Our Kingdom Camping Trailer Build
- Thread starter Treefarmer
- Start date
how much does the midsize start at? i see no info on the website.
Obsessed2findARuggedHybid
Well-known member
Did you get any drawings of what it will look like?
Fully loaded it’s 85k. I opted to remove a solar panel and a battery to get the price down a bit.
Not yet. Jamin says it’s going to be just like the XL, but 6 ft shorter.
Obsessed2findARuggedHybid
Well-known member
Perfect. I think you were wise to drop the solar and Lithium down. I feel like the max is not necessary but I am a low power user kind of guy. Plus I live and camp were I don't need AC
I wonder if the layout will be similar to the Imperial Outdoors X145?
I believe so, but about a foot and a half longer. Mine will have a short queen going East/West. I believe the X145 has a full.
Treefarmer1
Active member
One year Update on Caravan XL:
After one year of full time living in the trailer, everything is working great. We have had some speed bumps along the way, but they have been mostly from the component manufacturers.
For anyone looking at these trailers, the good news is that the owner, Jamin, is very responsive when issues arise and has made all of the changes we've discussed over the last year of living in this prototype. Over the last year we've improved the fresh water tank system, spare tire mount, and front jack placement. All of these changes are now standard in the builds Kingdom is doing.
Based on our discussions, Kingdom has also improved their wiring to improve access and maintenance.
We had a problem with our awning that Carefree of CO fixed under warranty. We also had a coolant leak in the AC unit (RTX 2000). Dometic didn't honor that warranty at all. We had to replace the unit at our own cost, and the new unit is working great. We did everything exactly by the book, so if we do have any problems with this new unit, Dometic would have to be a real cesspool of bastards not to honor the warranty.
We looked at swapping out for a Nomadic brand unit, but it would have required to much modification of the opening in the roof to make it worthwhile. FWIW, Jamin has tested the Nomadic units, and he thinks they are a bit louder than the RTX2000, use a little more power, and don't cool down as fast. Nomadic also costs a little more.
One issue we resolved that was particularly impressive to us was related to the windows. The Tongfa windows perform well, but the screen/shade assembly uses a fairly flimsy string as part of the raise/lower mechanism. Living in the trailer, we probably put about the same number of cycles raising and lowering the screen/blinds that the "normal" RV user would probably put on in 5-10 years or RV use. We've had three of those strings snap on us. The shade/screen can still be used, but it is wonky to raise and lower.
Jamin talked to the manufacturer about it and they are going to redesign the unit to solve that problem. Jamin will be sending us replacements for all five of our windows (the screen/shade assemblies are easy to replace). I know I shouldn't be impressed by this kind of response from a manufacturer, but in today's world, I am!
So for those of you with an order in or considering an order, there is a good review after one year of full time use in Kingdom's newest model. Prototypes can be a risky choice, but everything has worked out for us according to plan and the new Kingdom builds are incorporating all of the experiences of real world use. I think it's about time for Kingdom Camping owners to get together somewhere remote for mini rally!
After one year of full time living in the trailer, everything is working great. We have had some speed bumps along the way, but they have been mostly from the component manufacturers.
For anyone looking at these trailers, the good news is that the owner, Jamin, is very responsive when issues arise and has made all of the changes we've discussed over the last year of living in this prototype. Over the last year we've improved the fresh water tank system, spare tire mount, and front jack placement. All of these changes are now standard in the builds Kingdom is doing.
Based on our discussions, Kingdom has also improved their wiring to improve access and maintenance.
We had a problem with our awning that Carefree of CO fixed under warranty. We also had a coolant leak in the AC unit (RTX 2000). Dometic didn't honor that warranty at all. We had to replace the unit at our own cost, and the new unit is working great. We did everything exactly by the book, so if we do have any problems with this new unit, Dometic would have to be a real cesspool of bastards not to honor the warranty.
We looked at swapping out for a Nomadic brand unit, but it would have required to much modification of the opening in the roof to make it worthwhile. FWIW, Jamin has tested the Nomadic units, and he thinks they are a bit louder than the RTX2000, use a little more power, and don't cool down as fast. Nomadic also costs a little more.One issue we resolved that was particularly impressive to us was related to the windows. The Tongfa windows perform well, but the screen/shade assembly uses a fairly flimsy string as part of the raise/lower mechanism. Living in the trailer, we probably put about the same number of cycles raising and lowering the screen/blinds that the "normal" RV user would probably put on in 5-10 years or RV use. We've had three of those strings snap on us. The shade/screen can still be used, but it is wonky to raise and lower.
Jamin talked to the manufacturer about it and they are going to redesign the unit to solve that problem. Jamin will be sending us replacements for all five of our windows (the screen/shade assemblies are easy to replace). I know I shouldn't be impressed by this kind of response from a manufacturer, but in today's world, I am!
So for those of you with an order in or considering an order, there is a good review after one year of full time use in Kingdom's newest model. Prototypes can be a risky choice, but everything has worked out for us according to plan and the new Kingdom builds are incorporating all of the experiences of real world use. I think it's about time for Kingdom Camping owners to get together somewhere remote for mini rally!
Treefarmer,
Thanks for the update. The info you've put out in this thread is one of the main reasons I decided to go with Kingdom and buy a midsize even though he hadn't made one yet. And thanks for the Nomadic recommendation. After your reply to my DM about the A/C, I reached out to Jamin and had mine switched to the Nomadic.
Thanks for the update. The info you've put out in this thread is one of the main reasons I decided to go with Kingdom and buy a midsize even though he hadn't made one yet. And thanks for the Nomadic recommendation. After your reply to my DM about the A/C, I reached out to Jamin and had mine switched to the Nomadic.
Treefarmer1
Active member
It's tough to switch from a Dometic to a Nomadic due to the size of the openings required. Going from a Nomadic to a Dometic would probably be pretty easy (if someone wanted to do that). Even though they cost a little more, the Nomadic does seem like it would be more durable. Even though it may use a little more power, I like them. Luckily, we don't need to use our AC very much.