Toyota's stout, crazy-modular $12K tiny truck makes enticing mini-RV (2024)

First sneak-peeked in late 2022, the Toyota IMV 0 concept grew into one of the most modular vehicles to ever see its way out into the sunlight. And it quickly transformed from rugged, little concept to production sub-Hilux mini-truck as the Hilux Champ. Thai motorhome manufacturer Carryboy has jumped off the Toyota's modularity to roll out a creatively configured alcove motorhome module that turns the little Champ into a roaming five-person micro-lodge.

Multipurpose utility embodied, the Hilux Champ is a compact single-cab pickup truck designed as an open foundation for commercial and retail buyers to build their ideal workhorse or play rig.

They can do so in or on the flatbed with drop-down walls or via chassis-mounted modules of their own making. The truck's deck, which measures 231 or 265 cm (7.6 or 8.7 ft) long in respective short- and long-wheelbase forms, even includes pre-drilled bolt holes for module mounting.

The Hilux Champ itself is well smaller than the Hilux in respective chassis-cab configurations but actually a few centimeters longer when both are equipped with a bed, measuring between 471 cm and 530 cm (185 and 209 in) long, depending on wheelbase. The Champ appears smaller because of its short hood, vertical face and single cab-only configuration, but it's built on the same platform and sized quite closely to the single-cab Hilux.

The Hilux Champ does sit downmarket from the standard Hilux, though, starting at ฿459,000 (approx. US$12,550) in the Thai market where it launched. The Hilux (Hilux Revo, as it's called in Thailand) starts at ฿584,000 ($16,000). The Champ has a very spartan interior with PVC seats, no screens and no standard audio system, reflecting its no-nonsense utilitarian purpose.

If you're looking at the tiny Champ and imagining it as the supple clay with which you could mold the ultimate adventure rig of your dreams, Toyota has been right there with you from the start. When it officially detailed the IMV 0 concept at the 2023 Tokyo Motor Show last October, it showed a concept alcove mini-motorhome and rugged overlander (above) as two potential use cases. A month later, it introduced the production IMV 0 as the Hilux Champ in Thailand and announced 11 available modules, including a motorhome from Carryboy and an Aussie-style canopy camper setup from TJM.

Toyota Motor Thailand has its Hilux Champ fleet out in full force at the Bangkok International Motor Show, which kicked off on March 27 and runs through April 7. That exhibit includes a yellow-accented gray Carryboy "Titanium" special edition Champ camper truck.

Beyond its vibrant special-edition look, the Titanium show model includes a lithium leisure battery, solar charging and a hitch bike rack. The motorhome has the same unique single floor plan as the base model, which begins with a vis-a-vis dinette across from a longitudinal sofa.

The dinette's rear seat slides backward at the push of a button and its table drops down to seat level to create a bed. This bed then combines with the sofa via a center mattress panel to complete an oversized L-shaped bed that takes up most of the floor area. Factor in the alcove bed below a dedicated skylight, and Carryboy's Champ mini-motorhome sleeps up to five people.

The space necessary for that big bed is available in part because Carryboy does not equip its motorhome with an interior kitchen block. Instead, it stacks an 80-L fridge and available microwave between the sofa and rear-corner wet bath. For those who want to do more than nuke frozen foods, it offers an optional sliding outdoor kitchen with single-burner stove, sink and stainless steel worktop.

Carryboy's motorhome houses a toilet and shower in the rear corner wet bathroom directly across from the entryway. The sink is located outside the bathroom for more flexible usage. A water heater comes standard, as does a 3-kW generator for supplementing battery power.

The Carryboy Hilux Champ motorhome also includes an available RV smart system with a touchscreen controller that docks next to the dining table. Campers can use the touchscreen to check battery and water levels, control the water heater, lighting and available air conditioning, move the electric-sliding dining seat rearward into bed position, and track things like electricity and water usage over time.

Other standard features include a 32-in smart TV, 360-degree camera,100-L water tank, power-retractable entry steps, rear cargo box, and rear ladder for roof access. At ฿2 million (approx. US$54,625), the Hilux Champ variant is the least expensive of the Carryboy motorhome lineup, which also includes Hilux Revo and Mitsubishi Triton truck models with the same floor plan.

Carryboy's Champ motorhome comes exclusively on the long-wheelbase Champ with 2.4-liter diesel engine and automatic transmission. Unfortunately, though it looks quite rugged and trail-ready, the Hilux Champ does not come with a 4x4 option.

If you're thinking there's the slightest chance of the Hilux Champ being sold in the US, maybe with the 4x4 system not offered in Thailand, we'll unburden you of those false hopes. The truck was purpose-developed for Asian markets like Thailand and there's about a 0.0 percent chance of it ever coming to North American showrooms. Even if Toyota did hom*ologate it for the American market, it would be unrecognizable from its current perfectly simple, super-affordable, utilitarian form.

So, just another cool, little RV Americans can daydream about on the way to blowing hundreds of thousands on basic camper vans.

Sources: Carryboy, Toyota