Scout Olympic vs Kenai

svinyard

Active member
Its a crazy year for the outdoor industry. Not surprised by the price increases I guess. So many companies are jacking up prices as their supply chain prices increase and demand is high. I was shopping for mountain bikes and the price hikes are bad there too.

No we do not have our Kenai yet but it should be soon. Its done but there are a few tweaks being made I think. I'm fine with it at this point, I just want a solid, finished product. I did finally get my Joolca, National Luna fridge and Composting toilet. All that stuff seems so killer, especially the fridge.

Not much chatter here............svinyard - the Kenai ever show up? And I'm sure you guys saw - but you got in before the recent price increases from Scout. Not sure what to make of them - several were quite significant.
 

Porkchopexpress

Well-known member
I was shopping for mountain bikes and the price hikes are bad there too.
I was about to recommend chainreactioncycles.com as I got a pretty decent bike last September for $1100. I just checked the website and the same bike is now $1400 and it's sold out in every size. Crazy times.
 

GeorgeHayduke

Active member
We've been enjoying our Kenai for about a month now and took it on a multi-week trip around UT and AZ in early March. We're still thrilled with the camper and think it was the best choice for us given what was on the market. Some observations from that trip:

Heating: The coldest night we had got down to 15F and the Dickinson heater kept the cabover bed in the high 60's which was very comfortable. The aisle and back cabinet areas did get pretty cold though with some frozen condensation in those area. The fireplace effect creates great ambiance, but the drawback is that it's hard to get any of that heat down lower in the camper. It would be tough for a dog sleeping in the aisle to stay warm. On high, the heater puts out 4,500 BTUs, while other heaters in truck campers that I've seen are typically 15,000 or 20,000 BTU's. I think it's a testament to the insulation that you can get away with a smaller heater, and it helps the propane last longer.

Cooking: I was pleasantly surprised with the dometic stovetop. It works great for cooking and the outside propane hookup was convenient in as well. The fan + open window above the stove provided adequate ventilation. The voile straps holding it in place are a little crude but very effective.

Fridge: The dometic fridge functioned great but is a little too big for the spot they gave it. It's hard to access the straps to really tighten it down and it rocks a bit without being secured. If you do get it strapped down, you can't open it easily because the lid hinge design needs more rear clearance and you bump against the window trim.

Propane use: We got about 4-5 days out of each of the 10 pound propane bottles when running the heater for ~12 hours a day and cooking about 1 meal a day. Seemed reasonable to us.

Floorplan: The floorplan is really excellent for our uses. The aisle is wide enough for consenting adults to pass each other and plenty long enough for multiple people to stand and do things. We often had one person standing at the stove/fridge and another person standing in the mudroom area using the counter above the toilet. Storage abounds both inside and out. The Kenai feels really spacious on the inside and the extra height makes the cabover bed quite comfortable. The dinette and Lagun table are comfortable and versatile and the shelf on the passenger side is handy.

Build quality: The camper does feel like it was a bit rushed. There are some bubbles in the exterior skin, some places where caulking looks sloppy, aluminum shavings where everywhere, and a couple plywood voids in unfortunate places. However, none of these issues seem serious and we're understanding of the situation with COVID and early production runs. Scout has been really responsive with any questions/concerns we've raised with them.

Jacks: The jacks have some strong pluses and minuses. They remove super easily which we plan to do for every trip and the integration between the jacks and tiedowns seems well thought out. The jacks have two settings for width, one is super wide (I assume for a dually) but the other setting is a really tight squeeze on our Ram 2500. Tight enough that I'd be concerned about aftermarket wheels with different offsets fitting. The camper is also pretty wobbly when unloaded from the truck, even with the jacks at their lowest setting. Scout actually emailed us telling us not to load or unload the camper until they release a fix for the jacks so they're aware of the issue and working on a fix.

Electrical: We ran completely off the goalzero and solar panel for about 10 days and never plugged into shore power or the truck. Our typical usage was interior lights, cooking fan, phone/laptop charging and ~12 hours/day of heater fan. Most mornings we woke up to the battery in the high 70% range and were back to close to 100% by the end of the day. For our use, the charging and storage seem well balanced, although we were disappointed to discover that Scout doesn't give you the ability to charge the goalzero when you're plugged into the truck (the truck plug only runs the clearance lights).

Tiedowns: The tiedowns are convenient and keep a streamlined look which we like. Being fabric instead of metal, they do stretch and we had to tighten at least one each day. So far no issues with the strength of the hooks on the truck bed.

Rooftop Tent: The RTT continues to be one of the coolest features and we're getting better at closing it while keeping the fabric tucked in. One quirk that we discovered is there's not a great way to protect the foam mattress while preserving the hatch access. We've yet to locate a mattress cover with a donut hole in it :).

Size/Weight: The Kenai works well enough on our Ram 2500 6'4" bed, although a longer bed would be preferable as the COG is behind our rear axle. The RTT also noticeably raises the center of gravity and an aftermarket sway bar was pretty crucial with the coil sprung rear suspension on current Ram 2500's. We tried both keeping the tailgate on and removing it and decided to remove it. Removing it eliminated a nontrivial amount of weight behind the axle and gave us access to our spare tire.

original_3ce0c480-d5b4-4d8f-b3a3-312b2889b325_PXL_20210305_221310506.jpg

PXL_20210228_193242415.jpg
 

Porkchopexpress

Well-known member
Build quality: The camper does feel like it was a bit rushed. There are some bubbles in the exterior skin, some places where caulking looks sloppy, aluminum shavings where everywhere, and a couple plywood voids in unfortunate places. However, none of these issues seem serious and we're understanding of the situation with COVID and early production runs. Scout has been really responsive with any questions/concerns we've raised with them.
I got the same impression looking at a Yoho. At the original MSRP, I still felt it would be a good value and someone with moderate DIY skills could clean up the imperfections. Hopefully they improve QA with the increased pricing.
 

Victorian

Approved Vendor : Total Composites
Bubbles in the panels mean de-lamination. Either the glue or foam core failed. Should be easy to fix but essentially a failure in the panel that can get bigger over time and lead to a structural failure. Especially when the walls are load bearing with a roof top tent and people in it. I would get it fixed asap.
 

svinyard

Active member
That's pretty significant feedback about the panels from Victorian. Can you put a picture up of the panel? They do have a thin layer of gel coat over the fiberglass. Do think it could be poor gel coating or is the panel truly de-laming? @Victorian what's a typical fix for a delam'ed wall panel? Is it something really significant?

Thanks for the feedback. Make sure you send all of this feedback into Ryan@ Scout too if you haven't already. Blunt customer feedback in the early cycles of product development is so important and they seem responsive.

Some quick thoughts:
1- The truck can't charge the GoalZero because not even GoalZero could charge the goal zero off their own plug until recently. They were still developing their charger I guess. You'll want to run a simple, but decent gauge line from your battery to the back of your truck and put a cigarette port on it. Sounds like the Solar setup was killing it tho!

2- The heater situation is interesting. I wonder if one of those rechargable or 12v fans could blow the air down a bit to circulate it. You'll want some of those for the summer anyways. Reminds me of...having a wood stove as a kid and all the BS we had to do to keep heat downstair (and splitting 15cord of wood...ugh). I think the BTU output is going to cut it. I like that its ultra efficient and not burning more propane than necessary.

3- Stoked the floor plan and storage and RTT is so awesome!! Such good news for us traveling families. There is literally nothing like it in the camper world. Being able to just pullup to a site, shred some mountain bikes and everyone have a comfortable place to sleep is going to be a godsend. Did you use the dinette as a sleeping area since its so cold? I know guys using the RTT at ski resorts around here for their kids...but heat goes up so I'm guessing its working well enough for their Olympic.

4- How's the mattress working out?

5- I'm hoping my National Luna fridge works in that space a little better. Its MUCH slimmer in width so it'll have plenty of room there and ventilation. It is an inch or two taller tho and the same depth. Either way I'm stuck with it and its beautiful.

6- What step ladder is that? How are you storing it? Is it working well?
 
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GeorgeHayduke

Active member
I'm not a composite expert so I don't really know if it's the gel coat, composite delamination, or something else. You can sort of see the trouble spots in the first picture of my previous post. There's a roughly 2" diameter bubble left of the window and some rippling around the Scout logo on the cabover. It's tough to see unless the light is just right. I'll check in with Scout and get their opinion on it.

Kenai2.png

@svinyard for your questions,
1- We're actually pretty content to run strictly off solar at this point. Unless energy consumption for the fridge goes up dramatically in the summer, I don't think we necessarily need to connect to the truck.

2- Small fan would probably be an effective fix. I think the heater was putting out enough BTU's and the challenge was just getting the heat to the right location.

3- We used the RTT for hanging out in the afternoons but kids slept in the converted dinette. They're young enough that they fit ok there and we're still getting comfortable with the idea of them not jumping/rolling out of the RTT :). One other positive thing we noticed was that that the RTT hatch didn't seem to be a source of heat loss when the RTT was closed. I think the RTT mattress insulates the hatch very well.

4- Cabover bed mattress is comfortable enough for us and we appreciated the extra width more than I expected. We put some of the extra dinette cushions against the front cabover wall as we noticed a bit more heat loss there.

5- Do you know how you're going to secure the NL fridge in place and how the door opens? One other issue we found was that when the bed is extended you can't open one half of the Dometic fridge.

6- The step ladder is a 3 stepper from Little Giant. We were really impressed with it's design and sturdiness but managed to drive away without it partway through the trip ?‍♂️. We liked it enough that we'll be replacing it with an identical one. It fits in the exterior storage compartment with some crafty positioning but was easier to just stash it on the floor of the aisle.
 

svinyard

Active member
I'll use the stock straps for securing the fridge. The National Luna fridge is only about 32.5in wide (Dometic is about 36in wide) and has very slim handles with a "strap slot" inset of the handles. So very designed for this. I think it'll be able to miss the bed rails too with it minimal width. It should fit nicely with perhaps a bit of overhang to account for any door interference.

I see those bubbles you are talking about. Please keep us posted on Scouts response. Thanks again for putting out an update.
 
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Victorian

Approved Vendor : Total Composites
I'm not a composite expert so I don't really know if it's the gel coat, composite delamination, or something else. You can sort of see the trouble spots in the first picture of my previous post. There's a roughly 2" diameter bubble left of the window and some rippling around the Scout logo on the cabover. It's tough to see unless the light is just right. I'll check in with Scout and get their opinion on it.

View attachment 649105

@svinyard for your questions,
1- We're actually pretty content to run strictly off solar at this point. Unless energy consumption for the fridge goes up dramatically in the summer, I don't think we necessarily need to connect to the truck.

2- Small fan would probably be an effective fix. I think the heater was putting out enough BTU's and the challenge was just getting the heat to the right location.

3- We used the RTT for hanging out in the afternoons but kids slept in the converted dinette. They're young enough that they fit ok there and we're still getting comfortable with the idea of them not jumping/rolling out of the RTT :). One other positive thing we noticed was that that the RTT hatch didn't seem to be a source of heat loss when the RTT was closed. I think the RTT mattress insulates the hatch very well.

4- Cabover bed mattress is comfortable enough for us and we appreciated the extra width more than I expected. We put some of the extra dinette cushions against the front cabover wall as we noticed a bit more heat loss there.

5- Do you know how you're going to secure the NL fridge in place and how the door opens? One other issue we found was that when the bed is extended you can't open one half of the Dometic fridge.

6- The step ladder is a 3 stepper from Little Giant. We were really impressed with it's design and sturdiness but managed to drive away without it partway through the trip ?‍♂️. We liked it enough that we'll be replacing it with an identical one. It fits in the exterior storage compartment with some crafty positioning but was easier to just stash it on the floor of the aisle.


This almost looks like different foam core thicknesses inside the panel. Even a 1/32 difference in foam thickness will show on a thin FRP skin. If that is the case, it's only cosmetic and nothing can be done about it.
Fixing a blister on the other hand is fairly simple to do and the manufacturer should be able to fix this in no time.
 

svinyard

Active member
Good to know! Thank you for your expertise here. Is a blister something you can press and have it move in? I'm guessing it is. I'm just wondering how to tell the difference between a blister (big issue) and a thickness irregularity.

This almost looks like different foam core thicknesses inside the panel. Even a 1/32 difference in foam thickness will show on a thin FRP skin. If that is the case, it's only cosmetic and nothing can be done about it.
Fixing a blister on the other hand is fairly simple to do and the manufacturer should be able to fix this in no time.
 

Victorian

Approved Vendor : Total Composites
Good to know! Thank you for your expertise here. Is a blister something you can press and have it move in? I'm guessing it is. I'm just wondering how to tell the difference between a blister (big issue) and a thickness irregularity.

If it's a blister you can feel flex, almost like the lid on a pickle jar. There should be no flex if it's backed with material/foam.
 

GeorgeHayduke

Active member
Quick update on the Kenai: I had a great call with Scout today, they were very responsive to my concerns and got a number of people involved from the their customer service and engineering teams. They shared a lot about how they manufacture the composites and were really open about issues they've seen so far. It sounds like the ripples around the logo are due to a transition from the cabover material to the wall material that is unfortunately being telegraphed through to the exterior. It's not a structural concern and it sounds like @Victorian nailed it when he suggested it was possibly a change in material thickness.

We also talked about the spot behind the window and Scout suggested it could either be a bubble or a bit of debris (possibly some hardened glue) that got caught when rolling on the exterior panel. If it was debris, the fix would be drilling a hole from the outside to remove it and then patching the hole, and if it was a bubble they would go at it from the inside to inject some glue and suck the skin back in place. After poking and prodding it, I don't feel any flex or 'pickle jar effect' and am thinking it's just some debris. Scout was willing to take care of fixing it either way, but at this point I'm content to just leave it alone. I'll obviously keep an eye on it and look out for if either spot grows, but right now I don't think either one is a case of delamination.

I also had a chance to ask them about the Kenai jacks and they showed me the fix they're about to roll out. Without giving away what they're working on, I think it will satisfy most customers: it keeps the streamlined look and easy removal while adding additional points of contact that should fix any wobble. It was pretty cool to hear a bit about their engineering and testing process as well.

One last tidbit: I learned they never intended for people to load the camper with the jacks in the close position that I had complained about earlier. They anticipated people using the wider position for loading and then moving to the closer pin while driving. Makes a lot of sense in retrospect.

In sum, I don't have any structural concerns about the camper and Scout has been great to work with.
 
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svinyard

Active member
@GeorgeHayduke You have to give them some credit for being pretty dang responsive and certainly working hard to get things done well. Glad to hear yours seems more cosmetic than structural which is awesome. Hoping to get our Kenai in the next couple of weeks. The wait is killing me lol.
 

Fen CO

New member
@GeorgeHayduke - Big thanks for all the in-depth info on the Kenai! We are expecting ours in September and we will be putting it on a Ram 2500 6.4L gasser with an 8' bed. I hope you keep the updates coming.
 

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