Thanks for your perspective. That’s kind of what I’m realizing. I would take our off road square back on a slightly beat up forest service road, but would never dream of taking it on anything resembling a rock crawl or even some of the moderately difficult stuff I’ve done. Just too scary thinking about a few thousand pounds back there. I basically got it to survive washboard and make it over a couple of easy obstacles on the way to a dispersed campsite. The bigger the trailer though, the more reluctant I’d be to venture very far off road. I’m just kind of a chicken.
First U.S. Spec Kimberley T3 Kruiser Ready to Roam
- Thread starter donthompson
- Start date
donthompson
Member
Kimberley USA was well-represented at Overland Expo Mountain West last weekend. Every camper Kimberley makes was on display including two Karavans and two Kampers so people could see those units ready for travel and also fully deployed. I saw an E3 for the first time set up for travel with a family of 5. That little Karavan is very well designed for a young family. Had a great time with David Bates and his wife and other Kimberley owners.
Romer
Adventurer
Glad to be in the few
I have posted a few pictures but always too busy on some of the harder stuff. Although tight ledges and tight switch backs will be reserved for my Alu-Cab RTT on my roof. You have to know the terrain you are going to. I wouldn't have hesitated to take it into the Maze in Canyonlands, but the permit didn't allow trailers and only 3 vehicles in a group. Thinking of taking it on the Swell in Utah. A friend took his Kamper there
eatSleepWoof
Do it for the 'gram
Glad to be in the few
I've seen your photos. You were one of the few I was thinking of! Definitely getting your money's worth.
Treefarmer
Active member
Does anyone here have any opinion or experience with how cold a T3 can go before its plumbing/tanks will have freeze issues? Thanks!
Treefarmer
Active member
Never mind. I saw the posts about the 3.5 season capability. I suppose that if you only put clean water in your fresh tank and used something like a Berkey filter for drinking water you could remove the external ceramic filter and eliminate that freeze hazard.
eatSleepWoof
Do it for the 'gram
I haven't seen any Kimberley Kruiser trailers in person, but from the photos and videos that I have seen, I always had the impression that it would be possible to fabricate a "box" around the tanks and plumbing, underneath the trailer, and pack that box with a ton of additional insulation for better cold-weather performance. Imagine something like an aluminium skid plate, positioned 2" away from the tanks, but on all sides, and with insulation (or better yet, insulation with additional tank heaters) in that 2" of space.
Treefarmer
Active member
Having only ever used propane or electricity, I'm curious about the diesel water and heating units on the Kimberleys. I've always found diesel to be somewhat annoying to handle and diesel engines to have more maintenance requirements. Does anyone here have any longer term experience with the Kimberley diesel heaters (maintenance and reliability)?
eatSleepWoof
Do it for the 'gram
I'm pretty sure they're of the standard Planar-type design that's used by virtually everyone... everywhere.
Chinese diesel heaters, Planar, Espar, etc. All more or less the same design (quality aside), requiring little to no maintenance.
donthompson
Member
I removed the inline filter and now use a water filter that David Bates sells. I use the filter when I fill my water tanks rather than having a filter installed in the water system of the T3. The new filter is much more effective than the inline filter that Kimberley installed in my Kruiser.
Treefarmer
Active member
What's the water filter you're using now? Thanks!
donthompson
Member
Contact David Bates at Kimberley USA. I purchased a filter from him.
MARSSIVPilot
New member
Don,
I'm relatively new here (posting) although I've been following a number of the threads about the Kimberley products for a few years now. I'm looking to order a new Kimberley this year and was initially leaning toward the Kruiser-S, but now I'm seriously considering the Kruiser-T. I'm retired military and it will be just me and my small dog full-timing for at least a few years.
I like the compact size of the Kruiser-S for getting into remote and smaller locations, but the tandem axles and spaciousness of Kruiser-T is very appealing as well. Not a big difference in weight between the two...
Any thoughts, insights, and experience with your Kruiser-T to date would be greatly appreciated! Best wishes!
Treefarmer1
Active member
What are the big Ts costing these days? A few years ago when we were considering one, they were running $160k before any mods. They are definitely very high quality. The just weren't right for us.
MARSSIVPilot
New member
Just over $170k before mods/additional options plus shipping.