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Toyota Townace Neo, Camp Mate


Neo Guy

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I was wondering if this vehicle type fit in with this group? If so does anyone else have a Toyota NEO Camper Van in North America? I just got this unit a couple weeks ago. Had it imported to Vancouver from Japan.

1990 RHD 2litre diesel, 4x4 Townace Neo Camp Mate. 18 years old and only 43k original kilometers.

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Neo Neato!!!

Yeah, let's see the inside!!! What a fun looking little rolling home/camper/van thingy.

shandamac

ps. Welcome to the forum!!!!

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Thanks for the welcoming responses.

All in.. landed, duties and Canadian Registration/Compliance it was about $16 grand Canadian. This included the modifications to meet North American Lighting Standards, change over to N. Am plugs/battery charging mechanical servicing and a new Sony Stereo. It is my second unit of this type. My other one is more like a a Westfalia with a canvas pop top but no shower, toilet space. My wife likes this one better as those are two features she feels are important...

I am not sure in this forum if I can name the importer, I am not affiliated with them just a customer, but boy am I happy with their service and support.

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Very cool vehicle... Am I correct in guessing that you got it very cheap in Japan and that most of the cost was shipping and complying with BC rules? I remember when I was in Japan in the Navy in the 70's a Japanese car just 3 years old sold for maybe 20% or less of it's original cost due to the high cost to have them meet current safety standards. US service folks on the base could by them way cheap and license them on the base for free... but you couldn't ship them home without a cost prohibitive expense. Mark '87 Dolphin

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Am I correct in guessing that you got it very cheap in Japan and that most of the cost was shipping and complying with BC rules?

This is pretty much the case. I actually bought it through an outfit that normally imports and retails vehicles from Japan, so there is also some room for their markup in there. I had given them what I was looking for and they used their network in Japan to find me one. They typically import micro mini (Kei) vans and pickups (660 CC engines), 4wd diesel Landcruisers and other strange Westaflia like Campervans. It took a couple months to find just the right Camper unit (I was very specific). They took care of all compliance and importing issues. I could have done the same on my own and possibly saved a little but I decided to leave it to the people that are good at it. You can check out the strange vehicles they have for sale at www.japanoid.com

The import rules in Canada are that an oddball vehicle must be at least 15 years old to be elligible for importation from anywhere other than the USA. I understand that the US has a similar rule but it is set at 25 years.

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What a lot of cool vehicles on their website! But they are pretty expensive for such old vehicles and, unfortunately, they'd almost certainly never get into the US due to bumper restrictions... even if they met the 25 year old rule. US import laws suck! Mark

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Still working out the MPG, my first 2 or three trips over 300 km have all been through mountainous areas... live in British Columbia Coastal Mountains .... go figure...

But it seems to be around 27 to 32 mpg. Flat land, I would reasonably expect better mileage. It is only a 2 liter engine and fibreglass camper bodies aren't light.

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Hello Neo Guy,

Since we let SunRaders in, we certainly can let your NEO Camper Van in...:-)

I will now go hide under my desk as the volley of SunRader arrows come in.

Dennis...:-)

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It is a pleasure to be lumped in with the sunraders and other lesser denizens of this forum....

The 4WD is a legit Toyota, manually locking hubs type.

Performance, I just made a trip through the mountains to Osoyoos (temperature was 41 degrees Celsius, approx 105 fahrenheit) and back to the Sunshine Coast. She performed well, mind you there was a fair bit of 3rd gear and even a couple times 2nd gear up the steeper climbs. There was a lot of grabbing for gears and this can be awkward at first with a Right Hand Drive vehicle that has a left handed column shift (5 on the tree) manual transmission. We started at sea level and at one point were at 1700 meters (apprx. 5,500 feet) through one of the passes. At one point we were on a Highway posted as 110km/h (68 mph) but were struggling up the grade at 40 Km/h, we laughed about it being impossible to break the speed limit uphill. On flat ground she comfortably runs along at 90 km/h - 55 mph and can maintain 100. Unfortunately we don't see much flat ground here...

Mileage, sorry about the confusion.

I am seeing about 9-10L/100KM which roughly translates to 30 miles per imperial gallon or 26 mpg(US)

Here are the specs on a Townace Van that I cut and pasted from a site. I think they were referred to as Space Vans in North America but were never sold with the diesel engine. Obviously some specs will vary as this has a camper body.

Toyota Town Ace 2.0 diesel 4WD D http://carinfo.autold.com/go.php?link=phot....0+diesel+4WD+D

Type : V

Doors : 4

Places : 5

Disposition of cylinders : R4

Disposition of engine : Fl

Volume : 1974

Diameter of cylinder : 86,0 x 85,0

Degree of compression : 23,0

Valves : 2

Disposition of shaft : ohc

Power supply system : D

Pressurization : -

Power PS (kW) : 73(54)/4600

Torque : 132/2800

Type of drive : Az

Transmission manual : 5

Transmission automatic : 4

Front suspension : DQL,DS,QS

Rear suspension : SA,BF,QS

Hydro : -

Break : Si/T

ABS : -

Tyre pressures : 175/80 R 14 S

Wheelbase, mm : 2230

Track : 1425/1395

Size Length x Width x Height: 4360 x 1685 x 1820

Mass equipped : 1440

Mass full : 2300

Volume of trunk : n.a.

Mass of trailer : n.a.

Volume of tank : 55

Dispersial 0-100 km/h : n.a.

Max speed : n.a

Cost of fuel 100 km : n.a.

Fuel : D

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Cool. What is the sleeping capacity.

I see there is no oven. Is there a fridge? Toilet/shower?

The main bed is effectively a queen size and there is a bunk arrangement that would sleep two young kids or one teen.

You're correct, there is no oven but it came with the original japanese two burner butane stove. It has a 12V only fridge. The toilet is a portapottie type. There is a shower but the there is no hot water heater.

The vehicle has no propane. This suits me just fine as I never trust the stuff and hate the way it can make the air damp. It is also a hassle on BC Ferries as they require to turn off propane and tag it everytime you travel. (I need to take a ferry to get anywhere from the Sunshine Coast)

The reality is unless you stay in RV Parks, this type of camper is more of a weekender or roughing it type. My thinking is, if on a long trip; to dry camp or stay in a RV park depending on mood or need for amenities and then occasionally consider a hotel for a real treat.

It's perfect for us. We're still in our early forties and can only get away for short stints: kids, work, etc....

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