The Tacozilla camper van isn’t currently on the market. The prototype displayed at SEMA is the only Tacozilla camper van ever produced.
However, given the positive reviews the camper has received since the presentation, Toyota may start to increase Tacozilla manufacturing.
The price of the 2022 Toyota Tacoma, from which the Tacozilla was based, varies from $26,000 to $39,255. With so many features added to the Tacozilla, we may assume that its price range will be significantly higher.
If you must have a camper van right away, though, we discovered a variety of vehicles on eBay that cost between $5,000 and $17,000.
In This Article...
The cost of the Tacozilla camper.
This retro-themed family camper was unveiled by Toyota, the top Japanese automaker, just in time for this year’s Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) show display. The Tacozilla is perfect for your family’s camping needs because it has incredible extras like a huge 4 by 4 skylight, a fully functional kitchen with a sink and a stove, and sauna-style teak flooring. The V6 3.5-liter six-cylinder engine of the Tacozilla camper has an additional two inches of lift over the ordinary Tacoma TRD suspension fork. The Tacozilla is offered with an average price of $39,255, according Thefocus News.
Does Toyota sell the Tacozilla?
Toyota Tacoma Tacozilla Camper: The original Toyota Hilux Chinook camper, which gained popularity in the late 1970s, is honored by the Toyota Tacoma Tacozilla Camper, a concept car. The Tacozilla is a functioning idea that is not accessible to the general public.
Is there a true Toyota Tacozilla?
Outrageous New Idea Honors Toyota Campers of the Past and Growing Popularity of Overlanding
LAST NV
With its Tacozilla Tacoma Camper1, a backcountry overlanding-ready “micro-house rig that pays homage to Toyota campers from the ’70s and ’80s, Toyota mixes downsizing with outdoor fun.
Tacozilla, based on a Toyota Tacoma TRD Sport truck, makes its debut today at the Las Vegas Convention Center’s Central Hall’s 2021 Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show display (Booth No. 24800). It joins other concept vehicles that are ready for adventure in the Toyota display this year as the pinnacle of overlanding.
According to Lisa Materazzo, group vice president of Toyota Division Marketing, “Tacozilla is an exceptional embodiment of Toyota’s go-anywhere brand promise to our many owners who adore overlanding and outdoor fun.”
Tacozilla won’t be easy to miss, whether you’re walking the SEMA show, at that campsite, or on that off-road trail!
Tacozilla is a completely unique vehicle that Marty Schwerter and his colleagues at the Toyota Motorsports Garage created.
You’ll see that all of the sides are rounded since we really didn’t want it to resemble a refrigerator on the back of a truck, according to Schwerter.
Even though having sharp edges everywhere was the simplest approach, Schwerter thought rounded edges and smooth aluminum surfaces would better match the Tacoma’s body lines and make them appear more integrated and finished.
Our aim was to create a car that was properly engineered while still having a really attractive appearance, Schwerter remarked. “Having grown up around race cars, I think they have a sharp appearance. Additionally, I want campers to look good.
In order to assess what needed to be moved or removed in order to make room, the team began by removing the Tacoma’s bed.
In order for a person to be able to stand up within, the crew had to lower the frame height, according to Schwerter.
Then everything was shrunk and repackaged so there was enough space for the camper’s amenities and occupants and someone over 6 feet tall to walk the length of the interior.
The Toyota Motorsports Garage team subsequently constructed a simple camper structure to evaluate the original dimensions and fitment. The frame needed to be adjusted and strengthened after that. This maximized internal room while aesthetically matching the Tacoma’s body lines. Additionally, the thinner top and bottom make it simpler to travel routes and avoid impediments like trees.
The camper’s back door was particularly difficult to construct because of its tapered design. Although the crew could have installed a flat door, they determined the finished product would not look as seamless. The team spent over 100 hours designing the back door alone in total.
The team overcame another significant structural issue by building a pass-through opening between the camper construction and the cabin of the Tacoma. The solution needed to provide appropriate bracing and support for off-road driving, allowing the cabin and camper components to cooperate and twist on uneven terrain without endangering the vehicle or posing a danger to drivers.
The team was able to utilize the Tacoma’s current features by fitting the original rear fender flares over the camper’s wheel well apertures and extending the normal Tacoma TRD Sport suspension by two inches. The team mounted a set of 285/70/17 General Tire Grabber X3 all-terrain tires to assure traction.
The procedure is flexible, like with the majority of custom builds, and changes can be made in the middle. When the team decided to add a sizable pop-up Lexan skylight to the camper framework to give ambient light, natural air circulation, and more headroom, for instance, they were well into the process of covering the camper structure in aluminum. Other customized features include a gasoline tank filler that is entirely separate from the camper to guarantee that fuel fumes are contained and a second battery in the Tacoma’s engine bay to help give more power without taking up space in the already-constrained camper.
A seasoned and dependable Toyota partner, Complete Customs in McKinney, Texas, assisted with customizing and took care of the paint job. The completed camper has a white base coat with vintage-inspired yellow, orange, and golden accents. With teak sauna-style flooring, a full bathroom with a hot water shower, a fully functional kitchen with a stove and sink, a 3D-printed dining table that transforms into a backlit piece of wall art, and plenty of sleeping space, the fully insulated interior is exactly what the team had in mind.
1Vehicle is a unique prototype project car that has been changed with imitation components and accessories that could render it illegal to drive, void the warranty, and affect the car’s performance and safety.
Do the restrooms at the Tacozilla exist?
The 3.5L V6 engine in the Toyota Tacozilla camper produces 278 horsepower at 6,000 rpm. It has an exclusive Motorsports Technical Center (MTC) exhaust system and a six-speed manual transmission. TRD air intake and TRD Pro wheels are also included. However, the amenities are what make this segment more amazing.
The interior of the Toyota Tacoma TRD Sport Tacozilla camper features teak sauna-style flooring and is completely insulated. There is a full bathroom, a shower with hot water that works, a kitchen with a stove, and a sink. Even a refrigerator and a dining table that transforms into artwork when not in use are included. The area in the back above the cab can be used for sleeping. The Toyota design team also integrated a winch into the front bumper.
Is the Tacozilla currently being made?
Unfortunately, obtaining a Tacozilla of your own is not possible, despite your desire. This concept car is one of a kind. There is no possibility that this car will ever enter production. You’ll have to be content with daydreaming about constructing or owning one.
However, it will be difficult to make something as rugged and authentic-looking unless you are extremely talented and have an apparently limitless budget. In the world of Toyota Tacoma trucks, it is unmatched.
Is there a camper van made by Toyota?
The Toyota Sienna is a well-liked platform for many types of individuals since it is renowned for its dependability, safety, and plenty of options. You can travel rapidly anyplace with a 296 horsepower engine and an 8-speed automated transmission. You may perfectly combine a family hauler with an adventure vehicle by adding all-wheel drive.
*We won’t be providing modifications for vehicles built after 2021 due to design changes made by Toyota.
What’s Included in a Sienna Camper Conversion?
seating for four individuals
cooler storage that slides out
What Options & Accessories Are Available?
Our clients have asked for everything, and we have provided everything, including refrigerators, solar panels, and additional storage. There are countless options for minivan conversions, including:
The cost of the Chinook Summit in 2021.
But the new Chinook Summit, a Class C motorhome built on the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter cutaway chassis, is what has them so fired up. This is a “Class B+ premium motorhome,” according to the manufacturer, and it costs around $200,000.
Toyota produces RVs, right?
Toyota is well renowned for producing incredibly dependable cars. Even though Toyota stopped producing motorhomes in 1993 (at least in the United States), you can still find them EVERYWHERE. This demonstrates the high caliber of these RVs.
Toyota mini-motorhomes frequently have original engines that have well over 200,000 miles on them. In fact, the Toyota 22R-E engine, known in the auto industry as one of the longest-running engines ever produced, is found in the majority of Toyota RVs.
Only 41,000 miles have been put on our 1989 Toyota Dolphin RV, and it still drives like a brand-new truck. When we are travelling hundreds of miles through the Mexican desert or exploring the wilderness in search of a boondocking location, it gives us confidence to know that our vehicle will function mechanically.
(Are you considering going camping in Mexico? Grab a copy of this vital manual, please!)
Sincerely, we would still save a ton of money by driving a dependable car even if we just camped in cities. The cost of mechanical work is high!
Our Toyota RV has made us so delighted that we would unquestionably suggest it to everyone as the best little motorhome on the road. There are several different versions of Toyota RVs, including the Toyota Chinook, Toyota Sunrader, Toyota Winnebago, and Toyota Itasca.
The Toyota RVs are all small motorhomes like our Dolphin. The quickest approach to find Toyota RVs that are for sale is to search for “Toyota Dolphin RV for sale” or “Toyota small motorhome for sale” on Google. These will return MANY choices. Finding a Toyota RV locally can also be done by looking through your local Craigslist.
Who can fit inside a Tacozilla?
Toyota unveils a spiritual heir to the Toyota camper vehicles of the 1970s and 1980s, delving into its famous past. The innovative Tacozilla combines a tough Tacoma TRD Sport pickup chassis with a specially designed “micro-house” to create a fantastic, tiny 4×4 micro-RV that is accurate and nimble on the trail and roomy and comfortable overnight. If there was ever a time when the world needed a Toyota-badged camper that could go “everywhere on this planet” and look beautiful doing it, it is now. It may only be a SEMA one-off.
Recently, overland startup TruckHouse unveiled their modernized Tacoma camper vehicle with a stunning cabin, a twist on a Toyota Sunrader revival. Even though we appreciate the company’s efforts, a fully loaded, US$325K carbon fiber masterpiece doesn’t quite fit the bill for a straightforward, quaint off-road truck camper.
The Tacozilla fits the mold quite well, helped along by its gorgeous retro golden-tan/orange/bronze striped paint job and, of course, the fact that Toyota doesn’t actually have to create a viable price point for the SEMA one-off. This allows us to envision walking into the neighborhood Toyota dealership and selecting a spartan base model up for little more than a nicely equipped Tacoma pickup.
The Tacozilla was more influenced by the Chinook than the Sunrader, another beloved Toyota micro-RV from years past. In 1973, against the backdrop of an impending US oil crisis, Toyota and Chinook collaborated to create their first compact, effective fiberglass mini-motorhomes, according to Tin Can Tourists. The initial Toyota-Chinook versions were sold for less than $5,000, which equates to less than $31,000 in 2021 dollarsa far cry from TruckHouse’s $325K. The slogan “Buy an economy car; get a camper free” was actually used in commercials at the time to entice consumers.
The Chinook Newport/Omega, which came after the previous pop-top models, looks to have had the most influence on Toyota’s high, hard-roofed Tacozilla. The Newport and Omega campers both have an angled sidewall design, while the Tacozilla also has a comparable roof.
The Tacozilla crew from Toyota initially used a Tacoma TRD Sport Access Cab. The goal was to build an off-road mini-RV that could handle the same kinds of trails that the Tacoma TRD Sport can, not to simply slot a camper into the bed or bolt one to the bare chassis. At an exhibition devoted to extravagant automotive artwork, it also needed to be hip and flamboyant enough to generate talk of its own.
Project manager Marty Schwerter, director of operations at Toyota’s Motorsports Technical Center, says, “Our goal was to develop a car that is constructed right but also made to look incredibly cool.” “Having grown up around race cars, I think they have a sharp appearance. Also, I want campers to look good.
Schwerter and crew started framing the camper using square tubing after drawing out a plan and removing the Tacoma’s bed. The crew created a design with rounded corners and multi-planar sidewalls that angle out to a crease optically related to the bottom window edge on the truck cab, precisely like the Newport, even though life would have been simpler without the “cool-looking” goal.
At the back, where this angled-wall design presented a particular challenge, the team spent more than 100 hours perfecting a single-piece door that fits precisely inside the frame and opens and closes without difficulty.
When it came time to finish the aluminum body, Toyota contacted Texas-based Complete Customs, who added the stunning multicolor vintage sheen and assisted with interior assembly and decoration. Toyota crammed a kitchen block and a fully enclosed wet bathroom opposite one another right inside the doorway to start this small but incredibly functional floor plan. The kitchen has the standard stove, sink, and fridge/freezer arrangement, while the bathroom contains a toilet and a hot/cold shower.
The Tacozilla camper encourages R&R on a dual-bench eating lounge with a stunning 3D-printed table that also serves as backlit wall art as you move deeper inside. That’s a neat little feature, but it serves as a sobering reminder that this camper is merely a special edition. In order to allow a Double Cab Tacozilla to be utilized as a family camper, assuming it were a product, the table would also function as a sleeping surface. The Tacozilla, on the other hand, is a specialized two-sleeper with multipurpose table art.
Campers can still see the wall-mounted TV they were watching in the lounge because the Tacozilla bed is up in the alcove. But if it’s a clear night, they’ll want to turn the TV off and focus on the star display occurring within the 4 x 4 foot (1.2 x 1.2 m) skylight situated in the center of the ceiling.
The Tacozilla team didn’t invest a lot of extra time in completely rebuilding the Tacoma; instead, they made a limited number of additions, such as a TRD snorkel, front winch, 2-inch suspension lift, TRD billet upper control arms, General Grabber X3 285/70/17 tires, and Rigid auxiliary lighting. The Tacoma’s 278-hp 3.5-liter V6 and six-speed manual transmission provide drive power, while a dual-battery system under the hood makes sure there is enough power for the car, camping equipment, and add-on lighting.
Obviously, this SEMA one-off won’t be transported to Toyota dealers in the same manner as the original Toyota Chinooks, but we’re sure many SEMA show attendees and supporters hope it would. RVs of all shapes and sizes are highly sought-after commodities now that RVing and overlanding have reached feverishly high levels of popularity. Put a competitive price on a well-designed 4×4 camper that is mounted on America’s preferred off-road vehicle and marked with Toyota dependability, and watch it go on backorder for years.
Visit the four-part Tacozilla series on Toyota USA’s YouTube page for a closer look at the building process and some of the choices that were made. Here is part one.