Casitas made in Bacus MN???, I'm looking at a 1981 Casita, and the side of it s...

I'm looking at a 1981 Casita, and the side of it says:

Casita... Bacus MN. Were they once a Scamp. What's the deal?

Do you get old Scamp parts, or Casita parts?

I'm going to get this trailer, so any good links for parts etc. would be of great help.

Thanks in advance,

Eric

Eric Lakeland MN

Wasn't Scamp started by two brothers who disagreed on trailer manufacturing and one brother left to found Casita? Sorry, don't have any useful info, just intrigued.

I believe Charles is camping this weekend. He wrote about this. Se the link below.

A Tale of two brothers

Eric,

Sorry I don't have the answer, but I presume someone at Casita will. They have a toll free number 1-800-442-9986. You might have to be a little persistant in finding a person with an answer.

Let us know what you find out.

Carol

I believe the first Casita was produced in Backus, MN prior to the breakup of the two brothers. One brother took the Casita concept and went to Texas. The other stayed in MN and continued producing what we know as Scamps.

I've heard about some early Casitas from Backus, MN, but I'm not sure of how this came to be.

Interestingly enough, Rod Cranson, editor of the Scamp Newsletter, recently sent me an interview he did with Duane Eveland, the surviving Scamp brother founder. I'll paraphrase what Rod printed.

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Casita, according to the remaining brother, was started by the most dishonest employee Scamp has ever had. The dishonest employee got Scamp into trouble with both state and federal courts, costing the company a bunch of money.

This dishonest employee fled to Texas and started Casita. Duane Eveland says his Scamp co-founding bother only when to Texas to be a salesman.

Casita, Eveland said, went bankrupt. (which is how the interview left it, with Casita bankrupt!) So this dishonest salesperson went to California and started Burro, which is still in business today, according to the printed Eveland Brother interview.

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Now, while I found Mr. Eveland's printed interview interesting ... I believe it's an attempt on Mr. Eveland's part to "paint all the other parties with the same tar brush." I mean if this employee was so dishonest, why did his brother go to Texas with them? How did this disonest employee get financing to start Casita, if he personally caused state and federal trouble for Scamp? And Casita didn't go bankrupt! And I've never heard that Burro was started by the same folks who once owned Casita.

I believe Casita's version that some former Scamp folks, including Eveland's now deceased brother, moved to Texas because they wanted to build trailers differently, i.e. solid Fiberglass instead of a resin-coated plywood floors. The hot weather and different work force was more than they could handle, so the current owner, John Lang, purchased the company from these folks ... and we've all lived happily ever after.

Now, the truth is probably somewhere in between Mr. Eveland's version and what I've always heard about Casita.

But the solid fiberglass shell vs the resin-coated plywood floor has been the primary difference since day 1 ... and I think that tips the scales towards Casita's version.

What I don't know, is why some Casita's were built in Minnesota. It could be something as simple as Casita couldn't keep up the demand in the beginning and contracted with Scamp to build some.

Does this 81 "Backus" Casita have a solid fiberglass bottom ... or is it resin-coated plywood?

Yes it does have the fiberglass floor. As soon as I get my film back, I will download a picture of it here (saying Casita.. Bacus MN). I spoke with Jay at Casita, and he confirmed that I had one of the earliest Casitas ever made.

Wow! Is that neat! A real piece of Casita history. You gotta make it mint condition Eric!