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Clean Cushions: 1982 Toyota Mini-Cruiser

As everyone is by now sick and tired of hearing, I want my 1981 Toyota HiAce to someday do camper duty. It’s a long way from that point, and seeing examples like this 1982 Toyota Mini-Cruiser make me question the financial wisdom of such a project. This one is complete with an interior you wouldn’t mind sleeping in right now. Find it here on eBay in Connecticut with an $11,500 Buy-It-Now and the option to submit a best offer. 

This Toyota is equipped with the same engine as mine: the “L” series diesel, which provides 2.2L of rip-snorting performance. Thank goodness this truck has the manual transmission; I’ve seen these campers with the same motor paired to an automatic and it makes me wonder how the truck even makes it up to highway speeds. My HiAce is happy around town but has yet to see interstate use, and I’m sure this camper is best suited for country backroads. The dash and seating surfaces look quite nice.

As this photo and the one above show, the interior of this Mini-Cruiser is in excellent shape. This is always the weak point on these vintage Japanese campers, as years of hard use and lack of care leave the cushions and cooking / storage areas in poor shape that makes spending any amount of time in the sleeping quarters absolutely abhorrent. When they are maintained, however, they look like this – and you can practically imagine yourself moving right in and frying up some sausages in the morning.

On the outside, the paint is a bit tired but by no means awful; a good detailing would make a world of difference. The seller mentions that Toyota performed the factory-authorized recall on the dual-wheel rear axle, which is a level of attention to detail we don’t often see with these R/Vs in miniature. The asking price is a touch high, as the market for these isn’t exactly hot; however, I don’t think an offer of $8K-$9K is unreasonable considering the level of preservation.

Comments

  1. Avatar 68custom

    I think the seller is very optimistic with the 11.5k asking price, if he spent a day tending to minor detail items he may get close to his asking price but as it sits no way.

    Like 0
  2. Avatar JimmyJ

    Its an 81 the 82 was first year square headlights

    Like 0
    • Avatar Nrg8

      Yep. RV Conversion company bought bulk 81 reg cab1 ton dually diesel without box. Sold as 82 when RV body installed next year.

      Like 0
  3. Avatar JustTheCaptain

    Check for dry rot under the sills of the camper shell. These were aluminum clad wood and if the sheathing is compromised they rot from the bottom up.

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  4. Avatar Jermey

    Had a 91 Warrior with the 3.0 L V6. That baby could hardly make highway speeds. By the way, only paid $8500 for mine with 55,000 miles. Would think that $3,000 to $3,500 would be a much better price. Even that feels high.

    Like 1
  5. Avatar curt

    Nice little rig,its does need to be cleaned up on the outside.i know im old but when i go camping the last thing i want to do is shifting the damn tranny. Its time for me to relax and be with the family so give me an automatic… IMHO..

    Like 0
  6. Avatar Steve R

    How many of these were towed by cities when the cleared homeless encampments.

    Steve R

    Like 0
  7. Avatar chad

    1 local but 4 WD, longer and no diesel.

    Like 0
  8. Avatar Mountainwoodie

    I confess I’ve always wanted a small compact Toyota camper. The Raygun era brown might be a lot to put up with but it looks clean enough. For the price if the seller throws in the barn I’d be on it. Otherwise I’m thinking a lot less money…….a lot less.

    Like 0
  9. Avatar Ross W. Lovell

    Greetings All,

    My Mother had one of these, slightly newer. It was an auto/overdrive transmission. Liked it.

    This one looks more than a little beat or unloved.

    Price is waaaaaaay high, especially the Buy It Now price.

    Good luck!

    Like 0
  10. Avatar Wayne

    Looks heavy over the rear axle.

    Like 0
  11. Avatar Leon

    I doubt those whitewalls are to correct load rated tires

    Like 0
  12. Avatar David Miraglia

    I’d give that camper to Top Gear… Jeremy, James and Ritchie would know what to do with it.

    Like 0
  13. Avatar Nova Scotian

    Buy low, yank the box off the back, install wood flat deck with minimal side rail. Voila! Little miss, dual holla!

    Like 0
  14. Avatar Guggie 13

    A guy around here has one of these and he scraped the camper , made a flat bed , its his everyday driver now

    Like 0
  15. Avatar Madmatt

    I would have loved to have this at 20 years old..!
    This seems high on price,but there probably aren’t
    many left this nice.Great off the grid solution…for young
    people without kids.Also the “automatic” ones were
    almost as fast as an old VW bus..!,.getting going..
    keeping all drivers from speeding tickets….,
    and all travelers from arriving early..!

    Like 0
  16. Avatar Bongo

    Way over priced. My neighbor just sold his for 5500 with 58000 miles showing and by condition it looked like near new. I test drove it. I only passed on it because most if my driving would be on the interstates and it was a strain to get to 65-70 mph in it.

    Like 0

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