kimberly kamper trailers

Hi. I haven't had any personal experience but there is an agent nearby to us that actually hires them. Given we are in NSW that is a bit impractical for you but maybe another agent nearer to you may hire as well. That way you could try before you buy so to speak. The insert link is not working but this is their address. Regards,Bobhttp://www.expresstoolsandcamping.com.au/camper_trailers.htm

were Pioneer Camper trailers on your short list?....we purchased one about 5 years ago after close comparisons to the Kimberley.

just a thought in case you were not aware of them

I see in the web site there is a dealer ......All Road Camper Trailers in Fanny bay that do hire them..in case you want to look at them or hire..whatever

ours has had very serious off road tests over the years and not found wanting at all...made in WA


sitehttp://www.pioneercampers.com/


no affliation etc

cheers

I should ask, new or secondhand?

As the owner of a KK (LE) they are a good camper and well designed for off-road.

The areas i would look at would be the following:

- Electrical sysytem. There have been at least 4 reports in the last year or so listing the batteries failing. This is believed to be due to the 6 x parallel arrangement (for 210Ahr setup) and IMO the poor wiring arrangement. I have just upgraded mine to what i feel to be acceptable levels and this may vary due to personal beliefs. Paraphrasing someone here previously stating "for auto electricians, they make good carpenters". :)

- Year model. There has been a change several years ago where the door arrangement and canvas roof setup was changed to gain some slight benefit in the internal floor area. Obviously if you are buying new this is not of concern ;)

- Towball weight. These style campers are not light and this needs to be taken into account. Make sure you have a good jockey wheel to handle the weight on grass etc.

Obviously all brands and models may have slight problems, which may or maynot manifest itself in the next trailer made. All in all i believe you have made a good decision and should enjoy your purchase.

Hope that helps.

Andrew

I have a 2010 Platinum with the Mariner Pak, so please call me on 0407976872 to discuss it. Generally excellent, but a few things to know.

Hi Jezza,

I bought a 1996 KK about 5 years ago and it is still going strong. I have just recently redone the suspension but otherwise it is great. Second hand is the way to go. I bought ours locally and it cost around $8K. The hard bottom floors are great up here as the floor doesn't get wet. I would look at the local papers for a second hand version and save the cash. I can keep my ear to the ground at work if you want.

Cheers

Dave

"Does anyone know of any drawbacks to this camper"
Main drawback to the Kimberly Jezza is the long drawbar (2.55m), towball weight (200kg+ loaded) & overall weight especially with a boat on top.
Other than that a nicely built well featured camper trailer.
Cheers Craig...........

Hi Jezza,

I've never owned a KK but from all reports they are strong, reliable and should last you many years.

Ive got a cub, and like the KK the only drawback I can see is having to fold the camper up with wet or dewey canvas.

This is the only bad point I can see.

Cheers Wilko

We purchased a 2nd hand 2003 model 2 years ago theough the EO Trader (thanks Bob). No problems with long distance off road travel. Last year we did 7000km with a lot of dirt road, much of it @ 100km/hr.
Any CT you are spending that type if $s on will be first rate, Kimberly, Ultimate, Pioneer, Aussie Swag etc... However they will all need routine maintenance such as wheel bearings checked etc..

The wheel bearings and brake pads they use are quite common (so I am told by a caravan retailer) and I had no problems getting them at a local engineering shop. Really nothing else to break. Shocks and springs can be obtained commonly.

Kimberly I found to be 1st rate when it comes to considering any type of upgrade or after sales service even though we bought ours 2nd hand.

Having upgraded to the KK from a soft type side flip, the only drawback we noticed though was the increased weight and worse fuel economy. A small price to pay for the comfort though.

As we have 3 kids, when we are on the road for > 1 week, we use our space crate and just tie it to the "camper roof" along with camp fire timber. If there is just the two of us, there is stacks of storage space even for 3 weeks, provided you are not taking annex walls.
Don't skimp on the tyres though, put the same quality on your trailer as you do your vehicle.

As others have said....towball weight, not 200kg's unless you have overloaded it somehow....more like 140 to 160kg's......but the same as most hard floors....heavy weight compared to a soft floor, but they're all much the same ( would be good to have a KK made out of full aluminium though !!! )

Yes you have probably guessed I own one, but until they come up with an off road van that weighs 1000kg's, it's all that I want in a camper trailer !!

Hello Jezza77,

You have chosen well; the KK is an awseome product !

That said, have you checked out the Camper Trader link at www.campertrailers.org/
Several KK trailers are for sale, one of them in Darwin.

Have you considered hiring or borrowing a KK for a trip to see if you like it? "Buy before you try" and and you could find a few ännoying surprises. My mate did this and he's already on his second trailer.

Many people have found that when travelling into remote places on poorly-maintained roads - and wishing to avoid problems and/or expensive repairs - size and weight definitely need to be considered.

I have a hard-floor camper weighing 800kg when unladen. My tow vehicle required a suspension upgrade to take the stress the camper causes when travelling cautiously over extremely rough roads.

Cheers,
Netnut

Went through all this in 2004 when we were in the market. For mine there are four which are better than the rest. In our ordwer of preference:

Australian Off Road Odyssey Caloundra

Cape ExplorerCairns

Kimberley Kamper - Nth NSW

Aussie Swag - Brendale (near Brisbane)

For good advice on campers see www.campertrailers.org

You may also pick up a good buy on their Trader page

Kevin J

Hi I bought a LE last year and have found it excellent. I have spoken with the factory in the past 2 weeks though about the need to upgrade the electrical charging system and they are listening. Ask them to fit a REDARC Battery Management System in place of their standard charger. This will get rid of the problems i encountered with not being able to fully charge the trailer batteries from the car. The BMS also allows you to charge from solar via the same anderson plug inlet you use for the car charger. It has cost me plenty to change mine over and it works a treat now. I don't believe I will ever need to buy a generator now. The units are heavy on the towball but my cruiser with 25psi in the airbags doesn't mind it at all. There is no better kitchen on the market than the K.K. I went for the hydraulic disc brakes and have been very impressed. I Have always had electric drums on trailers, no comparison.
Try Tim at Ozzie Camper Trailers, the Townsville dealer, he offers excellent service.

Hey there Jezza, dont know how you have progressed with your purchase but I remembered your thread and there is a 2010 KK platinum for sale in the NT news this morning, might be worth a look if you havent seen it already.

Jezza,

if you are buying second hand there may be a price advantage with different models that will change their position on your list.

However, if buying new I reckon the Australian Off Road Camper is way ahead of the rest. Made on the Sunshine Coast.

Member Dave B (Broken Hill) has one. It is very well made.

A friend we are currently travelling with had a KK some years ago. They would need to have improved to even get on a list of mine. Similarly Pioneer CTs. I've had 2. The first was very good. The second, they dropped the ball in QC. I think they might have corrected that when I looked at one recently, but, once burnt.... etc.

Happy hunting.

PS, if you buy second hand at least the owner may have corrected any faults or can point shortcomings out to you.