The cost of fiberglass, the single most important component of the Scamp product, has increased by nearly 20%. The refrigerators installed in Scamp trailers have increased in cost by 8%. This will cause the used trailer inventory to swell, which could impact future sales. He worries what will happen when some of them realize they actually don’t like camping. During the last two years, many people who felt isolated by the realities of the pandemic put in orders for Scamp trailers hoping it would solve their problems. “Hopefully by this summer they’ll start pouring concrete,” he says. Jim Nagy, Scamp’s marketing coordinator, says the company is planning to add plant capacity to close the delivery wait-times. The company would like to grow that number and perhaps reduce the wait time to six months. Scamp produces on average about 12 trailers each week. A Scamp trailer, even the larger ones, can be easily hauled by a Honda CR-V or Toyota RAV4.
Market studies show that we beat every competitor in every avenue of the business - price points, options, customer service.”Įveland says one of Scamp’s biggest advantages is its lightweight fiberglass frame. “It actually makes everybody here very proud to work here because it’s a sought-after product. But Eveland says the backlog is the best indicator that they’re making a quality product that people want. No company wants to tell its customers it’s going to take two years to complete their order. While many companies are struggling to find workers and rustle up business, Scamp has the unique fortune of a young CEO with a personal stake in the company’s success, and a product with an uncommon demand. Kent Eveland, seeing the ship was in good hands, decided to retire. Eventually he took over when his father became ill. He started out in customer service, answering questions over the phone. Micah Eveland wasn’t merely handed the reins of a successful company without knowing anything about it. And in the last three years, the company has been under new management, as Micah Eveland, the son of former CEO and president Kent Eveland, took control of the company. The company has not only been producing homegrown campers for 50 years but has also weathered a few “storms” - surviving a fire that put camper production on hold for nearly a year and navigating a pandemic, supply chain issues, inflation, and labor shortages. Scamp Trailers’ story is one of resilience. Owners and fans use websites, meet-up groups, and newsletters to discuss their Scamps and the adventures they get into with them. Scamp campers engender community, camaraderie, and loyalty. These nifty, affordable, campers have a cult following like few others. Like the Frinks, it’ll be more like a two-year wait.īut chances are, if you’re ordering a Scamp, you already know that. If you were to order a Scamp trailer right now, you and your family wouldn’t be heading to the Northwoods with it anytime soon. The Backus, Minn.-based company that makes them can’t come close to keeping up with demand. “We knew it was going to be this way going in.” Because of the lightweight fiberglass frame, owners do not need a truck to tow a Scamp trailer.Īs you’re gassing up your car on a summer Friday, you’ve no doubt gazed across the array of pumps to see a smiling gentleman gassing up his truck - behind which is hitched a curious, egg-shaped camper with a funny name printed on its fiberglass side. “We thought it was worth the wait,” Frink says. But they knew they’d have to wait and didn’t mind. He and Wilbur made plans, wrote a $500 down payment check for their Scamp camper and then waited.
Frink retired as a college art professor.
Brian Frink and his wife Wilbur had their eyes on a Scamp trailer for 20 years.Įach year, they’d stop by the Scamp display at the Minnesota State Fair and dream of Northwoods camping trips, long drives across the U.S., making memories around campfires with a bottle of wine and each other’s company.
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