Carryboy campervan

The name Carryboy is almost synonymous with pickup truck canopy in Malaysia. However very few Malaysian knows that Carryboy also make campervan in Thailand.

The base chassis is a Toyota Hilux single cab pickup, at 5.48m in length it is about the same length as the standard pickup body, but it is towers at 2.93m in height. With clever packaging, Carryboy managed to create a camper capable of providing sleeping berth for 5 adult size person. Amazingly they also managed to fit it out with self contained amenities like bed, aircon, bathroom, toilet, kitchen, TV, oven and water tank.
All in all, it is a very complete and impressive campervan package. The camper body is made from fiberglass based on German technology and comply to German TUV standard and Euro standard.  Carryboy also re-engineered the base Toyota Hilux to feature adjustable suspension to compensate for the load or the terrain where the camper is parked, to ensure that the camper cabin is level. This is a very important feature when you are living in the camper. With my old camper, I often have to choose my camping spot very carefully, it no fun when the camper is not level, it just make movement inside the camper so uncomfortable.

Being our ASEAN neighbour country and also part of AFTA, why is this campervan not sold in Malaysia?

The camper body fully integrated, providing in-cab access to the cabin, it also have cab-over sleeping berth for two.

The camper is only a little longer than a standard Hilux pickup, but it  is much taller, however with lightweight fiber glass the center of gravity is not as high as its stature suggest.

The airbag suspension is adjustable from the driver cab to ensure that
camper body stays level under load or when parked on uneven terrrain

The bathroom is fully equipped with shower and a potty toilet

The bathroom also has a small basin and cabinet.

The site aircon is an important feature for tropical countries like Thailand and Malaysia.  

The cab-over body provide sleeping berth for 2

The bench seat and table for day time use

The bench seat and table can be converted into a 3 berth bed

It is fully equipped with TV and DVD player

The power  panel provide control on power source selection,  on-board battery, genset power or site plug in  power. It also has battery capacity indicator water tank indicator

The camper does not have a fully fledged kitchen, but it does have a microwave oven and a  fridge.  To some campervan users, this may be a serious drawback, but in countries like Thailand and Malaysia known for great hawker food, cooking in the camper is probably rates quite low in terms priority

The toilet is the cassette type, the black water tank can be pulled out from outside to be emptied.

On-board power is provided by 2 battery, the water pump is located below the battery

The generator sits on a swing-out tray. It need to be deployed in swing-out position to operate safely.

The camper  is equipped with grey water tank, this is important for keeping the campsite clean .

Mini car campervan conversion concept

Small cars camper conversion are interesting because it presents the challenge of providing maximum amenities with the minimum of space. In the UK there was a company that sell a campervan conversion kit  under the name of Wild Goose for the original Mini panel van/estate variant. From the look of picture it seems to be a viable camper for travelling. It has a pop-up top to extend the interior space to provide  full standing head room.

The mini Wild Goose campervan conversion

Below are the original Wild Goose brochures.

Fiat's own mini car the Fiat 500 also have mini camper concept, but is a trailer caravan type. The dimension of the trailer matches the towing vehicle and it was cute as a button. Unfortunately, it was a one off  that was conceived as a marketing and publicity tool for Fiat to show their 500 can be life style car. The caravan was so compact that there is no standing headroom, from the look of it, one would have to contort himself just to get in through the door. It was never mass produced.

A Fiat 500 with a matching caravan!

Here in Malaysia, Perodua have in the past, brought in special van  from their technology parent Daihatsu. It was a walk-in van based on their Mira mini car platform. Perodua even changed the cosmetic panels to their local Kancil version for study. They were probably exploring the possibility of make a Kancil variant for commercial use, with stand up room. However, the concept never made it to production. If it has, it would have been a possible candidate for small car campervan conversion in Malaysia!

The original Daihatsu walk-in van Mira variant in Japan. This variant is for Japan's domestic market only.

The Perodua Kancil's version of the walk-in van

A truly rare beast

Searching for a campervan in Malaysia is no easy task. They are just so rare here. However my search lead to an example of the most iconic of campervans, the VW Westfalia campers or simply known as Westies.


When I first saw the VW advertised I thought it was just another Kombi van, but I visited the owner and saw it in flesh I soon realised that it is genuine Westfalia built camper with an unsual forward hinged pop up top. It is left-hand drive so it must have been a fully imported unit.



I was told by the owner that when he found this van, it was in a dilapidated state and he has spent considerable sum of money to get it to it's current condition. Mechanically, the van is beautifully restored, the engine is not the original unit, but a remanufactured unit from Brazil. The steering and gear linkages work well and the brake is good . However, the original campervan interior fittings has long since rotted away. The owner has no choice but to remove what remains of the original bed, table, cabinets, sink and cook top and installed two bench seats. Only a few of the original panels was still kept. The original pop top shroud was gone as well and so was the original bunk bed. To get the van back fully to its original spec is going to be an expensive affair. A VW van enthusiast may consider this to be minor issue in the light of its rarity in Malaysia. This Westy is interesting, it is probably one of the very few units in Malaysia if not the only one, because of that it commands a high asking price. But all I want is a campervan which I can accomodate my family of five and to go on a road trip with it. I have to look elsewhere again.