Kimberley KARAVAN 2021, Installation, Maintenance & Operating Manual

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15 ©2021 Kimberley Kampers Manufacturing Pty Ltd
Important Information to Protect your investment
This can impact your understanding of the Warranty on your Kimberley and it is therefore important
that you discuss this with your dealer and understand the implications.
We have designed your Kimberley for optimum off road travel in virtually any conditions. However there are 3
factors that you have control over that signifi cantly impact the performance of your unit.
1. Selection of Tyres
The VIN Plate on your Kimberley will state the Rim and Tyre size as delivered. There are Wheel sizes and
Tyres Sizes and Types that are recommended. If wheels and tyres outside of these recommendations are
fi tted, it will void the warranty. The reason is that they will substantially damage your investment.
The maximum equivalent Tyre ply rating accepted is 8 or 10 Ply Equivalent.
The minimum Tyre width acceptable is 255. Less than this (example 235 x) is not accepted.
The minimum Rim size is 7.5”; 8” is recommended. Less than this (example 6.5” split rims) is not
acceptable.
The narrower rims and tyres need a higher tyre pressure to be effective and they have a greater tendency to sway
at high speeds. They are more vulnerable to puncture and damage because of the “longer tyre impression” to
take the same weight unless the tyre pressure is increased which may damage your unit in off road conditions.
2. Tyre Pressure
Background: When your Kimberley is travelling over corrugations and diffi cult road/track terrain, signifi cant
energy is generated, mainly in the form of heat. The heat increases the temperature of the tyres and shock
absorbers.
The tyres and shock absorbers dissipate the heat. However, if more heat is being created than the tyres /
shock absorbers can dissipate, the oil in the shock absorber will over-heat causing the shock absorber to fail.
If the tyre sidewalls are generating too much heat, they can be vulnerable to failure. In either case, the failure
is not a defect and would not be warranty.
A high tyre pressure has a signifi cant effect, as you increase tyre pressure it increases the “stiffness” of the
tyre as the pressure increases. It also reduces the foot print size of that the tyre, which can cause the tyre to
sit-up more on the corrugation “peaks” and travel further vertically. As tyre pressure increases, the size of the
'footprint' becomes smaller.
The smaller the footprint, the more the molecules of rubber in the tread must work to compensate. This
causes them to get hotter, which increases the pressure, which reduces the footprint, etc, etc.
In these circumstances, the shock absorber does more work and heats up.
The design of the shock absorber is to effi ciently dissipate this heat. If the heat build up is greater than the
rate that the heat can dissipate, the shock absorber increases in temperature. If the temperature goes above
170°C (338 ℉ ), the Viton® O rings will fail and the oil/nitrogen will dissipate. The shock absorbers will fail.
This failure is not warranty .
The Viton seals are used in many high-end shock absorbers and are not specifi c to KK shocks. They
are also used in other brands eg. Bilstein and Fox shock absorbers.
Please drive with caution when tire pressures is lowered as the tire will get hotter and they do also have the
propensity to de-rim if turning too sharply.
THEREFORE:
In travel over erratic corrugations and diffi cult offroad conditions the user has the ability to control the effect
of these conditions on their equipment. We recommend both lowering tyre pressures to absorb some of
the energy and allow greater movement through the shock absorber range and reduce speed. If the shock
absorbers start over heating - rest up for a short while.
As the tyre pressures are reduced the MAXIMUM SPEED MUST BE REDUCED CONSIDERABLY.