Toyota Liteace
This is my beloved van “Lottie”. She is a Toyota Liteace with a Japanese coach built motorhome conversion. She was imported into the UK in 2004 and I have had her since 2019. These vans are extremely rare (I have never seen another one out on the road) and take space-saving ingenuity to the max! The clever use of space inside is what sold the van to me. I had been looking at VWs before but this van just impressed me so much! Lottie has taken me on some great adventures in the UK as well as an epic road trip to LeMans in 2023 where she drew a lot of attention sitting between a rare Ferrari Dina and a Lamborghini Countach! It is safe to say people look (stare) at her because you just never see them around! Last time I checked there were just 60 of these registered in the UK so if you want to be seen in something different then this is the van for you!
Inside you will find a shower and toilet, a two burner gas hob with a working extractor fan above it, fridge (with tiny freezer), and storage for all your things. The seating area seats flip round to face each other and fold down to make a double bed and above these is a second double bed that pulls out. If you want to carry passengers then the van has 7 seat belts in total (including the driver’s belt). All passengers in the back and the buddy seat in the middle in the front have lap belts.
It easily fits into parking spaces as it measures approximately 5.2 metres long x 2 metres wide x 3.1 metres high (with the roof box on). Being mid-engined it also has a really good turning circle. I am 5’8” tall and can stand up in it – taller people have to stoop a little.
The van has selectable 4 wheel drive with both high and low ratio. She has a 2.0 74bhp N/A Diesel engine (the 2C engine) mated to a 5 speed manual column change gearbox. The mechanic who serviced it recently told me the mechanics of the van are 90s Toyota Hilux so parts are still really easy to obtain. It is not fast on the motorway, but will sit happily at 60-65 mph for hours, just be sure to pre-empt hills as she needs a bit of a run up! She sailed through her latest MOT and at the same time I got it serviced and had all four auxiliary belts changed and the front wheel bearings tightened so she is ready to go.
She has covered a total of 85000 Km which is approximately 53000 miles. She is easy and comfortable to drive, the cab is roomy and the seats are in perfect condition.
As far as I can tell, both the interior and exterior are original, and I have left it like that to preserve its originality. It’s in great condition, there are some rust bubbles on the cab doors as shown in the pictures but they are not structural and have not gotten out of hand. The back is fibre glass with no leaks and had a full habitation check in November 2024.
I have just fitted a new leisure battery and I have replaced all of the internal ceiling lights with LEDs. The original control panel still works and is very useful! The
80 litre fresh water tank and similar grey water tank all work fine with no leaks. The grey water empties via a drain under the toilet/shower area, released using a pull handle.
The 240v hook up and inverter to standard 3 pin plug sockets work fine. She has hot and cold running water via a water pump and hot water unit which works really well and she even has central heating via a gas powered integrated heater which gets the interior nice and toasty pretty quickly!
The toilet and shower room work fine and the toilet is a Thetford cassette toilet which can be accessed from outside to empty and fill with chemicals. The shower gives you a hot, if quick shower, (about 5 minutes before the tank runs low).
There are storage lockers along both sides of the cabin and below the sink. The original 3-way fridge still works and had a service during the habitation check so runs off Gas, and 12V and 240V hookup. There seems to be a problem with the van’s inverter though as the fridge doesn’t run off the 12V when the engine is running so I tend to put some ice packs in it to get it cool and then use the gas or 240V hook up when I get to my destination.
As I mentioned before, one amazing feature of the van, which sets it apart from other factory made or converted vans of its size, is how many people it can transport and also entertain. It has 7 belted seats (including the middle seat in the cab) and the rear bench seats can be configured to be all front facing like a minibus or one forwards, one back around the table. These bench seats can sit 4 easily for dinner, and I even bought a stand for the table so it can be taken outside when the weather is good! The wind out awning and legs work fine with no rips or tears, it extends the useful dry area and provides great shade in the heat.
The main bed is made from the 2 bench seats that flip round and slide over easily plus a side section that lives in its own slot under the window. This makes a small double bed, and the floor area at the back stays free, giving free access to the toilet, kitchen area and cupboards. The bed above slides out to a full sized double so the van easily, and has a few times, sleeps 4 people quite comfortably.
My reason for selling her is that I just don’t use her as much as I used to so it is time to let someone else have some adventures with her.
I am sure there are things I have missed so please feel free to ask me any questions. I would be more than happy to go through everything with the new owner and show you how everything works. One thing to note, is that if you do a vehicle history check on her, it may throw up a mileage discrepancy warning…. This is because over the years her odometer has been captured in both miles and kilometers but the odometer only reads kilometers. The speedo has been modified to show mph though so you don’t need to do any maths whilst also driving!
Lottie has been a joy to own and use and is ready for its new chapter. I shall be really sad to see her go!
There are two double beds in the van.
The contact details for this vehicle are no longer available because it has either sold or the listing has expired.
Insurance options are available through our partner, Ripe Insurance.
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