Kingdom Campers?

[Todd34]

A good general ratio is two watts of solar panel power to manage every one amp hour of battery capacity.

That is good to know. Thanks. Then I’d probably drop one battery and only one panel.

 

[Treefarmer1]

I think he's gaining more interest in his campers overall since he's been posting a bit on social media. But I think a lot of people are nervous about dropping that kind of cash on a camper before the specs have even been fully worked out. That was one of my wife's concerns. I'd be a lot more concerned if I hadn't followed along with Treefarmer's build. He's basically dropping 6ft of length and an axle but the rest of the box is supposed to be very similar to the XL.

1. One of the reasons I'm considering Kindom is because of that suspension so I'll try to save elsewhere.
2. He's planning a single axle for this one (Cruisemaster ATX).
3. Good point.
4. He's planning on 1440w of solar and 1036 AH of lithium. That's where I'll cut costs a bit because although I'd love to have that much, we can certainly get by with less of both. I believe he's using batteries with 519 AH so I'll probably drop one battery and at least one panel.
5. I think he's going to keep the height/width very similar to the XL and that seems about right for us.
6. We also have a Sonos Move a that's what I'd bring along instead of having something installed.
7. I believe it comes with the same toilet that Treefarmer got. We definitely don't want a black tank. It will have 50 gal fresh and 50 gal gray tanks.

We'll be watching this mid-sized trailer develop. If/when we ever build a house again and stop living in the trailer fulltime, we'll look at something lightweight for "vacation" living like normal people.

 

[Todd34]

We'll be watching this mid-sized trailer develop. If/when we ever build a house again and stop living in the trailer fulltime, we'll look at something lightweight for "vacation" living like normal people.

Yeah, that's how we're planning to use it. I might do longer trips of a couple months during the summer, but for now it will mostly be for long weekends and trips up to a couple weeks during the holidays.

 

[hscoots]

I am also waiting to see their midsize offering looks, most likely will be out of my price range, but no harm in waiting.

 

[Obsessed2findARuggedHybid]

I am also waiting to see their midsize offering looks, most likely will be out of my price range, but no harm in waiting.

I am curious how much customization Jamin may offer. Like I said before CM XT , 360 amp hr battery with 500 watt solar would save thousands

 

[Motomax]

So I got my adventure pro mini 2.0 a few months ago and I have to say I’m not that pleased. Granted I have nothing to compare it to but some of the fit and finish was not perfect and seemed rushed. I accepted it as it was one of the cheaper “premium” options. Unfortunately, a series of electrical issues lead me to find some things that frankly quite pissed me off. Hidden behind the propane tank, bracket, and wedged in metal panel was a complete rats nest of wiring.

Quite literally every bolt that had a ring terminal was loose (this was the cause of most electrical issues). The “AC distribution” is just a power strip that’s mounted by a single screw in a plastic cap. This cap will fall off eventually and the metal strip might land right on the exposed battery positive terminal. There’s a complete disregard for wire bend radiuses. The battery is only secured by wedging it behind an L bracket, nothing on top holding it down. Fuse holders were left laying on the bottom with the covers falling off. The inverter is also mounted vertically when the manual says that’s not OK, They also wrapped the negative lug in electrical tape but left the positive one exposed which sits quite close to the metal panel. Am I over reacting here?

On the pro side, Jamin has been very responsive on fixing the little stuff. Unfortunately, I cant get them to fix this mess from 2k miles away…

 

[WillySwan]

... Am I over reacting here? ...

Thanks for sharing this. You certainly are not over reacting. I can only imagine your disappointment as you discovered this. For all the reasons you mention, this looks like one of the most unprofessional commercial (or DIY) electrical installations I have seen.

Kingdom Camping was on my short list for an eventual 4-season upgrade from my Dweller 13. However, they would really need to prove they have this wiring system issue under control before I would give them any consideration.

 

[Motomax]

Thanks for sharing this. You certainly are not over reacting. I can only imagine your disappointment as you discovered this. For all the reasons you mention, this looks like one of the most unprofessional commercial (or DIY) electrical installations I have seen.

Kingdom Camping was on my short list for an eventual 4-season upgrade from my Dweller 13. However, they would really need to prove they have this wiring system issue under control before I would give them any consideration.

It’s very disappointing especially since attention to detail takes almost no effort. A small wire tray or some screw in zip tie mounts are super cheap. A rubber grommet for the hole in the floor would have been less than $5. Sanding down the rough edge when you cut the shelving and wall materials takes 30 seconds. They used massive 4/0 wiring for the inverter but ran the negative to the bus bar that’s fed by a 6gauge wire… lol. I’m a little worried to look at the plumbing lol.

I’ve emailed them a few times throughout the week and Jamin has definitely been quick to fix the easy stuff and send out parts but he has yet to even acknowledge the poor wiring job…

 

[Todd34]

Thanks for sharing. I have a deposit down on the first mid-size and I'll definitely add this to my list of things to chat with Jamin about. I get that no trailer is going to be perfect, but I'd also like to do what I can to ensure that the big stuff is squared away as much as possible.

 

[kingdomcamping]

So I got my adventure pro mini 2.0 a few months ago and I have to say I’m not that pleased. Granted I have nothing to compare it to but some of the fit and finish was not perfect and seemed rushed. I accepted it as it was one of the cheaper “premium” options. Unfortunately, a series of electrical issues lead me to find some things that frankly quite pissed me off. Hidden behind the propane tank, bracket, and wedged in metal panel was a complete rats nest of wiring.

Quite literally every bolt that had a ring terminal was loose (this was the cause of most electrical issues). The “AC distribution” is just a power strip that’s mounted by a single screw in a plastic cap. This cap will fall off eventually and the metal strip might land right on the exposed battery positive terminal. There’s a complete disregard for wire bend radiuses. The battery is only secured by wedging it behind an L bracket, nothing on top holding it down. Fuse holders were left laying on the bottom with the covers falling off. The inverter is also mounted vertically when the manual says that’s not OK, They also wrapped the negative lug in electrical tape but left the positive one exposed which sits quite close to the metal panel. Am I over reacting here?

On the pro side, Jamin has been very responsive on fixing the little stuff. Unfortunately, I cant get them to fix this mess from 2k miles away…

Hi Max, please see the reply from RedArc as I have communicated via email.

Altho it appears the electrical issue was the failed rj45 cable which RedArc replaced under warranty.

I am willing to personally fly out to your place and correct any issues you see with your trailer and it’s electrical system.

Jamin
Kingdom Camping

 

[Motomax]

Hi Max, please see the reply from RedArc as I have communicated via email.

Altho it appears the electrical issue was the failed rj45 cable which RedArc replaced under warranty.

I am willing to personally fly out to your place and correct any issues you see with your trailer and it’s electrical system.

Jamin
Kingdom Camping

Hey Jamin,
I look forward to working with you on getting this resolved.

Just to clarify the RedArc faults. The bad output cable was a result of a 2volt drop between the battery and manager 30. This was identified by following the troubleshooting steps on the RedArc website for that specific fault and the cause was loose connections on the positive circuit. The over voltage fault as RedArc stated to us was a result of faulty firmware in their older displays (we will see if this comes back). The low voltage cutout was likely caused by the loose connections but maybe that’s what RedArc believed the CAN cable would fix, if that comes back I’ll replace the cable and see.

Thanks again for being willing to make this right.

 

[kingdomcamping]

Hi Max, please see the reply from RedArc as I have communicated via email.

Altho it appears the electrical issue was the failed rj45 cable which RedArc replaced under warranty.

I am willing to personally fly out to your place and correct any issues you see with your trailer and it’s electrical system.

Jamin
Kingdom Camping

I look forward to correcting any present errors and resolving this, we are always open to constructive criticism and happy to take care of our customers.

 

[jschuman]

Hi Everyone - We placed our deposit with Jamin for a Caravan XL build. ETA Sept/Oct timeframe.

After looking at all similar US options (Pause, IO, Roamer, etc) we chose to go with Kingdom. The other options in the market had us making compromises, Jamin and the custom approach steered us to the Caravan XL.

Couple notable custom options for our build:

- Floorplan - We are doing a rear double bunk floorpan with a smaller L shape dinette. Rear bunks are north / south and start at the rear wall of the trailer, bathroom is splitting the width of the trailer.
- Aluminum Cabinets
- Laveo Dry Flush
- Remove one Solar panel - For 1. Maxxair vent over bathroom and 2. Larger AC...
- Truma Aventa Air Conditioning - We live in PHX
- Maxxair #2 next to Truma Aventa
- Starlink - Roof mount and side mount options
- Garmin Powerswitch for all 12v switching control (wall mount iPad, TBD on this)
- Exterior Rock Lighting
- Dual Stargazer windows above queen bed (sacrificing over bed cabinets)

- Galvanized Chassis
- Disc Brakes
- Outdoor Kitchen Slide

Those are the main ones we have discussed. If you are familiar with the other offerings in market, there are compromises with those brands and Jamin/Kingdom are accommodating almost all of our asks.

Another point to mention, the electrical feedback above prompted Jamin to engage in a public forum and offer to personally fly out to fix them. Every company has issues, the fact that Jamin is willing to correct it and make it right means a lot. VS the competition having to go to random dealer networks.. Hopefully he was able to get wiring issues resolved with Motomax (have yet to see a resolution posted here)

We're PUMPED to start our build, will partcipate in these threads as we go through the process

Jake

 

[Motomax]

Jamin came out and worked on the electrical. Didn’t really expect a company to fly out to fix an issue so that definitely carries some weight. Thanks again for doing that.
Wire length limited what he could do but I think he was able to clean it up fairly well. The wire bend radius issue was fixed. The overcrowded buss bars were replaced with longer ones. Negative wire was upgraded to a larger size. Battery now has a strap (I’ll probably add a plate on the bottom so it doesn’t sit on the bolts). Power strip was removed.

Some extras I would request if ordered again (will do most of these myself):
Add a solar port on the front box for extra panels.
Add a solar disconnect, 4 position so you can select no solar, roof, expansion port, or both (it’s overkill but price difference is negligible).
Replace wireless chargers for 12v plugs. More universal and less gimmicky (never bough on to wireless charging).
Remove P trap from sink, I might be missing something but I don’t see why it’s needed when draining to grade. I had some clogging issues.
Upgrade the fridge/cooler. Stock one doesn’t work well for me. Temperature control is not accurate.
Longer awning, the stock one doesn’t cover the door and that would have been very nice on the last trip when it rained all weekend.
Small lip/gutter above the rear door. when it rains and the hatch is open water gets into the kitchen area.

 

[Obsessed2findARuggedHybid]

Thanks for sharing. I have a deposit down on the first mid-size and I'll definitely add this to my list of things to chat with Jamin about. I get that no trailer is going to be perfect, but I'd also like to do what I can to ensure that the big stuff is squared away as much as possible.

Todd how your mid size build going?