This Tiny Kei Truck Camper Is The Antidote To Comically Large Expedition Trucks

The term “overland” has been meandering its way across various industries from simple cookware to vehicles. The height, literally, of this craze appears to be the expedition truck. Builders love putting a gargantuan sleeping chamber on an equally massive commercial chassis, making for a multimillion-dollar vehicle that’s hard to get into a Whole Foods, let alone a trail. I have the antidote. Meet this 2007 Subaru Sambar camper. It’s ready to explore for less than the cost of even one of those new overland side-by-sides.

This cutie came straight to my inbox from reader Charles H, thank you! My inbox is also filled with press releases about gigantic overland expedition vehicles that only a fraction of our readership can dream of owning. These vehicles are so large that they can operate only in wide, open spaces. Matt recently wrote about the Krug Expeditions Bedrock XT2. Now, as Matt pointed out, that $690,000 apartment on wheels is coming from a legit company. However, the truck itself is just about the worst tool for the job if you’re trying to get anywhere even remotely described as tight. The Bedrock XT2 doesn’t have a chance of fitting on the trails I ride unless it moonlights as a logging truck.

The powersports manufacturers have been trying to solve this by putting more proper bodies and roof tents on side-by-sides. For $32,999, Polaris will sell you its Xpedition, which is a side-by-side with a more plush ride and interior for longer drives. That price doesn’t include a roof tent to sleep in or an enclosed cab. Opting for the top-of-the-line Northstar nets you locking doors with power windows, heat and air-conditioning, and more or less everything you’d expect in an off-road SUV. That costs $44,999 and remember, you still can’t put a license plate on it.

Even better than the expedition truck and the overland side-by-side is this little Subaru. Its price is still too high for the difficulty you’ll have in actually driving it, but everything else is so right.

One Of The First Kei Trucks

The Subaru Sambar has the distinction of being one of the first of what was then a new generation of truck. The Sambar was an evolution of a project to introduce a Japanese people’s car. In 1955, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) unveiled its concept for the car to get post-World War II Japanese people on wheels: “A four-seater with a top speed of 100 km/h, priced at 150,000 yen.” A number of manufacturers stepped up to the plate with their interpretations of the concept.

Subaru’s response launched on March 3, 1958.

At the time, the company was experienced in aviation. This new car, called the 360, would be its first production car. The little 360 would also be Japan’s first mass-produced Kei car. Despite the fact that the Japanese government called for a simple, affordable car, the Subaru 360 was an advanced vehicle for its day. The car was powered by a rear-mounted 356cc vertical twin engine that had all of 16 horses to its name. To ensure the car hit its speed target, Subaru constructed the 360 with a thin steel monocoque and saved further weight by using fiberglass for the roof. Braking was handled by drums and the 360 had a full independent torsion bar suspension.

The 360 was a home run and Subaru didn’t rest on its laurels. The 360 platform was used to create an adorable two-door and a wagon. The two-door was so hot that Malcolm Bricklin even sent some to the United States. The 360 also gave birth to a pair of beloved Kei vehicles, the Sambar truck and van.

The Sambar truck made its debut in 1960 for the 1961 model year. That makes it one of the earliest four-wheel Kei trucks. Some sites say that the Sambar was Japan’s first Kei truck, however, the Kurogane Baby does beat the Subie by a year. Subaru boasted the Sambar truck’s low bed height as well as easy city maneuverability.

This Subaru Sambar

The Sambar has enjoyed a long life of working hard for generations. This little truck comes from the Sambar’s sixth generation, which launched in 1999. Improvements made to the sixth-generation Sambar include a larger body with increased side impact resistance and all trucks came equipped with a fuel-injected engine. Dual airbags arrived in 2008 and if you got your Sambar as a van, you also got sweet power sliding doors.

This Sambar comes from the 2007 model year and we’ll get to the importation stuff in a moment. It has a 658cc inline-four, but the seller doesn’t specify which one. Subaru sold these trucks with a naturally aspirated engine with all of 48 horses to its name and a supercharged version with 57 ponies.

It does have a three-speed automatic as well as a 4×4 system. Don’t expect this truck to be fast; your cruising speed is probably going to be 60 mph on a good day.

I spent hours trying to figure out who or what company built the fiberglass camper body, but I have come up with no definitive answer. What I have found is a series of social media posts from the camper’s previous owner in Japan.

Rough translations of their posts suggest that the camper body may be custom. What I can tell you for sure is that despite how well it is integrated into the Sambar, the previous owner says the camper body simply bolts into where the original truck’s tray was. So, if you wanted to, you could take the body off and put it onto another Kei truck.

The camper body is short on features. It’s said to have AC power, a sink, and two water jugs for said sink. That’s it. You’re left building it out as you want to and that’s exactly as the previous owner did. Still, you’re left with a lovely space to fill out, including a real bed area in the camper’s overhang. There’s also a roof vent installed, which can be your gateway to a roof air-conditioner.

I love the wood touches in the interior as well as the fact that the exterior looks pretty modern. It’s also just a bit weirder than usual. There are lots of campers built out of Japan’s larger trucks and even up to buses, but these Kei campers are just too cute. You also don’t see too many Kei campers here in America.

Some Catches

On paper, this sounds like a sweet ride. It’s a tiny camper built on a platform known for some decent off-road capability. It’s also about as small as a side-by-side, but mostly without the side-by-side tax. Forget spending millions of dollars when you can just buy this for $27,000.

I do have a few problems with this particular one. That price is a lot. You could buy a lot of real trucks and vans for that. You can buy a lot of real campers for that, too. I could see perhaps $17,000 for something as unique as this is. The price is especially difficult to grasp when you realize how this truck was imported. Since the Subaru is younger than 25 years old, it was imported as an off-road-only vehicle. Officially, this vehicle is forever branded as an off-highway vehicle. Now, some states won’t care and will still hand you a license plate, but that’s just a whole headache.

One alternative is buying the truck and transferring the camper body to a different truck. I suppose you could also just use it like a side-by-side. This Subaru Sambar has more features than a Polaris Xpedition, but for way less money. Sure, the Polaris will be better off-road and with more power, but there’s so much potential here.

If you see as much potential in it as I do, head on over to the seller in Elkmont, Alabama and get your next adventure started. Just, keep it in the slow lane.