A Kimberley Karavan?

We had one for 8 years with no problems at all. The only reason we left it was that my wife has a spinal problem and the KK was not kind to her getting in and out of bed.
Our KK travel thousands of kms on all sorts of roads, from Cape York, to the Kimberely, all over SA and Victoria, NSW and Qld.
I suggest you go to the Kimberley Karavan Owners Group site and you will get great advice from owners and past owners. https://kkog.org.au
Regards Duncan

Hello S
The Kimberley people made/ make very strong campers, up there with the best of them. I would assume that the Karavan would also be very capable.
Can you contact Kimberley these days ?
There must be a Kimberley camper website somewhere to ask about the raising mechanics.
Top campers anyway.

Cheers
Jim

I've been investigating them on and off as well. Some sellers specifically mention that the cable system has been serviced/cable replaced. If you search other forums eg Caravaners forum you'll find a few threads. The usual range of opinions, but at least it gives you a heads up on things to check. They have a massive payload and an atm of only 2000kg, if my memory serves me correctly. Good luck with your search.

Siringo,

I wrote this for a similar query a while ago. I have not edited it but things won't have changed much:

We have a 2007 model Karavan, have had it almost from new. It's done over 100,000km of outback travel including GCR, GRR, abandoned section of the Gunbarrel from Giles to Carnegie and beyond, Rudall River NP (very rough, cut a tyre, bent a rim but the van was great), Gary Junction Hwy, numerous forestry roads, tracks and firetrails in the Snowies, Blue Mountains and Vic High Country. It's tough enough to do the rough work, but like a 4WD that goes to those sorts of places, needs maintenance.

When closed up for towing it is only as high and as wide a the average tow vehicle, so it will fit where the tug will fit. It's pretty nimble.

Your 2007 model will have a long hatch in the floor which allows easy access for maintenance to a major part of the lifting system. Later models do not have that, so you will be ahead in that regard. Ask the seller what has been done maintenance and modification wise to the lifting system. There are known problems, with fixes available through the Owners Group.

There is also an issue with improperly located bearings and seals in the hubs. It's a design issue. Again. the Owners Group has a fix for that, with parts available through our on-line shop.

There is an owners group, the Kimberley Karavan Owners Group (KKOG). We don't have a website as such, but an excellent forum at kkog.org.au, and as Macca said, you can get a temporary, restricted membership set up so that a possible purchaser can access the forum and ask questions of the members.

Weightwise, the 2007 model has a GTM of 2000 and an ATM of 2200. The plated and registered weights and tares of all models are all over the place when you look at compliance plates and rego certificates. There were some variations in the first few 2006 models, but from September 2007 onwards the weights are 2000/2200. Mine had an original tare of 1400. It was never realistic and I discovered how unrealistic when I had to get it weighed as part of a GTM/ATM upgrade. The actual tare is about 1800, a 400kg discrepancy.

Towball weight is in the range 150 to 250kg, depending on how you load the van and where the large water tank is. (Somewhere between 2007 and 2008 the 120 litre tank was moved from well in front of the axle to the rear.) Also if it has had a lithium battery conversion, which many owners have done, that makes a big (favourable) difference to ball weight.

Because of unrealistic tares, etc, many members of KKOG have had weight issues and many of those have pursued a weight upgrade to keep legal. I'm in NSW. My local engineer required upgraded springs (which I did anyway as I had a broken one) and wheels to Australian Standards (ie stamped with load capacity. The originals were not to the standard.) Other states, notably Queensland, are not so fussy. The hoops you have to jump through for this upgrade depend on which state you live in and the engineer you choose. My GTM is now 2380 and the ATM is 2500.

The Karavan was first released in mid 2006. The original weights of 2000 and 2200 were designed to be towable behind the likes of Prado, Pathfinder, Pajero class vehicles of the day. Many owners still do that, but be aware that if your Karavan has had a weight upgrade that class of vehicle, particularly if it is older, may no longer be adequate. For 7 years I towed mine with a 2007 120 Series diesel Prado. It was an excellent combination. I tow now with a BT50. Same again.

Although it's called a Karavan, it's a hybrid. For a van it's small. For a camper it's, shall we say, not compact. But it's a very compact caravan! 5 people will be a squeeze. You can fit 5 people around the inside table, but it is tight. OK occasionally, say for visitors having a drink on a wet night, but not on a regular basis for meals. You will need to exercise the camper part of the hybrid deal and eat outside when possible.

Similarly, sleeping 5 inside will be a real squeeze. I've never investigated the bunk bed option. There were bunks in a vertical arrangement available in the early days, but whether the new management still makes them is unknown to me. You would still need a 5th bed and that would fill the central walkway, which makes it very difficult for mum or dad to get out of bed for a nocturnal call of nature.

If your kids are old enough there is a three man kids tent that hangs off the extended bed out the back. If the new factory cannot supply it, any canvas maker could knock one up. The Kimberley version is nice, though.

There is also an excellent full awning available which would give you an enclosed outside room. Your's might come with that. Being fully framed, it's very strong. It's a fair effort to set up, so not really designed for single overnights, in which case there are simple awning options, such as a Fiamma bag awning or Kimberley's own Kwik Awning. Again, yours might already have that option.

If you want to try the temporary membership of KKOG, and I recommend you do, contact the secretary at
sec_treasurer@kkog.org.au

If you want more info feel free to email me at

frankponetwonine( the one two nine in figures and no spaces before the at sign) at gmail.com

Cheers

We were looking at something similar (2nd hand) last year to progress out of our Kimberley Kamper. Looked at the Karavan and consulted Frank (above) who was a great help. Despite my liking of the Kimberley group we wanted an outside kitchen, didn't like the fact you had to raise the van to boil the kettle and was wary of the raising mechanism failing somewhere remote. The advantages we saw with the Karavan was its lighter weight than most hybrids, impeccable factory service and lower tow height.
We went with a CompleteCampsite Exodus 14. It was 9 years old and has been with its previous owner to many of the places Frank's mentioned above. We towed with a Pajero, now a new Prado, gross weight across a weighbridge 2.2T loaded, ATM 2.5T. I'm very impressed with it. Liked the on screen look of AOR and its reputation, but at the time Anastasia wouldn't let us into Qld to look or buy one
We have yet to take it on any of the roads Frank has mentioned in the last 12 months but the previous owner has. As Frank mentioned, realistic ,honest gross weights should be an important consideration. Individual fit out like inside/outside kitchen or shower is a personal thing.
They are not all the same when you start looking at specs, weights and ability to repair. As Frank said, they all need preventative maintenance, nothing is bullet proof, just some more durable than others.

Thanks everyone for the help and advice.

What do people think of the the wide range of Hybrid caravans available these days?

I've never followed the caravan 'scene', but from what I understand, Tvans and Karavans came onto the scene before all these Hybrids.

This has me thinking that maybe these Hybrids are solid & robust and not just jumped up small caravans with big wheels as they will have copied the Tvans and Karavans of the world.

I really have no idea, and only a little bit of experience. All I'm looking for is something that won't rattle itself to pieces & is affordable.

Currently I'm looking at a 2nd hand Karavan and a Stoney Creek 14' Hybrid.

Thanks everyone for the help & advice it's greatly appreciated.

Special thanks to Frank for taking my calls and giving me some very useful advice.