First U.S. Spec Kimberley T3 Kruiser Ready to Roam

Romer suggested that I start a thread about my new T3, so here goes. It’s at David Bates’ shop in Ohio ready for me to pick it up and begin traveling. I will arrive in Bellefountaine on Monday and leave Tuesday for a 6 to 8 week trip with numerous destinations: Marfa, TX, Big Bend National Park, Las Cruces, NM, Patagonia, AZ, Sonoita, AZ, Palm Desert, CA, Death Valley National Park, Hurricane, UT, Canyonlands National Park, Gateway, CO and Fruita, CO. I retired in December, 2015 and owned an Oliver Elite II at the time. I traveled in the Oliver for four years and replaced it with an off-road camper, a Conqueror 490. The Conqueror was not a good choice for me, so I sold it after 6 months of ownership and ordered the Kimberley. Due to Covid-19 and the resulting supply chain issues, the wait has been long. A few weeks ago, I spent three nights in the T3 at David’s shop and enjoyed a lengthy turnover process. I left the camper there with plans to return to start my trip in better weather than I could expect in Iowa. I plan to head straight south and travel through Tennessee andEFDC938B-73BE-405C-B045-86AE08750204.jpegBFD8FA5D-98CC-4E39-81B8-BC2C99DB2C31.jpeg76302CF8-562F-43E9-AD26-B7FDF6307480.jpegF7687F91-0240-47A1-AC1A-B80F2857141A.jpeg975E9D50-F2BE-47B3-8EE8-5B4641A3EF91.jpegE2A35907-7D93-4B12-BC87-CB7173CCE6A0.jpeg2DB8FBDE-396F-4DFE-9BC9-2EDA01514F83.jpeg5CDC87A2-8700-45BC-A161-C77EE1D6B412.jpeg Mississippi, before arriving in Texas. I’ve attached some photos of the T3. I’ll share more after I’ve settled in. The T3 is well-equipped for traveling off-grid. It has two 300 amp hour lithium batteries and 700 watts of Merlin thin solar panels on the roof. I also have a light Merlin portable panel—160 watts. There’s a 2600 watt inverotor in the front pod where the batteries also reside. The pod also contains the air compressor for the air bags that I’ll use to level the T3 side to side and to adjust travel height. Inside the T3, I have a queen bed with an Avocado mattress, a roomy en-suite with a separate shower large enough for me to sit down in, a composting toilet, a kitchen with an induction cooktop, a microwave, a fridge, a separate freezer, way more storage than I need as a solo traveler, two separate diesel heating units, one of which also provides hot water, and a very comfortable lounge and dining area. The T3 has two water tanks, one of which provides filtered drinking water, and two grey water tanks. The outdoor kitchen is large and well-equipped with two powerful “wok” burners (the only things that consume propane in the T3), storage, a 110 outlet, a sink and a stainless steel food prep area. There’s a powered awning that will protect the kitchen area from the sun and I ordered the Bedouin extensions for the awnings. There’s an outdoor shower in the back and a large pass-through storage near the front of the Kruiser.
 

cmo5

Member
Congrats Don!! My wife and I got to see your T3 at Dave's shop when we picked up our Karavan in November and it's an amazing rig! Looking forward to seeing more pics once you get out on the road...
 
Spent the night last night outside of Dave’s shop in Bellefountaine with water in both the drinking water and general water systems. Ran both diesel heaters and used the tank heaters. It was windy and cold—I think the low was 25 degrees or so with a much lower wind chill. Very warm and comfortable in the cabin but Dave recommended that we winterize the drinking water system because my travels will have stops where the lows will be in the low to mid-20’s until I get to Big Bend. Dave’s advice is to run the Elwell diesel hot water heater and the underbed diesel heater as well as the tank heaters. Will add antifreeze to the sinks each night. Dave did a great job educating me but there’s still a big learning curve compared to my Oliver Elite II and Conqueror 490. Evernote notes are my friends! First stop tonight at a Harvest Host brewery. Feeling pretty mellow!54CEDB55-DFEC-41CF-AB6E-5F6637D7F9B3.jpeg
 

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If you winterize the drinking water system, what will you drink...bottled water? Will you winterize the general water tank as well?
 
I have a 5 liter container with drinking water and a Britta pitcher in the fridge. Will reverse the winterization of the drinking water system in a few days. Because the way the T3 is designed, Dave thinks I can keep the general water tank/system operational in the temperatures I’ll experience during the next several days without winterizing that system. But the time I arrive at my campsite in the desert in Big Bend, I don’t think I’ll have to worry about lows below freezing-maybe down to 29 or 30 degrees will be worst case. From there, I’m headed to even warmer destinations. I‘ll probably winterize both systems before I return to Iowa. Even though I plan to stay on the road until mid-March, it’s not safe to put the T3 in storage in Iowa that early in the spring without winterizing. The process is simple, though.
 

FordGuy1

Adventurer
I have a 5 liter container with drinking water and a Britta pitcher in the fridge. Will reverse the winterization of the drinking water system in a few days. Because the way the T3 is designed, Dave thinks I can keep the general water tank/system operational in the temperatures I’ll experience during the next several days without winterizing that system. But the time I arrive at my campsite in the desert in Big Bend, I don’t think I’ll have to worry about lows below freezing-maybe down to 29 or 30 degrees will be worst case. From there, I’m headed to even warmer destinations. I‘ll probably winterize both systems before I return to Iowa. Even though I plan to stay on the road until mid-March, it’s not safe to put the T3 in storage in Iowa that early in the spring without winterizing. The process is simple, though.
I thought these Kampers were 4 season? I am asking because I have one on order.
 

Cortttt

Member
T
Romer suggested that I start a thread about my new T3, so here goes. It’s at David Bates’ shop in Ohio ready for me to pick it up and begin traveling. I will arrive in Bellefountaine on Monday and leave Tuesday for a 6 to 8 week trip with numerous destinations: Marfa, TX, Big Bend National Park, Las Cruces, NM, Patagonia, AZ, Sonoita, AZ, Palm Desert, CA, Death Valley National Park, Hurricane, UT, Canyonlands National Park, Gateway, CO and Fruita, CO. I retired in December, 2015 and owned an Oliver Elite II at the time. I traveled in the Oliver for four years and replaced it with an off-road camper, a Conqueror 490. The Conqueror was not a good choice for me, so I sold it after 6 months of ownership and ordered the Kimberley. Due to Covid-19 and the resulting supply chain issues, the wait has been long. A few weeks ago, I spent three nights in the T3 at David’s shop and enjoyed a lengthy turnover process. I left the camper there with plans to return to start my trip in better weather than I could expect in Iowa. I plan to head straight south and travel through Tennessee andView attachment 701817View attachment 701818View attachment 701819View attachment 701820View attachment 701821View attachment 701822View attachment 701823View attachment 701824 Mississippi, before arriving in Texas. I’ve attached some photos of the T3. I’ll share more after I’ve settled in. The T3 is well-equipped for traveling off-grid. It has two 300 amp hour lithium batteries and 700 watts of Merlin thin solar panels on the roof. I also have a light Merlin portable panel—160 watts. There’s a 2600 watt inverotor in the front pod where the batteries also reside. The pod also contains the air compressor for the air bags that I’ll use to level the T3 side to side and to adjust travel height. Inside the T3, I have a queen bed with an Avocado mattress, a roomy en-suite with a separate shower large enough for me to sit down in, a composting toilet, a kitchen with an induction cooktop, a microwave, a fridge, a separate freezer, way more storage than I need as a solo traveler, two separate diesel heating units, one of which also provides hot water, and a very comfortable lounge and dining area. The T3 has two water tanks, one of which provides filtered drinking water, and two grey water tanks. The outdoor kitchen is large and well-equipped with two powerful “wok” burners (the only things that consume propane in the T3), storage, a 110 outlet, a sink and a stainless steel food prep area. There’s a powered awning that will protect the kitchen area from the sun and I ordered the Bedouin extensions for the awnings. There’s an outdoor shower in the back and a large pass-through storage near the front of the Kruiser.
Congratulations. These are such beautiful trailers. They have so much - all that solar, all those batteries, composting toilet, filtered water and gorgeous design....They are the pinnacle of trailer making. I hope you enjoy it a lot and keep us posted how it goes. :)

Would love to hear about the Oliver as well and why the Conqueror wasn't a good fit.
 

cmo5

Member
We camped with our new Karavan for two nights with lows down to 23-24 with no freezing problems. It was above freezing during the day though when we were in motion on the road.

I would be nervous driving at highway speeds in the lower 20's as I think that would increase the risk of problems, and I have a feeling that's why Dave and Don decided to winterize temporarily.

I agree with Catastrofe that they are 3.5 season rigs.
 

Romer

Adventurer
This is a great thread and looking forward to your adventures. Can you explain more on how you temporarily winterized the water system? I am not sure How I would add anti-freeze in my Karavan without it coming from the tank and then how long do you run it before you think its OK?
 

bomar

Adventurer
I have camped many many nights below freezing. I gallop it was 9 degrees and water did freeze to no ill effects.

I put antifreeze once and will never do again. It is a foamy pain in the ass.

When below temps all day I run tank heaters all day.
 

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