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Bruce's Shakedown Run
A sneek preview
at the Kimberley Karavan before its offical release
I had the privilege to meet up with the
man behind the new Kimberley Karavan & Kimberley Kampers owner, Bruce Loxton, when he dropped into
the KK Newcastle agent 5 Star Campers on Friday 17th March. Bruce is taking
the prototype of the yet to be released Kimberley Karavan on its maiden run down the coast from his
factory in Ballina on the NSW Far North Coast to Newcastle, then on to
Melbourne where he will return via the bulldust of outback NSW & QLD
testing the seals in the process.
When I arrived at 5 Star the Karavan was already
fully setup & the friendly 5 Star Campers staff were busy checking it out
with Bruce. I introduced myself & was led on a guided tour of the Karavan
by Bruce himself. I must say having the designer of the Karavan to show me around personally was a real treat. The Kimberley Karavan has some unique design features, some of which have a patent.
The outstanding feature of the Kimberley Karavan
would have to be the windup hard shell roof & pop out bed with no canvas.
Bruce demonstrated how easy the composite top is wound up with a handle at
the rear of the unit & then the rear opening bed section is pushed out.
All this is done without any effort in well under two minutes.
The Kimberley Karavan has the same track
as the tow vehicle & built on the same proven chassis as the Kimberley Kamper.
There is a 2 year warranty on the first 20 units.
A few of the features that sets the
Kimberley Karavan apart from other off road caravans include............
- Same height, length & track as the tow vehicle
- Low centre of gravity
- Vacuum toilet with fresh water flush
- Diesel powered hotwater system
- Diesel powered cooktop
- LED lighting
- Outside BBQ & sink
- external water sourcing to hot water system
Of course this is the prototype
unit & as
Bruce travels with it he will be looking at any modifications that need to
be done before the unit goes into full production. He was very interested
in peoples reactions & queries at the pre-release viewing yesterday. There are two Karavans
being built at present. The first Karavans as new models come with a two
year warrantee.
I would like to thank the owners
Bruce & Narelle & staff
at 5 Star Campers for the opportunity to meet Bruce Loxton & check the Karavan
out, for their hospitality with the sausage sizzle & drinks provided & to Bruce
Loxton for showing me
around.
If you see Bruce on
the road in your travels give him a beep & a wave.
All details & a full list of features can be seen on
the website at
http://www.kimberleykaravans.com/
The Kimberley
Karavan is priced at $49,900 while the Kimberley Karavan Limited Edition
is from $54,200.
Thanks also to Ken
McGuinness for the tip off.
written by Rob
a
quick look around
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on the
camper trailer scene 
