One of the more exciting aspects of my 1981 Toyota HiAce project is the prospect of outfitting the rear cargo area as a camper van. I can’t explain the attraction of sleeping in your car, but this rare 1982 Toyota Trekker by Winnebago is an excellent candidate for a DIY camper conversion. With roughly 1,500 made, this is a rare find – and it’s listed here on craigslist for $6K or best offer. Be sure to go here if the ad disappears.

The seller doesn’t spend much time showing you the ins and outs of the Trekker, but does share photos of it doing its best to go anywhere the owner wants it to go. Toyota enlisted Winnebago to basically build what it envisioned the 4Runner becoming, complete with collapsible jump seats in the rear bed and a fixed roof with functional rear window (but no tailgate). They were painted three colors, and white was not offered – so this is likely a repaint.

Only about 1,500 Trekkers were made, utilizing a short-box Toyota truck chassis and shipped directly to Winnebago for conversion. What’s most impressive is how little Toyota deviated from the design when it introduced the 4Runner, with the exception of introducing the trick removable roof on the Toyota-built example. The seller notes that this example does have rust issues and at least 340,000 miles on the clock – shocking, but not surprising, either.

The cockpit is supposedly trashed, but no interior photos are included. Even if it needs complete restoration, it’s a very spartan cabin with a basic bucket seats in vinyl or cloth, carpets (likely in tan) and a standard-issue Toyota dash ($10 says it’s cracked). The seller is moving and needs to pass the Trekker on to someone else, and has already lowered his price from $6K to $4K. Get some pictures to size up the rust issues and make a judgement call from there.