Yesterday I drove home with Heidi, a 2000 Hiace commuter van with only 188,000 k's on the clock and plans to do many many more. I bought her via an advert on Gumtree
My first outing will be this weekend going to Merredin for the WA Photographic Federation's weekend of fun and learning. Hopefully I'll be able to get the basics worked out between now and then.
Dougwe said
11:30 PM Aug 20, 2013
Congratulations on the new addition to the clan Bob, enjoy the Hiace and the photographic weekend. Start exercising that index finger in readiness for the shutter release.
dazren said
12:43 AM Aug 21, 2013
Yep ! Congrads from me to Bob, You will soon get the hang of it, any ?????? just ask, there are a number of Toyota Hi-ace campers on this forum, They can cut the corners, and tell you, what they had to work out ,, PS Some pictures of the unit would be good ??
Sheba said
01:49 AM Aug 21, 2013
dazren wrote:
PS Some pictures of the unit would be good ??
Hi dazren. If you click on the word Gumtree in the original Post, you'll see some.
Cheers,
Sheba.
nomadic1 said
03:12 AM Aug 21, 2013
Congratulations on your new addition, Bob and welcome to the GN world. One thing you still need to perfect is your Happy Hour technique. I'd suggest that you rock up at a free camp (because they do HHs best) and ask any GNs you see there - they'll be happy to instruct.
Duh said
06:27 AM Aug 21, 2013
Looks good Bob, hope you have many happy travels with it.
I had a look at that blokes vans for sale when I was looking for a High Ace, but the one I was interested was away on hire, as you know he runs a hire company even though he advertises them as a private sale, I believe he does that as he is not a registered dealer but a registered vehicle hire business.
He told me he would remove the company names etc and just leave the decorative ones, I assume he will do the same for you.
Being a commuter you would have some nice roof height as well. Is the rear aircon only for passengers when running or has it been converted for 240V when parked up at a CP etc?
Good choice of vehicle and layout etc, keep us posted on your shake down trip etc....
dazren said
12:10 PM Aug 21, 2013
Had a look on Gumtree John, Looks like a clean and tidy unit, that should serve you well, so Happy, Happy, and safe travels to you,
The only thing I would be chasing [ Soon / ] Would be a side Awning, ?? as a lot of park-ups, lack shade, and one seems to do most of living outside, I noticed that BCF have some that are not very expensive, ?? as I am also going to fit one to the Colarado ??
Edit: Make that Bob, ? not John
-- Edited by dazren on Wednesday 21st of August 2013 12:12:52 PM
dazren said
04:24 PM Aug 21, 2013
Sheba wrote, ----
Hi dazren. If you click on the word Gumtree in the original Post, you'll see some.
Thanks Sheba, It's nice people like you that make my life easier ? Not like Dougwe , Michelle, Wombat,, Duh,, Mark, and Jules, WHO ARE always PICKING ON ME !! no matter how nice I am to them. ??
Cruising Cruze said
05:02 PM Aug 21, 2013
Congratulations Bob with your new home mate
nice looking rig btw
happy and safe travels my friend
Cheers John
PhillT said
06:45 PM Aug 21, 2013
Good choice Bob. Very nice looking rig. Plenty of room to customise it if you don't need that extra seating too.
GypsyBob said
07:39 PM Aug 21, 2013
PhillT wrote:
Good choice Bob. Very nice looking rig. Plenty of room to customise it if you don't need that extra seating too.
Yup, at the moment it has six seats with seatbelts. I'll quickly reduce that, I'd like to make it a single seater but I guess I'll leave a front passenger seat in. It was described as a 3 berth van but the bunk in the roof is gone and the double bed seems a good size for my large frame. With the back seats removed a computer table will appear as will some additional storage for camera gear, batteries and the like.
The side awning will not be far away :)
The overhaul of the electrics will happen soonish.
I will then have a pretty decent van and no dosh left for any deisel :(
copper1 said
09:01 PM Aug 21, 2013
Good one Bob, once you tinker with it and set it up the way you want it, get out there and enjoy your new found freedom.
Duh said
11:13 PM Aug 21, 2013
Duh wrote:
Looks good Bob, hope you have many happy travels with it.
I had a look at that blokes vans for sale when I was looking for a High Ace, but the one I was interested was away on hire, as you know he runs a hire company even though he advertises them as a private sale, I believe he does that as he is not a registered dealer but a registered vehicle hire business.
He told me he would remove the company names etc and just leave the decorative ones, I assume he will do the same for you.
Being a commuter you would have some nice roof height as well. Is the rear aircon only for passengers when running or has it been converted for 240V when parked up at a CP etc?
Good choice of vehicle and layout etc, keep us posted on your shake down trip etc....
neilnruth said
02:05 AM Aug 22, 2013
Another great ex-rental van. Good on you. Enjoy it.
Bryan said
02:59 AM Aug 22, 2013
Thanks Sheba for pointing out the Gumtree link. I missed it completely.
Bob the van looks great. Happy travels.
GypsyBob said
07:52 AM Aug 22, 2013
Duh wrote:
Looks good Bob, hope you have many happy travels with it.
I had a look at that blokes vans for sale when I was looking for a High Ace, but the one I was interested was away on hire, as you know he runs a hire company even though he advertises them as a private sale, I believe he does that as he is not a registered dealer but a registered vehicle hire business.
He told me he would remove the company names etc and just leave the decorative ones, I assume he will do the same for you.
Being a commuter you would have some nice roof height as well. Is the rear aircon only for passengers when running or has it been converted for 240V when parked up at a CP etc?
Good choice of vehicle and layout etc, keep us posted on your shake down trip etc....
G'day
Most of his logo stickers are still on the van :( He said he would remove them then he got sick, I had the option of leaving the van with them and returning to Perth in a few days or taking it as it was. Not entirely happy but I decided to take the van as it was. Yup, he and his partner just run a few van hire companies so when he sells off the vans, he sells them as a private sale, not as a registered car dealer.
The rear aircon is just driven by the motor - no 240V in the van (at the moment).
The height internally is great and I like the amount of room. The double bed is not the full width of the van and there's a small seat alongside the bed and the front row two seater couch. I will remove all the seats from the back which will give me plenty of space for storage in addition to the under bed storage and the back door kitchen.
So much to plan and do, I must remember to make time to actually go somewhere :) Bob
GypsyBob said
08:00 AM Aug 22, 2013
neilnruth wrote:
Another great ex-rental van. Good on you. Enjoy it.
I initially had mixed views about buying an ex rental but to be honest it seems to have been well serviced and looked after. Also it has not been used all that much. I got all the service history for the last five years, it got a new clutch in Jan this year with a 5,000km warranty and still has 1,000km to go !! The last oil change was 2,200km ago in early May.
Duh said
10:42 AM Aug 22, 2013
Like copper1 says, also for a diesel those kms are very low and years of life and kms in the engine yet.
Also the cost of professional conversions is horrific, this one has already had it done, or even at the minimum a starting point for further modification if needed.
Did the seller say anything about how to remove the business decals and stickers Bob? Or where you could have it done?
If you use the search on the forum there are a couple of threads and posts from those who have done their own, just be aware there is a difference where caravans have been mentioned between fibreglass and metal cladding, so the methods could differ.
Personally I think you've got a good buy at a good price and couldn't have done better.
-- Edited by Duh on Thursday 22nd of August 2013 10:43:09 AM
copper1 said
04:58 PM Aug 22, 2013
Bob I brought an ex rental car once an 83 XE falcon station wagon back in 85 best car ever I did 1000's of miles in her and never put a spanner to it other than changing the oil etc.
Duh said
08:47 PM Aug 22, 2013
Out of interest I googled decal removal and got these results. With the first one, also read the comments written underneath by viewers, see;
My first campervan was a hi roof hi ace ex rental Britz and it managed well over 400,000 k's before I bought my little sunliner! I was a bit concerned about having an ex rental too.
Actually after I stripped it out and rebuilt the interior (drove through a ginormous storm and a lot of wash aways heading back too Darwin once year and got a lot of water inside up through the floor) I found that the way I rebuilt I had more useable space then I have now in my motorhome!
Thanks Sheba, It's nice people like you that make my life easier ? Not like Dougwe , Michelle, Wombat,, Duh,, Mark, and Jules, WHO ARE always PICKING ON ME !! no matter how nice I am to them. ??
AWWWwwwww....................... Toughen up princess!! LOL
Mark said
07:38 AM Sep 8, 2013
Good on ya GypsyBob
Hope your out there enjoying yourself very soon. As you say, so much to do, but yes!! make sure you have time to enjoy it too.
Yesterday I drove home with Heidi, a 2000 Hiace commuter van with only 188,000 k's on the clock and plans to do many many more. I bought her via an advert on Gumtree
My first outing will be this weekend going to Merredin for the WA Photographic Federation's weekend of fun and learning. Hopefully I'll be able to get the basics worked out between now and then.
Yep ! Congrads from me to Bob, You will soon get the hang of it, any ?????? just ask, there are a number of Toyota Hi-ace campers on this forum, They can cut the corners, and tell you, what they had to work out
,, PS Some pictures of the unit would be good ??
Looks good Bob, hope you have many happy travels with it.
I had a look at that blokes vans for sale when I was looking for a High Ace, but the one I was interested was away on hire, as you know he runs a hire company even though he advertises them as a private sale, I believe he does that as he is not a registered dealer but a registered vehicle hire business.
He told me he would remove the company names etc and just leave the decorative ones, I assume he will do the same for you.
Being a commuter you would have some nice roof height as well. Is the rear aircon only for passengers when running or has it been converted for 240V when parked up at a CP etc?
Good choice of vehicle and layout etc, keep us posted on your shake down trip etc....
The only thing I would be chasing [ Soon / ] Would be a side Awning, ?? as a lot of park-ups, lack shade, and one seems to do most of living outside, I noticed that BCF have some that are not very expensive, ?? as I am also going to fit one to the Colarado ??
Edit: Make that Bob, ? not John
-- Edited by dazren on Wednesday 21st of August 2013 12:12:52 PM
Sheba wrote, ----
Hi dazren. If you click on the word Gumtree in the original Post, you'll see some.
Cheers,
Sheba.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks Sheba, It's nice people like you that make my life easier ?
Not like Dougwe , Michelle, Wombat,, Duh,, Mark, and Jules, WHO ARE always PICKING ON ME !! no matter how nice I am to them. ?? 
Congratulations Bob with your new home mate
nice looking rig btw
happy and safe travels my friend
Cheers John
Good choice Bob. Very nice looking rig. Plenty of room to customise it if you don't need that extra seating too.
Yup, at the moment it has six seats with seatbelts. I'll quickly reduce that, I'd like to make it a single seater but I guess I'll leave a front passenger seat in. It was described as a 3 berth van but the bunk in the roof is gone and the double bed seems a good size for my large frame. With the back seats removed a computer table will appear as will some additional storage for camera gear, batteries and the like.
The side awning will not be far away :)
The overhaul of the electrics will happen soonish.
I will then have a pretty decent van and no dosh left for any deisel :(
Good one Bob, once you tinker with it and set it up the way you want it, get out there and enjoy your new found freedom.
Bob the van looks great. Happy travels.
G'day
Most of his logo stickers are still on the van :( He said he would remove them then he got sick, I had the option of leaving the van with them and returning to Perth in a few days or taking it as it was. Not entirely happy but I decided to take the van as it was. Yup, he and his partner just run a few van hire companies so when he sells off the vans, he sells them as a private sale, not as a registered car dealer.
The rear aircon is just driven by the motor - no 240V in the van (at the moment).
The height internally is great and I like the amount of room. The double bed is not the full width of the van and there's a small seat alongside the bed and the front row two seater couch. I will remove all the seats from the back which will give me plenty of space for storage in addition to the under bed storage and the back door kitchen.
So much to plan and do, I must remember to make time to actually go somewhere :)
Bob
neilnruth wrote:
Another great ex-rental van. Good on you. Enjoy it.
I initially had mixed views about buying an ex rental but to be honest it seems to have been well serviced and looked after. Also it has not been used all that much. I got all the service history for the last five years, it got a new clutch in Jan this year with a 5,000km warranty and still has 1,000km to go !! The last oil change was 2,200km ago in early May.
Like copper1 says, also for a diesel those kms are very low and years of life and kms in the engine yet.
Also the cost of professional conversions is horrific, this one has already had it done, or even at the minimum a starting point for further modification if needed.
Did the seller say anything about how to remove the business decals and stickers Bob? Or where you could have it done?
If you use the search on the forum there are a couple of threads and posts from those who have done their own, just be aware there is a difference where caravans have been mentioned between fibreglass and metal cladding, so the methods could differ.
Personally I think you've got a good buy at a good price and couldn't have done better.
-- Edited by Duh on Thursday 22nd of August 2013 10:43:09 AM
Bob I brought an ex rental car once an 83 XE falcon station wagon back in 85 best car ever I did 1000's of miles in her and never put a spanner to it other than changing the oil etc.
Out of interest I googled decal removal and got these results. With the first one, also read the comments written underneath by viewers, see;
http://isymbolz.blogspot.com.au/2005/11/how-to-remove-vinyl-graphics-and.html
http://mechanics.stackexchange.com/questions/610/how-should-i-remove-stickers-or-pinstripe-decals-from-paint
My first campervan was a hi roof hi ace ex rental Britz and it managed well over 400,000 k's before I bought my little sunliner! I was a bit concerned about having an ex rental too.
Actually after I stripped it out and rebuilt the interior (drove through a ginormous storm and a lot of wash aways heading back too Darwin once year and got a lot of water inside up through the floor) I found that the way I rebuilt I had more useable space then I have now in my motorhome!
Enjoy
Annie
AWWWwwwww....................... Toughen up princess!! LOL
Good on ya GypsyBob
Hope your out there enjoying yourself very soon. As you say, so much to do, but yes!! make sure you have time to enjoy it too.
Mark