Yes Rob I think they may have improved them. I like the concept of 4 tie down points & the ease in which they go up. They just needed to upgrade the telescopic arms. Good luck if you buy one & happy camping.
It might be an "Agricultural" fix, but you have the satisfaction of knowing how it went together. We broke a water tank bracket (grey water) outside Tennant Creek. I couldn't find anyone to weld it up so headed to the hardware shop where I bought duct tape, small diameter rope and a roll of tie-wire. I finished up using the wire which held until we got home. I've used wire coat-hangers to hold the muffler in place after the weld broke and in Kombi days, carried a hand drill and pop rivet gun to effect running repairs. They are the things you remember the most, fixing someone else's poor workmanship. Thanks for sharing this last trip. I didn't really enjoy the last two days - too fast. However, I understood the need for speed and I'm glad you got back to your loving wife safe and sound. I'd be interested to see how the camera's are mounted within the Navara. I use an el-cheepo dash cam, mounted to the windscreen but it suffers when the sun is shining on the glass. It looks like your front facing camera is set back on some sort of levelling device (steady-cam). Thanks again for the trip. Cheers for now,
Hi Barry. I use a suction cup mount for both GoPros. I got them off E Bay & they have never come off the windscreen. My Garmin & Navman are attached in the same way but they do sometimes come off. Usually a little saliva keeps them in place. Might be something to do with the respective weights of the cameras & navigation devices. GoPros have their own swivel fitting which have a standard female screw socket which in turn will fit on a standard tripod or Gorilla Grip. This fits the suction cup mounts & the cameras are actually fitted upside down on them. GoPros will automatically film scenes the right way up even when turned upside down although for some reason I sometimes get scenes which are the wrong way up but this can be corrected during editing on my computer. I always carry duct tape & cable ties as well as other bits n bobs because you can never rely on other people to help. In the case of Wolfe creek I was fortunate that the awning broke because the 2 bracket mounting bolts were just the right length to fit the u brackets on the tent so sometimes a little bit of luck also comes in handy! Sorry about the last 2 days but as you realised I was anxious to get home. Thankfully everything was ok with Kaye. Thank you for your kind concern. Take care
Hi Doug - thanks for the info -I'm possibly going to negotiate the purchase of a camper trailer fitted with a Kings Kwiki suffering a bit from neglect and has been left in the outdoors with no "love". Two of the corners are badly cracked and I thought that's a good bargaining point and I will uses a bit of Fibreglass to make the lid better than new. I do enjoy a bit of a project and now after watching you remove and reinstall the roof I think I will have a crack at it. The trailer is actually the best part - yes it needs a bit of TLC but it is well set up with drawers and a water tank and gas bottles and battery box etc so I'm looking forward to it - as long as I can negotiate a deal with the fella who is selling it who happens to be the principal of a Used Car Dealership. hmmmmm time will tell how I go -Cheers Mitch from Currambine-Perth
Glad the video was of some help to you Mitch. The Kings products are great concepts but they try to make them so cheaply that they suffer in the end. The Kwikky is the most convenient of all of the rooftop tents that I have owned for ease of putting up & taking down. It sounds like you will have a little bit of work to do if you get the trailer but that is part of the fun. Getting your equipment to the standard that suits your way of camping is sometimes frustrating but rewarding when you put your own effort in & the results work for you. Good luck with it & safe camping.
@@dougrorison1211 Nice of you to reply Doug. I figure if I can negotiate an acceptable price with this fella I would be pretty happy because the trailer has "good bones" and the layout I am looking for. HOWEVER it has been parked out in the open at the back of a car yard for around 6 months or more (I think) so even if I have to repair the cracked roof , maybe do the gas struts and a lick of Epoxy Resin Paint (I previously used this on a 14ft tinny and it works a treat) it should come up a treat. Cheers Mitch
@@mitchhoward-bath The epoxy resin paint sounds like a great idea Mitch. I might consider that for my tent in the future. Currently I am trying to decide if I want to keep a camper trailer I bought to replace the rooftop tent. I took the trailer around the goldfields to try it out instead of using the RTT, but a camper trailer is really too big for my needs. It does have its advantages though which is why I am 'swithering' about whether to keep it or not. I would look carefully at the underside of the trailer you are considering (which you no doubt have) & note the condition of the springs etc. If it has been stored around Perth it probably would not have much rust considering the climate up there. I like the idea of a RTT on the top of the trailer as I have seen a few rigs around which use that configuration & they seem like a good compromise. The trailer I have is a rear fold solid floor deal but the tent part has a lot of poles & the annexe is a jigsaw puzzle. I have a video about it on You Tube in which I give the pros & cons about it as compared to how I have travelled for the past few years. I have some subscribers who have told me that once I get used to the camper I will not look back but somehow I am still not convinced, but maybe another trip using it might sway me one way or the other! Take care
@@dougrorison1211 I hear you Doug. About 25 or so years ago we used to go away in our Cavalier Camper Trailer which was just awesome for Mum Dad our son plus one his mates. Prior to this we were always tenting so it was a real step up to the Cavalier. My wife is absolutely over camping and prefers a hotel room. Not me. She is heading O/S at Christmas for family duties and I'm staying here. Hence the Camper trailer project. I want a setup like a Kings Kwiki so I can set up quickly anywhere. I am not happy paying 30 to 40 bucks a night for a tent site so I am planning different tactics for free camping. After all that I completely understand the angle you are coming from. Last time the Missus went OS I had some time in a caravan park down in Busselton - good but it was too bloody expensive and I had a camper with an OZTRAIL set up. - Great when it was up but more of a family fun project with the kids rather than one man on his own. This time it will be different! Me and a Kings Kwiki and a pull out awning - Yeah ! And the Expoxy Resin Paint was just from Bunnings - goes on really easy with a foam roller and really sticks. Cheers
Thanks for posting this Doug. Ours has just totally fallen to pieces around the edges. I will try fibreglass and see it I can save it . Terrible attention to detail in the manufacturing. I feel if you buy Kings that’s the size of the problems you will have .
Thanks for that Doug, I found that very interesting as I own one as well. Mine is the mark two that is supposed to have additional corner support. I can now at least compare mine to yours. Everything else looks identical so I'm probably in for the same experiences down the track. Do you have problems pulling down the front when it is on your vehicle? I do as it comes down uneven, I've solve that by half hitching a soft rope to the gunnel throw it over the roof of the tent and pull it down by the rope, it then comes down evenly. Mine may be more restricted at the front than yours is. I'm also only 5 foot 9 and that might have something to do with it, :-) I also have a tarp over mine until I'm using it, being a single cab tray top I tarp it to keep the dust out of the tray. it works to some degree. Ian.
Hi Ian. It can be hard to pull the front down because none of us can be exactly at the front of the vehicle to exert even downwards pressure. I just use the ladder (leaning it against the pack rack ) to get high enough to grab the existing strap & pull downwards. I do shorten the strap by tying it in a loose loop. There seems to be enough flexibility in the whole structure which allows for some uneven movement. The closer you can get to the centre before trying to pull it down helps a lot. I have seen others actually climb up onto their mounting platforms to pull the tent down also.
Simply bleeding marvelous mate ..bloody terrific..and very agricultural aswell ..a simply gel coat over the lid and its all very smoochie coochie ..😎😁pip pips and carryon pilgrims
Thanks Doug for showing us that. I'm thinking about buying a Kwiky so it was good to see how they are put together so I too can do some repair work on it. If needed. Is that one you have the Mk2 version?
Hi Malcolm. I'm not sure if it is the Mk2 version. I got it second hand. It is ok for what it is & easier to put up than the conventional roof top tents. (I have had 2 of those.) You need to make sure that the telescopic arms are securely fixed with bolts & not just rivets as I pointed out in the video. They are flimsy but with care they should do what they were designed to do. I believe Kings had quite a lot of dissatisfied customers early on who returned their tents for replacements. I have never been able to get a replacement telescopic arm for mine but if my repair breaks in the future I might just junk the whole thing! Happy camping.
I was contemplating doing this Malcolm. On my last trip I did suffer from condensation dripping onto my face. I was going to look for some light weight material to glue into place but have not gotten around to it just yet.
So far so good Pat. I was in Queensland recently but did not take the tent with me but I did buy 4 new telescopic legs which I plan to install on the tent when I get some time to do so. I discovered that one of mine was previously repaired so thought it prudent to get a full set. When I get around to doing the job I might put a video out again on how it goes.
I have a dual battery system installed in the beast Jason. There is a 12volt plug point in the tub so the fridge runs off that. I used to use a solar panel array to help charge the 3rd battery I used to carry in the back but this last trip I left the solar panels & 3rd battery at home because they were just extra weight & the dual battery system charges up when the vehicle is running anyway.
Yeah mate, he seems to like keeping us prisoners over here. The missing toddler is a concern too. It looks like that could be an abduction. Looks like you guys might be able to get some travel in now which is great for you. Make the most of it while you can. I guess you will be able to get some gigs going now, so good luck with them. All the best mate, might be a while before I get some more travel videos up.
For a start maybe you should take a course in recognising accents mate! Then if you actually listened to what I was saying I was dissing the fact that the Chinese quality was crap, not the basic concept. I still have the same tent & after my repairs it is actually better than new! It's just a shame that the designers never seemed to consider using bolts to anchor the telescopic arms to the frame. When you discover where I come from give yourself a pat on the back. Hahahaha!
Good fix Doug.
Well done mate that’s how us Aussies do it
Killed it COBBA
cheers for that, im thinking of getting the MKII. be interesting to see the changes.
Yes Rob I think they may have improved them. I like the concept of 4 tie down points & the ease in which they go up. They just needed to upgrade the telescopic arms. Good luck if you buy one & happy camping.
They made a new design now mine is great
It might be an "Agricultural" fix, but you have the satisfaction of knowing how it went together.
We broke a water tank bracket (grey water) outside Tennant Creek. I couldn't find anyone to weld it up so headed to the hardware shop where I bought duct tape, small diameter rope and a roll of tie-wire. I finished up using the wire which held until we got home. I've used wire coat-hangers to hold the muffler in place after the weld broke and in Kombi days, carried a hand drill and pop rivet gun to effect running repairs. They are the things you remember the most, fixing someone else's poor workmanship.
Thanks for sharing this last trip. I didn't really enjoy the last two days - too fast. However, I understood the need for speed and I'm glad you got back to your loving wife safe and sound.
I'd be interested to see how the camera's are mounted within the Navara. I use an el-cheepo dash cam, mounted to the windscreen but it suffers when the sun is shining on the glass. It looks like your front facing camera is set back on some sort of levelling device (steady-cam).
Thanks again for the trip. Cheers for now,
Hi Barry. I use a suction cup mount for both GoPros. I got them off E Bay & they have never come off the windscreen. My Garmin & Navman are attached in the same way but they do sometimes come off. Usually a little saliva keeps them in place. Might be something to do with the respective weights of the cameras & navigation devices. GoPros have their own swivel fitting which have a standard female screw socket which in turn will fit on a standard tripod or Gorilla Grip. This fits the suction cup mounts & the cameras are actually fitted upside down on them. GoPros will automatically film scenes the right way up even when turned upside down although for some reason I sometimes get scenes which are the wrong way up but this can be corrected during editing on my computer. I always carry duct tape & cable ties as well as other bits n bobs because you can never rely on other people to help. In the case of Wolfe creek I was fortunate that the awning broke because the 2 bracket mounting bolts were just the right length to fit the u brackets on the tent so sometimes a little bit of luck also comes in handy! Sorry about the last 2 days but as you realised I was anxious to get home. Thankfully everything was ok with Kaye. Thank you for your kind concern. Take care
Hi Doug - thanks for the info -I'm possibly going to negotiate the purchase of a camper trailer fitted with a Kings Kwiki suffering a bit from neglect and has been left in the outdoors with no "love".
Two of the corners are badly cracked and I thought that's a good bargaining point and I will uses a bit of Fibreglass to make the lid better than new.
I do enjoy a bit of a project and now after watching you remove and reinstall the roof I think
I will have a crack at it.
The trailer is actually the best part - yes it needs a bit of TLC but it is well set up with drawers and a water tank and gas bottles and battery box etc so I'm looking forward to it - as long as I can negotiate a deal with the fella who is selling it who happens to be the principal of a Used Car Dealership. hmmmmm time will tell how I go -Cheers Mitch from Currambine-Perth
Glad the video was of some help to you Mitch. The Kings products are great concepts but they try to make them so cheaply that they suffer in the end. The Kwikky is the most convenient of all of the rooftop tents that I have owned for ease of putting up & taking down. It sounds like you will have a little bit of work to do if you get the trailer but that is part of the fun. Getting your equipment to the standard that suits your way of camping is sometimes frustrating but rewarding when you put your own effort in & the results work for you. Good luck with it & safe camping.
@@dougrorison1211 Nice of you to reply Doug. I figure if I can negotiate an acceptable price with this fella I would be pretty happy because the trailer has "good bones" and the layout I am looking for. HOWEVER it has been parked out in the open at the back of a car yard for around 6 months or more (I think) so even if I have to repair the cracked roof , maybe do the gas struts and a lick of Epoxy Resin Paint (I previously used this on a 14ft tinny and it works a treat) it should come up a treat. Cheers Mitch
@@mitchhoward-bath The epoxy resin paint sounds like a great idea Mitch. I might consider that for my tent in the future. Currently I am trying to decide if I want to keep a camper trailer I bought to replace the rooftop tent. I took the trailer around the goldfields to try it out instead of using the RTT, but a camper trailer is really too big for my needs. It does have its advantages though which is why I am 'swithering' about whether to keep it or not. I would look carefully at the underside of the trailer you are considering (which you no doubt have) & note the condition of the springs etc. If it has been stored around Perth it probably would not have much rust considering the climate up there. I like the idea of a RTT on the top of the trailer as I have seen a few rigs around which use that configuration & they seem like a good compromise. The trailer I have is a rear fold solid floor deal but the tent part has a lot of poles & the annexe is a jigsaw puzzle. I have a video about it on You Tube in which I give the pros & cons about it as compared to how I have travelled for the past few years. I have some subscribers who have told me that once I get used to the camper I will not look back but somehow I am still not convinced, but maybe another trip using it might sway me one way or the other!
Take care
@@dougrorison1211 I hear you Doug. About 25 or so years ago we used to go away in our Cavalier Camper Trailer which was just awesome for Mum Dad our son plus one his mates.
Prior to this we were always tenting so it was a real step up to the Cavalier. My wife is absolutely over camping and prefers a hotel room. Not me.
She is heading O/S at Christmas for family duties and I'm staying here. Hence the Camper trailer project.
I want a setup like a Kings Kwiki so I can set up quickly anywhere.
I am not happy paying 30 to 40 bucks a night for a tent site so I am planning different tactics for free camping.
After all that I completely understand the angle you are coming from.
Last time the Missus went OS I had some time in a caravan park down in Busselton - good but it was too bloody expensive and I had a camper with an OZTRAIL set up. - Great when it was up but more of a family fun project with the kids rather than one man on his own.
This time it will be different!
Me and a Kings Kwiki and a pull out awning - Yeah !
And the Expoxy Resin Paint was just from Bunnings - goes on really easy with a foam roller and really sticks. Cheers
Thanks for posting this Doug.
Ours has just totally fallen to pieces around the edges. I will try fibreglass and see it I can save it .
Terrible attention to detail in the manufacturing.
I feel if you buy Kings that’s the size of the problems you will have .
Yes unfortunately, great concept terrible quality. Good luck with the repair.
Sounds like the problem was that the ABS plastic was not UV stabilized and it just falls to bits in the Aussie sun. Did the fiberglass save it?
Thanks for that Doug, I found that very interesting as I own one as well. Mine is the mark two that is supposed to have additional corner support. I can now at least compare mine to yours. Everything else looks identical so I'm probably in for the same experiences down the track.
Do you have problems pulling down the front when it is on your vehicle? I do as it comes down uneven, I've solve that by half hitching a soft rope to the gunnel throw it over the roof of the tent and pull it down by the rope, it then comes down evenly. Mine may be more restricted at the front than yours is. I'm also only 5 foot 9 and that might have something to do with it, :-)
I also have a tarp over mine until I'm using it, being a single cab tray top I tarp it to keep the dust out of the tray. it works to some degree. Ian.
Hi Ian. It can be hard to pull the front down because none of us can be exactly at the front of the vehicle to exert even downwards pressure. I just use the ladder (leaning it against the pack rack ) to get high enough to grab the existing strap & pull downwards. I do shorten the strap by tying it in a loose loop. There seems to be enough flexibility in the whole structure which allows for some uneven movement. The closer you can get to the centre before trying to pull it down helps a lot. I have seen others actually climb up onto their mounting platforms to pull the tent down also.
Simply bleeding marvelous mate ..bloody terrific..and very agricultural aswell ..a simply gel coat over the lid and its all very smoochie coochie ..😎😁pip pips and carryon pilgrims
Thanks Doug for showing us that. I'm thinking about buying a Kwiky so it was good to see how they are put together so I too can do some repair work on it. If needed. Is that one you have the Mk2 version?
Hi Malcolm. I'm not sure if it is the Mk2 version. I got it second hand. It is ok for what it is & easier to put up than the conventional roof top tents. (I have had 2 of those.) You need to make sure that the telescopic arms are securely fixed with bolts & not just rivets as I pointed out in the video. They are flimsy but with care they should do what they were designed to do. I believe Kings had quite a lot of dissatisfied customers early on who returned their tents for replacements. I have never been able to get a replacement telescopic arm for mine but if my repair breaks in the future I might just junk the whole thing! Happy camping.
Hi Do you think the plastic lid needs some insulation glued to the inside of it. To help keep the inside temperature down.
I was contemplating doing this Malcolm. On my last trip I did suffer from condensation dripping onto my face. I was going to look for some light weight material to glue into place but have not gotten around to it just yet.
How did your fixes hold?
So far so good Pat. I was in Queensland recently but did not take the tent with me but I did buy 4 new telescopic legs which I plan to install on the tent when I get some time to do so. I discovered that one of mine was previously repaired so thought it prudent to get a full set. When I get around to doing the job I might put a video out again on how it goes.
Doug how you keep fridge cold in back of Navara?
Is it solor panel?
I have a dual battery system installed in the beast Jason. There is a 12volt plug point in the tub so the fridge runs off that. I used to use a solar panel array to help charge the 3rd battery I used to carry in the back but this last trip I left the solar panels & 3rd battery at home because they were just extra weight & the dual battery system charges up when the vehicle is running anyway.
@@dougrorison1211 ok will do that. Thanks
Hi Doug. Might be a while until u can travel interstate with the premier u have. Ps that poor little girl who went missing near Carnarvon
Yeah mate, he seems to like keeping us prisoners over here. The missing toddler is a concern too. It looks like that could be an abduction. Looks like you guys might be able to get some travel in now which is great for you. Make the most of it while you can. I guess you will be able to get some gigs going now, so good luck with them. All the best mate, might be a while before I get some more travel videos up.
@@dougrorison1211 yes Doug. We had our first gig Saturday at Curlewis near Gunnedah
Is this the MKII version?
Not sure Scott. I got it 2nd hand
Buy the cheapest rtt on the market, secondhand too by the sounds of it, complain about the workmanship. What part of England are you from?
For a start maybe you should take a course in recognising accents mate! Then if you actually listened to what I was saying I was dissing the fact that the Chinese quality was crap, not the basic concept. I still have the same tent & after my repairs it is actually better than new! It's just a shame that the designers never seemed to consider using bolts to anchor the telescopic arms to the frame. When you discover where I come from give yourself a pat on the back. Hahahaha!