I’m new to all this, tho I’ve done a bit of paddling on borrow kayaks. Anyway, I’m looking at buying an older used Klepper, anything that I should look out for? Any trouble areas? I’m a bit of a wood worker so repairing or fabbing frame parts won’t be an issue. What’s a decent price for a used older unit? Thanks for any help
Klepper
You might also try calling Long Haul Products of Colorado. They are making their own improved version of the Klepper and take trades and refurbish Kleppers too. These are good people to buy from. They won’t sell anything that isn’t right.
I have an Aerius 1 Expedition that I bought used from Mark at Long Haul a few years ago. I think I paid about $2,000 for it and it is still in like new condition. I believe mine was new in 1996. I was happy to get and Expedition model, but would think hard about it now as it is considerably heavier than the standard model and there is no functional benefit for the average user. The difference is that the Hypalon hull is made of heaveier gauge material, and there are very wide and heavy extra rub strips along the bottom and sides to make the boat more abrasion proof. If you plan on dragging the thing over rocks for miles and miles, then these are good. Most owners are a little bit more careful than that.
In terms of what to look for, you need to examine the boat inside and out. Are the frame members in good shape? Are all the metal snap brackets operational and undamaged? Does it have all the parts? What shape is the skin in? Yes you can buy a new skin, but if you have to do that then you might as well buy a new boat in the first place. Look for tears or holes in both the Hypalon bottom and the canvas top. When you inflate the air chambers do they stay inflated overnight? Make sure that you have all the parts. After you blow up the air chambers there are little rubber plugs for the mouth tube. They have a nasty habit of going missing and the boat is useless without them. Does the rudder work ok? What shape are the paddles in? Most people buy an aftermarket paddle, but beat up paddles are a sure sign that the owner did not treat the boat well either.
Let me know if I can help you further.
Regards,
Bill
Used Kleppers
The last post by Bill covered pretty well what you need to look for when buying a used Klepper. One thing that I would add is really pay attention to the skin as it is the most expensive part on the whole boat. Make sure there is no rot in the canvas deck and that the rubber on the hull is still pliable and not stiff and brittle. Some of the hulls made out of the black Hypalon rubber had some delaminating problems also. The grey hulls usually had less problems.I think the Hulls that had problems were manufactured in the late eighties and early ninties.
I have a klepper aerius 1 expedition that I am selling in May. It has a custom zippered deck that was something that Mark Eckhart experimented with at Longhaul folding kayaks. It makes loading your gear a real snap although it does add another 6 pounds to the weight of the boat.The boat is in good condition and am selling it after a trip I am making to the Buffalo River in a couple weeks. If interested drop me an email, Paul
Thanks
for the input, I gotta find out if it’s hypalon or rubber first off, looking forward to getting out on the water.