Kimberley Kruiser Black Caviar T3

WE LIKED:
>> Whizz-bang tech and clever features
>> Out of the square design
>> Tropical roof and recessed awning

NOT SO MUCH:
>> Need to sell my house to buy one
>> How about a motorhome or fifth wheeler version!

When Kimberley Kamper's Kruiser appeared out of the company’s NSW factory in 2012, it certainly made a splash in the offroad caravan market.

The Kimberley Kruiser Black Caviar T3 (to give it its full moniker) is different to just about everything else available. But it’s not completely different, of course – Kimberley has plenty of experience in the camper trailer market and has upgraded its design thinking to caravans.

Before my photo shoot, I spent some time driving both on-road and offroad with the Kruiser on the ball. I have to say that, despite its length of just over 7m (24ft) and a loaded weight around the 2600kg mark, it proved to be a very well-behaved tourer behind my Range Rover.

Apart from the small matter of getting bogged (see below), the van proved to be exceptionally maneuverable both forwards and in reverse. The biggest surprise as far as the tow vehicle went was the relatively light ball weight, which proved to be no drama whatsoever.

LAYER UPON LAYER

The walls and the roof of the Kruiser T3 are built in alloy Trellis Tube, designed for strength and light weight. Smooth fibreglass is used for the exterior, including the one piece roof section.

The tropical roof is a real feature of this van. It consists of a second layer of the same material as the roof with a 50mm air gap in between, and it works surprisingly well in keeping the internal temperatures down. Climb a ladder and take a look for yourself!

Although not much of the roof can actually be seen as it's covered in ultra-thin solar panels – all 540W of them. But there are cut-outs for the hatches and air conditioners as needed

The van’s unique shape is partially created by the ‘frameless’ windows – there is a frame but it's just not visible. The double glazed polycarbonate windows match the paintwork and run along both sides of the caravan, coach and bus style. They look great from the outside and give a good view from the inside.

Naturally, the door isn’t conventional but is made to Kimberley’s design. It moulds neatly to the body, as does the awning which is fully recessed into the roof.

Like any good camper trailer, the Kruiser has a second (external) kitchen. It looks a bit like an oversized picnic table but it has a small slide-out stainless steel sink and slide-out Weber barbecue, as well as the other kitchen necessities.

The purpose-built pod on the drawbar (which is designed to cope with 90 degree turns) is designed to hold a generator as well as a jerry can and gas cylinders, and small diesel fuel tank. The floor, which is mostly out of sight, is cast polyethylene which creates a water and dust barrier.

Kimberley has plenty of experience when it comes to building chassis. The Kruiser’s chassis has hot-dipped galvanised steel and comes with independent suspension for the tandem axles. The suspension has 4000kg trailing arms, air bags and shock absorbers.

Depending on the mode of travel (on-road or offroad), the air bags can be raised or lowered as needed. The wheels and tyres can be fitted to the buyer’s choice but they all come with electronically-operated disc brakes.

Although disc brakes on caravans are a totally new concept, they have been designed to cope with rough road travel. There are no cables or handles for the parking brake – it’s just a simple one touch operation to turn it on or off!

SAME BUT DIFFERENT

The Kruiser T3’s layout is, to a certain degree, pretty conventional with a front bedroom, full-width rear bathoom, offside kitchen bench and mid-nearside dinette.

But then it starts to look a bit different. Instead of having a normal cafe bench dinette, the two leather upholstered rear facing seats having individual (car style) adjustable seat backs with head rests.

The forward-facing lounge seat will fit two people comfortably and there is a tri-fold table between front and rear seats.

Across the way, the good-sized kitchen bench has a conventional microwave oven below the bench. But, instead of a gas fired cooktop, a Webasto diesel hot plate is used for the catering and, instead of a large fridge, the fridge/freezer functions are split with both a Isotherm 133L fridge and a 55L freezer drawer located under the bench.

Even with all that, there is still plenty of overhead locker, drawer and benchtop space.

The bathroom has all the usual items such as a shower cubicle, vanity cabinet, Dometic cassette toilet and a washing machine, but it also has a purpose-built drying cabinet. The diesel-fired heater can dry hanging clothes but it can also be used to warm up the bathroom on cold days.

The original Kruiser came with something of a first, a 12V roof-mounted air conditioner. Naturally, there have been developments since then, and the alternative is now a 2.2kW split system under the bed.

If I can digress into technology for a moment here, starting up a motor typically draws five or six times its normal running current. Batteries don't always cope well with this, which is why car starter batteries are built differently to deep cycle batteries used in RVs.

What is used here is known as a ‘soft starter’ on the air compressor motor. In short, it’s an electronic device that keeps the starter current to a minimum.

There is 540Ah worth of lightweight lithium batteries in the Kruiser. That is, in part, to cope with the air-conditioner but also items such as the 1600W pure sine wave inverter.

One of the biggest issues with batteries and motors is voltage drop, which should be kept to a minimum, and long cable runs are often the biggest problem. So Kimberley has developed an aluminium busbar ring that connects the batteries together.

MORE ELECTRICAL GOODIES

The Kruiser T3 comes with a good selection of electrical goodies. It has energy efficient LED lighting, as well as a very sophisticated multi-media system with two drop down LCD screens (22in and 24in). Both can be seen from the bed but only one from the dinette.

In addition there's a Fusion radio with iPod socket and an antennae for giving extended range to the Telstra NextG network and a satellite.

All the electrics, both inside and outside the caravan, can be controlled from an iPad, iPhone or Android device with the appropriate app.

In addition to all that, Kimberley has also recognised that the photographers among us need a few facilities as well, so a special ‘digital darkroom’ has been developed and has a special storage area under one of the seats, along with 240V and 12V charging outlets and a fast WiFi for uploading valuable photographs.

There are two water tanks, one with a 200L capacity and one of 120L capacity. The larger one is designed be used for any water supply – town, dam or billabong, while the smaller one is restricted to drinking water only.

At the rear, the 120L grey water tank has a separate pump and can be used to supply the toilet or washing machine.

BOGGED!

Anyone who is into serious 4WDing will know there’s always the possibility of getting bogged, even when towing a caravan. It can happen very easily, too, as it did when I was getting the tow vehicle and caravan into the right position during our photo shoot.

Although the ground by the river looked firm enough, it wasn't, and the problem was that, as the tow vehicle dug itself in, both it and the van were heading for the river. Recovery was quite simple without have to deflate tyres or use sand ladders.

We judged that the best way was to drag both the van and tow vehicle out backwards by using a second vehicle. To achieve this, a snatch strap was attached to the rear of the van and to the rear of the recovery vehicle.

Although two way radios could be used, because neither driver could see the situation properly, a third party (that’s me!) was within shouting distance of both vehicles and acted as the Stop/Go merchant.

Recovery was achieved without too much difficulty but it did emphasise the point that if you’re planning some serious off-road work with a caravan, then it’s best not done alone.

VERDICT

The Kimberley Kruiser Black Caviar T3 is a state-of-the-art RV from both an offroad point of view and a technology point of view. But it all comes at a price... especially now with the latest version about $20 grand more than the original.

An article like this barely does justice to techno side of things, so I'd suggest that if you want more details, have a look at the Kimberley Kampers' website. Kimberley's owner Bruce Loxton has written a number of helpful articles which are not only for Kimberley items but are generally useful for all vanners.

All that said, there's no doubt that the van is purpose-built and that purpose is to enjoy as much of the Australian continent as possible, in as much style and comfort as is possible.

KIMBLERLEY KRUISER BLACK CAVIAR T3

Overall length: 7.32m (24ft)
External body length: 6.1m (20ft)
External body width: 2.38m (7ft 10in)
Travel height: 2.94m (9ft 8in)
Internal height: 1.93m (6ft 4in)
Tare: 2640kg
ATM: 3150kg
Ball weight: 195kg
Frame: Trellis Tube Aluminium
Cladding: Fibreglass
Chassis: Hot dipped galvanised
Suspension: Air bag
Brakes: Disc
Electronic Stability Control: No
Wheels: 17in
Fresh water: 200L, plus 120L drinking
Grey water: 120L
Batteries: Lithium 480Ah
Solar: 540W
Air-conditioner: Aircommand Heron 2.2kW split
Gas: 1x9kg
Cooking: Webasto diesel
Fridge: Isotherm 133L 12V compressor
Freezer : Isothem 55L drawer
Microwave: Omega
Toilet: Dometic cassette
Shower: Separate cubicle
Lighting: 12V LED
Hot water: Diesel instantaneous
Options fitted: None
Price: $148,500
Supplied by: Kimberley Kampers, Ballina, NSW