Take a Tour Inside Our DIY Toyota HiAce Camper Van
We are Marcel and Vendula and this is our converted Toyota HiAce camper van that we’ve called home on wheels for the past five months. The van is a 1994 Toyota HiAce commuter van. We bought this older mobility van and converted it into our wooden cabin on wheels. Now, we’ll take you for a tour.
Kitchen
Let’s show you how we converted the Toyota HiAce’s interior. We’ll start with the kitchen. It’s the first thing you come into when you enter our van. We hang up our daily cups and utensils and our spice rack so everything we need is within easy reach.
Wine glass holders
We have these great wine glass holders that hold them nice and tight when we drive thanks to some foam.
The sink
This sink came from a house. We picked it up at a recycling store. We designed the sink so it would be next to the window. That way we can do the dishes from inside and outside of the car.
The stove
We have a two-burner gas stove that runs on a bottle that sits underneath the appliance. We have a splashback and window flicker attached to the back wall. We can fold it out to allow us to cook outside. We designed the stove from the outside of the van so I could cook—I’m pretty tall—but we can also cook inside.
The fridge
We have a 50-liter 12-volt compressor fridge to keep our food nice and cool.
Folding table
This folding table outside the van is one of the handiest features. It helps me cook standing up outside. It’s a workbench and a great place to hold all my stuff while I cook.
Cabinets
We keep all of our plates, bowls, and some dried pantry items in the lower cabinets. We have our cutting board on the back of the door–it’s a great space saver.
Drawers
We keep our utensils in a top drawer. It has a nice little sliding top tray we can move around to access the utensils stored underneath.
Water
Our water storage shares the same cabinet. We have 25 liters of fresh water and 25 liters of gray water. The gray water goes down into the sink through traps to keep the smell out of the van. We use a standard hose connection to fill up the water so we don’t have to take the tank out of the car.
Living/sleeping space
Welcome to our dining room, bedroom, and lounge–three spaces in one. We cut a queen-size mattress into five pieces. We can rearrange the pieces as we need.
Office
This is our dining room and office setup with a large, comfortable table.
Lounge
Welcome to our lounge. We have this really cool sliding table that we can put our laptops and drinks on while watching a movie. We can slide it back to hold a book and candle.
Storage
We have a ton of storage underneath the mattress. Every compartment has a hinged top that is easy to lift. We can also access it from the front.
Toilet
We keep a portable chemical toilet under the mattress in one of the compartments. It’s only used for emergencies since we use public toilets.
Battery
The brain of our operation is located under one of the storage compartments. It’s a big 120-amp deep cycle house battery. Our 1,500-watt power inverter runs our laptop chargers and our 100-watt solar panel on the roof. We have fuses and our battery isolator which allows us to charge the battery while we drive.
The cockpit
We’ve done 20,000 kilometers (12,427 miles) in the car so far.
False roof
We put in a false roof above the cockpit so we could have more space and closed storage above us.
Rearview hatch
We have a pulldown hatch that lets us see out the back when we are driving. But it eliminates the need for an extra curtain when we are not driving.
Solar shower
One of the coolest features of our van is the solar shower. It heats up fast, especially in the summer. It’s made out of a stormwater drain pipe. We designed it to plug in so we can shower. In the winter, we mix boiling water and cold water in buckets.
Car wash
We even use the shower to wash the van.
Outdoor table
We have a small piece of wood we use on a stand as our outdoor table.
Wash line
We built a wash line into the rack on the top of the van. We pull the pieces out, wrap string around the rods, and we can hang our wet suits and laundry.
Fishing rod holder
Our fishing rod tube holds five fishing rods. It’s also made out of a stormwater drain pipe that is lined with foam so the poles do not get damaged.
Kayak
We wanted to bring a double kayak, surfboards, and dive gear. We arranged everything on the roof to fit. The vent and solar panel are on one side and space for the toys on the other side.
We love water sports, especially our kayak. The kayak allows us to get on the water whenever we want to if it’s kayaking with dolphins, paddling out to deeper water to catch crayfish, or just going for an afternoon fishing trip to catch our dinner.
DIY Toyota HiAce camper van
Thanks for taking the tour of our Toyota HiAce commuter van. We loved converting it into our camper van with all the special details. Let us know in the comments below if you are interested in converting a Toyota HiAce or another van!
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