Jump to content

Overall production numbers and how many on the road today


Yota Master

Recommended Posts

After a long hiatus due to a slow shade tree mechanic, I've finally got the 86 Savannah Travel Master back to road worthy condition.  (Although we are doing a major interior overhaul - more to come on that)

Question, how many production numbers were on all models and how many can I expect to pass on the road to the next camp ground?  Have seen too many examples of them being butchered for parts or sent to the boneyard.  Know the trend today seem to be purchasing high dollar 5th wheels (and we have still have a travel trailer) but there's just something special about restoring these unique rolling mini land yachts to original form. 

Still can't figure our for the life of me why they aren't put on some form of new Toyota platform. 

Any info is appreciated

YM

Edited by Yota Master
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Looks like the Savannah was only made from 1986 to 1988 so there probably weren't too many made. I don't know that anyone has production numbers for any of the Toyota motorhome models.

One of the main reasons that there are no Toyota motorhomes anymore is that Americans didn't really want a true truck. GVWR for Toyota trucks took a dive with the Tacoma. A new Tacoma will give you a GVWR of only 5600lbs. Less than the 6000 of the later Toyota motorhomes. The rest of the world where Toyota motorhomes are still made the Hilux can still be bought. That Hilux if we could get them will give you a GVWR of 6700 lbs with a lighter weight truck and a 4 cylinder engine or even better a turbo diesel with 147hp.

Linda S

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, linda s said:

Looks like the Savannah was only made from 1986 to 1988 so there probably weren't too many made. I don't know that anyone has production numbers for any of the Toyota motorhome models.

One of the main reasons that there are no Toyota motorhomes anymore is that Americans didn't really want a true truck. GVWR for Toyota trucks took a dive with the Tacoma. A new Tacoma will give you a GVWR of only 5600lbs. Less than the 6000 of the later Toyota motorhomes. The rest of the world where Toyota motorhomes are still made the Hilux can still be bought. That Hilux if we could get them will give you a GVWR of 6700 lbs with a lighter weight truck and a 4 cylinder engine or even better a turbo diesel with 147hp.

Linda S

Well that's not real fair if my Tacoma had dual wheels I'm guessing it would be in the 7,000-7500lb range with 236 hp! and a 6 speed stick! It's tow rating is 6500# so it could tow an old toy home!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Hilux's do not have dual wheels or full float axles and now no more 6 cylinders. I was wrong on the turbo diesel though. 174 HP for the top rated engine and still a 4 cylinder. Tow rating is 7700 lbs. Not bad for a small truck.

I shouldn't have looked this stuff up. Now I'm feeling seriously deprived.

Linda S

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm sure Toyota as market researched the hell out of this question and have come to the conclusion the going the C&C route (like they did in the past) for the North American market isn't going to turn them a profit. What'll they sell? A couple of thousand (a year)?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well I wasn't thinking of turning that into a motorhome. OK Toyota exports plenty of cab and chassis to Europe and  South America with left hand drive like us. If our country wasn't so restrictive about what can be imported the same trucks could be shipped here including the diesels. I don't get it why diesels are OK from VW and Mercedes but not Toyota.

A cab and chassis 4x4 with a diesel engine runs about 30,000 American dollars plus whatever import fees and shipping would add to the price. This according to current Australian pricing whose dollar is worth 75 cents here.

Linda S

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Nissan dealership up here has a waiting list for the new Nissan with the Cummins diesel. Toyota just isn't what it used to be. Have you ever driven a Yaris. Scary flimsy. When I moved I had to rent a bunch of cars to get all my vehicles up here. The Yaris was the worst and the nicest was a Nissan Versa. Freaking awesome little car.

Linda S

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What we have not seen is the introduction of up-and-coming Chinese brands challenging the North American market.  They've learned alot in their joint ventures with US and European automakers over the past 20 years.

 

Few people remember that little legal action so many years ago, in which NISSAN sued a small-time (American) Internet businessman who happened to have purchased the domain WWW.NISSAN.COM and didn't agree to sell it for ANY price. 

His name is Uzi Nissan.  He has NISSAN COMPUTER Corp. in Fuquay Varina, North Carolina.  His website is still http://www.nissan.com .

NISSAN MOTOR CORPORATION has spent over $15 million to date harassing Mr. Nissan.

The legal battle is ongoing.  Full article at: http://www.digest.com/Big_Story.php

So, when you buy a new NISSAN or visit their dealerships, and/or buy their parts, you are funding this ridiculous corporate stupidity.

 

Food for thought.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The difference is that we, the consumers, are paying for this idiocy.  Mr. Nissan would probably have been willing to reach a compromise directing car buyers to the Nissan Motors website before the ugliness began.

  I know most people don't read legal filings.  In this instance, the lawyers seem to have been instructed to win at all costs and, when they lost, instructed to destroy Mr. Nissan's computer business out of pure spite.  How many MBAs does it take to make a rich playground bully?

The Chinese, on the other hand, have figured out that one does not compete directly.  Instead, they tempt their competitors with deals 'too good to be true' and, once they have figured out their competitor, simply outperform them.

In the 1980s, There was one Japanese pickup truck in Latin America.  It went by various names- Toyota, Nissan, Datsun, Mazda, Mitsubishi, etc.  The parts are interchangeable.  The trucks are virtually indestructible.  The Japanese don't do this anymore, but follow the American business model of 'engineered obsolescence', a term coined in the 1950s.  They are designed to last a certain period of time (engine-hours, for example) and then break.

Today, the Chinese appear to be following a similar strategy.  A passenger bus made by Great Wall is indistinguishable from a passenger bus made by Mercedes.  They even have the same engine.  Even the seats are interchangeable.

And the Germans, with all of their social taxes and expensive pensions cannot compete against the Chinese on price, since the Chinese have eliminated the "Iron Rice Bowl' social safety net which the West (including Japan) seems to be adopting.

 

I'm not a banner-waving, protest-marching, sign-carrying activist shouting at the top of my lungs.  I'm a quiet activist:  I vote with my wallet.  In business, that's how you hurt someone.  You attack their bottom line.  What you do is up to you.  (For the record, I avoid most brand-name products because they're mostly marketing machines.  Dish soap is dish soap.  Most cereals are the same; you pay more for the brand name most of the time.  Besides, high fructose corn syrup is toxic - why am I drinking parts cleaner mixed with rum again?)  Coca-cola is great for cleaning rusted, corroded greasy engine parts.  Works good on laundry, too.  The generic brand is just as good, but cheaper.)  We have lots of choices these days.

 

I was chased into a parking lot in Rapid City, South Dakota by a woman who informed me that I was the only other Winnebago Warrior owner in a one hundred mile radius.  She wanted to see if I had upgraded the interior.  (I was in town to have the head gasket recall performed.)  Nice lady, if a little unconventional.

 

For the price, buying an older vehicle and restoring it is less costly than buying new.  There are simpler systems, fewer sensors to go bad, more room for adding modifications to increase performance under the hood and so on.  With advances in materials technology, a lot of the heavy plywood (or pressboard)  could be replaced with carbon-fiber or engineered metals and plastics. Smaller, more efficient air conditioners can be installed.  Curtains can be replaced with solar panels (or the windows eliminated altogether.)   Flexsteel couches weigh a ton!  We can replace the oven and microwave with a convection oven for less weight and less space!  Why won't we change?

If you really want more performance out of your Yotahome, pull the engine and blueprint it- that's replacing all of the parts so that it is built to the original engineering specification.  Or, you can have the cylinders bored out and custom pistons installed.  While you're at it, have the racing shop (because that is the only place where you can get this kind of custom building done) install a high-performance camshaft.  There are small superchargers available if you are creative (and have the space under the hood that a 22R-series engine has, unlike the 6-cylinder versions.)  The same can be done with your transmission/ drive train. (We can't go fast because the gearing is for top highway speed, which was about 55MPH back then.)  Of course, it will all cost money, but so will a new one.

A new Chinese motorhome will run about $42,000USD at current exchange rates (assuming a model described in the linked article above would be allowed into the US market).  Let's pretend that you have $20K into your rig already.  What could you do to it for an extra $20,000?

A motorhome built on a Sprinter van chassis (Mercedes Diesel with automatic transmission) with over 200K miles was for sale last year for over $50K.  You could buy the same used cargo van for about $10K-15K in US Dollars.  Customize  it all you want, but it will never be the same as a little Toyota motorhome; not even close.

 

Let's face it - We're in the same category as the classic car enthusiasts.  We are driving a relic from an earlier era, when Evil was Communist in nature and we were embarking on a voyage into a bright new future of peace and prosperity.  Today, you can get faster and shiny-new, but you will be driving something more like a spacecraft than a motorhome, with all of the tire sensors, collision-avoidance radar and whatnot.  Fuel economy still sucks, but we are traveling in time machines that remind us when life seemed simpler, safer and saner.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ran into GVWR issues when I was considering a truck camper for my F-250.  Its a Crew Cab 4x4 long bed Diesel.  Was thinking I had all the truck I could ever want, but was severely limited as to what I could carry in the bed (1900lbs).  A short bed dually is almost triple that. 

A far as production numbers I was talking all makes and models of the Toyota motor home.  Believe I read somewhere that only around 1500 Savannah Travel Masters were produced, so it will be rare to see another.  Although it appears to be a cousin to the Huntsman (Den floorplan)

Classic car enthusiasts is a good analogy.  Not many 80's vehicles left on the road nowadays.  Let alone motorhomes

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...