Kimbo Camper BS and Mods

Might try putting a road bike tube around it or wrapping it in tubing material and electrical tape like a chain stay protector...just a thought (cheap, easy, repeatable).

 

Been a busy summer so far...Trail work repairing some features and an awesome trip in Bellingham a few weeks ago.

Sick (literally) Banks Lake trip...had to cut the fun short to recover, not ideal but it was very nice from what I remember LOL

 

I’m curious if anyone else has had this issue. My rear (close to the tailgate) bed D rings have some play in them. I noticed yesterday they have room below where they typically used to sit flush against the bed. Has anyone had these pull completely out?

What kind of D rings or other rear tie downs are folks running that might solve my current issue.

 

Second gen trucks do this. There’s an earlier post in this thread with a fix.

 

Hey y'all,

Just a quick photo dump of the past few weekends, picked up the Kimbo about a month ago and have been in it every weekend so far...had to get in as much Kimbo time before work started getting crazy! I've got some quick comments/thoughts in no particular order, about the first few weeks of ownership that I think are pertinent to this group.

I live in the Reno area and had Cole from Kimbo deliver to Portland, OR. Delivery was relatively seamless, however we both realized during the walkthrough that his team accidentally used the wrong loctite on the rivnuts that regularly hold the baskets to the inside wall (did not purchase the basket option, as I figured it'd be a bit cheaper to install myself). Now I am in conversations with Kimbo on how to tackle this problem as the bolts (little black interior bolts used to hold the insulation to the rivnuts) are loctited in and attempting to break them free could break the sealant behind the insulation and therefore unseal the kimbo. TBH, this is quite annoying, but mistakes are made sometimes...

As far as the build, my options included the heater, sink, fridge, solar, AC, 2xRotopax, and maxxfan. Opted out of the storage unit, baskets, ski/roof rack etc. I have the 6' bed which is great, because I have use of my tailgate as a porch and outdoor table, as you can see in the photos. This is an amazing feature that I have come to really appreciate. I am scheduled in about a month and a half to have the truck regeared with 5.29 gears. This will allow the use of 5th and 6th gear when cruising on the highway. It's not a cheap modification, but I think it's essential in the long run for a multitude of reasons.

In some of the photos you'll see the kimbo raised up with quite the gap to the cab. That is due to the wood pallet in the bed which has since been replaced with a fitted horse stall mat, like many others have done on this forum (thanks for that idea). It now sits with a much more visually appealing gap, and one that i'd imagine helps a bit with wind resistance and CG.

Big mountain biker here, so some of the "mods" I did for that are an 8" hitch extender with a swing away hitch. The swing away gives me easy access to the tailgate when I'm camping, and the 8" extension allows me to easily get in and out of the kimbo at a moments notice without the pain of swinging away the bikes. This is super handy but also has some drawbacks, namely decreased departure/approach angles when offroading, as well as just an overall increase in length of my truck. Ive taken this thing on some pretty spicy forest roads and haven't had any issues yet however.

Another small mod that I'm a huge fan of is metal D rings for the interior. I purchased some on Amazon that mount directly to the wall (had to drill them out to fit the 10/32 bolts. This allows me to mount D rings all throughout the interior of the kimbo. Ive attached a photo of my kitchen area where you can see D rings used to fashion a low tech paper towel holder.

Future modifications include a lagun table mount with custom folding table, and custom storage unit.

Cheers!

 

How useful is that hand pump sink for washing hands?

 

As you can probably imagine, it’s definitely not ideal for anything requiring two hands. For washing hands, I just lather up then rinse hands individually.

something else to consider and that I was notified of by Cole during the pickup is that it’s a relatively “splashy” setup when you combine the hand pump with the small sink. Wouldn’t generally be an issue in a regular kitchen, however the plywood countertop is unsealed and therefore prone to delamination over time if you’re continually letting water sit on it. So you either have to be very diligent about cleaning up water or I plan on doing a wipe on polyurethane sealant. Something that IMHO should be standard from the factory.

 

Agreed. I didn’t know the plywood was unsealed. I’m definitely swapping the hand pump out for a foot pump when I get mine.

 

Welcome!!

That idea for the D-rings is great - I'm currently using picture hangers...getting the D-rings ordered shortly.

Just curious - if the bike rack swings out, is there a reason to extend the rack out? Instead of tipping it down, you could just swing it out? I'm jealous of the swing out for sure, my rack is a 1up and tips but I'd much rather have the swing out option (also, not having a swing out makes me naïve to it).

The regear sounds like something that'll be in my future if the planets align.

 

They finally responded after three weeks or so with basically a non-answer. They apparently somehow knew that the previous owner had modified the propane orifice for the fridge (something I was completely unaware of and which has absolutely nothing to do with the ignitor or the issue I'm having) so they said it wouldn't be covered under warranty. They offered no insight into the ignitor issue. They suggested reaching out to an RV parts or repair place and were sure they'd be familiar with these fridges. No one in Alaska has ever heard of SMAD or serviced one. A bit frustrating. I'm about to dig into the damn thing myself and see what I can figure out, but not real excited to start messing with something that has the potential to blow up the rig!

Also planning to redo one of my airbag connectors this weekend as I still have one that will not hold air. Have re-cut and reseated the flexible air line three times now in the copper elbow trying to get a good seal, only to have it fail after a day or two each time. Got a whole new copper elbow connector for the passenger side airbag. Hope it solves this nagging issue.

 

I noticed your fridge is a Dometic--was that an option that you chose, or is that the standard Kimbo is offering these days? Mine from July of last year features a SMAD fridge which is currently only partly functioning and seems to be relatively unknown on the market.

 

You can always purchase a standalone swing out if you really think you need/want one. Swinging the bike rack out every time I need to access the kimbo is something I dealt with the whole weekend trip I did when I picked the Kimbo up in Portland, and it was a big pain in the butt. As you probably know (but something I didn't know until experiencing it myself, is that you're in and out of the kimbo countless times a day, especially when you are on the road often. the tilt away option allows me to have easy, quick access to get in and out whenever I need, without swinging out the hitch, which on this model requires unscrewing a bolt each time (great design for anti sway, etc., but not quick). Also, my right bicycle grip would bump into the rear kimbo window when going over rough terrain. The extension stops that from happening and just makes accessing the kimbo that much more convenient.

 

At some point in the fall of last year, I believe, they transitioned to the 12V DC only fridge option. I was told that was due to the unreliability of the 3 way fridge at altitude. So they offer this one as standard or the other Dometic option that is the same size but is a pull out "drawer" style, rather than classic fridge door.

 

Ok, there was a post quite some time ago where someone re-sprayed adhesive to the insulation/fabric that had fallen down...any update on how that worked? I've got some drooping in places and would like to be a one and done.

 

Thanks--good to know, but also a bit of a bummer to know that mine has been deemed "unreliable." It works great when on shore power, but, most of the places I wanna go ain't gonna have that option!

 

When I was in the factory picking up my camper I saw some cabinet/counter work being done, and he was applying poly or a sealant of some sort. A light coat though, it seems. Adding more seems smart.

 

Sorry that you're having problems. You got yours used, correct? I think the warranty on the camper is a year, if that helps. Might have to be an original owner though.

There are some good 12v options that fit the space if you decide to go that route. Truckfridge.com units are relatively moderately priced and seem to be high quality from what I've read and seen. Good luck!

 

Would anyone that has their Kimbo with the factory provided wood storage option (with slide out table) be willing to take a couple photos of that setup and how it works? I'm looking at designing a storage option in that same location, and will potentially be borrowing there slide out table design...I'm curious how it's held in place, and what mechanisms there is, if any, holding that table piece to the storage piece.

Thanks

 

Have that happening in mine too. I’ll be looking up some spray adhesives soon.

Been out on summer break and just finished about a 2 week trip. It’s been pretty wet and cold in the Rockies. I went through all my firewood in that time which is crazy for June and July. We even got a dusting above treeline. Was stoked to still get in plenty of biking with early rides. I also ran into my first Kimbo while on the road. Nice guy and we chatted a bit. Looking forward to more encounters of the space pod kind.

Kimbo is doing very well, but could use a wash. It sat in the shade for 10 days and the battery only got down to about 55% running the cooler, fan, lights, and charging phones and things. The last 5 days were cloudy and rainy. Bought a little dust buster and I highly recommend one if you have dogs.

I have a new off road rear bumper to install at some point, courtesy of GEICO. Put a little dent in my original. Came out even minus some paint I need to buy.

Thinking about shelving the closet area since stuff just gets shoved in there anyway. Hate using hangers, but the lady has me doing it at home. I figure since I’m not packing dress shirts, I can use the roll method and make some room for shoes.

No other issues to report other than needing to re-glue the gray liner. It’s just the ceiling sections in the middle.

I’ll be going through and checking the Kimbo in detail this weekend and cleaning. Will update later. Hope people have some trips planned soon.

 

The D-rings are a solid idea. Will grab some for the battery lanterns for the bed area.

I have the Kuat swing out and I believe it must be a bit longer since I can open the tailgate and Kimbo door enough to get inside with 2 bikes. Hopefully my new bumper with the hitch integrated inside will function the same. May have to look into an extender too.