zzdcar
Home
/
Reviews
/
Buying
/
This Toyota Coaster RV Is One Of The Biggest Japanese Imports You'll See
This Toyota Coaster RV Is One Of The Biggest Japanese Imports You'll See-September 2024
2024-02-19 EST 22:09:31

Image for article titled This Toyota Coaster RV Is One Of The Biggest Japanese Imports You'll See

RVs come in many shapes and forms from a simple camper van to the giant . This 1992 Toyota Coaster Camping Saloon is imported from Japan and is a rad way to show up at the campground. Oh, and did I mention it’s for sale here in America?

Japan has all sorts of weird campers on its roads. Some examples are Mitsubishi Delica-based RVs or vans like the Mazda Bongo Friendee that we . But what if you don’t want to sleep in a van with a tent on top and a Delica RV just isn’t big enough?

Toyota offered the option to go bigger by taking its Coaster minibus and building it out into an RV.

Image for article titled This Toyota Coaster RV Is One Of The Biggest Japanese Imports You'll See

The Toyota Coaster has been in production since 1969 and has seen use over its generations as everything from public transit buses to school buses. However, Toyota also catered to the recreational vehicle market by taking the Coaster and turning it into a spacious RV. The result is the Camping Saloon, and one of them is for sale on Craigslist near Naples, Florida, for $.

This is one of the larger vehicles that I’ve seen imported from Japan. Shipping costs tend to get exponentially higher with vehicle size, so this likely wasn’t cheap to get here.

It looks bigger than it actually is. At about 21 feet, it’s only a few feet longer than a Ford Excursion or extended-length Chevrolet Suburban.

Image for article titled This Toyota Coaster RV Is One Of The Biggest Japanese Imports You'll See

The seller calls it a “JDM Mystery Machine” and I suppose it is what the Mystery Machine from Scooby-Doo would look like as a Japanese minibus. Forget the boring swoops of the everyday American RV, this thing is painted in bright green!

The RV features a cab-forward design, which makes for easy maneuvering in tight spaces. Further aiding maneuvering is a sweet lower window that allows the driver a better view of what’s happening on the left side of the vehicle.

Image for article titled This Toyota Coaster RV Is One Of The Biggest Japanese Imports You'll See

The Coaster has gotten some upgrades over the years with the biggest change on the outside is some custom lighting out back.

Image for article titled This Toyota Coaster RV Is One Of The Biggest Japanese Imports You'll See

Inside, the driver gets a big GPS on the dashboard and they pilot the rig from a wood-trimmed Momo steering wheel.

Image for article titled This Toyota Coaster RV Is One Of The Biggest Japanese Imports You'll See

Up near the front is a 4.2-liter turbodiesel making 165 horsepower and 270 lb-ft torque. That’s paired to a four-speed automatic. Yep, this thing has a mid-front engine layout!

Image for article titled This Toyota Coaster RV Is One Of The Biggest Japanese Imports You'll See

The living area comes with all of the essentials needed for your trip away from home. There’s comfy seating for the whole crew on this rig, too.

Image for article titled This Toyota Coaster RV Is One Of The Biggest Japanese Imports You'll See

In back is a combination master bedroom, living room or dining room, depending on how you have it configured.

Image for article titled This Toyota Coaster RV Is One Of The Biggest Japanese Imports You'll See

In its bedroom configuration it turns into a spacious king-size bed, too!

Image for article titled This Toyota Coaster RV Is One Of The Biggest Japanese Imports You'll See

It’s a clever way to use the limited space that’s available. The seller says that the Camping Saloon sleeps about six people. The RV also comes with dual air-conditioning and dual heat.

But there are some limitations. The rear air-conditioning only runs when the engine runs and cooking is handled by a propane stove in the kitchen. Thankfully, the kitchen does have an exhaust fan. Also, check out what this bathroom looks like:

Image for article titled This Toyota Coaster RV Is One Of The Biggest Japanese Imports You'll See

Image for article titled This Toyota Coaster RV Is One Of The Biggest Japanese Imports You'll See

This Camping Saloon isn’t a giant palace on wheels or a weird custom build, but it’s definitely a cool way to travel. There appears to be few of these in the country, too. One of the few others in the country popped up for sale in 2018 .

Weirdly, even though Toyota doesn’t appear to make Coasters into RVs anymore, plenty of others do. , a conversion company in Australia, notes that regular Toyota Coaster buses make for a popular conversion platform and sure enough, there are a ton of these converted into RVs.

The 1992 Toyota Coaster Camping Saloon is $ and it also appears on .

Comments
Welcome to zzdcar comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Buying
Ford Bucks The Trend By Offering A Finance Special On Bronco Sport That Kinda Sucks
Ford Bucks The Trend By Offering A Finance Special On Bronco Sport That Kinda Sucks
The all-new and Bronco Sport are coming soon to your local Ford dealer. The automaker is likely to sell boatloads of them, Ford is already rolling out finance specials on the smaller Bronco Sport. The problem is that depending on the term you pick, it may not be a...
Sep 1, 2026
Would You Drop $63,000 On This Custom 2019 Dodge Challenger R/T Droptop?
Would You Drop $63,000 On This Custom 2019 Dodge Challenger R/T Droptop?
One place where the Mustang and Camaro one-up the Dodge Challenger in the pony car wars is in inviting the great outdoors in. Today’s R/T seeks to redress that inequity but carries a price that also may be less than inviting. The comments for yesterday’s showered the car with...
Sep 1, 2026
Here's How The 250 HP Mazda 3 Turbo Stacks Up To BMW, Mercedes And Audi
Here's How The 250 HP Mazda 3 Turbo Stacks Up To BMW, Mercedes And Audi
Last week, we compared the new 250-horsepower against the current crop of hot hatches posing its toughest competition. But Mazda wants to go premium, so let’s see how the new Mazda 3 Turbo stacks up against cars like the , , and more. Here’s what we’re looking for from...
Sep 1, 2026
Even Porsche Buyers Are Going Huge On Certified Pre-Owned
Even Porsche Buyers Are Going Huge On Certified Pre-Owned
The coronavirus pandemic has upended how people buy cars and also upended what kinds of cars people are buying. One throughline has been that —even for used Porsches, a part of the market you might think would be a little less impacted by the economy taking a nosedive. Porsche’s...
Sep 1, 2026
At $4,500, Is This 2001 BMW 740i Sport A Fantastic Deal Or A Financial Death Wish?
At $4,500, Is This 2001 BMW 740i Sport A Fantastic Deal Or A Financial Death Wish?
There’s a YouTuber that we all know who admits to being afflicted with bad decision-itus, and claims as evidence the recent purchase of a V8 E38 just like today’s candidate. Let’s see if the price tag on our car makes it a much better decision. Wow, what an evening...
Sep 1, 2026
At $8,990, Is This 1989 Ford Bronco II Too Good To Be True?
At $8,990, Is This 1989 Ford Bronco II Too Good To Be True?
There’s a new Bronco dropping tonight, but in this day and age who has the cash—or the inclination—to buy a first-year new model? Our Bronco II is that new trucklet’s great grandfather and is appreciably cheaper. Let’s see if it’s cheap enough. It’s human nature to seek redress for...
Sep 1, 2026
Copyright 2023-2026 - www.zzdcar.com All Rights Reserved