Birth of My Kimberley Karavan

[Tucson T4R]

Completed Glamper Nest

Well, my Karavan wouldn't fit in the garage so I had to build it a new nest to protect it from the abusive AZ sun. This has been a slow project that I worked on when I could find the time. I finally got it done this weekend (except for the paint) and moved the Glamper into it's new nest.

And luckily there was just enough room.

 

[mhiscox]

Thanks for keeping this thread up-to-date, Brad. It's always a pleasure to see the Kamper at work, play or rest.

 

[adventureduo]

Late the party as always, but man Brad.. that trailer should did come out amazing and fits well in the back country. Thanks for sharing your first few trips and i can't wait to see more.

 

[Tucson T4R]

Thanks Mike and Dave. I'm with you...looking forward to the next trip. :wings:

I so wish I was retired and could could just go play. :drool:

 

[Every Miles A Memory]

Ok, this is probably my new favorite rig on the forum right in front of Mike's Earthroamer Jeep that he rebuilt to perfection!

I've suddenly got a mad case of wanderlust after reading all 19pages and cant wait to see this in person!!

 

[Every Miles A Memory]

Ok one question I have. Am I correct in seeing 7 solar panels? Why so many? How many batteries are you charging? Cindy and I have 3 - 100watt panels on our camper charging 4 - 6volt AGM's and they seem to keep up just fine. I've recently bought two more 100watt panels to add to the roof, but it was only because another member on the forum was selling them at a price too cheap to pass up. With 5 - 100watt panels, I think I'll be able to power my 10 cubic foot Norcold refrigerator during the daytime with no problem.

Just wondering if maybe your panels are only 50 watts or something smaller?

 

[Tucson T4R]

Hi Pat, yep the solar panels are only 20W each so I have total of 160W (7 on roof and 1 on cargo box). The batteries are 6 40AH AGM batteries making up a 240AH bank. The combo seems to work pretty well. If I ever get rich I would love to upgrade to lithium batteries but for now I'll chill and stay with what I have since they work perfectly well.

Are you coming out to OEXPO in Flag next May? Pam and I will be there. Or just let out a yell if you get near Southern Arizona sometime and we'll go do some glamping. :elkgrin:

 

[Every Miles A Memory]

Are you coming out to OEXPO in Flag next May? Pam and I will be there. Or just let out a yell if you get near Southern Arizona sometime and we'll go do some glamping. :elkgrin:

That's pretty far out for us to plan Brad. Heck, I don't know what we're doing this month for the Christmas Holiday...LOL Our motel is up for sale, so if it sells, me might just head back out west and see what we can stir up out there. If we head that way, we'll be letting you know so we can come take a look at that rig and do some Glamping/Photography the way you do it

 

[Tucson T4R]

That's pretty far out for us to plan Brad. Heck, I don't know what we're doing this month for the Christmas Holiday...LOL Our motel is up for sale, so if it sells, me might just head back out west and see what we can stir up out there. If we head that way, we'll be letting you know so we can come take a look at that rig and do some Glamping/Photography the way you do it

I hope you guys make it out this way. It would be a pleasure taking a trip with you and Cindy. :wings:

 

[Tucson T4R]

This will be fun

The editor for RV Mag heard that Kimberley was importing Karavans to the US and got interested in writing an article on it. They put him in contact with me a few weeks ago and it worked out that he was in Tucson last weekend.

He came over on Sunday and checked out the Karavan in my driveway and interviewed my wife Pam to get the feminine persuasion's perspective. Then we closed it up and towed it out looking for a good area to show off it's capability and get some photos. I took him out to a well know area near Tucson called Chimney Rock. This is a unique area almost like an island of granite rock formations surrounded by rolling desert foot hills between the Catalina and Rincon mountain ranges. It's a common destination for the local rock crawling community because there so many challenging routes through the rock canyons and steep steps.

The road in is a typical back road that is hilly and a little rocky but not very challenging. We passed a couple jeeps on the way in and met up with them later at Chimney Rock. They said, "what the heck is that? We have never been passed on a back road four wheeling by a rig towing a trailer!" :Wow1: There were already several rock crawlers out there playing when we arrived.

We obviously didn't follow their crazy routes but did find a nice little side canyon that climbed up a couple hundred yards over some reasonably challenging rock slopes and wash outs up to a flat area where we set up the Karavan, shot some pics and ate lunch. Everybody in the area ended up coming over to see the trailer and find out what it was and where it came from. They couldn't believe we were able to tow it up to that spot with no problem.

The editor was very impressed with the experience and plans to put it on the cover of the May issue of RV Mag. :wings:

I'll hold off sharing any photos for now until we decide which ones will be in the article but I am having fun with this and am looking forward to seeing the article and the cover shot.:coffeedrink:

 

[mhiscox]

Pleased to learn that you'll soon be even more famous, Brad. No less than you deserve, though.

I assume you'll be accepting PayPal for the autographed copies?

 

[Tucson T4R]

Hey somebody has to advance the Glamper tradition. I just need to find a spot to mount my wiffle ball bat. :xxrotflma

 

[nwoods]

And luckily there was just enough room.

I would advise against getting larger tires anytime soon....or maybe you'll be excavating that foundation a bit

 

[Every Miles A Memory]

:snorkel:

 

[Tucson T4R]

Yep, it was (and is) close. That was as high as I could tie the roof into my house. The foundation is just ABC topped with gravel so if needed, I could dig it down. I'm happy with the tire size though. I don't think I'll be going larger anytime soon.:sombrero: