Thread: Kea Conqueror Pop Top Toyota 4WD – Ten Year Review and Comments

Kea Conqueror Pop Top Toyota 4WD – Ten Year Review and Comments


My ex rental 2009 build Kea Conqueror Camper is based on a 2008 Toyota VDJ78 Troop Carrier with a 4.5 litre V8 diesel.

Ten Year Review.

I bought my vehicle in 2012 with 110,000 Klms from Kea Campers Australia.
One of my better decisions.
It was expensive, but was worth it.

It now has 260,000 Klms, and here is my abbreviated review, which possibly applies to other variants of the PopTop 4WD concept from Apollo, Frontline etc.
Refer to my other posts for more detailed information.

For escaping into the bush, or touring remote areas, this camper 4WD is excellent.

Ten minute camp setup.

Very good internal layout design.

Great for one person travelling, OK for two (a bit cuddly). Hopeless for three; take a tent.

It is not “go anywhere” as there is no such thing, but it can get you into remote bush, and away from people and “The Madding Crowd”.
It can get you into trouble if you go alone, ie without a buddy second vehicle, as I sometimes do, but you just allow for this.

The basic VDJ78 Toyota vehicle is excellent if maintained. Tough, reliable, good driving performance.

Good tyres, big wheels and high clearance are the secret to going bush.

There is more than ample power, with great torque.

Not without minor niggles, wide turning circle, small departure angle (not ideal), a little noisy, engine rattle, “farm vehicle” comfort, poptop heavy and difficult to raise.

Wherever possible I keep my vehicle stock standard, and use Toyota parts, which invariably are very reasonably priced, and readily available. I do not believe in modifying the vehicle for supposed performance enhancement, which is mostly “owner ego enhancement”.

I do my own maintenance if possible, eg oil and filter changes, brake pads etc.
Some things are more practically carried out by Toyota, eg greasing, transmission oil change, “all fluids change”, as they are set up for bulk fluid disposal, and check other things as they go.
Toyota have told me that the wheel hub grease job is the most ignored and overlooked maintenance item.

I do my own “camper parts maintenance”, eg electrical and second battery stuff, poptop, cabinet repairs, plumbing.


Best Improvements

By far and away the best change you can make is to replace the old wheels with new wheels and tubeless tyres. I use ROH “Sunraysia” type steel wheels and Bridgestone Dueler ATs. These tyres are excellent AT types, are of Light Truck construction, are relatively cheap and readily available
I now have very few punctures and flat tyres, whereas before I was having flat tyre repairs every 4000 klms or less.

The next best thing you can do is to put in an extra house battery, ie have two house batteries.

You will have to carry out some electrical changes to achieve this, but it will allow you to stay bush longer. Aim for 200 AH or more. And you only lose a little storage space.

Replace the poptop solar panel with a 150 or 200 watt panel, and upgrade the charger.

Carry an additional 200 watt solar mat and two 10 metre leads.


Major Problems

Vehicle – nil
Camper –
Failure of poptop Breha lifter in the remote bush. Difficult to fix. Show stopper. Drove home.
Sleeping on the rear floor is quite uncomfortable.

Read separate article for analysis and fix. (Good example of FMECA).


Minor Problems

Vehicle – just a few transmission seals, clutch master cylinder, rear handbrake ineffective.
Windscreen leaked at rubber seal. Very carefully resealed with Butylmastic sealant.
Two man job. Don’t use silicone.

Camper – canvas leaks rainwater through fabric after some years use.
Don’t wash it; detergent affects the sealing. Dust down only.
Reseal it.

I had minor rainwater ingress into the driver side floor, traced to my UHF radio coax cable penetration of the front firewall rubber “grommet”.

Not the best camper in very wet weather; difficult to remain dry all the time.


Maintenance Items – apart from vehicle regular maintenance eg air filter, fan belt, fluids.

Some parts are considered to have a definite lifetime and will need to be replaced.

Batteries – replace starter battery at three years, house AGM batteries at four years. Just do it.

Shockers- replace every five years with standard units.
A trip to The Cape York will kill them; just replace them.
Cheap and easy DIY. No need for fancy shockers; Toyota knows how to design a vehicle.

Brake pads. Replace at 50 % wear with best types available or OEM. I use Bendix 4WD. Very easy.

Waeco CF80 Frig failed at seven years life.
Fair enough. ( I now use a Dometic CFX75 with mandatory extraction fan).

Water pump.

Water tap

Filtered Water Tap

Water Filters – I now use a smaller universal type intended for household refrigerators.
Fire Extinguisher checked, and upturned and shaken every year and replaced every five years.


Items Replaced Due to Overall Kea Design Issues

All Camper lights replaced with LED types. Originals hopeless.

Rear canopy fly was hopeless. I use the original poles with Oztrail “Hiker Flys” (2 man and 3 man).

Bed for third person. Dinky, and almost useless. Take a tent instead.

Poptop solar panel. Original is totally ineffective. Increase to 200 watt.


Items Added

Current monitor meter on dash for house battery charge and discharge monitoring. Permanently connected.

Winch 9,500 lb and synthetic cable. Replace cable if required.

Rear tow point anchor plates bolted to chassis.

Reversing Camera.

Air compressor built into the engine bay. Take a spare.

Solar charger for extra solar mat built into engine bay, Anderson style connector on front grille.

Dash mounted hard wired HEMA HN7 GPS, very good.

UHF Radio, Icom400Pro with RFI flexible vertical antenna mounted high, very good.

LCD TV (a tiny 15 inch!), UHF bowtie antenna, Laser DTB2 STB (for MP4 TV channel and playing old movies and photos etc). We have “movie matinees” in the bush, with old classic films).

Insect Killer Fan (make this an essential).

Small 240 V AC Inverter; hard wired to separate GPO outlet. A small 200 W unit is fine.

Dual sensor temperature frig monitoring system. LCD Monitor on dash. Frig and Freezer.

Marine type carpet to rear floor. I requested this from Kea at sale. Amazing difference.

Added a rear RHS steel “skate” under the rear bumper. Lessens damage over drains etc.


Modifications

Second house battery; whole system redesigned.

“Dogbone” spreader in rear brakes for more effective handbrake.

Modified steering fluid banjo attachment for pump outlet for slightly improved steering.

Table modified, to be smaller, to allow more access in front of sink.

Sink support strengthened underneath, over dual cupboard doors.

Removed old rear storage compartment lift up lid (was part of a third bed), installed a standard type.
The third bed was hopeless, and three people cannot live in the camper anyway. Take a two man tent for the third person.

Water Tank now has a 12 mm ply base board, and a removable drain plug for flush cleaning, and for emergency tap use if water pump fails in the bush. Use only town chlorinated water. Flush tanks every trip.

Extra sound deadening for cab front floor, I used 10mm carpet underlay.


Some Driving Hints

(Beware opinion ahead).

Have insurance.

Check vehicle before you go.

Learn how to do these things on the road, change a fan belt , drain water from the diesel filter, change diff and gear box oils, safely jack the vehicle, deflate tyres, check batteries and charging with DVM.

Take spares, tools, UHF radio, paper maps, machete, wheel brace extension, two bottle jacks with ground pads, emergency food and water. Recovery stuff of course.

Be gentle on the vehicle.

Don’t drive on the beach or in salt or brackish water. Get a mug-lair “throwaway” 4WD vehicle for this activity.

Don’t drive on “blacksoil”; take a detour even if it is hours extra. This type of driving is difficult and unsettling as you slide all over the place. Keep a lookout for trees and farms along the road. You need the trees for winching, and the farm for the tractor. Never drive up and down slopes with “blacksoil”.
If you must drive, in an emergency, engage 4WD, drive slowly in the centre of the road, and use 4H1 or 4H2 gears, and don’t stop. Don’t spin your wheels. Anticipate difficulties, expect trouble.



There is one problem with the Kea Conversion Design of the Troop Carrier vehicle.

The added square aluminium overhead cross member under the bed midpoint, and connected to the vehicle side wall panels behind driver and passenger, is not attached with correct design. Two M6 bolts on either side are used to connect with Rivnut inserts in the wall metal. The side panel metal cracks under vehicle side movement, and the crack spreads from the M6 Rivnut, weakening the whole front overhead structure.

Kea should have preserved the original cross member over the vehicle front cabin, and raised the poptop a little, or strengthened the metal side panels with an internal sheet metal brace pieces, before drilling and adding the Rivnuts.

Possible damage can be repaired, but it may look unprofessional.

I have halted most of the crack spread in my vehicle by anchoring the LHS aluminium section to the cabinet front wall with a longish M6 horizontal bolt, and a suitable wooden spacer, and by adding two vertical M6 bolts though the bed base and then through the cross member. Use nylock nuts.

This modification makes the arrangement more robust and stable.


Overall Opinion of The Kea Conqueror

We just love it.
The second photo is one of my favourite camp sites.


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