Ninety gallons of fresh water and up to 1,540 watts of solar? Kingstar’s largest Class 5 flatbed camper, the KRUZR 12, unleashes serious off-grid capacity, 24-volt air conditioning, and the company’s largest bathroom. Get ready to stay out longer and chill out.
You’ve found your dream off-grid camping spot, with a view for miles and nobody close enough to hear you belt out ’80s pop classics. Then an incoming heat wave has you doing camper math. How long can you run the air conditioner with the onboard solar and battery bank? And how many showers are possible with the fresh and gray tank capacities?
Enter Kingstar, a manufacturer determined to make sure you’re ready to leave before your camper is. The KRUZR 12, the largest camper in the company’s lineup, packs a fourteen-panel solar farm on the roof and houses 90 gallons of fresh water onboard. That’s ten more gallons of fresh water than any other camper currently listed in the Truck Camper Magazine Buyers Guide. But that’s not the coolest part.
The KRUZR 12 also features a 24-volt power system designed around a 10,000-BTU Cruise N Comfort air conditioner. It runs directly from the batteries, avoiding the energy lost when an inverter converts DC power to AC. That means more of your battery reserve goes toward keeping you cool, giving you more confidence to stay put when the temperature climbs.
Here’s the catch. All that capacity requires a serious truck. Built exclusively for Ford F-550 and RAM 5500 chassis cab trucks, the KRUZR 12 is a huge, non-slide camper for extended off-grid travel and comfortable living. This Kingstar is sure to give you plenty of time to work on your ’80s set list. Your neighbors may never hear your rendition of “Every Breath You Take,” but maybe that’s for the better.
To learn more about the Kingstar KRUZR 12, we talked to Marcus Niemela, President of Kingstar Campers.
The 2027 Kingstar KRUZR 12 is a hard-side, non-slide, hybrid-bath truck camper designed for Class 5 flatbed trucks. The 12 Series has an exterior floor length of 148″, an interior height of 6’8″, and a width of 8’. The center of gravity is 60” from the front wall.
The KRUZR 12 has a 90-gallon fresh water tank, 33-gallon grey tank, and a 5-gallon black tank. It features a 3-gallon Truma Combi water heater and two 30-pound vertical propane tanks.
Kingstar is reporting the base weight of the KRUZR 12 standard build at 5,774 pounds. The base MSRP of the 2027 Kingstar KRUZR 12 is $116,960 USD.
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The 2027 Kingstar KRUZR 12. All photos provided by Kingstar.
When we introduced the KRUZR 10, you explained that customers were asking for more space and capacity. What prompted going even larger with the KRUZR 12?
Because there was more space to be had. On a truck with an 84-inch cab-to-axle measurement, the 10-Series leaves room for a 26-inch front garage or K9 kennel. The KRUZR 12 uses that space to expand the camper itself. It occupies the full bed, so there is no room for a front garage or kennel.
How did you use those additional 26 inches inside the KRUZR 12?
The 10-Series and 12-Series share the same kitchen, seating area, and sleeping bunk length. The 26 inches were added to the rear of the camper.
On the driver’s side, that gave us room for another closet and the Cruise N Comfort air conditioning compressor. On the passenger’s side, it allowed us to create a larger bathroom.
We also gained some space in the cabover because the KRUZR 12 does not accommodate a front garage or kennel. We lowered the sleeping bunk by 1.5 inches and raised the nose approximately 6 inches to accommodate a skylight-style front window and provide more headroom. In the 12-Series, the distance from the top of the mattress to the roof is 42 inches.
Speaking of the cabover area, what led you to incorporate a skylight-style opening front window?
We wanted to bring more natural light into the coach and give owners another view outside. It is the same marine-grade skylight that we have used for years.
Kingstar KRUZR 12 with a skylight-style opening front window
Will the skylight-style opening front window become available in the other KRUZR Series campers for 2027?
We are looking into it, but the window we are using in the KRUZR 12 is too large for the other models. We will see whether our supplier can provide a custom-sized window for those campers.
Did you have any feature or capacity goals when developing the longest camper in Kingstar’s lineup?
Yes. Our primary goal was to create Kingstar’s largest bathroom.
We also wanted to incorporate insulated side storage compartments into the camper rather than attach aluminum boxes to the exterior.
Lastly, we wanted to make room for a Cruise N Comfort 24-volt air conditioner. The resulting design allowed us to install a 6.8-cubic-foot 24-volt refrigerator and lower the propane tanks to truck bed height while increasing their capacity to 30 pounds each.
Kingstar KRUZR 12 interior
Will the KRUZR 12 be offered in both standard-width slide-in and wide-body flatbed configurations?
The KRUZR 12 is available exclusively as a chassis cab wide-body flatbed camper.
Which seating configurations are offered in the KRUZR 12?
Customers can choose either the U-shaped Dinette or the Kingstar Command Center in the KRUZR 12. We may offer the Couch/Bunk and Lounger in the future.
Kingstar’s U-shaped Dinette
Walk us through the new bathroom. How is the shower separated from the toilet?
When you enter the bathroom, you walk through the shower area to reach the toilet. An L-shaped shower curtain separates the two spaces and keeps the toilet area dry. After showering, the curtain tucks into the corner, opening the two areas into one bathroom.
There is a storage cabinet above the toilet accompanied by a full-length hanging closet. The closet is 14 inches deep and 26 inches wide. It features removable shelves, so owners can use all, some, or none of them, depending on what they want to store.
What are the bathroom dimensions?
The bathroom measures 58 inches north-south by 26 inches east-west, not including the closet. At waist height and above, there is an additional 14 inches of depth above the sink in the shower area.
Which toilet systems are available in the KRUZR 12?
A cassette toilet is standard, and the Trekker cartridge toilet is optional.
What water heater and furnace are standard?
The propane Truma Combi provides both hot water and heat for the camper.
In the past, Kingstar has offered diesel heating and propane-free configurations. Are those still available with the KRUZR 12?
We recently discontinued the diesel Truma Combi option. The diesel configuration involved several trade-offs. It added substantially to the price, required routine maintenance, and introduced the possibility of fuel line freezing if the customer forgot to use fuel treatment in winter.
The propane Truma Combi is standard equipment.
How much propane does the KRUZR 12 carry, and where are the tanks located?
The 12 Series carries two 30-pound propane tanks on the rear passenger’s side of the coach. Building the insulated side storage boxes into the camper allowed us to lower the tanks to truck bed height and accommodate the larger cylinders.
How does the KRUZR 12’s exterior storage differ from your other campers, and what storage options are available?
Instead of attaching aluminum boxes to the exterior, we built the storage compartments directly into the camper. The floor extends to the camper’s perimeter, allowing the insulated walls to meet the insulated deck floor.
The compartments run the full length of the camper, except for the propane compartment. They provide considerably more storage than our attached aluminum boxes.
Can customers still order the rear Rack Rail accessories, such as the tire lift?
All of the rear Rack Rail accessories are available in the 12 Series, including the tire lift, Overland Pack, and Max Pack.
Kingstar KRUZR 12 with Max Pack And Tower
The preliminary fresh water capacity was 85 to 90 gallons. What is the final fresh water tank capacity?
The KRUZR 12 features 90 gallons of fresh water, split between a 44-gallon main tank located in the heated floor of the camper, and two 24-gallon auxiliary tanks located in the insulated side boxes.
That is the largest fresh water capacity in our Buyers Guide by 10 gallons. How did you find room for the tanks?
We used the additional camper length to extend both the main and auxiliary tanks by 26 inches.
Our owners want to get off-grid and stay out for extended periods. Fresh water is often what determines when they have to head back to town. Carrying 90 gallons gives them more time to camp before making that trip.
What are the grey and black water capacities?
The heated grey tank holds 33 gallons. The standard cassette toilet has a 5-gallon removable waste tank, and there is room to carry one or two spare cassettes if the customer chooses. The optional Trekker toilet uses cartridges, so it does not require a waste holding tank.
How much solar is standard, and what is the maximum optional capacity?
The KRUZR 12 comes standard with 1,320 watts of solar. An optional 220-watt panel brings the total solar capacity to a whopping 1,540 watts.
Kingstar KRUZR 12 with fourteen roof-mounted solar panels
That’s practically a solar farm! How did you fit fourteen solar panels onto a truck camper roof?
We position the fan and air conditioner at the very rear of the coach to keep the roof clear of racks and awnings.
What lithium battery capacity is standard, and how far can it be expanded?
The KRUZR 12 comes standard with 460Ah of lithium battery capacity at 24 volts. An additional battery increases the total to 690Ah at 24 volts, which is equivalent to 1,380Ah at 12 volts.
We use Epoch batteries and Victron components, including a 3,000-watt inverter, GX system, solar charge controllers, and DC-to-DC charging equipment.
What led you to choose a 24-volt power system for the KRUZR 12?
The main reason we chose a 24-volt system was to power the 10,000-BTU Cruise N Comfort VES Ultra UM air conditioner. It runs directly on 24-volt DC power without going through the inverter, avoiding the energy loss associated with that conversion.
What do you see customers using all of that solar and battery capacity for?
They want all that capacity for the same reason someone orders a Ford F-550 with dual fuel tanks. They want range, and lots of it.
Kingstar KRUZR 12 kitchen galley with induction stovetop
Our customers are adventure seekers who want to get out and stay out. They want the capacity to camp away from hookups without relying on shore power or a generator.
What is the base dry weight of the KRUZR 12?
The base dry weight is 5,774 pounds.
Where is the center of gravity located?
The center of gravity is 60 inches from the front wall.
Which kind of trucks are needed to carry the KRUZR 12, and what flatbed dimensions are required?
The KRUZR 12 is designed for an 8-foot-wide CA/wide body flatbed build for Ford F-550 and RAM 5500 chassis cab trucks with an 84-inch cab-to-axle measurement and an approximately 11-foot-6-inch flatbed.
What is the base MSRP?
The base MSRP of the 2027 Kingstar KRUZR 12 is $116,960 USD.
What warranty does Kingstar offer on the KRUZR 12?
The KRUZR 12 comes with a two-year, nose-to-tail warranty.
Can customers order a KRUZR 12 now?
Yes, we are already taking orders. We will be adding the KRUZR 12 to our website’s build tool shortly.
For now, customers can configure a 10-Series and note that they want a KRUZR 12. We then schedule a phone call to discuss the optional features and update the order to reflect the KRUZR 12 configuration.
What haven’t we asked that future KRUZR 12 owners should know?
I believe it’s been well covered here. Someone considering a KRUZR 12 should also look at a KRUZR 10 with a 26-inch front garage or K9 kennel. The decision comes down to how important the additional living space is compared with having that exterior garage or kennel storage.
We’ll also be at Overland Expo East this weekend, October 23-25, with a KRUZR 12 on display for attendees to see in person.
For more information on Kingstar Campers, visit their website at kingstar.net. Click here to request a free Kingstar brochure.
