Kimbo Camper BS and Mods

That’s a lot of frost. Are you moving any air from the outside in and out? Don’t know if lowering humidity levels would help.

 

Was using the side window cracked at the middle stop on the locks while running the fan as exhaust on low. I'm looking into a better place to put the outside sensor (right now it's in the propane cabinet) - from the picture, outside RH was 83% and inside was 52%, but that is with the sensor in the cabinet so I'm not sure about its accuracy.

 

Just looking up some numbers from the area and the outside RH of 83% doesn't look unreasonable - the weather app shows humidity at 97% right now for the area we were in that weekend and Wenatchee is at 88%.

 

Is the diesel heater an option? I feel in heavy humidity environments, you'll see the biggest change, more than a propane heat can take out alone. I can't say for sure in WA, but in below 20 degree temps here with girlfriend and two dogs we have seen zero frost, even in the windows. I imagine the humidity level inside would not be affected by location.

 

A secondary heat source would be optimal but it's not in the plans. May have to reconsider if there isn't any thing else that is able to resolve the frost issue. The propane heat is amazing but seems to be more of a passive heat and that may be part of the issue - I'll be mounting the Caframo fan this week, hopefully that'll add some needed airflow.

 

Put the Kimbo to the test fresh out of the box this weekend! We camped in the national forest right outside of our local ski resort and temps were V cold. The first night we had a low of 1 degree and the second night the low was about 15. We had no condensation other than the door (which froze completely), and the AC steel box WITHOUT A WINDOW CRACKED. We also live in Central Oregon though so the climate is dry.

Super satisfied with how warm and cozy the kimbo kept us, and also how quiet it is on the inside due to the insulation! We camped in a snowpark that is very popular for snowmobiling apparently and woke up surrounded by about 20 sleds and we had no idea they were that close to us lol.


A few hiccups along the way:

1. The demotic fantastic fan wouldn’t start because the sensor was frozen / cold. Collin from Kimbo is sending over some lube to prevent that from happening. Once the Heater was running for about an hour, it started right up though.
2. My Grey water pipe froze which could have been my bad lol. I don’t know if it was angled enough for all water to Drip out or if it froze instantly while traveling down while washing dishes. It’s still frozen so I’ll pull it through from the inside tomorrow and see if I can melt the water.

Massive storm just hit Central Oregon so I’m thinking of “camping” up there again on Wednesday night if I can get internet installed by then! Wish us luck, the mountains getting about 60 inches from now until then lol.

 

Awesome to hear man. Interested in the internet install. Save some snow for CO!

 

Hello!
Colorado Kimbo #111 here. I wanted to share my kitchen. Camping means cooking. There were a lot of firsts for me during construction. I was inspired by the space rover's clean cut kitchen but needed more utility. I found the stove from an Airbus that was being refurbished, which I thought was real fitting. I can hold 5 or 10 gallons of fresh and I drain grey. I still need to get around to those cabinet doors.

 

Damn that looks good! What did you attach the tiles to? Nice work.

 

Thanks! I used some 0.5 plywood and stained the edges to get it a warm barrier. I also used the threaded rivots there already to hold the board in place, but most of the weight goes on the counter top. From there, I glued the tile using some semi flexible adhesive and generic grout. No cracking so far from being on the road.

 

Awesome way to break that sucker in!!! Glad to hear there were only a few hiccups and that you didn't have any condensation trouble - I have a sneaky suspicion that the month and a half of rain before our trip may have been a contributing factor.

Thanks for the feedback, this forum continues to deliver!

We'll be back at it this weekend and I have the fan mounted and wired up. Pics to follow as soon as I get the second coat of urethane on the Lagun arm support and get the mess cleaned up from the work.

 

That looks great! I like the way you fit everything into that corner but is still a decent size - with a cover on the sink most of the counter is still useable too.

 

Oh yeah, meant to mention to take your time on the doors - in the winter you'll definitely want the heat to get under there and keep your water from freezing...just a consideration.

 

Oh good point. Maybe a tiny computer fan can pull air back there.

 

I'm always running a mini

$39 Pro Breeze Electric Mini Dehumidifier for Home (215 sq.ft) 16oz Capacity, Energy Efficient, No Noise, Compact and Portable for High Humidity in Kitchen, Bedroom, Bathroom, Basement, RV, Office, Garage

dehumidifier or using

$20 DampRid Hanging Bag, Moisture Absorber, Pack of 3 (16 oz. ea.), 3 Pack, Blue

damprid bags inside my Northstar, or my new GeoPro. Mainly, 100% whenever the campers are not in use.

Off topic, but for outside heat and cooking, I really like my new

$59 Mr. Heater F242300 MH15C 10000-15000 BTU Cooker, Chrome

Mr Buddy cooker (set in a

$12 Linzer Products RM 400 Linzer/American Brush RM400 1 QT Metal Paint Tray-Quantity 2424, 9 in, Silver

paint tray using a

ACETOP 6ft Propane Hose Adapter, 1lb to 20lb Propane Tank Quick Connect Converter Hose, Bulk Portable Appliance Replacement Hose Compatible for QCC1/Type1 Tank, BBQ, Camp Stove, Grill, Heaters

hose) and mated to a

$51 FLAME KING YSN5LB 5 Pound Propane Tank Cylinder, Great For Portable Grills, Fire Pits, Heaters And Overlanding, White

#5 tank.

 

that outside heat setup looks good! I’ve got the dehumidifier that came with the rig (very similar to yours) and prob need to run it more, been too cold here the last couple weeks tho - any moisture would freeze

 

Couple updates on projects - porch 1.0.

This is still a work in progress but the addition of a cross member has stiffened the porch up significantly. Added some test endcaps that might look fun with some LEDs mounted behind them, offerup clapped out stairs were rebuilt with new nuts/bolts/washers and all the corrosion removed.



Extra sleeping platform/bench seat, table, and fan are in and working great!

 

Spent the weekend up at the mountain again for an awesome bluebird weekend. In the morning, our front large arctic window was dripping water pretty bad from the ice melting (also from the fantastic fan as well). Do you guys think this is bound to happen, or should I investigate a potential leak in the seal? Once it unthaws for about 15 minutes it stops dripping.

 

On a positive note, my new sticker decals were a hit at the mountain lol. “One less sprinter” is an inside joke with our town. Seems like every other vehicle in Bend is a modded out Sprinter van.

 

It's likely frost melting from the moisture you produce inside - but keep an eye on it, if it produces moisture when raining - you have a leak...otherwise, it's a venting issue. More heat and more ventilation is needed...we cranked up the heat and added another fan to help with the heat stratification/moisture/condensation and we're creeping up on a solution (for our climate...).