoors for the kids and parents, and indoors with specially adapted kites for the kids in wheelchairs. Yes, kites fly indoors and no, we don't use fans.

Anyway, the trip was planned to go to a NH State Park. John had been there for a couple of days and was there to greet me and guide me into my camping spot. Remember I have never backed up with a trailer. We gave it a few attempts, but the short wheel base of my Tucson, combined with the very short Scamp made it nearly impossible. The slightest turn of the steering wheel made the Scamp swivel as if on a pivot. Soon I started smelling burning clutch ( My Tucson has a manual transmission), so we stopped the lesson and I pulled in to the site rather than backing in, and used the trailer dolly to position the Scamp.

At the campground besides water there are no hook ups. John has a quiet Honda Generator, which was great because I still don't have a functioning 12 volt system. We ran a cord from his generator to my Scamp. This at least gave me interior lights.

Things I learned right away:
1. It gets cold in the mountains in early October.
2. An electric heater could have made life more bearable.

The temperatures dropped to below freezing by bedtime. I had a small Propane two burner camp stove, so I thought I would crack a window and heat up the Scamp before bed. This did in fact work, but the camper quickly lost most of the heat and sleeping was difficult even with a heavy sleeping bag. Every time I turned I hit a cold spot and was jolted awake. The next morning cooking breakfast and coffee was enough to quickly heat the camper.
I don't advise using your propane cooker as a heat source. Unlike catalytic heaters the flame of a cooktop is inefficient, and lets off loads of carbon monoxide. So cracking a window, which is also required of catalytic heaters, is mandatory.

I'm looking into a 1500BTU catalytic heater. The Coleman Sportscat will do the trick I hope. Otherwise a built in RV furnace could cost about $600.00 Luckily for me I would only need heat for a few days at the beginning and end of the season. I don't see myself winter camping anytime soon.

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...