Birth of My Kimberley Karavan

[Jwestpro]

For me, I put being able to get back into rugged back country camping spots is way up the list of priorities. The Kimbeley products are designed for just that.

Thank you for the reply! I am just so impressed with the "systems" going into the Kimberly. Specifically the Kruiser 2 axle with things like:

The Fibreglass shell has so much better insulation than aluminium cladding
The upper "tropical" roof gives excellent added insulation to the roof and prevents snow accumulation directly on the body of the Kruiser
The cast polyethylene floor has excellent insulation properties and is so durable with moisture. Compare this to timber flooring which absorbs moisture no matter how it is coated.
The dual layer windows have added insulation.
There is an additional 20mm of high density styrofoam in the wall sections
The white predominant colour does not radite heat (nor does it absorb in in the desert!). This is the perfect dominant colour!

For warmth inside there is:

Temperature controlled Diesel air heater, ducted into the kick board under the kitchen cabinets.

These plus the suspension structure, disc brakes, air ride, awesome battery and solar system, smart integration of shower water to wash clothes, etc, etc, etc.

About the size, would you feel too limited in the larger one or now that you've pushed the limits on yours, would the 2 axle "get through" most of the places you've been? My thought on that is one could simply base camp where they can get to, and then day trip to more difficult places.

My tow vehicle would first be my Land Rover LR3 with a LOT of modifications and possibly something more durable in a few years. Ideally I'd get into something diesel for sake of all one fuel across the trailer and vehicle.

I'd really like to find someone with a dual axle to chat with before making my decision though. It's not like we can easily go to a trade show to see these in person. Flying to Australia is a bit of a trip but would be a nice place to take a new one on delivery out for its first time.

 

[Tucson T4R]

Flying to Australia to see one in person would be great but don't take delivery there. I am saying that because Kimberly covers free shipping to US. If you took delivery in Australia you would lose that benefit and have to cover that yourself when bringing it home.

I haven't towed a dual axle trailer before so I can't say how capable they are. I would like having the weight carrying capacity of dual axle and I have videos of dual axle trailers in Australia being towed through some pretty rugged country. Also if you do loose a wheel, you are still mobile.

I think the Cruiser would be an awesome rig and would probably go to about 60% of where I take my Karavan. The limiting factor would be the turning radius of the longer trailer and the fact it does not collapse down like the Karavan. Tight switchbacks and low overhead tree branches would force you to write off some destinations.

That being said, there are still thousands of great remote places a Cruiser could be towed. I doubt you feel any pain as long as you are not trying to follow me. :sombrero:

 

[Tucson T4R]

That is incredible that you took the trailer all the way to Dollhouse. Was just there with my Sportsmobile end of May (trip report http://sportsmobileforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=16494). It is a long haul from Tea Pot to Dollhouse, but fun (my wife may say otherwise). I have been eyeing these trailers and contemplating if I could get them into places like this. Thanks for proving you can!

Phil

Thanks. Like I said, it was an experience and I'm glad I did it but I will target a little less challenging trails in the future.

You can see the rest of the photos from the trip here: http://bgarland.smugmug.com/Camping-Trips/Canyonlands-Dollhouse-Trip

 

[Titanpat57]

You flop that camper...Mom's gonna be pretty upset...:ylsmoke:

Pretty darn sweet pictures there as usual....I wonder how that KK would look surrounded by the fall leaves of Vermont?...hmmmm..

 

[Tucson T4R]

You flop that camper...Mom's gonna be pretty upset...:ylsmoke:

Pretty darn sweet pictures there as usual....I wonder how that KK would look surrounded by the fall leaves of Vermont?...hmmmm..

I came way too close to flopping it on that Dollhouse trip. There were multiple times when traversing an off camber section, the downhill tire dropped into a dip and the uphill came off the ground a few inches before settling back down. No Bueno. :yikes::yikes::yikes: Just had to not stop and pull the downhill tire back up out of that dip as quickly as possible.

 

[Tucson T4R]

Bad Day In The Backcountry

I think the abuse the wheels took on the Dollhouse trip started a nasty failure scenario.

Here is a summary of what happened on my last trip which was just few weeks after getting back from the Canyonlands.

I was playing with my son and another father son duo exploring the remote back country points on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.

We first had a flat that was not repairable and used the first trailer spare to move on.

Then we had a wheel failure that dropped the Karavan onto it's wheel hub disk brake rotor. This landing was on soft mud so no damage to the hub or rotor.





We then used the 4Runner spare to get back on our feet and keep moving.

The trip with fathers and sons was awesome and we had a great time together. They all left me early in the morning to make a flight out of Phoenix and I drove back out on my own.

I stopped near Jacobs Lake and had the one good tire moved off the dead wheel to the good wheel so I would have spare for the trip home. Good thought, but I should have put it back on the trailer.
:sombrero:

By not paying attention to details, we missed that the Toyota wheel used different lug nuts than the wheels on the trailer. Hence, on way out of Jacobs Lake on the 2 lane mountain road, the nuts loosened up and the wheel ripped off all 6 wheel studs and proceeded to launch itself 75 yards up the mountain slope.

That left me and the Karavan traveling at 50 MPH on the mountain road with only one wheel. This is never is a good thing.:yikes::yikes:
The trailer dropped onto the brake rotor (again) and dug a nice ditch in the asphalt until I could safely stop. It took me about 30 minutes to find the wayward wheel and tire up the slope in the woods.

No cell coverage here. I used the Inreach satellite communications to text my wife and have her contact the highway patrol and a towing company out of Kanab Utah. 4 hours later I was following a flat bed tow truck with my crippled Karavan on board back to Kanab where it was repaired the next morning. After spending the night Glamping up on blocks in the tow company's parking lot. The boys at Kimberley in Australia were awesome and provided the parts details I needed to repair the damaged wheel studs. Fixed and back on the road by 10:00 AM the next morning.







The rotor has a ground flat spot on it now so that needs to be replaced but it got me home.

Quite the adventure. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Since then I have replaced all the Karavan wheels which much stronger designed Toyota Mags that are the exact same ones on my 2004 4Runner. New tires and wheel are on and I am waiting now for the shipment of the new fender and hub from Australia to complete the repair.



Maybe I should try slowing down a bit and enjoying the view more instead of playing Ronnie road racer. :sombrero:

 

[spressomon]

Ouch.

Glad to see/read you didn't have more carnage!

I am a big believer in the strength and value of Toyota's OEM LC/4R forged wheels. Cast is cast.

 

[Tucson T4R]

Ouch.

Glad to see/read you didn't have more carnage!

I am a big believer in the strength and value of Toyota's OEM LC/4R forged wheels. Cast is cast.

I agree. most of the Ausie guys that push it, run steel wheels. I want to be able to swap between my Karavan and 4Runner so I think the Toyota wheels will give me the strength I am looking for. I have never seen a Toyota wheel fail, even after years of abuse.

That and toning down my driving a tad will help.:hehe:

 

[ripperj]

The good thing about steel wheels is that you can beat them sorta round with a pc of fire wood

Sent from my Passport using Tapatalk 2

 

[Titanpat57]

Glad everything worked out and it wasn't worse...I bet there was a few explicatives flying during the wheel search.

Don't know if you need to run spacers (spidertrax) to make the 4runner wheels work..but might not be a bad idea to have a few spare lug nuts to fit everything

 

[Tucson T4R]

Glad everything worked out and it wasn't worse...I bet there was a few explicatives flying during the wheel search.

Don't know if you need to run spacers (spidertrax) to make the 4runner wheels work..but might not be a bad idea to have a few spare lug nuts to fit everything

Yes, I now carry spare lug nuts and torque wrench. :sombrero:

 

[Ryanmb21]

So glad to hear that no lasting damage occurred. I'm envious how much you use your trailer.

 

[Tucson T4R]

So glad to hear that no lasting damage occurred. I'm envious how much you use your trailer.

Thanks. I too am glad all the carnage is just easily replaceable parts. The main frame, suspension and body of the Karavan had zero damage. My skid plate over the rear water tank did a little "reforming" after the Dollhouse trip but that an easy deal.

Considering I have still been working full time, I have been happy with how much I have been able to get out. I am looking forward to expanding those opportunities after I retire next year. :wings:

 

[jrandom]

Wow great thread! From start to finish I just couldn't stop reading it. I have been looking into a or trailer for better part of a year, everything decent has been from Aus or So Africa, and man I really thought there would be something like this built here. Needless to say I was ecstatic to stumble upon this thread and see that they ship here without issue! Thanks for posting, fantastic pics too. Cheers

Glad everyone survived the wheel mishap.

I had a couple of questions if you don't mind.

Why did you opt for a/c unit here?

Also the inverter, I image just for plug/voltage compatibility reasons?

Were there any other things you ordered or didn't order Based off the "classic" model? Or would recommend?

TIA

 

[Tucson T4R]

Wow great thread! From start to finish I just couldn't stop reading it. I have been looking into a or trailer for better part of a year, everything decent has been from Aus or So Africa, and man I really thought there would be something like this built here. Needless to say I was ecstatic to stumble upon this thread and see that they ship here without issue! Thanks for posting, fantastic pics too. Cheers

Glad everyone survived the wheel mishap.

I had a couple of questions if you don't mind.

Why did you opt for a/c unit here?

Also the inverter, I image just for plug/voltage compatibility reasons?

Were there any other things you ordered or didn't order Based off the "classic" model? Or would recommend?

TIA

Thanks. It has been quite the journey. I am still very happy with my purchase and would do it again. Especially now that the currency exchange rate is so much on our favor.

To answer your questions:

Why did you opt for a/c unit here?

I have only used it a few times. You need to be either connected to power like in a campground or use double companion generators to run it in the back country. I normally just avoid camping in high temps and go for the higher elevations. I have been considering removing the A/C unit and replacing it with a second fantastic fan. That would also reduce my hight and allow me to get it into my garage.

Also the inverter, I image just for plug/voltage compatibility reasons?

Not for comparability issues. The entire Karavan was converted to 110VAC for US use. You still want an inverter for charging camera/ phone batteries, run the wife's blow dryer, run the microwave off the batteries, etc.

Were there any other things you ordered or didn't order Based off the "classic" model? Or would recommend?

My biggest improvement was to convert to Lithium batteries. I did that here in the US. Ordering with Lithium batteries from the start would be my recommendation. They didn't have that option when I ordered mine but they now have Air Suspension as an option. I would go for that option. You can lower it for stable highway towing and raise it up for off road clearance. You can also use it to level side to side in your campsite.

Feel free to reach out to me if you would like to talk about my experience.