Fenderfour
Active member
I recently purchased one of these strange trucks from Vanlife NW in Portland, OR.
They add a lift kit, put 30" KO2's on, replaced a bunch of seals, hoses, and replaced the fluids.
You have probably seen these before. They are different from Hiace vans, which are unibody. These have a section of Hiace body on a ladder frame that I think is similar to the 75 series Land Cruiser. The engine is a 2.5L diesel, power is through a 5 speed manual, hi/low transfer case and open diffs. The diffs are standard Toyota 8" (rear) and 7.5" (front). This means lockers, LSDs, ring & Pinion, etc... are readily available. It's currently geared 5.125 final, which is great for crawling, but not great for getting to places. I may re-gear it. Will keep is stock for a bit to see how it goes. I just added a tach so I can see how hard the engine is working at speed. If you are adding a tach to yours, know that a diesel tachometer works differently than a gas tach, and is more expensive.
It was tough to decode the diffs. I found a complete list of codes here: http://www.dealerquickparts.net/HPFile/AXLE CODES.pdf
I've got a multi-stage plan to get this ready for trips in North and South America. Eventually, I'd like to build a composite box with a large overcab berth. I'm a little worried about overall weight and height, so I may move to a pop-up camper instead.
The racking seems useful, but it really isn't. It's too narrow, too heavy, etc... I removed all of it. There was an awkward cutout on the left (passenger) side of the bed. I added a little toolbox that nearly fills it in. I plan to use a bit of the racking material to create a corner post to hold a DIY tailgate and fill in the last gap. The racking is sitting in the bed, waiting for the title so I can license the truck and recycle the steel.
It seems like the step bumper and the diamondplate in the back is just riveted to the existing bed. I will remove it soon, but I want to have a new bumper ready to install before I do. BTW - The bed is the same as a 75 series land cruiser. If I wanted a complete bed, it is available. My long term plan is to build a lightweight flatbed and habitation box, so I will make do with what I have.
The first build is to build an inexpensive soft cover for the rear, similar to a canopy on a boat (Bimini Top). I'm using EMT conduit for the poles and 18oz PCV for the cover. I've made a few large (24') tents using this material on my Sailrite sewing machine. It's durable and waterproof.
Making a tent like this takes some CAD skills to create the surfaces then flatten them to make a pattern. Luckily, I've been doing this work for around 25 years.
Right now, I'm waiting on some fittings for the EMT and a bit more fabric.
I'll post more as I progress.
They add a lift kit, put 30" KO2's on, replaced a bunch of seals, hoses, and replaced the fluids.
You have probably seen these before. They are different from Hiace vans, which are unibody. These have a section of Hiace body on a ladder frame that I think is similar to the 75 series Land Cruiser. The engine is a 2.5L diesel, power is through a 5 speed manual, hi/low transfer case and open diffs. The diffs are standard Toyota 8" (rear) and 7.5" (front). This means lockers, LSDs, ring & Pinion, etc... are readily available. It's currently geared 5.125 final, which is great for crawling, but not great for getting to places. I may re-gear it. Will keep is stock for a bit to see how it goes. I just added a tach so I can see how hard the engine is working at speed. If you are adding a tach to yours, know that a diesel tachometer works differently than a gas tach, and is more expensive.
It was tough to decode the diffs. I found a complete list of codes here: http://www.dealerquickparts.net/HPFile/AXLE CODES.pdf
I've got a multi-stage plan to get this ready for trips in North and South America. Eventually, I'd like to build a composite box with a large overcab berth. I'm a little worried about overall weight and height, so I may move to a pop-up camper instead.
The racking seems useful, but it really isn't. It's too narrow, too heavy, etc... I removed all of it. There was an awkward cutout on the left (passenger) side of the bed. I added a little toolbox that nearly fills it in. I plan to use a bit of the racking material to create a corner post to hold a DIY tailgate and fill in the last gap. The racking is sitting in the bed, waiting for the title so I can license the truck and recycle the steel.
It seems like the step bumper and the diamondplate in the back is just riveted to the existing bed. I will remove it soon, but I want to have a new bumper ready to install before I do. BTW - The bed is the same as a 75 series land cruiser. If I wanted a complete bed, it is available. My long term plan is to build a lightweight flatbed and habitation box, so I will make do with what I have.
The first build is to build an inexpensive soft cover for the rear, similar to a canopy on a boat (Bimini Top). I'm using EMT conduit for the poles and 18oz PCV for the cover. I've made a few large (24') tents using this material on my Sailrite sewing machine. It's durable and waterproof.
Making a tent like this takes some CAD skills to create the surfaces then flatten them to make a pattern. Luckily, I've been doing this work for around 25 years.
Right now, I'm waiting on some fittings for the EMT and a bit more fabric.
I'll post more as I progress.
