My Goldilocks Camper - Kimberley Kamper

[Tucson T4R]

We must have done a bad job as a dealer, when we had them no-one wanted to buy them. Now they are the hit ticket. Imagine that.

PS, I have two boat loaders for them here if anyone needs such a thing.

No kidding. I guess it's all in the timing. There must be more of us Glampers around now and forums like this spread the word more effectively all the time.

Edit: The no kidding was about nobody wanting them..not you being a bad dealer. Slee has always been top notch.:elkgrin:

 

[R_Lefebvre]

Here's a shot showing some of the spreader bar support structure under the roof when installed.

Cool, thanks. Just debating myself with the ease of creating a structure like this for my tent, vs. something more complicated like the Hannibal awning which is self-supporting. I like self supporting, but I need more shelter before I can use my trailer the way I want. I think a Hannibal setup would be much faster to set up than this, but your type would be much easier to construct initially.

 

[bj70_guy]

We must have done a bad job as a dealer, when we had them no-one wanted to buy them. Now they are the hit ticket. Imagine that.

Can't have = want... :sombrero:

Seeing one in the flesh makes a huge difference in perspective, at least in my case. I went from thinking "wow those things are expensive" to "wow, those things are totally worth it"

 

[Tucson T4R]

Cool, thanks. Just debating myself with the ease of creating a structure like this for my tent, vs. something more complicated like the Hannibal awning which is self-supporting. I like self supporting, but I need more shelter before I can use my trailer the way I want. I think a Hannibal setup would be much faster to set up than this, but your type would be much easier to construct initially.

The stretcher bars are pretty simple and could be DIY constructed. You just need a cross pattern with the initial poles coming from pockets at the trailer end to flat ends with a hole that the tent poles go through. Then the stretcher bars going the other way have c-clip ends that snap onto the other stretcher bars. When you tighten all that up it stretches the canvas tight and provides a pretty rigid set up. when fully set up mine has held up amazingly well is some pretty strong gusty winds.

 

[Honu]

not a bad dealer purely has to be bad timing ? just like the conquerors that sat around for a while till a few of us expo people got them then they all went quickly

 

[spressomon]

I'm certainly not telling Christo anything he doesn't already know...but a couple challenges selling new KKs here stateside:

Currency volatility. During the past 24-months the US/AU currency exchange rate has fluctuated from a low of about 60-cents on our dollar to almost even; its difficult to impossible to wrap a business model around uncertain costs; especially given what quality trailers cost.

International freight costs; crazy expensive. Then the transport costs getting them from the few ports on each coast to enough dealers in the USA so folks in a given region can see them in person.

Profit margins are too slim given their incredibly low sales volume here in the USA. I looked at this, when Redline and I brought ours in in 2008, and it just doesn't make fiscal sense.

And lastly there's the $20k+++ price tag. Americans typically judge value by "bigness". Very few Americans actually place a high consideration/value on top notch construction and materials that won't fall apart after the first year's usage (outside of our little niche ;-).

Due to a variety of factors - major contributors stateside like Adventure Trailer, Overland Journal and many, many other pioneers like them have increased our awareness - we are getting more exposed to the off-road vehicle based lifestyle here in the USA. This lifestyle, if you will, has existed for decades in other parts of the world. Call it the snowball effect or call it anything you want but there is more groundswell interest in vehicle based off-road exploring and camping than other time in recent USA history.

Interestingly enough although in my opinion the Kimberley Kamper campers are at or very near the top in terms of quality construction and overall design engineering they are but one of 40, 50 or more similar manufacturers of this type of trailer in Australia!

 

[Romer]

Christo, your a great dealer. And I wish now that I had bought one from you back then. At that time though the Jayco Baja was a perfect camper for me and the girls. We had fun in it for 5 years. Times have changed

Thanks Brad for answering the questions on the rods. It was like 90 deg in my back yard and my main goal was to understand the panels and how they installed. I saw the tension poles and also where they went, but decided not to install them. I also should have better adjusted the bars and put and extra tie downs on the 3 corner poles

 

[Redline]

Very nice summary Spresso.

 

[Tucson T4R]

X2 Dan, very nicely put. That about sums reality up. :elkgrin:

 

[Romer]

X3 Dan

I really didn't know much about Australia until I spent a month there. 3 weeks in Alice Springs. Where there are built vehicles everywhere with all kinds of camper options

New Nissan patrols that look like 80 series land cruisers. Nissan could make some money selling those here

Walked on to a Toyota lot and could buy a brand new 70 series land cruiser. On option is to buy the Can with the back part custamizable

The rigs have to be built tough as its 1300km to a big city in any direction and you dont want to get stuck where the most poisenous snakes in the world live. Thats why their campers are much better quality. They have to be.

beautiful country, I loved it

Then you go to Sydney and its a big cosmopolitan area with very little of this. However, the people are much nicer than New York or other big cities here in the US

 

[greentruck]

Ken,
Thanks for giving us a look at things and explaining.

Is the opening of the top based solely on gas struts and geometry? Looks that way, but it wasn't absolutely clear. Finely balanced mechanisms always impress me.

The design gets me to thinking that something similar might be possible on a smaller scale by converting a 1/4 ton trailer. The Kimberley Kamper is giving me ideas of how I could hack something together -- and my metal working skills are less than stellar. I've been planning on learning some more, so who knows?

Anyone know of other similar designs or one-off conversions? The idea of easy set-up, hardtop that pivots to become a hard floor, and effective utilization of space all make it the sort of design that inspires others to try their hand with it. It's going to be hard to beat the package the Kimberley Kamper has, but its influence will extend to other projects, whether acknowledged or not as the source.

 

[Hilldweller]

not a bad dealer purely has to be bad timing ? just like the conquerors that sat around for a while till a few of us expo people got them then they all went quickly

Southern Offroad is just two exits up the road from my office; Dean's Conqueror inventory languished there for years without a single nibble. The rockcrawler crowd poo-poo'd them with pointed fingers and belly laughs.

Congrats on the KK; they're very neat contraptions.

 

[R_Lefebvre]

Are the spreader bars actually spring loaded-telescopic to actually tension the top? Or do they just set up a frame the fabric is made tight to fit?

 

[Tucson T4R]

Are the spreader bars actually spring loaded-telescopic to actually tension the top? Or do they just set up a frame the fabric is made tight to fit?

They are just telescopic with a locking clamp built in. You manually extend them to get the tension you want then clamp them to stay there.

 

[bdyer]

kk

I have an 06 i bought from Christo (and i am a toyota guy) I have a great appreciation for the construction of the camper and Christo as a dealer. My wife and i think it is a great camper. The only problem is that if you stay in a KOA people will not leave you alone.