Van Lab - Camper Van Conversion Kits

WHO, WHAT, HIACE?

NEW ZEALAND SCENERY BY

Here at VanLab, we get asked about Toyota Hiaces… a lot. And while we offer a wide range of Hiaces, not all Hiaces are created equal. So, we wanted to put together a little guide for all you guys looking to turn a Hiace into a camper, but not sure of where to start. We have tried to put a guide together to help when you are running through TradeMe or Marketplace with the search term “Hiace”!

To tell the different Hiaces apart, we’ll look at these key elements of the vans: date, wheel-base, height, trims.

Its easiest to start with date. The Hiaces are released in generations, with each generation lasting around 15 years. We typically deal with the 4^th Gen (1989-2004), 5^th Gen (2004 – 2018) and 6^th Gen (2018 to present) Hiaces.

The Classic 5th Gen Hiace LWB Low Roof

Now, once you’ve nailed your generation, lets talk wheel-base. The Hiace generally has Short Wheel Base, Long Wheel Base and Jumbo. We’re just going to focus on the 4^th and 5^th Gen here (as we haven’t had too much experience with the 6^th Gen yet). In the table below, we have the length of the internal van deck (measurement from behind the front sets/engine housing to the rear door), because that’s the measurement we’re interested in as campervan fans. How much real estate do we have to play with.

Trim levels come in next. The jumbo was designed as a largo Cargo van AND a minibus. If you’re looking to convert, both are a great base. Once stripped of seating, the minibus offers moulded cupholders, lighting and often HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning) ducts to the rear. While the cargo is a great slab sided, cuboid canvas for you to rip into!

Hopefully, this clears up at least 6 Hiaces built across 30 years. So, the big question, which one should you convert? Well, they’re all great. They are super reliable and all work super well as a campervan. So, convert the newest, lowest Kms in your budget!

Note, this has been written purely from experience of working with Hiaces over the last few years, so there maybe a few to pop out the woodwork and we’ll add them in as they’re pointed out!

Tricks for new players.

1. The 5^th gen had no SWB, so people refer to the LWB as the SWB because it’s the shorter of the two wheel bases. But, its not. It’s the LWB; although it is the shorter offering. We know, it’s confusing.

2. The 5^th LWB can come in narrow (1.5m) and wide body (1.7m).

3. You can tell the commuter by the extra little window in the sides; 4 distinct windows on each side.

So, now that’s cleared up. Lets talk roof heights. The SWB is always low roof. The LWB can come in high and low roof, while the Jumbo is always high roof. Again, some colloquial terms drop in here. The high roof isn’t actually that high, and we wouldn’t classify any of the Hiace range as a “stand-up” van like the LDV V80 Biggest, Transit or Sprinter. Just a higher roof than the low roof, typically the high roof LWB is around 1.65m. Here at VanLab, we design all our Hiace kits as “sit-down” vans, so no cricked necks here!

The 5th Gen Hiace Jumbo (cargo)