Kimbo Camper BS and Mods

@magunha, I am looking to purchase a pair of the Mule mounts for my F-150. It looks like the eye bolts are about 9 1/4" behind the front of the box. Does this pull the tie down straps in a rearward direction when tightened? How well are they performing overall? Website says to use 7/16" bolts, is that what you used or would 1/2" work? Do you feed the tie down strap through the eye bolt or do you use a shackle or something else? thanks

 

Hey guys! How do you guys deal with the payload? The Tacoma is quite low compaired to a ford ranger…
Tacoma 2023 - crew cab 1105 lbs
Tacoma 2023 - double cab 1285 lbs
Ranger 2020 - double cab 1565 lbs

how do you manage with legal for having a kimbo on it?

 

This sounds like a rhetorical question...

 

That was not the intent, I am wondering if I should change to a Tacoma! I really want one but I am having doubts. Is there issues? I was going for a double cab. And want to put airbag from airlift on it for stability… I just don’t know if that is the right thing to do…. (With the ranger I need to take off the tailgate witch is annoying)…

(Edited)

I am in Canada, and it seems that we don’t have the same models vs in the US. Is your payload bigger on yours?

 

Not to my knowledge - I love the Tacoma and fits all my needs at this point, there are compromises and things you can do to mitigate the risks but at the end of the day...I'm not a lawyer or engineer so the information on this forum should be taken at your own risk, we're here to share what we're doing but not to convince anyone to do anything they feel is beyond their risk tolerance or to shun anyone for not doing what we do.

Kind of a wacky support group if you do decide to get a Kimbo and put it on whatever truck you choose.

 

Recently returned from an 8000 mile trek from LA to Toronto and back. Taco / Kimbo combo were awesome. Now the itch to starting pulling parts out begins…

Lots of Kimbo specific mods I’m planning, but my questions are mostly about the Taco. ‘23 TRD Sport AC was mostly stock, save for air bags and e-rated ko2s. First up would be gears / retune. Those mountain passes were definitely… not super fun. Interested in anyone’s first hand experience on either / or / both?

And then suspension is on the some day list. Open to anything from OEM TRD lift to custom recipe. Looking to mitigate washboard on logging roads, bounces on crappy freeways, etc. Nothing remotely resembling hard wheeling. Again, looking for any real world experience!

Thanks again for the wealth of info here. An awesome combo all in all.

 

Hi folks,

Don’t have a Tacoma, but I joined for the Kimbo intel! Recently bought a 2022 F-150 Hybrid at the same time I ordered the camper.

I’m in Canada and just drove it from Bellingham all the way to Nova Scotia. I’ve been staying in the Kimbo since I picked it up about a month ago. I love some of the build outs and mods people have done here! I ended up getting mine pretty loaded, since I knew I’m not handy and needed to use it immediately.

My truck has the built-in 7.2kw generator. I can just put the truck into generator mode and it will idle the engine periodically to charge the battery up. I’m able to power the A/C no problem and can add some more appliances too. It’s been a life saver since Kimbo was only able to supply me with one battery during delivery.

As for suspension, I did some research and ended up going with the RoadActive set-up, rather than airbags. Made a big difference in the ride and handling before I even added the camper. Also had a 2.5” level done. Still have to finish reading through the 100+ pages of posts here, but happy to find a bit of a support group! I’m not on social media, so haven’t had a way to connect with other owners.

Here is my rig…love that I can say “rig” now!

 

Welcome! That lighting looks great with the Kimbo lines and blacked out truck...congratulations on the "rig"

 

Hey @KimboCanuck I will be hauling my Kimbo in an F150 as well. Are you using the front D ring tie downs in the bottom of the aluminum bed or something after market? I will be installing Mule expedition mounts this weekend. It seems the the after market mounts will be to the rear of the Kimbo mounts pulling the camper rearwards. Not sure how secure this will be. Anyway your rig looks sweet.

 

@TCR Thank you! I’m just using the stock D rings. After thousands of miles, it hasn't shifted around too much, so they seem to be doing the job alright! Currently working on a set-up so I can take it off the truck. With the hybrid/ecoboost, my gas mileage has been cut in half (or possibly a bit worse), so I don't want to keep lugging it around. Hopefully the V8 will be a little more consistent for you!

 

Thanks for the D ring info. Currently at 22 mpg on the 5.0, hope to not cut it in half.

 

What are people’s thoughts in a system like this to replace the ratchet straps?

https://torkstrap.com/collections/t...lb-power-band/products/torkstrap-hd750-4-pack

 

Saw someone (black shortbed Tacoma with tailgate down) heading north on i-5 near olympia on Saturday!

 

alrighty boys - check this out...they're now offering the 100ah battery in a "mini" version and from what I've been reading, there is nothing different except the size. They are not yet offering it with a low temp option but hope they'll get around to it very soon. Looks like they're coming in at around $350-ish.

This guy's got a pretty neat idea using the harbor freight pelican case:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64P5tTHhLfg

I can see at least one of these in my future.

What have you guys seen? Thoughts?

 

Just saw someone heading north on I-5, bikes on the back and beating traffic!

 

I wish that was me.

 

What has been your experience with objects in wall baskets staying in baskets, or not, during travel and off-road?

 

Surprisingly pretty good. But always make sure things are pretty snuggly packed in there. That being said, prob wouldn't store anything too precious in there

 

Baskets are wonderful - surprisingly we have yet to have anything fall out but mostly it's card games, small items, and snacks. We don't put anything very heavy up there though.

 

Hello everyone…long time lurker here. Big thanks for the wealth of information everyone has provided. Finally deciding to upgrade after years with an ARE topper and I just got a quote from Kimbo but I’m looking to weigh some options before pulling the trigger.

I’ve thumbed through most of the pages but I couldn’t get through every one so I apologize if these questions were already asked.

What’s it like drilling into the shell? I’m looking to put three solar panels up top, Kimbo said they’d do it but 2.2k seems steep for 100$ panels and another 2k just to put awning brackets in w/o the awning. Is there some sort of difficulty in drilling through that warrants the costs? Sealant seems obvious but other than that?

I primary boondock right on the coast, fully exposed to salt for months without the ability to give it a wash. Has anyone put the Kimbo through something similar? Or had issues with salt related corrosion?

Seems like most people went the airbag route, which makes sense but I’ve read airbags are susceptible to rust and salt related corrosion issues. So I’m thinking of another suspension solution. Anyone have experience to weigh in on this?

Thank you,
David