Another Household Appliance

 

My bride took this photo on her way to sewing.

I'm in the habit of posting reviews of anything different I drive, and as we've been using a hired Toyota Corolla whilst the Kia's been at the panel beaters, I've decided to continue the practice.

The car in question is the base (hire car version) of the ubiquitous Corolla, available now only as a hybrid. This hybrid-only policy of Toyota as it relates to their sedans and SUVs is an interesting trend. They call such vehicles "PHEV", but I'm not entirely sure what the "P" in the acronym stands for. "HEV" is clearly "Hybrid Electric Vehicle". Usually the "P" denotes the capacity to plug the vehicle in for recharging, but this is not the case with tis particular Corolla.

Boot's a bit small because batteries.

It's a very basic, but entirely user-friendly vehicle, which seems to embody the time worn characteristics of Toyotas as very well put together and conservatively engineered.

Having said that, I had previously hired a Corolla a few years ago on a northern trip, and although it was essentially the same car, there have been some improvements.

Firstly, the driver assisting technologies seem to have been positively fine tuned. No longer does the lane keeping feature aggressively grab at the steering if it thinks you are wandering out of your lane. In this car, it was more of a nudge than a grab.

The wiggly jiggly bits. There's two motors. Count them.

I was not able to test the adaptive cruise control (ACC) as I didn't take it out on the open road, so aren't too sure how this works on the later model. As I recall the ACC worked well in the trips we took around Cairns in the other Corolla.

The hybrid drive train is seamless and very efficient. I put 8 lit into it prior to return, after travelling 56 kms around the suburbs. Unless my maths is dodgy, that's about 4lit/100km - not shabby.

A bit sombre.

According to AI driven searches, the Australian market Corollas are manufactured in Aichi, Japan, so the quality engineering and assembly should be maintained. This particular example seemed as tight as a drum.

So the household appliance is a very sound and rational means of transport, pleasant, if not fun to drive. You do pay a premium, even for the base version, compared (say) with a Mazda three (about $3000), but you'd probably recoup most of it in retained value.

Strangely perhaps, the controls around the proximity key and the HVAC are almost identical with those in my van.

Fitout Progressing

Progress...

The fit-out is progressing, and is at the point now where the vehicle is habitable.

It's very basic, and is limited by three factors. The first is my capacity to do the work, which is subject to aging and lack of joinery skills and experience. That process is largely trial and error, with more error than trial.

Other limits are cost and time. So far, the only cost involved has been the installation of the 240 volt connection allowing stopovers in caravan parks. That cost $500, and provided two interior sockets and a fuse, which is a standard caravan setup. 

I will eventually get an off-grid installation (second battery, inverter and charger) but need to research that further, and find an installer. I am OK with basic carpentry and joinery, but draw the line at electrical work. With my skills, the result would likely be smoke and ash. 

The steps were -

1. Installation of the floor. See previous post.

2. Construction and installation of a bed. This involved the acquisition of a door, and fabricating a bed using leftover timber I had in my garage. The result is not very pretty, but it works and is relatively light. There is storage under, and it can be removed in 10 minutes. I found somebody on facebook asking to have a single bed innerspring mattress removed, so I helped out. The mattress was new and of good quality, and with a mattress topper, is very comfortable.

Fabricating the bed from a door

Assembled

Bed with doona

Bed & bookshelves

3. Installation of shelving. This involved a set of drawers left over from a desk I had given away. I attached the shelving to the floor using screws and brackets, and used the same process with an old bookcase. The shelves opened themselves when driving, but octopus straps through the handles fixed that. I'm yet to come up with a way of keeping objects on the bookshelf. 

Somewhere to sit

Occy straps locate the drawers
                    

4. Water storage. Again, the simplest solution was the best. I bought a plastic storage tank and set it up with a tap on the bottom. It can be positioned so that the tap empties into whatever I'm using (kettle etc). The tank is located by straps which essentially keep it in place.

240 plug

Sockets and fuse

5. Somewhere to sit. I had a basic office chair available. It's on runners and can be moved around easily. Once again, I use octopus straps to locate it when driving. The ceiling is high enough to allow comfortable seating. This will be handy if the weather is bad.

In summary then, the setup is rough and basic, but has cost very little because I've used mostly repurposed material.

Because I had no history for the vehicle, I booked it in for a complete service and mechanical check, and a wheel alignment and balance. The mechanic said it is one of the cleanest Hiaces he's seen. He probably wants me to continue to use his services.

The wheel alignment and balance improved the driving experience, as did adding weight to the vehicle with the installations. It's designed to carry 1000kg, after all. 

I need to do a brief trip to iron out the bugs.

Stay tuned.

Camper Conversion - A Tentative Start

Flooring 

First step in converting the Hiace to a camper is installation of the flooring.

The vehicle came with carpet, but that's not a good setup if you're camping, particularly in wet conditions.

We had a couple of boxes of wood effect planking left over when our house was renovated. I bought some 7mm ply, and cut it into shape using my jigsaw with the removed carpet as a template. There wasn't quite enough of the planking to cover the whole floor, so I went to Bunnings in an attempt to match what we had.

The original brand (Pegulan) was no longer stocked, but I was able to find some adhesive backed material which was pretty close, and used that.  

It wasn't a perfect match, but the contrasting area will be covered by furnishings. The finished product looks OK, and should be durable, easily cleaned and waterproof. I discovered when I drove it around the block after I had finished that it actually drives quieter. The lagging under the carpet (which I left in place) probably helps.

Next step is the stripping of the interior panels and the ceiling. 

The plan is to get the electrical installations completed when the lining is removed. That's a better sequence than lining the walls and ceiling and having to remove the lining to put the wiring in. Obviously, all the electrical work needs to be done by a qualified tradesperson, and has to be certified. Apparently, this requirement refers only to 240 volt installations, and the intention is to have both 240 and 12V available, so I might as well get both done at once.

My understanding of electrical work is less than marginal.

Ill keep you posted.

 

 

 

Vanlife?

Appearance is good

I've made a habit of posting on this blog only when there's been a change of vehicles.

Having said that, I've changed vehicles with monotonous regularity, so this blog is not, as yet, extinct.

Buying the second Kia was a useful experience, but owning one was enough. The original intention of converting it to a camper paled in the light of reality, on the basis of the fact that it was simply too small.

At the dealers'

My daughter tried it, and found it lacking spacewise, even though I had slept soundly in it when I did the same. Maybe months of sleeping on the ground all those years ago in Vietnam had taught me to apply a different standard to sleeping comfort. 

Anyhow, after lots of research and many test drives, I have acquired a 2014 Hiace Commuter. The vehicle is a Japanese domestic market vehicle, imported by one of the many businesses set up to bring them south and get them certified.

It was originally a dry cleaners delivery van, which should mean that it hasn't had a hard life. Clothes are not heavy.

Head unit is useful

The racks installed as storage for hanging suits, skirts and jackets will provide a useful mounts for curtains, and because it has a high roof (2280mm) it should be liveable. 

It has covered 153000 kms, which for a Hiace is not much at all. It drives well, albeit a bit like a block of flats, but a block of flats without rattles or creaks. The paint is good, and as a "GL" has goodies like full instrumentation, bluetooth and Apple Carplay. 

There are some mysteries, such as a clock set on Tokyo time which stubbornly refuses to be adjusted, and Japanese script that comes and goes on the instrument fascia. I have downloaded the Toyota drivers' manual, which resides on a memory stick. It is also downloaded on my phone. No tools or handbook came with the vehicle, which is par for the course for JDM cars.

It has a motor (2.7lit)

Not too many Australian drivers can make sense of a handbook written in Japanese.

I'll keep you posted on its (slow) fit out as a camper.