any JB 500 out there

[mobydick 11]

Hi all ,I am wondering if there are many Jb500 owners on the site . I have just purchased one in Nova Scotia ,drove it back to my home in Ontario this week .Bad snow storm most of the way . I would like to meet other owners to share tips and advice, how to source parts that kind of stuff . Thanks Richard

 

[PacS14]

Man I didn't even know what those things were, I just googled it and wow they are cool, post some pictures of your new to you rig!

 

[mobydick 11]

OK i will try . I first want to take it to the car wash ,as it is covered in sand and road salt . feel bad probably the first time it was exposed to the salt . It brought me home through some pretty extreme winter conditions . thanks Richard

 

[Toasty]

There was one other on this forum a while back, be neat to see a second one.

 

[mobydick 11]

It is probably the same one . i followed it on this site from when he imported it .

 

[Torbot]

Hey Mobi, we just bought one ourselves! We're heading down to Portland this weekend to pick it up and drive it back home to Seattle. It's really exciting but also a bit daunting ?. Our current rig is a VW Westfalia with a huge user base, whereas with the JB500... well, not sure how many of these are in NA right now, let alone the US but I'm guessing not many.

That said, this thing seemed to check all the boxes and we're looking forward to the challenge. Fortunately there are several people at my work who speak fluent Japanese, so maybe they can help figure out some of the controls

Anyway, meet "Jiro"; He's a 1993 Mitsubishi Delica JB500. I'll post a separate topic (and more photos) once we take possession next week. Moby, I may have to pick your brain from time to time.

- Tor (and Richele. and Jiro)

 

[mobydick 11]

I am willing to help all i can ,but am still learning myself . Like last week after putting on over 8000k on and number of trips , I realized it has a tilting steering wheel . big thing is parts they say it is a delica but it is a 200 truck chassis. I also think the frames are cut and a one foot piece was added just ahead of the rear spring brackets . look at yours and see if it is all boxed in this area . I think that is why they came out with the 470 . this I be leave is a metric measurement , so the 500 is 5 meters long and the 470 is 4.7 meters long . I revert back to the guy that imported my van when i am in real trouble , but I am not sure he wants to be a support guy for all of us .One area you need to check is the rear floor area under the kitchen ,fridge and hot water tank . It is not very accessible until you remove the spear tire and gray water tank . mine had dry rot in the plywood ,and i had to replace it . I am converting my 500 into a overland or expedition style . if we can exchange email i can send you some pictures .I do not know how to put them up on this site though . one day i will get some one to do it for me. your camper looks great and they are a lot of fun ,I am currently getting about 15 miles to the gallon . PS I also have a VW Rialta but i will be selling it soon .

 

[Torbot]

I am willing to help all i can ,but am still learning myself . Like last week after putting on over 8000k on and number of trips , I realized it has a tilting steering wheel . big thing is parts they say it is a delica but it is a 200 truck chassis. I also think the frames are cut and a one foot piece was added just ahead of the rear spring brackets . look at yours and see if it is all boxed in this area . I think that is why they came out with the 470 . this I be leave is a metric measurement , so the 500 is 5 meters long and the 470 is 4.7 meters long . I revert back to the guy that imported my van when i am in real trouble , but I am not sure he wants to be a support guy for all of us .One area you need to check is the rear floor area under the kitchen ,fridge and hot water tank . It is not very accessible until you remove the spear tire and gray water tank . mine had dry rot in the plywood ,and i had to replace it . I am converting my 500 into a overland or expedition style . if we can exchange email i can send you some pictures .I do not know how to put them up on this site though . one day i will get some one to do it for me. your camper looks great and they are a lot of fun ,I am currently getting about 15 miles to the gallon . PS I also have a VW Rialta but i will be selling it soon .

Great info, Moby! You've given me some more stuff to look at over the weekend. We've only driven from Portland to Seattle so far, but have also only gotten 15mpg. That said, we've done zero maintenance so far - planning on getting a full inspection next week so hoping that will help. We're planning on converting ours to an overland rig as well, so would be interesting to compare notes. I'm sure I'll have more questions. I'll send my email separately - would love to see picks!

-Tor

 

[Torbot]

How fast does it go? I don't think that it would be able to haul furniture and wood and washing machines etc.? Right?

Fast doesn’t enter into it - our air cooled Westfalia would have blown the doors off of this thing! That said, this thing has sat for 5 years before we drove it, so hopefully some proper maintenance will help.

Not much of a hauler either, but you can stand up in it, it sleeps 4-5, has a kitchen, bathroom, heater and a fridge.

So it’s not a slow vehicle, it’s a fast house

 

[Torbot]

For what it's worth I would be pretty happy to have something like that beauty. Sadly I don't think I would be able to afford that right now, plus the maintenance has always been a problem for me.

Thanks! Yeah, we're pretty ecstatic even if it means we have to sell our beloved Westfalia to afford it. It's a long term project for us and I'm bracing for some headaches but it's got such potential... (we'll see if that statement still holds true in 3 months )

 

[Torbot]

I am converting my 500 into a overland or expedition style.

Does your camping equipment work (heater, fridge, etc)? I haven't plugged a battery in yet to test ours and not sure what we'll find! Also, do you have plans to switch the electrical system over to 110v or leave it 220v? We're planning on being in the states for the next year or two, but then will ship "across the pond" and will probably spend the majority of time in Europe/Asia so not sure if it's worth the swap for us.

 

[mobydick 11]

My camper was switched to 110v by the importer . I am replacing ,updating all systems in the camper . I have already purchased but not installed an on demand hot water heater ,and a diesel fired hot air heater. the fridge will be a portable compressor type . doing the mechanical updates and repairs is first on my list . the back of the van has been lifter 3 and a half inches ,the front 2 and 3/4 . I will send you some pictures tomorrow . there has been 8 inches cut off the back and 4 inches from the sides of the body . I am going to trim the edges in aluminum checker plate angle in the next couple weeks .

 

[Torbot]

Sounds like we're doing a lot of the same things. We haven't moved it since we drove it from Portland a couple weekends ago as we're taking it to a mechanic for a full inspection (don't want to take any chances). Will eventually replace a lot of the old camping equipment as well. Curious what equipment you went with?

 

[mobydick 11]

sorry for the slow response. I am going with an on demand hot water heater ,propane fired .it will be mounted on the outside in a box . a diesel fired forced air heater . an ARB 50 liter fridge . new electrical mostly 12 volt . if you send me an email I can send some picture . i have made a lot of changes to the suspension and body .

 

[Hernandm8800]

My camper was switched to 110v by the importer . I am replacing ,updating all systems in the camper . I have already purchased but not installed an on demand hot water heater ,and a diesel fired hot air heater. the fridge will be a portable compressor type . doing the mechanical updates and repairs is first on my list . the back of the van has been lifter 3 and a half inches ,the front 2 and 3/4 . I will send you some pictures tomorrow . there has been 8 inches cut off the back and 4 inches from the sides of the body . I am going to trim the edges in aluminum checker plate angle in the next couple weeks .

The propane heater is amazing, I used mine all winter. I would keep it just for redundancy and it’s amazing!