Ranger Mods

So, the background to this was that over the Christmas break our SnoMaster 56 litre dual compartment fridge freezer startyed to play up. I diagnosed thos as either a faulty starting winding -- or -- it had a defective thermistor in the starter winding. Either way it would try to sr=tart, lock out after a few attemptds and then after around 20 minutes attempt to restart, sometimes it would run, sometimes it wouldnt.
Once home I stared looking arround for a replacement compressor and even using the old mates network I couldnt get one for under $450 -- then the boss saw this advert for a brand new Kings 65 litre Fridge Freezer for $300 with free delivery !! It can run of either 240 volts AC or 12 volts DC. It was a no contest decision, we ordered one online.
Okay we took delivery of the Kings last Thursday. It fitted straight onto the old fridge slide which was an additional bonus and I immediatlely connected it up to the auxiliary Lithium battery with a flexible temperature probe inside.
Kings claims are that it will operate in the range of +10 to -18. I set the safety at 11.1 volts to protect the Lithium and the temperature at its lowest setting at -18 degrees. After just 3 hours it turned off on temperature and my thermistor reading was -22 and this was with it being empty ! At no time during the period it was running did it draw more than 3 amps. The Snomaster used to draw 4.5 amps dropping down to 3.5 amps.

The Pros and Cons.

Pros are:-
Its lighter than the Snomaster and at 65 litres capacity is internally bigger.
It used less power than the smaller capacity Snomaster while it was running.
The lid is changeable from LH to RH opening.
Its an all plastic construction, the Snomaster having metal bins was beginning to show signs of rust.

Cons.
It's single compartment freezer or fridge - depending on how you decide to use it. We will probablty settle for using it as a fridge set at around -5 degrees.
Its noisier than the Snomaster but as its installed in the rear tub/canopy on thr Ranger we will seldom hear it running.
It has no remote control.
The 240 volt connection, there is only one socket on the Kings, to switch from 12 volts DC to 240 volts AC you have to unplug the DC plug, plug in the 240 volt plug then plug a 240 volt AC to 12 volt DC transformer that is supplied with the fridge into the incoming mains.
A tie down kit doesnt come as standard with the Kings, you have to order it separately.

Long term wise I'll let you know how it performs once we are back in the NT and WA but seriously, at $300 how could we go wrong ??

At $300 how could you go wrong.
It could stop in the middle of no where with no chance of fixing it
Do a review search on that model, not real good because they changed to a cheaper compressor
I have had 3 kings items, only one left now.
You may be lucky and have one that lasts a while
Even though there are cheaper alternatives I stick with Engel fridges & Honda generators for a reason
They may stop but both brands have dealers/agents everywhere

RossPat wrote: ↑Sun Jan 15, 2023 12:55 pm At $300 how could you go wrong.
It could stop in the middle of no where with no chance of fixing it
Do a review search on that model, not real good because they changed to a cheaper compressor
I have had 3 kings items, only one left now.
You may be lucky and have one that lasts a while
Even though there are cheaper alternatives I stick with Engel fridges & Honda generators for a reason
They may stop but both brands have dealers/agents everywhere

The Kings fridge freezer carries a 2 year full exchange guarantee at any 4X4 Offroad (Kings) centre. Alternative Gas the acknowledged Fridge and warranty repairer in Blacktown have crapped out Engel fridges stacked - quite literally - to their roof, they were the ones who advised me never to buy one so we bought the MyCoolerman. The cost of repairing Engels is such that customers just never return to collect their fridge and Alternative Gas are legally obliged to retain them for 24 months.
As I said to you before, I can buy 3 King 2,2 KVA generaters for the price you paid for your Honda. Ask me in two years how its going, My only complaint is it doesnt have a fuel tap and the compartment in the trailer its in has a distinctive petrol smell. A fuel tap is on order as we speak.

We have two fridge / freezers, a 85 litre dual compartment MyCoolaman in the trailer and this 65 litre Kings. I never rely on just one where I can double up - its like I carry two spare wheels and tyres on the Ranger and two on the trailer and in my shed I have four more wheels and tyres for the Ranger, ( only because I had to buy ten rims to get the off-set I specifically wanted ).

I do value your opinions even if for the most part they tend to be negative. I hope your dicky ticker is better and you are able to get out and about.

Not negative, from personal experiences
My ticker is fine, you have me confused with someone else.

Personally I would purchase an esky from Coles before buying a Kings product.

past experience shows a quality product will generally not fail when you need it most and that for me is why I would rather spend more. Warranties are worth squat when you are in the middle of the desert.

saeb wrote: ↑Wed Jan 18, 2023 1:29 pm Personally I would purchase an esky from Coles before buying a Kings product.

past experience shows a quality product will generally not fail when you need it most and that for me is why I would rather spend more. Warranties are worth squat when you are in the middle of the desert.

Interesting opinion, seeing as a fridge / freezer would have the same thermal properties as an esky I think I'd take my chances with the Kings to keep things cool however, okay, just how many times has anyone bought a Kings product and had it fail, replaced it with another Kings item and had that identical item fail also ?
To me that is the only way of measuring the reliability of a product. Simply having a product fail once and replace it with another brand isnt a measure.
Currently we have three Kings items, we have in the trailer two 115 a/h batteries that are - so far so good - performing perfectly. A Kings 2.2 kva generator for three years that fires up first pull of the cord and runs prefectly and now we have the Kings 65 litre Fridge / Freezer.

I'm off on the 26th of this month to Innamincka for a month working at the pub so I'll be able to report on my return on the 26th of February on how the fridge performs.

Just on quality though I bought my Warne Winch on the 22nd of August 2017. Its the top of their range, a Zeon Platinum 12000 lb and it has NEVER reliably worked in the five years I've had it.
First the "enhanced signal kit" was removed and due to failure complaints and Warne removed them from the market and I was refunded the $300.
Then the electric operated clutch was replaced - twice, then when it still wouldn't work the gearbox was changed. On all occassions once this work had been carried out it worked fine in the workshop, but out in the bush it failed to work - constantly - and on my return to the ARB workshop it continued to fail to work so it wasnt my operation of it.
ARB the Australian agents who sold me the winch and who installed it have now agreed to replace the entire winch for a brand new unit - its taken 5 years to get to this stage and it will be replaced on my return from Innamincka.

Now, my point is this, does this mean that Warne winches are to be avoided at all costs and are a crap product or did I just get a lame duck ?? I think on the basis of other user reports, I was just plain unlucky with this one but once the new Warne Zeon Platinum Winch is installed and I get out in the bush and find that I have to use it I'll be in a better place to make a more educated judgement.

Have a look at livin 4x4 YouTube channel and their review of kings rtt. Leaked replaced leaked replaced leaked replaced. Refund. Quality rtt bought. No leaks.

Have a look at Australian 4x4 adventures. He reviews the kings invertors with mixed success. Product fails. Warranty replacement. Failure again. Warranty replacement.

I reckon kings are aware of their low quality products and always replace without question under warranty. Just a pia if it fails when remote.

As always you get what you pay for with everything
Kings products always fail, always have & always will
My Ranger has been off the road since 17/01, according to Ford not safe to drive
El cheap EGR cooler failed at 31k
Have got a hire car at their expense until February 10th

Non genuine cooler? They are a problem. Blank and divert?

I wanted to put a GOSS cooler or similar on it but warranty requires genuine parts

Interesting, I bought a 2nd hand Kings rrt and it's been brilliant. I have their 270 awning and it's great. I have their double ended compressor which works 10x better than all the ARB crap compressors I've had over the years. Their dashcam has been in 3 cars now and never failed. Led light bar also works as expected.

Maybe I'm lucky? Dunno, but I'm happy with all my Kings stuff so far.

Possibly luck Gerry
There are a lot who have covered 300,000klms in their Ranger
There are also a lot who haven't.
The only thing I got left is the dual compressor
The wire gets very hot, I think because it's a bit light for a 90amp draw.

Lincolnland wrote: ↑Tue Jan 24, 2023 11:26 am Have a look at livin 4x4 YouTube channel and their review of kings rtt. Leaked replaced leaked replaced leaked replaced. Refund. Quality rtt bought. No leaks.

Have a look at Australian 4x4 adventures. He reviews the kings invertors with mixed success. Product fails. Warranty replacement. Failure again. Warranty replacement.

I reckon kings are aware of their low quality products and always replace without question under warranty. Just a pia if it fails when remote.

I saw those videos on your recommendation but there was, IMO, one essential piece of information missing in that report and that was the numbers of Kings RTT's sold. If say, only 1000 p.a were sold then the failure rate is, as you intimated, unacceptable however if the number was 10,000 p.a then the failure rate is becoming acceptable and if the number of units sold, IN TOTAL since their market introduction is closer to 100,000 then they must be great value for money. Even Ford recon a 3% full replacement rate for their Ranger range is well inside their business plan and on this site we all own Ford Rangers.
Other than ARB what off road camping business continues to open 4WD supplies franchises nation wide selling just their and selected other brand products other than Kings and ARB ?? To continue to exist and to expand they both have to be doing something right and there is a degree of confidence that if you do buy a Kings RTT in Sydney and it fails you can go to the Kings 4WD Off road store in say Cairns and have it replaced free of charge.

Remember I had my 1000 watt inverter fail me out in the bush, possibly due to one too many corrugation as it had an ominous rattle inside and RedArc replaced it free of charge, does this mean that Redarc are a make to be avoided or was I just unlucky ? I personally think that Redarc are a very reputable make.
Incidentally the defective Warne winch that I mentioned elsewhere gets replaced on the 2nd of March following my return from Innamincka on February 26th.

Well I had a small Waeco 11 litre and it failed on a trip to WA, Bought a very cheap Kings 15L as it sat were the old fridge did and used the same tiedown straps.

Pros.. Price, light weight, slightly bigger than old fridge and it has been reliable. Power usage reasonable (less than the Waeco)

Cons.. Insulation is not as good as the Waeco, will not maintain below -10 on hot days, and the thermostat reads low by about 3 degrees.

Maintaining minus doesn't matter as it is only used for drinks, fruit and sandwiches.

I have a Trailblazer fridge for reliability (1995 model ) and a reliable Honda 2 Kva for cyclones.

The Kings so far hasn't had any problems, it is run a fair bit and is nearly 3 years old.

Well, after 9 weeks on the road in the NT and in WA the thermostat on the Kings 65 litre decided to play up, no amount of pressing buttons would persuade it from not running at minus 12 degrees so the easy solution was it became the chest freezer for the remainder of the trip and the large freezer section of the 85 litre MyCoolerman became the 4 degree fridge and the smaller section then became the -18 degree ice-box -- no real great dramas and a quick phone call to the the Kings Eastern Creek outlet in NSW confirmed that a full replacement unit awaits us on our return home.
For power saving economy I turned off the Kings overnight and only had it running during the day - mainly on solar. The two 130a/h AGM Kings batteries in the camper trailer easily power up to 13.8 volts on our home made 700 watt solar panel, and on the very few occassions I've had to use it the Kings 220kva generator starts on second pull.