Guest Vehicles – The Orphanage (orphanageyuma.com)

1969 Scampurr on Display at The Orphanage

June 2022- August 2022

YUMA, COLO – Billed as a “12-month funmobile,” the Scampurr is a combination go-cart and snowmobile. The machine was advertised as “good for trail riding, wilderness exploring, commuting, mushroom picking, cattle and sheep herding, beachcombing, chasing girls and/or dogs, and family fun.”

Scampurr is the 1967 invention of Philip R. Hetland of Moorhead, MN. Hetland was an inventor, golf course developer, and assistant professor of physics at North Dakota State University in Fargo, N.D. Starting in 1968, the Scampurr was produced by Hetland Enterprises, Inc. located in Moorhead, MN., and later, the rights to the multipurpose vehicle were sold to Leisure Industries, Inc. of Edina, MN.

The owner of this Scampurr, Jim Desmith, grew up in Minnesota but presently lives in Colorado Springs. Jim and his brother Paul bought the machine in 1972 for $125.00. It went through six Desmith kids and many of their friends until the clutch became so worn the Scampurr was parked. The correct replacement part could not be found so it was stored in the barn until 2017 when Paul found the correct clutch and belt on Ebay. Paul tore the Kohler motor down and replaced all the worn parts. Jim fabricated a new front frame, seat, and hood. The original steel hood was so beat up that it was flattened and used as a pattern. The previous owner had rigged the hood so that up to three passengers could sit on top of it and with two in the seat, this Scampurr could accommodate up to five riders. Paul lost his battle with cancer and never heard the engine run or saw the completed project.

Advertisements stated that a Scampurr can turn a 5’ radius at 30 mph (top speed was 38 mph), but Jim can tell you from experience that you had better be leaning inward hard or it will roll. “We had a Black Lab that would run beside the right front wheel all around the section (four miles) and keep up.” By the end of the summer Buddy could “chase down a jack rabbit even with its evasive maneuvers because he was so conditioned to run four miles at 38 mph.”

The Scampurr on display sports a Kohler 6 ¼ h.p., 4-cycle engine with a centrifugal clutch, and a dual spring suspension system. The Scampurr could reach a top speed of 38 mph. This machine is the 557th built and the original cost ranged between $628.00 and $797.00. Special introductory packages were offered including the basic unit with front wheels and drive wheel for summer, and ski and snow track for winter.

This 1969 Scampurr will share the turntable at The Orphanage until the end of August. The Orphanage is in downtown Yuma, at 300 South Main Street. For more information about the Scampurr, please contact Richard Birnie at (970) 630-3360, or visit the Orphanage website at orphanageyuma.com.

Guest Vehicles – The Orphanage (orphanageyuma.com)

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The repository of three wheeler manuals and Information

Guest Vehicles – The Orphanage (orphanageyuma.com)

Scampurr with wheel kit

Scampurr with wheel kit

Scampurr with wheel kit

Scampurr with Ski Kit

Scampurr with wheel kit

Scampurr with wheel kit

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Scampurr Wheeled Kit

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threewheelermanuals.com

The repository of three wheeler manuals and Information

Guest Vehicles – The Orphanage (orphanageyuma.com)

Scampurr with wheel kit

Scampurr with wheel kit

Scampurr with wheel kit

Scampurr with Ski Kit

Scampurr with wheel kit

Scampurr with wheel kit

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Scampurr Wheeled Kit

Scampurr Snow Kit

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