Conqueror vs Kimberley camper trailer

Love the Offroad ability of the Ultimate, but hate that the kitchen is 'inside' - I reckon the best aspect of most campers is the outside cooking areas. How do you find that aspect now that you have transitioned?

Hi Ivan
One of the strengths of the Kimberley Karavan is that it has two systems. It has a diesel powered cook top inside and a gas stove on the outside, so the choice is yours! I find the diesel really good in cold and inclement weather and the gas stove good during the summer months. The diesel burner is also used as an internal heater and a hot water heater as well. It works really well for us 'Oldies' who like a little comfort!!
Regards
Brian

Since about 2010 or 11 the Karavan also comes with an optional complete outside kitchen - it might even be standard with an option to regress, not sure. It still has the inside diesel cooktop for those miserable days.

And just to clarify for the curious, the burners for the cooktop and the diesel water/room heater are separate - you don't have to have a hot hotplate to keep warm!

Agree with Brian - once you need a bit of comfort, don't want canvas but still want to get out there, they're fabulous.

Cheers

The lack of sitting space and table inside is my main concern. Sitting outside when in cold and rain down south puts me off. How did you manage this? We would not use the second bed and would rather make some other us of this area. Love to hear what you think.
Phillip

Hi Phillip

We use the main "dining" area as our bed, but it can be a dinette if you like to sit inside, and its very easy to fold the other bed area out at the front. So far we have never usedthe table inside as we love to be outside by the fire even if its cold. We spent a month in Tasmania this summer and had some cold nights. We had a good look at the conqueror UEV490, but felt the kavango to be better value for money, and a little more aerodynamic to tow (200mm lower in height).

Good luck with your purchase

Lisa

Forgot to mention a few other factors.

KK can have a camper to you in under 2 months, with UEV Conqueror you're looking at more like 4 months+. This could be an issue.

Secondly, without any first hand evidence, I'd probably feel more comfortable with the KK after sales support - just because they've been around for so long. I think their warranty is also better, if this is a factor for you.

I can't comment on KK after sales support, not having had any dealings with them. However as the happy owner of a UEV 490, I have been very impressed with their after sales service which is second to none.

I won't buy into the main thread as I have no experience with the 440, however I will note that the bedding gets significantly disturbed at each closing up which could be an issue for some.

I can comment on KK after-sales support.

My experience has been excellent. I have always had fabulous service and warranty response from the factory and my dealer, Express Campers at Unanderra.

And response to emergencies in the outback is a benchmark for others, I believe. A trailing arm bush bolt failed up in the Kimberley, fortunately only a few km from Kunnunnurra, and in the process mangled the substantial bracket to which it was attached, screwing the wheel alignment. We limped into to town. Express and the Kimberley factory between them organised a local engineering works to do the repair and told them what was required. In 24 hours I had my van back, good as new. It was outside the warranty period, but cost me nothing.

Kimberley products are expensive, but if a Kamper is on your short list, well, you could do worse.

No affiliation, just a very satisfied customer.

Cheers

We have had 2 KK's and while we were very happy with them, we looked at the Vista, but went for a cheaper Adventure Trek AT10 ( now called Lifestyle, even though they bought out Adventure Trek a while ago )

All about speed of setup and no canvas for us....and low weight...( ours is less than 1500kg's fully loaded )