Back in 1976 when my 13' Scamp was produced, one of its features was that it cleared a 7' overhead door for garage storage. During remodeling, however, I upsized the wheels. More ground clearance let it access more interesting places to camp in recent years since. Currently, however, it's time to tuck it inside a garage for a short spell. Except now it's several inches too tall.
No worries. I have a solution.
Two years ago I built a car hauler. As far as road manners go it's been one of the most well behaved trailers I've ever had. What hasn't worked so well were the tail lights. They were the typical off-the-shelf product just like these.
The problem was: they weren't reliable. The bayonet bulb holders didn't maintain good contact. I had to remove the lens to fuss with one/both bulbs at least once every trip it seemed. So I replaced both with LED versions. Hopefully they will prove more durable. Time will tell. They're brighter, regardless. So it's already a value add.
One requirement for lil' yeti's makeover was fresh air. The Scamp originally had a ceiling vent. It was actually pretty neat technology in some ways. I just wasn't satisfied with how it was installed. Roof integrity was compromised by the old vent. The roof had actually sunk enough around the old vent to leak water inside when it rained. Unacceptable.
I removed the old vent in 2015 while summering in the precipitous White Mountains of NH. The roof hole was patched over. During the patch the ceiling was propped up and reinforced with extra fiberglass inside to correct and maintain proper shell geometry. Leak begone, permanently!
Lil' yeti already had hardware for securing twin LP tanks on its tongue.
While adequate for its task, I wasn't satisfied. The sheet metal base was just flexible enough. Amplified leverage of the tall center rod let the tanks rock fore-aft in their base. Four sheet metal screws didn't seem durable enough to me. Sometimes rough road vibrations worked loose the clamp bracket on top under the big wing nut. Didn't loosen up a lot. Just enough to bug me.
Last year I found a nifty tire hanger at an RV surplus place near Elkhart, IN.
It's a winch type piece of hardware like that typically used on pickup trucks (and some SUVs) to stow the spare tire under the rear end between the axle and bumper. A crank mechanism makes it easy to raise and lower.
Like most RVs lil' yeti has a propane stove. No oven, just two burners that strike a nice balance. Gas burners get my large skillet hot enough to fry! Yet the flame can be turned low to gently simmer. LP cooking works especially well for off-grid boondocking. Built in means always ready for travel. Plus self defense of counter space in such a tiny space. It's a keeper.
That said, it's not perfect. Burning any fuel makes heat of course. In hot weather, I'm sometimes reluctant to cook inside and opt for cold supper instead. Of course proper ventilation is a must. Exhaust fumes are mainly carbon dioxide and water vapor (like we exhale). So long as the flame stays blue it's safe. Still, extra moisture can become a problem in some climates. So there's room for improvement.
For the remodel I expected lil' yeti would weigh enough to warrant the heavier axle. And that everything in my truck would justify new air springs. The way to be sure of course was to weigh 'em. Easy, right? Just drive the truck onto a scale to get its weight. Then park the trailer on the scale for its weight. Two readings.
Too simple? I wanted to know more. How was my truck's weight distributed between the front and rear axles? How much camper weight was on its tongue versus axle? How much the hitch weight of the trailer changed my truck axle weights? How much margin remained? Does anything need to go on a diet? Lotsa questions.
When I installed an air conditioner in lil' yeti this summer, the short goal was to get it working. The window AC unit had the typical built in thermostat. But those knobs with their number scales are not obvious to tune. Nor well calibrated.
No worries though. My longer goal was a proper wall thermostat. With digital precision and large numbers that're easy to read. Just set the desired temperature and forgetaboutit. I just wasn't impressed with local store offerings. I specifically wanted a simple, non programmable model. Thank goodness for online shopping.
Window treatments for this old Scamp posed a challenge. The front and rear windows are fixed. They don't open. They're curved plexiglass with rounded corners and a black rubber seal all around. That edge seal is thin so they're pretty flush both inside and out.
By contrast the side windows are jalousie with two flat, glass panels that crank open. Silver aluminum frames are about 1-1/4" thick to accommodate the crank mechanism. While pretty flush to the shell on the outside all that frame thickness protrudes inside. The crank windows also have square corners.
Could the end and side windows be any more different from each other? Forget matching shades. The front and rear windows got mini blinds. The windows slope with the walls. Guides on each side keep the blinds hugging the wall instead of dangling free.
The cabinet doors are sorta shaker style. Inset panels are plain lauan. The frames were made from Douglas fir. Tongue and groove joints assured good corners. Pocket screws enabled dry assembly until eventual paint or varnish. That depends how everything looks together at that point.
Scott helped by making the doors. I generally prefer doing things myself. That said, outsourcing door fab was a good call. He not only did a great job, I learned a lot by letting him do things his way, and observing.
A lot of care went into the size and placement of all doors. As planned the potty is still accessible with the bed fully extended. There's not much room to spare, so I best stay skinny.
Maybe the front counter was trying to tell me something. It wasn't very cooperative. First the plywood was warped. I straightened that. Then came the edging. I added bottom lips for thicker edges. When I started routing the finished edge the follower bearing on my router bit came off.
Fortunately, the little parts (bolt, washer and bearing) didn't go far. And I caught it quickly so the damage wasn't that bad. Just a setback. Between filler wood, glue, staples, wood putty and sanding, that boo boo was fixed.
Air conditioning's a requirement for my Scamp remodel. The conventional RV solution is a rooftop unit. My roof isn't nearly strong enough for that much weight. It could be strengthened but I prefer a clean roofline. They're kinda spendy too. And overkill capacity for such a small space. No thanks.
In upscale motorhomes, residential heat pumps are more popular. While appropriate for that application it's not for my project. But a residential window AC unit is perfect. They're a stock appliance in stores all over the country. Much easier on the wallet. 5,000 btus is plenty of capacity. Most brands use similar dimensions. Not standardized for interchangeability but close enough should the need arise some day.
Location wise I considered many options. Eventually deciding to
Just kidding about the title. Although this post intimately involves a bed. Albeit small cozy it was designed to be enjoyed by a couple. Plus it's a couch with storage underneath. One would expect a number of positions to be involved. I'll park the metaphor there to keep this post family friendly.
I expect to use the upright mode most. The seat is level. Back lean is 15 degrees. Good posture for sitting at the table (future development) to eat, write, use laptop. The level 24" seat's good for napping as well.
That's the most
Carly Simon has a version of Coming Around Again that's a medley with Itsy Bitsy Spider. It always makes me smile when the chorus of children start singing the nursery rhyme.
For some reason
Having base cabinets and counter tops in place laid a foundation to build cupboards. I started on the long, curb side over the couch. To define a reference edge a temporary 2x4 was clamped in place.
For make shift scaffolding, pipe clamps served well without any mind of their own. Clamping helped tweak position and orientation, up, down, in, out, back and forth, until it was right. Right meaning (1) level to the floor (2) at the desired height and (3) parallel to the center line. Clamps had one job only: to not move, which they did admirably.
From that reference edge a 1x2 ceiling strip was first placed directly above it. The handy bubble level app on my phone said to bevel the top 6 degrees. Temporary braces held it in position so it could be screwed in place to dry check alignment.
More clamps were added to support a 1x2 wall strip. My phone
With the base cabinets framed I could start fitting counter tops. That's when I hit a snag. I knew the 1/2" plywood I got was somewhat warped. Yet I hoped it would suck down flat enough to the cabinets. Especially after cutting a hole for the sink. Thereby weakening both edges of that corner. Nope. Test fitting the sink I discovered that corner curl was too much.
Some folks would just
The new layout for my old Scamp includes a couch that converts to a bed along the road side wall. Once that became a requirement the project was a slippery slope. Extensive frame and shell mods. Completely rebuilding the door with better hinges and latch. But it was worth weeks of prep work that yielded excellent bones and a clean slate.
I started the new interior by first prototyping a simple base for the couch bed. The cushions were left over from converting Loretta's motorhome dinette to a drop leaf table with real chairs. I saved the cushions because they were good quality and condition. Pleasant colors too. They form a bed 38" x 76" so basically a twin. As a bonus they were cleverly made 2:1 aspect ratio so they could be configured multiple ways. In couch mode the arched seat backs seem kinda made for curved shell aesthetics I think.
The working part of the couch bed is 1/2" plywood with a 6' piano hinge. In couch mode I played with
My old Scamp makeover involved a number of requirements. One was a real closet. Not real wide. But deep enough to use adult hangers. My new layout's space budget provided just enough space: 1' wide x 2' deep x 4' high. Plus a little shelf above the hanger bar for hats, gloves, whatever. Location wise, right next to the door's ideal. Not that you can get many steps from the door inside such a tiny camper. Here's the closet framework.
Shell curvature made carpentry challenging. The only
Scamps are nice little campers. But their Achilles heel is the door. Some folks never have any problems. Others have alignment issues ranging from not sealing well (drafts, leaks) to popping itself open going down the road. The hinges are clever but not durable. The latch and pin lock is just, well, rinky dink. My door had a crank window. Opened more than a couple inches it hit the shell. It didn't break the window but did nick its hide. My door rebuild addresses these issues.
As a test the worn out hinges were recently replaced. I happened to have a new pair of factory hinges. The design is actually kinda clever. Because the door is so curved the hinge bolts are not inline like house doors. Instead, a brass ball allows each hinge arm to rotate off axis as the door swings open and closed. Of course rotation causes wear.
For test purposes I didn't install them that way. Instead, they were shimmed more vertical using washers. While not perfect the two hinges were better aligned with each other. That reduced ball rotation noticeably. Which in turn reduces wear. A step in the right direction.
Ideal shims under each hinge should
With the frame reworked the Scamp was ready for renovation. This project is a complete makeover. Mine was the typical layout originally. The rear dinette table dropped down into a bed. The front couch back raised into an upper bunk. The seat bottom becoming the lower bunk.
There was a