...I'm in Coeur d Alene, Idaho and have been looking for a Sambar locally for over a year without any luck. Recently a Sambar van showed up on my local craiglist and it got me thinking, will a van do? My plan with eighter the truck or a van is to do a body lift, add a jeep front winch bumper and some off road capable wheels and tires to do some fire road/off roading here in the area. I do want to use the truck or van to transport mountain bikes. I know there's tons of room in the back of a Sambar truck, but what about a van? With the back seat removed, will a pair of mountain bikes fit in a van? If there's anyone out there with a Sambar van that they haul mountain bikes with, I'd love to see some photos. Thanks, in advance...Clydedog
Usually the vans have the same cargo footprint of the trucks but it depends on how the seats fold down. On Suzuki vans, the back seats fold flat and extend the loadable area by 2 feet so that its a 4x6 ft box. I know Acty Street vans fold ap against the front seats, so don't have the same capacity. Subaru vans I'm not sure about. Also, the front passenger seats usually fold all the way back and down to give more room up to the front of the cab (so 4x9ft basically, this is the case in a Suzuki van). Vans are enclosed and the rear doors usually are large single doors that pull down, so extra long items can be a challenge to haul. Trucks don't have this limitation usually.
...It looks like the back seat of a Sambar van unbolts fairly easily. If the area is large enough for a couple mountain bikes, I'd probably lay down one of those horse stall mats you can pick up at any ag supply store and install some tiedown loops. I don't ever see the need for the back seat. My only question is, will they fit back there with the hatch closed? I've done a google and yahoo image search and there are no pics of mountain, gravel or road bikes in a Sambar van that I've been able to find. Hopefully there's someone on this forum who's a bicyclist as well as a van owner and can accommodate my photo needs...
Hi Clydedog, welcome to the forum. Being in Spokane I think I’ve seen the listing you’re talking about. Don’t have experience with the van but would say the bikes would fit if you take off the front wheels. My wife has an element about the same length just wider and we have to remove the wheels to fit. Good luck on your purchase edit for spelling
...The van on craigslist has been there a while, due to an unrealistic asking price. I'm sure bikes will fit in it easily with the front wheels removed but I was hoping to just roll them in and out without the hassle of wheel removal...
I was wondering how the rear seats fold down in my Sambar Dias today. I figured it out and they fold into the floor making a level floor from the rear door to the front seat. I had an old mountain bike in the garage and put it in the rear to answer your question. It fit with the tires on and had about 6” to spare. I took a picture, but the site tells me it is too big when I try to upload it. I can send it to an email if you want to see it. Steve
A van will do just fine, trucks are for losers =] *Not a sambar but I imagine the Bravo is same size? She can haul wood, gravel, 2-3 bikes standing upright, and hippies without any problems . I've recently ditched the rear seats and just keep it nice and open back there. Fun fact, camping chairs also fit just fine if you don't have rear seats >> I've also recently concluded that the van versions of these kei vehicles must be less abused compared to the truck versions. The vans I imagine just haul people around whereas the trucks are performing work. Always look for a clean interior as a sign of great pride in the vehicle. Dirty torn up interiors = GREAT SHAME
I see your request to see a bike in the back. >> Do you think the Sambar is the same roof line as the Bravo? If yes, see below. If no, then nevermind I don't have any good pics with the seat removed ..... Front wheel is off the one bike just because it was easier but since I pulled the backseats we put them both in with wheels on. I'm on 29" tires
...I appreciate all the photos and the van love you folks are providing. It's nice to know a couple bikes will fit easily in the back of a Sambar van. I'm still torn between whether to go truck or van, but a van's looking pretty promising. My ultimate plan as mentioned earlier is to do a 2" body lift, attach a Jeep winch bumper and some off road capable wheels and tires to do some light off roading, fire road cruising, or overlanding kind of driving. I've seen the body lift thread on this forum and some youtube videos about doing a body lift on a truck. I'm assuming a Sambar van also has a full frame and should be able to be body lifted. I'd really like to stay away from the potential problems of a suspension lift. Has anyone out there done a body lift on a Sambar van? If so, I'd love to see some photos and get some feed back on how a body lifted Sambar van would work out...
For sure. I added another pic above with two bikes in the back. Still has rear seats installed I'm much less help in regards to Sambar specific info and I'm not a big fan of any sort of lift for these vehicles. You would probably benefit more from a modified front bumper to give you a better approach angle and then just pair it with some good off road tires and some underbody protection Tough call all around, if you are leaning more towards off roading maybe the truck version is better suited. My personal opinion is always go for something with an enclosure. All of my camping and off roading vehicles are SUVS and I've never owned a pickup. I prefer the enclosed space to get out of the weather and keep gear clean and dry >> Unless you have a proper use for the pickup bed, like hauling lumber or tall / oversized objects then the van can do all of the same stuff Some other thoughts, you need to make sense of your alternators output when you are trying to pair up a winch. You mentioned a jeep winch , which can mean a lot of things but chances are your average SUV winch will draw to much power. Something more for ATVS will be better suited, checkout Harbor Freight, their winches have gotten a lot better . Make sense of amp output / wattage of your electrical system compared to what the winch will draw. >> I haven't thought much about winches on these rigs but do some searching I bet some folks have done it for sure
...On a Sambar truck or van, I was planning on an ATV type of winch. I've got a Jeep Gladiator with a 12,000lb winch that would lift 5 or 6 Sambars. A full size winch is definitely overkill on a Kei truck/van. I never thought about the electrical draw requirements of a full sized winch but I'm sure a 2,500 lb atv winch from Harbor Freight would be more appropriate. They're only a little over 13 lbs and cost under $100.00...
Ah, a Jeep guy, that explains everything =] Toyota guy here but have a total respect for Jeep driver. They know how to have fun, while Toyota drivers are trying to make their trucks last 1mil miles. For sure, electrical draw + overall weight is a factor. Fabricating some kind of steel bumper to hold the winch may require you to stiffen up your suspension to accommodate the weight as well. Also need to consider cooling , will the radiator still get enough air flow? >> I'll search around the forums later, someone out there much have a winch on their rig right? Another option to consider, you could carry around a winch mounted in a trailer hitch....If you have a hitch on your truck you could just install as needed and leave it at home when you don't Poor man option? Just throw a come-along hand winch in the back of the truck, maybe along with a set of traction boards.... Not as classy of a solution but it will get this little truck unstuck..... Honestly, I have a hard time getting stuck. The engine just looses power and boggs down before it lets you do anything stupid, at least on my 4A30 mitsu motor.
...I've seen several youtube videos of cheap e-bay Jeep winch bumpers getting mounted to Kei trucks. I figure that if I go with the smallest, lightest minimal Jeep winch bumper and a small Harbor Freight ATV winch, it shouldn't add too much weight up front. A set of higher rate springs would probably be in order. I've got another question, is there much difference between a Sambar truck vs a van as far as being top heavy, especially with a mild lift and slightly larger wheels and tires? There really aren't many videos out there of Kei vans going off road so I'm uncertain if a van might be too top heavy...
I was thinking the same thing as MikeD above about a come along hand winch and some chain as a simple solution.
If you do a front mount 2” receiver, you can mount a winch or a plow or whatever you want on the front. I attached a picture of mine.
I am in the process of being able to mount a 2" receiver on the rear of my Sambar. Need to replace the angle iron with a piece of channel iron.
I have a 2500# harbor freight winch on mine and it has done everything it needs to do. Mounting was a bit tricky, but once you figure it out it's awesome!
