This $40K Toyota Camper Van Is Kinda Ridiculous

Ajouté : 2026-05-13

[00:00:00]This tiny Japanese camper costs $40,000, less than most SUVs on the road right now. But somehow it has a shower, air conditioner, microwave, solar power, and beds bigger than a king-size. And the craziest part? It all fits inside a normal parking space. And once you step inside, things get even crazier. This is the JP Star Treasure 1, priced at around $40,000 to $41,000, and sitting on a Toyota Townace chassis, one of the most compact truck bases on the market. The side awning is electric, remote controlled, single button. And if that sounds like a minor convenience, it isn't. Anyone who's wrestled with a manual awning on a budget camper knows the drill. You step outside, find the crank handle, wind it open, then reverse the whole process every time clouds roll in or you need to move. On the Treasure 1, you press a button. It rolls out. You press it again. It retracts. That's the entire process. When it's fully deployed, it's genuinely large. Standing underneath with both arms stretched completely overhead, I still couldn't reach the fabric. There's comfortable space for a full outdoor table, chairs, and a proper sitting area underneath.

[00:01:19]The legs adjust individually in length, so uneven ground isn't a problem. You level it to whatever angle works for your surface. Each leg locks with a built-in stopper, which also matters when the wind picks up and you can't stake pegs into the ground beneath you.

[00:01:34]And the entry door opens and closes completely freely with the awning fully out. Right beside the awning, there's an outdoor shower mounted on the exterior of the vehicle. Hot water, real pressure, not a garden hose bolted to the side, an actual shower head connected to the same heated water system that feeds the kitchen and bathroom inside. Coming back from the beach, salt and sand are gone in 2 minutes.

[00:02:01]There's also a 100 V power outlet mounted externally right next to it, so you can run a small appliance or a fan outside without threading a cable through a window. The water tank is fixed on the left side with a dedicated fill port, 60 L of capacity. For a vehicle this size, that's generous, enough for a full weekend without rationing. And here's the detail that quietly impressed me the most. The FF heater that warms the water pulls its fuel directly from the vehicle's main gasoline tank. No separate propane canister, no secondary fuel system to manage. You fill the car and hot water is part of what you paid for at the pump. The tank also has a full drain lever. Twist it and the tank empties completely.

[00:02:46]Around back, there's a large external trunk. Key locked, hinged lid that opens and stays open on its own. It's deeper than it looks from the outside. Firewood fits in there. No separate key to forget and no risk of driving away with a rear door that swings open mid road. When the cabin door opens, a powered step extends automatically. Getting in and out feels stable and natural, including at night, on a slope, in the dark. There's a door damper, too, so wind can't slam it back on you while your hands are full.

[00:03:19]Combined with the grab handles and illuminated entry points, getting inside at night feels safe and easy. Now, step inside. My first reaction was genuine disbelief because this is a Town Ace.

[00:03:33]This is a vehicle that fits in a standard parking space. And the interior genuinely feels spacious. Large windows on both sides flood the space with natural light. The ceiling is high enough that at 178 cm tall, I can stand fully upright with comfortable clearance. LED lighting runs across the ceiling panels, under the overhead cabinets, and there's indirect accent lighting around the room that gives the space actual warmth at night, not the cold sterile glow you get in most budget builds. The windows each have dual coverage. A mesh screen drops from the top, a blackout blind rises from the bottom. Total privacy, no gap, no overlap issues. And the window opening mechanism uses a gas damper. Push slightly and it props itself open and stays there. No screws, no latches, no procedure to remember. Just push and it holds. 1 second to open, 1 second to close. The kitchen is right inside the entrance on the right side. Stainless steel sink, square and deep, which sounds like a small detail until you're actually washing a pot in a tiny camper and realize that depth matters more than surface area. The induction stove is built in flush with the counter. No portable unit eating up half your prep space. It sits level with the surface, so the entire counter is actually usable. Above it, a ventilation fan with an integrated light handles steam, smoke, and cooking smells. The duct system routes through the wall and exits at the ceiling, so the overhead storage cabinet directly above isn't blocked or reduced at all. The fan is loud at full speed, worth knowing going in, but it does its job effectively.

[00:05:17]The overhead shelf runs about 26 cm deep, which is enough for full-size dinner plates.

[00:05:24]There's a window directly in front of the prep area, so you're not staring at a wall while you cook. Below the counter sits an 85-L refrigerator split into a separate fridge and freezer compartment.

[00:05:36]That is the size of a small apartment fridge in a vehicle that fits in a parking space. Next to it, a flatbed microwave with no rotating plate, which means a full-size container fits inside without becoming a geometry problem.

[00:05:51]Below the microwave, two large storage shelves that fit cookware, folded chairs, or bulkier outdoor gear.

[00:05:59]Open the door at the far end of the main cabin and you're in the multi-room.

[00:06:03]There's a toilet here as a manufacturer option, cassette style waste system with the tank accessed from a panel on the exterior rear of the vehicle. Standard removal and disposal process. But, what makes this room more than a checkbox is the shower. It's a real hot shower. The FF heater feeds warm water through a dedicated shower head above a hand-washing sink. The room has a ventilation fan with LED lighting, a hinged roof vent, a window with screen and blind, and a separate corner light.

[00:06:34]This is a functional wet room, not a marketing bullet point. Something you would actually use every single day.

[00:06:41]Back in the main living space, the seating is firmer than you might expect.

[00:06:45]And that's exactly the right call. You don't want to sink into soft cushioning after hours on the road. The table slides forward and back on a bottom lever. Taller adults push it out for legroom. Shorter passengers or kids pull it in close for comfort at meals. Four USB charging ports are built into the cup holder unit between the seats. Four.

[00:07:05]Nobody argues over the adapter.

[00:07:08]Now the beds. And this is where the treasure One stops surprising you and starts genuinely impressing you. First configuration. Lower the table, swing the sofa backrest flat, lay the cushions down. 10 seconds. But, pull the lever on the opposite bench seat and extend it across, and suddenly you're looking at 180 cm by 180 cm. That is larger than a standard king-size bed. I stretched out diagonally and still had room left over.

[00:07:38]3 seconds. 80 cm wide. Completely fine to sleep on alone. Above all of this is the bunk bed extending on sliding rails.

[00:07:48]Pull it forward and you have a space 185 cm wide and 164 cm deep. Each side has its own small window, USB outlet, 100 V socket, and a touch sensor reading light. A privacy curtain closes between the two bunks. Shut the curtain, turn on the light, lie back, and it honestly feels like a private capsule. Quiet, comfortable, and completely separated from the rest of the cabin. The kind of space you genuinely don't want to leave in the morning. The electrical system holding all of this together is 400 of lithium battery, a 3,000 W inverter, and 400 W of rooftop solar, all standard equipment at this price. That's a power setup you'd normally pay extra for on rigs costing twice as much. In practical terms, refrigerator, lighting, and moderate appliance use will be handled comfortably off solar and battery through most conditions.

[00:08:48]If you want to run the air conditioner, microwave, and induction stove simultaneously through the night, shore power is the smarter choice. The system is strong, but it has honest limits, and the fact that the manufacturer is up front about that matters more than inflated specs on a sheet. So, here's where we land. For $40,000 to $41,000, the JP Star Treasure and a build quality that doesn't feel like every decision was a cost-cutting compromise. Something this small at this price should not feel this complete, and yet here we are. If this video was useful, drop a comment below with the feature that surprised you most. Subscribe if you want more builds broken down like this. There's a lot more coming. See you in the next one.