Kamparoo Transcontinental rear-fold (new build)

[PajEvo]

Back story upcoming, but this trailer is being built locally this winter by Kamparoo for spring delivery, and will live behind my HJZ77...

For now, the "foundation", as it were...

Galvanized frame, 5x8 tub, will sit on leafs and shocks, and probably weigh in around 950 lbs all told. This is the classic Aussie style and shares history with the venerable Cub..

 

[PajEvo]

Okay backstory: Near as I can gather, Kamparoo Campers began bringing in and assembling official Cub knock down kits in Canada in the late 90s. (They are located south of Edmonton in Alberta.) Sometime in the mid 2000s they decided to make their own. They would continue to bring in wax converters canvas from Australia but the fab work, frame and body was all locally sourced. (I'm not sure of the details but this was all in agreement with Cub/Aus). They've been quietly doing small batch construction ever since, with an eye to quality and design improvements.

If you're not familiar with the design, it's a rear folding hard-floor popup style, as shown in this gif:


There are many stories here already about Glen and his small team. But it must be reiterated - this small manufacturer is top notch! There are also some great builds here from years past which I'll try to come back and link here.

As to why my build? I've been using rooftop tents since 2010… all different styles, and even had one mounted on an M101CDN military trailer. My adventure rig for the last 4 years is a 77 series Landcruiser n/a diesel which really suffered in the wind when the tent was on top. And I really wanted a bit more room for my wife and dog when they came along, and inside space for inclimate weather days. I checked into two pop top options for my truck and was close to pulling the trigger ... but the high cost in Canada plus the fact that my truck would then have a very small market appeal if I was ever to sell made me change my mind. I had almost forgotten about the little company to my north that has been quietly making these little trailers for years but my wife rediscovered them so we went to see Glen in October and made a deposit for a March completion.

My frame (already built) is number 2 of a new, stronger design made with a perimeter of 125 wall galvanized 2x2 and a 2x3 drawbar. It will be a "Transcontinental" which is a heavy duty model with some extras like flares. I'm also getting a braked axle.

 

[Kingsize24]

Love it! I look forward to seeing it built.

 

[PajEvo]

Love it! I look forward to seeing it built.

Thanks! I'll try to keep updating as it moves forward.

On my build sheet I've upgraded the bed to a folding queen but I'm not adding any amenities such as kitchen, water storage etc since the truck already has all that. I might add a tongue box at some point but for now it'll be a bare drawbar.

Because this will be seeing long rough trails sometimes I've already bought some upgrades to cope with conditions, starting with the jacks. I've opted for ARK jacks, front and back. The front jockey is an XO500. The video of winching a trailer through sand and mud on its jockey wheel was pretty compelling. 😉 The rear corner steadies are XO850mm drop downs which have the added bonus of being able to jack the trailer off the ground for tire changing and leveling. That should save some setup time compared to stacking and checking?




I also wanted to upgrade from the standard small steelies so I found a trio of 15 inch aluminum wheels (with trailer tires already mounted). I'll upsize the rubber eventually but this at least gets me rolling.

 

[PajEvo]

One last update for now... This trailer is built with a standard ball coupler which won't do for where we are going. And my experience with a lunette/pintle was rattlier than the old 1HZ diesel up front!

There are lots of great options these days but I kept coming back to the Max Coupler for its simplicity, ease of attachment and the ability to swap out the bushings. The changes they've made throughout the years have helped it to remain a good option for an off-road trailer. So that is the route I've gone...

My frame is now inside their shop and they've installed my articulating hitch. It was installed as a bolt on so I can always swap to a ball coupler if needed or remove for storage...


Hopefully I'll have an axle soon!

 

[ExpoMike]

We loved our Kamparoo when we had it. Actually ours was an Australian built model that got imported to Canada. I bought it from Glen and had it shipped down to San Diego, CA. Lots of fun adventures in it.

 

[PajEvo]

Such awesome pics! Thanks for the feedback. Glad your experience was positive. I'm looking forward to getting mine out there!

Cheers!

 

[alia176]

Oh man, o man, you're bringing back some memories for me as well. My daughter grew up in a '02 Transcontinental Pack Weekender, and I think I owned it for 15 years maybe?

I'm glad to see some improvements like a more robust tongue design. I essentially did something similar to mine as the circled in red below. This project allowed me to extend the tongue, which allowed me to place two weatherproof boxes on the tongue. Incidentally, the bouncing became a little less and it tracked a little better. Mine had the slipper springs and no shocks. In that course of time, so many improvements made this camper so enjoyable to use. So many memories were created in this thing!

For a short while, I even thought about taking the camper off of the frame, then slapping on a truck chassis. Basically, my own version of an UTE. If I had a 70 series truck chassis with a single or 1.5 cab, this might've considered it. I also thought about using a Tundra chassis but moved away from that idea, sold it, and bought a 2013 Adrenaline Rush camper made in Montrose, CO.

 

[PajEvo]

Oh man, o man, you're bringing back some memories for me as well. My daughter grew up in a '02 Transcontinental Pack Weekender, and I think I owned it for 15 years maybe?

I'm glad to see some improvements like a more robust tongue design. I essentially did something similar to mine as the circled in red below. This project allowed me to extend the tongue, which allowed me to place two weatherproof boxes on the tongue. Incidentally, the bouncing became a little less and it tracked a little better. Mine had the slipper springs and no shocks. In that course of time, so many improvements made this camper so enjoyable to use. So many memories were created in this thing!

For a short while, I even thought about taking the camper off of the frame, then slapping on a truck chassis. Basically, my own version of an UTE. If I had a 70 series truck chassis with a single or 1.5 cab, this might've considered it. I also thought about using a Tundra chassis but moved away from that idea, sold it, and bought a 2013 Adrenaline Rush camper made in Montrose, CO.

View attachment 868400

Thanks for taking us down memory lane with you! If you've posted about this trailer on here in the past, then I've read it. Your tongue mods look familiar.

Yeah Glen has been doing little changes year by year for a long time. He seemed pretty proud of this latest chassis when he showed it to me and I can see why.

Funny you mention truck mounting it. I currently have a 70 series 4 door SUV but in the back of my mind I always think how cool it'd be to instead mount the trailer tub in place of a bed on a s/c hzj79... Maybe someday? We'll see.

Appreciate the feedback!

 

[alia176]

Mounting to the back of a truck chassis would be so cool, I think.

 

[PajEvo]

Got an update today. My sides are going in for powder-coating this week, and my rear corner steadies finally arrived from Australia, after getting delayed by the Canada Post strike. The guys at trailersrus (aus) were great to deal with BTW... (these jacks weren't available in North America at the time of ordering). Kamparoo now has the jacks in place on the frame. It looks like my leaf springs are getting mocked up too... The trailer is pretty narrow so putting them lengthwise (the jacks I mean - the leaf springs were always gonna be lengthwise because this is not a corvette) allows me to have more reach to the ground...

 

[PajEvo]

Today I got an update: shocks, springs, brakes and axle are in place! I guess that makes her officially a roller now?

 

[PajEvo]

Parts are back from powder coating! Next they'll bond the panels to frames and then start putting the tub together.



(Removed people in the pic so photo looks a little distorted.)

 

[alia176]

I was curious about what leaf springs they're using and I see that slipper style of springs are still being used. Very cool! They're noisy but they work very well.

I was hoping to see an improved design of the spare tire but it's still the same from the old days. I can't quite tell from this pic but it might be bolted to the A frame. In order to drop the spare tire, you have to lie on the ground directly under it, unbolt it, drop it on your chest then drop it on the ground. I had to improve this design because I didn't like the process of having to heave ho a damaged tire back to the home position.

 

[PajEvo]

I was curious about what leaf springs they're using and I see that slipper style of springs are still being used. Very cool! They're noisy but they work very well.

I was hoping to see an improved design of the spare tire but it's still the same from the old days. I can't quite tell from this pic but it might be bolted to the A frame. In order to drop the spare tire, you have to lie on the ground directly under it, unbolt it, drop it on your chest then drop it on the ground. I had to improve this design because I didn't like the process of having to heave ho a damaged tire back to the home position.

View attachment 870559

You are correct. Spare is still under the a-frame. Since I'll have nothing on the a-frame (at least to start) I might reverse it to the top instead. That'd make access way more convenient.

As for the slippers, I'm likely not going to hear them over the old 1HZ diesel clacking away up front and my side exit free flowing exhaust. 🙉