xB Conversion to mini camper
 

I converted a 1991 GMC van into a very comfortable camp vehicle. With today's gas prices, I can no longer take it on extended trips.

I am now converting my xB to a one person mini camper. Any input or suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

I have removed the front passenger seat and need input on how to fool the car's computer to think the seat is still there, and the wiring for the disconnected seat is OK.

I plan to make a bed on the right side of the xB, and a tent shelter for the open rear hatch. I will need screening for the side windows.

Looking forward to your helpful input.

Kenneth Brandon

Sounds cool... but uh, you might want to put this in the xB forum. :)

are you planning to do something like this?
http://www.popealien.com/assets/revi.../ra-aztek4.jpg

I've done something along those lines at a few shows.

Check this thread here:

https://www.scionlife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=816105

Here's a thread about the plug under the passenger seat:

https://www.scionlife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=77259

:eyebrow: Maybe some xB owners should get a bumper sticker like the old ones they had, but change it up some for the xB. "If you see this box a rockin, dont come a knockin" :rofl:

xB Conversion Passenger seat removal
 

I have found how to make the car think the seat is still there, and that no one is sitting in it.
If yoou hold the car connector with the contacts toward you, and the latching mechanism up, number the contacts from left to right as pin 1, pin 2, pin 3.
With the engine running, there is .89 volts between pin 1 and pin 2. The unoccupied seat would have a resistance of 1.3 K ohms at those pins. In the car connector, I bridged pin 1 to pin 2 with a 1.2K ohm resistor.
The car computer is now happy and I am happy.

^^^^ :bow: :bow: :bow:

Re: xB Conversion to mini camper
 

Kenneth,
Would you keep us updated on the progress you make please? Though I've no intention of doing this in the short term - I am more than interested. :clap:

xB Camper progress
 

As you can see above, I have solved the front seat removal problem. The removal was easy, just five easily accessabel hex head bolts and the sensor connectiion. A great deal of room was created with the removal of the seat.
I am now engineering a cushion support which will extend over part of that space. The foreward end of the support will fold back when the bed is not in use. There is plenty of room for a porta potty and a good sized cooler (beer?) in the space next to the driver's seat.
A tent shelter over and around the opened rear hatch is in the sketch concept stage. An H2O Sun shower on the roof with a grate on the ground will provide a nice touch.

:rofl:

Re: Xb camper progress
 

Wow sounds really kewl I cant wait to see it! How long do you think this will take you and are you getting help or just doing it yourself?

personally not a big fan of porta-pottys..

xB Conversion to mini camper
 

A porta-potty sure beats squating with your back against a tree for the same "end" result.

xB camper progress
 

The foreward support for the bed platform is progressing nicely. I used the existing holes and hex hd bolts that held the seat in place to mount two vertical supports. One is just inside the column between the rear and passenger doors. The other is adjacent, and along side of the drivers seat and parking brake cover. That support will probably later include an arm rest.

If some kind reader will tell me how to include digital photos with my posts, photos of the conversion will follow.

The interest in this conversion seems to be considerable!

Thanks.

Pic Tutorial: https://www.scionlife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=60317

xB camper progress
 

Do not give up on this site if you are interested in converting an xB into a comfortable sleeper! Around here, a night in a respectable motel is around $65. Just think about how many miles $65 can take you.

The platform for the bed cushion is complete. Supporting it so it is reasonably level, was somewhat tedious. The part that projects ahead of the folded down rear seat will fold back on its self to provide access to what is under it.

Sliding under the rear of the bed platform will be a table that can be pulled out and supported by a folding leg to the ground at its aft end.

Photos will follow.

this is such a great thread.

thanks Kenneth!

not a bad idea

I wonder If I'll be able to sleep in the xb? I have a 93 Blazer and I sleep in the back when I go camping. It's perfect. I'm 6'5''. Not sure if I'll fit in the Scion? I saw somewhere where the front seats and back seats all fold flat so it all a big flatbed. I think yuo have to take the head rests off for it to work.

xB Camper Long sleeper
 

The front and back seats do go down with the headrests removed but there is a big hump that would make a very uncomfortable bed.

I removed the front seat and am in the process of making a plywood single bed platform starting at the rear door and extending foreward, over the front seat area.
My cushion is 6' 1" , however , a longer 6' 8" bed would work.

xB Camper Need help posting photos
 

I am so involved with designing, building, and refining the furnishings for my new home away from home, that I hate to take the time to learn how to post photos to this thread.
If there is a reader that is interested in doing what I am doing, and is adept at posting photos, I can e-mail photos and explanations to that reader and he or she might post the photos to this thread for the benefit of all interested parties.
With the drivers seat pushed all the way forward, there is a lot of space in front of the rear seat directly behind the drivers seat. My latest design/build effort is a secretary/like desk/table which will hang on the back of the drivers seat. Its height and angle can be adjusted to make a reading or drawing surface. If made level it will serve as a food prep and eating table for use when the weather outside is not ideal for those activities.
I am still searching for a tent/shelter for the rear and side or sides of the xB. A surplus parachute, at the right price, might do the trick
Any help in these areas will be greatly appreciated.

kfbrandon@pamlico.net

That is a cool idea.

Here's a nice light accessory:

http://www.headhunterinc.com/carbon_fiber.htm

i used to "car camp" myself. i cheated and had a ford E 150 conversion van with an electric back seat that folded down into a queen sized bed. i have heard that they create other rear seats similar to this, for the xB it would have to be a full size bed. i am not sure if they have the right mounting brackets for the xb though. i am contacting the company and seeing what they would be able to do for the xB, your camper idea sparked my interest in doin the same. i will post back if they make a model that will fit in the xB.

Also i have a window AC unit that runs off of a car battery. i wired the second battery into the alternator, so it charged after i used it, that was worth the 200 bux for me. i used to live in southern cali spending the night in a small car with two people created some steam (and thats when we were JUST sleeping) so the AC unit kept it comfortable and not stuffy or muggy inside.

UPDATE ON ELECTRIC REAR SEAT

currently no models are in production that would fit into the scion. but they are coming out with smaller models soon, because of the popularity of the smaller style suv's. the representative (legacy) said he cannot make any promises if a bed will be made for the xb, or if any of them will be able to fit inside, but he did say they ARE coming out with smaller seats. and he passed on the idea of scion xB to their design and prototype team. (i think that part was BS but it made me feel cool)

so sorry...no comfy electric rear seat for the xb camper...

how are your mods goin by the way...haven't seen a post in a while...

Why not use an air matress? It would compensate for any irregularities when the seats are folded down. I might go camping with my son.

I think the next XB better have seats that can be reconfigured as well as the Honda Fit.

Re: Xb conversion to mini camper
 

I actually did something similar over memorial day weekend.
To sleep, I found a heavy plastic folding table at home depot.
With the back seats down, and the table folded, it fits comfortably in the back, even gives an even surface to pack stuff on.
With the table unfolded, but legs still up, it fit into the back, right up against the front seats. I forgot how it "stayed" in the car, but I think it somehow caught on the inner lip at the back (Id have to do it again to remember for sure.) I have acid reflux, so had to raise the "head", so bought a cheap collapsing steel sawhorse with adjustable legs - it fit right behind the front seats, and between that and the back fitting just inside, it was VERY stable. I slept that way two nights. The biggest problem was that the plastic was very slick, and Id slide down occasionally, but otherwise it was fine. I probably could have lowered the front seats, but maybe not with the sawhorse there. Nice thing about the table is that you can also unfold one side of the legs and pull it out, and have the back of it on the car - yep, it was the right height, or very close.
I have a shade structure made of a large silver tarp and two EMT poles (1/2" inside 1", or something like that, with holes drilled to adjust the height.) Going from the front of the roof racks to well past the back, and another tarp on the ground with the wheels backed over it, it made quite a nice little campsite. I added two more poles and big enough tarps and I had my tent set up too, under the tarp, and it all fit in or on top of the car.
Screening would be very nice, hadnt really looked into that, but a big tarp covering the whole thing would be great to have the windows down in a rain. I plan to get an extender for the yakima rack and then get a full-length cage (someone on here has done it and it fits well) then put the spare up there.
LED lighting should be easy enough.
You can get nice deep-discharge battery (optima?) and a diode splitter thing for campers - it looks like a small amp, big alluminum heat sinks and three places to connect, you take positive in from a nice-guage set of fused wires going straight to the battery, and split to charge up to two batteries when engine is running, then use the spare battery for the camping load, which leaves your car battery full to start.
Use the spare batteries with an inverter for whatever, you could run a decent little rave out of an Xb for a while, if you bring a small generator and a gerry can or two, even longer. A solar panel would also be quite feasable.
And after seeing the Houston area evacuate last year for Hurricane Rita, being able to semi-comfortabley live out of a fuel-efficient vehicle aint half bad.

Interesting...
I would def. like to see the finished product.

honda fit is horrendous.

^Why do you say that? It seems to have some really good features and the safety and MPG is better. I also think it is a superior built car. I like my XB but it is sort of cheap in the paint and fit and finish dept.

I have done this a few times. the headrests come right off but you still need a bit of a platform to even it out. I am 5'6 me and my wife could fit comfortably . I think we will end up going the motorcycle tent trailer though

whatever happened?
 

did you give up on this conversion?