If you enjoy the great outdoors but are terrified of being eaten by bears while experiencing that enjoyment then today’s Toyota custom camper could be right up your backwoods alley. Let’s see if its price makes this nature-aspiring truck a born natural.

I like my coffee black, my steaks rare, and all my questionably-imported cars and trucks to be able to outrun the Feds. With its missing drivetrain, yesterday’s possessed none of those attributes. Hell, it couldn’t even be used to pop out for that tasty cup of joe. At $2,500, the orphan Korean SUT was also unable to garner much sympathy for its engineless predicament, dropping as it did in a decisive 85 percent Crack Pipe loss.

Let’s take a moment and imagine that we’re all outdoorsy sorts. Getting out into nature is a nice respite from the daily grind, and on occasion, even from the joys of wrenching, washing, and watching our favorite cars. The best of all possible worlds of course, would be if you could combine the two experiences, and commune with nature in your car.

Well, just maybe you can.

Allow me to present this that has been converted into a makeshift camper. That transformation is facilitated by way of an aluminum box perched atop a custom flatbed structure and connected to the cab by way of a pass-through. The width of the box seems to facilitate sideways sleeping although I imagine it wreaks havoc on the truck’s aerodynamics and hence its fuel economy and mid-range acceleration.

The box does afford space for accessories to be affixed to the roof and on the back so you can take along your canoes and all those Lyft scooters you have liberated from their urban hells. On the downside, it does give the truck the appearance of something you might see cleaning shopping center parking lots during the wee hours of the morning.

I mentioned at the outset Ursidaesnackaphobia, which of course, is the fear of going into nature only to become brunch for a bear. That eventuality leads to the age-old interrogatory as to whether or not a bear actually does shit in the woods. The answer, as you have no doubt deduced, is that yes indeed, a bear does its business right out there in the forest.

And so shall you with this Toyota. That’s because it comes with no built-in facilities unless you pack in one of those astronaut poop-sausage makers.

There’s a lot to like about this custom camper despite the lack of a safe space in which to pop a squat. The bed enclosure looks secure, decently constructed, and weather tight, if admittedly a bit claustrophobic. A window in the side might do it wonders. The truck itself comes with Toyota’s bulletproof 22R SOHC four under its hood. The 2366cc mill was good for 113 horsepower and 140 kb-ft of torque this model year, and has cultured a rep for near indestructibility. Here that’s backed up by a five-speed stick and AWD featuring an independent torsion bar-sprung frontend. Towing capacity on the little truck was factory rated at 3,500 pounds.

The drivetrain here benefits from a slew of new kibbles and bits, including shocks and rear springs, a new exhaust from the head on back, and fuel system pieces. The ad says it’s being sold with the factory alloys that appear in the main pic, which is just fine as they look to be in decent shape and give no indication that they might attract bears.

The bodywork looks reasonably straight and appreciably utilitarian. A snorkel intake brings the engine air from on high, while an aftermarket front bumper raises the approach angle appreciably.

Inside, it’s a bit of a Pep Boys accessory aisle bonanza with a poorly-fitting seat cover masking the bench and only one garishly tacky speaker in the door. A gaping hole counters on the other side. A double DIN stereo feeds that speaks and overwhelms the dash, but otherwise things look serviceable in here.

The seller claims a clean title and a total of 110,000 miles on the truck. 8,000 of those miles have apparently just been added by way of a cross-country trip. Pictures that perhaps were from that trek are included in the ad. Those make for a compelling argument for what the truck has to offer and hence its obtainment. Of course, we’ll have to get past the $5,200 asking price before we get to that.

What do you think, does $5,200 seem like a reasonable price to be able to commune with nature without the worry ofbecoming a grizzly’s late night snack? Or, does that price make you think you’d rather just stay home?

You decide!

New York, NY , or go if the ad disappears.

H/T to RevUnlimiter for the hookup!

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