[rscottjones]

New member here, looking to buy a 2023 Sienna AWD hybrid to convert into a campervan. It'll also serve as a daily driver, but we'll generally keep it in adventure mode.

We're mostly interested in the base LE model, but haven't fully decided yet. We're still in the midst of researching what might work best for us, and I'm here to ask about any pitfalls or viability issues we'll need to deal with in the build. I've run across a few I've outlined below, but figured there could be others that I'm not aware of. Any further detail on these, my other questions, or any other issues I might not know about would be greatly appreciated!

Here's what I know:

• 2nd row seat removal - no issues if you use a resistor. I presume this is the case for both 7 and 8 passenger models?
• Those damn seat sliders will remain, and there's no easy way to remove them. Guess I'll build over them. Is it the same set for both 7 and 8 seaters, or is the layout different?
• 3rd row seat removal - no issues, except that your "don't forget your child" warning will flash on dash (I presume this is momentary and doesn't last long, right?)
• I'll likely need to disengage the power sliding doors (this is just a quick setting on the dash, right?) since I'll likely have the doors open for long periods of time.
• The spare tire is now in the rear corner, so I'll need to maintain access to that.

Some questions I still have:

• Any intel on other things that won't enjoy the side sliders or rear gate being open for long periods of time? Obviously I'll manually switch off each of the dome lights in those areas...I presume the driver/passenger lights work on a different system and won't be affected?
• I'm unclear on the airbag situation beyond the second seats...are there curtain airbags we'll need to worry about? I ask because our expected build plan will have high cabinets between the sliding doors and rear hatch. We're also considering a thin threshold that spans the roof just forward of the front edge of the sliders (immediately behind the drivers seat). If so, is there a way to disable those too?
• You can use the climate control system via hybrid battery while vehicle is in ready mode, but the engine will come on after 9 minutes and run for about 3 minutes (and repeat this cycle), presumably to recharge the battery. Is there any way to avoid this, perhaps by supplying additional power? And do all of the dash lights remain on constantly in this mode, or is there at least a way to dim them? I understand that you can avoid the one hour auto-shut off alarm by simply locking the doors from the drivers seat.
• Are all of the rear climate control vents up high, or are there ground level ones I'll need to avoid obstructing? I guess I'm not clear on what the difference between 3-zone and 4-zone climate control is...
• The only windows that roll down or vent are the two front ones, correct?

Do I have anything wrong above? Is there anything else that might be annoying to using this as a campervan?

 

[jareza]

Wow, a lot to unpack here, congrats on being knowledgeable on the van, you know more about it than the average sienna user.
I will try to anser your questions between lines:

New member here, looking to buy a 2023 Sienna AWD hybrid to convert into a campervan. It'll also serve as a daily driver, but we'll generally keep it in adventure mode.

We're mostly interested in the base LE model, but haven't fully decided yet. We're still in the midst of researching what might work best for us, and I'm here to ask about any pitfalls or viability issues we'll need to deal with in the build. I've run across a few I've outlined below, but figured there could be others that I'm not aware of. Any further detail on these, my other questions, or any other issues I might not know about would be greatly appreciated!
Market is crazy right now, kudos if you can find any model of the sienna out there in the wild, but yeah, the LE model will be way easier to find.

Here's what I know:

• 2nd row seat removal - no issues if you use a resistor. I presume this is the case for both 7 and 8 passenger models?
• same case for both
• Those damn seat sliders will remain, and there's no easy way to remove them. Guess I'll build over them. Is it the same set for both 7 and 8 seaters, or is the layout different?
• layout is different, while in both vans the sliders are located exactly the same, the 7 pass will have longer sliders than the 8 seat pass
• 3rd row seat removal - no issues, except that your "don't forget your child" warning will flash on dash (I presume this is momentary and doesn't last long, right?)
• that warning can be disabled on the MID
• I'll likely need to disengage the power sliding doors (this is just a quick setting on the dash, right?) since I'll likely have the doors open for long periods of time.
• correct, you can leave them enabled, its a personal choice
• The spare tire is now in the rear corner, so I'll need to maintain access to that.
• IF and only IF you find one with the spare tire. Siennas come with spare tire as an option.

Some questions I still have:

• Any intel on other things that won't enjoy the side sliders or rear gate being open for long periods of time? Obviously I'll manually switch off each of the dome lights in those areas...I presume the driver/passenger lights work on a different system and won't be affected?
• the van will detect an open door situation and will eventually go to sleep to preserve your 12volt battery
• I'm unclear on the airbag situation beyond the second seats...are there curtain airbags we'll need to worry about? I ask because our expected build plan will have high cabinets between the sliding doors and rear hatch. We're also considering a thin threshold that spans the roof just forward of the front edge of the sliders (immediately behind the drivers seat). If so, is there a way to disable those too?
• Side curtain airbags are there: Im having a hard time visualizing cabinets in the rear, I just dont see it working unless you are incredibly short. Im not clear on what you want to disable
• You can use the climate control system via hybrid battery while vehicle is in ready mode, but the engine will come on after 9 minutes and run for about 3 minutes (and repeat this cycle), presumably to recharge the battery. Is there any way to avoid this, perhaps by supplying additional power? And do all of the dash lights remain on constantly in this mode, or is there at least a way to dim them? I understand that you can avoid the one hour auto-shut off alarm by simply locking the doors from the drivers seat.
• ok, a lot to unpack here: yes the engine will kick in to recharge the battery (both) and no there is no way to avoid this, since this is how hybrids maintain their battery. Its necessary for the ICE to kick in. The dash lights remain on but you can dim them, and you can shut off the stereo screen. You can avoid the one hour shut off by selecting said option on the dash (the van will ask you)
• Are all of the rear climate control vents up high, or are there ground level ones I'll need to avoid obstructing? I guess I'm not clear on what the difference between 3-zone and 4-zone climate control is...
• a 4 zone hvac differs on a 3 zone and gives passengers individual customization of temps. 3 zone means Driver and Pass enjoy individual temps while the rear enjoys one temp. 4 zone means that driver, pass, rr pass and rl pass will enjoy individual temps. Yes all vents are located up high for the AC, and down below for the heater.
• The only windows that roll down or vent are the two front ones, correct?
• Nope, the windows on the sliding doors also roll down, the ones that dont vent anymore are the third row seat windows. gen3 could vent them, gen4 are fixed

Do I have anything wrong above? Is there anything else that might be annoying to using this as a campervan?

Hope this helps to better understand the siennas and if you have any more questions I would be happy to answer them if I know the answer, and please if someone thinks im wrong I invite you to let me know (and feel the consequences of correcting a stranger on the internet, HOW DARE YOU CORRECT ME? IM WRONG? YOU ARE WRONG! I DEMAND TO SEE THE MANAGER OF THIS SITE AND I WILL SHUT DOWN THIS FORUM AND BURN IT TO THE GROUND!!! I WILL UNLEASH THE WRATH OF A THOUSAND KARENS UPON YOU) (lol, j/k.... or am I?)

Welcome to the forum, and please dont ask how often should you change your oil?
(My answer is simple: Change it as often as possible (5k): Oil is cheap, engines are not, use toyota oem filters and your van will last for at least two generations.
but my answer is wrong and everyone will tell you to stop pouring money down the drain and change it 10k, 15k, 8k........... so YMMV...)

 

[d3myk]

• the van will detect an open door situation and will eventually go to sleep to preserve your 12volt battery

Is there a benefit to disabling the power doors? i.e. Is it necessary to turn them off in order to prevent battery drain if one plans on having sliders and rear hatch open for camping? Is it necessary to turn off any of the dome lights at all (if set to "door" and not "on") or will those go to sleep on their own too?

 

[jareza]

Is there a benefit to disabling the power doors? i.e. Is it necessary to turn them off in order to prevent battery drain if one plans on having sliders and rear hatch open for camping? Is it necessary to turn off any of the dome lights at all (if set to "door" and not "on") or will those go to sleep on their own too?

Not at all the only instance in which something needs to be turned off is a certain amount of 2022's sliding door kick sensor.
there have been reports that the kick sensors drain the battery
other than that you can safely leave everything open and the van will eventually go to sleep to preserve battery

 

[Chubbysumo]

Any intel on other things that won't enjoy the side sliders or rear gate being open for long periods of time? Obviously I'll manually switch off each of the dome lights in those areas...I presume the driver/passenger lights work on a different system and won't be affected?

• I'm unclear on the airbag situation beyond the second seats...are there curtain airbags we'll need to worry about? I ask because our expected build plan will have high cabinets between the sliding doors and rear hatch. We're also considering a thin threshold that spans the roof just forward of the front edge of the sliders (immediately behind the drivers seat). If so, is there a way to disable those too?
• You can use the climate control system via hybrid battery while vehicle is in ready mode, but the engine will come on after 9 minutes and run for about 3 minutes (and repeat this cycle), presumably to recharge the battery. Is there any way to avoid this, perhaps by supplying additional power? And do all of the dash lights remain on constantly in this mode, or is there at least a way to dim them? I understand that you can avoid the one hour auto-shut off alarm by simply locking the doors from the drivers seat.
• Are all of the rear climate control vents up high, or are there ground level ones I'll need to avoid obstructing? I guess I'm not clear on what the difference between 3-zone and 4-zone climate control is...
• The only windows that roll down or vent are the two front ones, correct?

Do I have anything wrong above? Is there anything else that might be annoying to using this as a campervan?

there is a rocker switch on the overhead console that will turn all the interior overhead lights off. if you are going to leave the doors open for long periods of time, turn them all off with that switch.

You can dim the dash lights pretty dark, and there is a way to shut the infotainment screen off too, and for the 1 hour shut off, it prompts you on the driver display, and you can select the leave it running.

there are 2 floor level vents about mid way in the back, blowing for mid row and rear passengers. there are also climate vents along the headliner.

im pretty sure the seat sliders are the same for all models, just what seats are on them are different. That said, to remove them means getting to bolts that are under the gas tank, passing thru floor. if they were easier to remove, I would have done it already myself

 

[Shuttlecraft]

New member here, looking to buy a 2023 Sienna AWD hybrid to convert into a campervan. It'll also serve as a daily driver, but we'll generally keep it in adventure mode.

We're mostly interested in the base LE model, but haven't fully decided yet. We're still in the midst of researching what might work best for us, and I'm here to ask about any pitfalls or viability issues we'll need to deal with in the build. I've run across a few I've outlined below, but figured there could be others that I'm not aware of. Any further detail on these, my other questions, or any other issues I might not know about would be greatly appreciated!

Here's what I know:

• 2nd row seat removal - no issues if you use a resistor. I presume this is the case for both 7 and 8 passenger models?
• Those damn seat sliders will remain, and there's no easy way to remove them. Guess I'll build over them. Is it the same set for both 7 and 8 seaters, or is the layout different?
• 3rd row seat removal - no issues, except that your "don't forget your child" warning will flash on dash (I presume this is momentary and doesn't last long, right?)
• I'll likely need to disengage the power sliding doors (this is just a quick setting on the dash, right?) since I'll likely have the doors open for long periods of time.
• The spare tire is now in the rear corner, so I'll need to maintain access to that.

Some questions I still have:

• Any intel on other things that won't enjoy the side sliders or rear gate being open for long periods of time? Obviously I'll manually switch off each of the dome lights in those areas...I presume the driver/passenger lights work on a different system and won't be affected?
• I'm unclear on the airbag situation beyond the second seats...are there curtain airbags we'll need to worry about? I ask because our expected build plan will have high cabinets between the sliding doors and rear hatch. We're also considering a thin threshold that spans the roof just forward of the front edge of the sliders (immediately behind the drivers seat). If so, is there a way to disable those too?
• You can use the climate control system via hybrid battery while vehicle is in ready mode, but the engine will come on after 9 minutes and run for about 3 minutes (and repeat this cycle), presumably to recharge the battery. Is there any way to avoid this, perhaps by supplying additional power? And do all of the dash lights remain on constantly in this mode, or is there at least a way to dim them? I understand that you can avoid the one hour auto-shut off alarm by simply locking the doors from the drivers seat.
• Are all of the rear climate control vents up high, or are there ground level ones I'll need to avoid obstructing? I guess I'm not clear on what the difference between 3-zone and 4-zone climate control is...
• The only windows that roll down or vent are the two front ones, correct?

Do I have anything wrong above? Is there anything else that might be annoying to using this as a campervan?

Here are some my experiences based on conversion of my 2022 Woodland:

• Second seat removal was fine for me with bypass resistors, no error messages, I have two airbags in each second row seat (was just one per seat in 2021 I think).
• Slides don’t seem to come out easily, but they do lock in place, I used them to attach parts of my build.
• No issues with third seat removal. I disabled the child warning messages through menus somewhere.
• I left my sliding doors and hatch open for hours at a time with no rundown of battery, with the ignition off and the interior lights disabled (I think there is a menu item for that somewhere). After some period of time, the doors and hatch will not close electrically, instead I had to close them manually. It did not seem to be a problem, although the sliding doors are “bumpy” to close.
• I did not mess with the curtain airbags.
• Climate control system does make the engine cycle. Use an electric heater plugged in to the inverter rather than the built-in heaters, which make the engine run much more. I don’t see any way to provide external power. The dash lights are on but I chose a dark “theme” to minimize the light. I have not felt a great need to use either heat or A/C at night while camping in either hot or cold weather.
• Heater vents are near the floor. One under each front seat heats the second row and there are heater vents for the third row on each side, near the floor. BUT VERY IMPORTANT: The hybrid battery has vents outboard of the two front seats, near the floor, DO NOT BLOCK THOSE!
• My sliding door windows open and close. My third row windows do not open.
• An annoying part of my camper work, is that all the interior trim is curved, often compound curved (in multiple directions) which made it hard to install things and use all the space efficiently.
• Another annoyance, it is hard to move from the front seats to the rear of the van without going outside, I really wish it had an “open cockpit” design without that center console. I ended up relocating the front seat elsewhere in the van, which I have described in another post somewhere; and that allows me to move from the driver’s seat into the living area of the van.

 

[rscottjones]

Thank you @jareza for the detailed reply!

• I'm unclear on the airbag situation beyond the second seats...are there curtain airbags we'll need to worry about? I ask because our expected build plan will have high cabinets between the sliding doors and rear hatch. We're also considering a thin threshold that spans the roof just forward of the front edge of the sliders (immediately behind the drivers seat). If so, is there a way to disable those too?
• Side curtain airbags are there: Im having a hard time visualizing cabinets in the rear, I just dont see it working unless you are incredibly short. Im not clear on what you want to disable

I'm hoping to build something approximating this:

So there will be high cabinets tucked against the rear glass area stretching from the upper edge of the rear hatch forward to roughly the support beam behind the sliding door.

On the drivers side, I may end up with a high bar across the top (would fit below the handle and vent), similar to the below photo. It's not critical, though, and nor is the headframe with the hooks immediately behind the drivers seat.

Any idea where the side curtain airbags are located? I presume that it's going to be behind some of this wood. I also presume there's no easy way to disable those airbags if they are indeed blocked. Does that sound correct?

 

[rscottjones]

• Heater vents are near the floor. One under each front seat heats the second row and there are heater vents for the third row on each side, near the floor. BUT VERY IMPORTANT: The hybrid battery has vents outboard of the two front seats, near the floor, DO NOT BLOCK THOSE!

Thank you! This seems like an especially critical piece of information.

 

[jareza]

Thank you @jareza for the detailed reply!



I'm hoping to build something approximating this:

View attachment 61643

So there will be high cabinets tucked against the rear glass area stretching from the upper edge of the rear hatch forward to roughly the support beam behind the sliding door.

On the drivers side, I may end up with a high bar across the top (would fit below the handle and vent), similar to the below photo. It's not critical, though, and nor is the headframe with the hooks immediately behind the drivers seat.

View attachment 61644

Any idea where the side curtain airbags are located? I presume that it's going to be behind some of this wood. I also presume there's no easy way to disable those airbags if they are indeed blocked. Does that sound correct?

Wow, that looks cool..... a bit cramped but cool nonetheless.
I mean, you could look for the side courtain airbag plug and unplug it.
The sienna you show in the pic is a gen 3 also equiped with side courtain airbags.
IMO, there might not be that much of a difference if the van gets a side impact that deploys the side courtain. I would not tamper with it since AFAIK the side courtain is the WHOLE SIDE courtain.
so tampering with that will also disable your front side courtains and those might come in handy in case needed.

 

[shoult]

That Gen3 build is Bruce Parks on YouTube. A great build and partly what my Gen3 is (poorly) modeled after. The other part is Eric enjoys Earth.

The thing about the rear air bags is that since you've removed the OEM rear seats nobody should be riding back there when you're moving. The only time you should be back there is when you're parked. So unless someone careens into your campsite...........

 

[rscottjones]

That Gen3 build is Bruce Parks on YouTube. A great build and partly what my Gen3 is (poorly) modeled after. The other part is Eric enjoys Earth.

The thing about the rear air bags is that since you've removed the OEM rear seats nobody should be riding back there when you're moving. The only time you should be back there is when you're parked. So unless someone careens into your campsite...........

Yep, that's the general combo I was going for too! Do you have some photos of your own version? How'd it go? Any things you'd change? My biggest limitation is that I really need all the bed width I can get to sleep two of us comfortably, so that makes some of the storage/kitchen options trickier.

 

[shoult]

Yep, that's the general combo I was going for too! Do you have some photos of your own version? How'd it go? Any things you'd change? My biggest limitation is that I really need all the bed width I can get to sleep two of us comfortably, so that makes some of the storage/kitchen options trickier.

No pictures of the completed unit yet as it's still in the teardown and framework building stage. I have the bed frame mostly built. The bed itself is 48" wide, so bigger than full size but smaller than queen. It length is 72" (I'm 5'9) which leaves about 24" from the bed to the back of the front seats (as I have them). That gives me room for my fridge/freezer. The height from the bed deck is 14" which gives me 12" of storage under the bed and enough room above for ME to sit up on the couch. I have yet to build the front section of the bed. I didn't like the way Eric's bed front rails stick out when folded into couch mode so I am making mine to have the entire front section slide back arond the back section, not just moving the deck.

But mine is a permanent build. It will NEVER be a normal Minivan again. As such I've removed the 4 hanging set belts and all the trolley tracks by grinding the massive rivet heads out of the tracks with a cutoff wheel. I'll be leveling these holes for the tracks out with a mixture of sound deadening sheets and some 1x4 stock I have. I also cut the seat latches out of the floor and popped the rear vent tube trim pieces out. This gives me the required 12.25" height from front to back I need to comfortably store 6) 40qt (19.125"L x 15"W x 12"H ) storage containers under the bed while still leaving the rear "trunk" area free. Space is precious in a Minivan!

One thing to note about the 2021+ (Gen4) vans is they made it so the center console isn't easily removable. If you ever need to stealth camp this is a thing to consider. As when you stealth you just want to drive in quiet, and then move from the front seats to the back without going out side, close the curtain and then turn on your lights (if you want). In the Gen3 and earlier it's just a couple bolts to remove. My console continues to rest in the OEM spot until I'm ready to go to the back. Then I simply lift it and move it out of the way and walk(ish) to the back. I don't have to crawl over the center console. Maybe someones figure that out by now. They hadn't last I looked. The price iof 2021 Siennas was like $60K when I was looking and there was just NO way I was paying that for a minivan.

 

[rscottjones]

No pictures of the completed unit yet as it's still in the teardown and framework building stage. I have the bed frame mostly built. The bed itself is 48" wide, so bigger than full size but smaller than queen. It length is 72" (I'm 5'9) which leaves about 24" from the bed to the back of the front seats (as I have them). That gives me room for my fridge/freezer. The height from the bed deck is 14" which gives me 12" of storage under the bed and enough room above for ME to sit up on the couch. I have yet to build the front section of the bed. I didn't like the way Eric's bed front rails stick out when folded into couch mode so I am making mine to have the entire front section slide back arond the back section, not just moving the deck.

But mine is a permanent build. It will NEVER be a normal Minivan again. As such I've removed the 4 hanging set belts and all the trolley tracks by grinding the massive rivet heads out of the tracks with a cutoff wheel. I'll be leveling these holes for the tracks out with a mixture of sound deadening sheets and some 1x4 stock I have. I also cut the seat latches out of the floor and popped the rear vent tube trim pieces out. This gives me the required 12.25" height from front to back I need to comfortably store 6) 40qt (19.125"L x 15"W x 12"H ) storage containers under the bed while still leaving the rear "trunk" area free. Space is precious in a Minivan!

One thing to note about the 2021+ (Gen4) vans is they made it so the center console isn't easily removable. If you ever need to stealth camp this is a thing to consider. As when you stealth you just want to drive in quiet, and then move from the front seats to the back without going out side, close the curtain and then turn on your lights (if you want). In the Gen3 and earlier it's just a couple bolts to remove. My console continues to rest in the OEM spot until I'm ready to go to the back. Then I simply lift it and move it out of the way and walk(ish) to the back. I don't have to crawl over the center console. Maybe someones figure that out by now. They hadn't last I looked. The price iof 2021 Siennas was like $60K when I was looking and there was just NO way I was paying that for a minivan.

Yeah, I'm looking at 48x72 for the bed too, though it sounds like I'll have a bit less room than you. And yes, those dumb rails are definitely the worst part about Eric's build. That's gotta be the first thing everyone wants to change from his design, including Rob here. Would love to see your version when you have it completed. I haven't bought the van yet (and apparently it might take awhile to get one), so still not sure exactly how mine will shake out. I haven't even seen one in person yet, so it's difficult to really get a sense of things just from wide-angled youtube videos. If I didn't need the gas mileage efficiency, I definitely would have snagged an older one and gone all in. We're still likely to tent camp in campgrounds, or boondock on public lands, on most nights out, so being stealth is a low issue for me. That said, I'd love to not have to walk around the vehicle to the far door every single time...

 

[starlightmica]

VMI wheelchair conversion dashboard

Braunability wheelchair conversion console and floor view

The two wheelchair conversion vans authorized by Toyota take different approaches to the center console, which is removed to provide an open space up front. VMI appears to have amputated the console aft of the OEM shifter buttons, Bruanability whacked the whole thing and put in a smaller stub with the shifter and cupholders on either side.

 

[fotomoto]

You can use the climate control system via hybrid battery while vehicle is in ready mode, but the engine will come on after 9 minutes and run for about 3 minutes (and repeat this cycle), presumably to recharge the battery

That’s not necessarily true. The difference between ambient and HVAC set temperature is the tail that wags the dog.

As an experiment, I set the rear temperature to 62 in a 60° garage with the front passenger section off. The car was cold soaked from a 35° overnight and humidity was very low.

It ran for four minutes on ICE and a whopping 30 minutes on HV battery. I let it repeat the cycle 4 times. The AC condenser fans never ran during this whole time. I consider this a best case scenario.

YMMV

 

[Chubbysumo]

The two wheelchair conversion vans authorized by Toyota take different approaches to the center console, which is removed to provide an open space up front. VMI appears to have amputated the console aft of the OEM shifter buttons, Bruanability whacked the whole thing and put in a smaller stub with the shifter and cupholders on either side.

Braunability also moves the hybrid battery to the back, and the rear seat no longer folds down(i believe). The VMI leaves the battery in place.

 

[BostonPilot]

Sigh

 

[Awe Shucks]

I have a 2015 AWD xLe. I took a 5000 mile road trip last year. Removed row 2 seats. Slid in 31 inch cot for sleep surface. Tempurpedic mattress. Big Agnes sleeping bag. Left narrow 3row seat up. (Nice to have to relax in back). Stowed camping kit and 7 gal water behind. Low profile ice chest under cot (accessible from rear.) Low profile plastic bin for clothing stowed under cot. (Access from driver rear sliding door).
Floor rails solution: paperback books between rails covered by cardboard and carpet.
Rear tent over hatch for ventilation.
Easy storage of camping equipment to restore to full function as people hauler.

 

[krisicat]

New member here, looking to buy a 2023 Sienna AWD hybrid to convert into a campervan. It'll also serve as a daily driver, but we'll generally keep it in adventure mode.

We're mostly interested in the base LE model, but haven't fully decided yet. We're still in the midst of researching what might work best for us, and I'm here to ask about any pitfalls or viability issues we'll need to deal with in the build. I've run across a few I've outlined below, but figured there could be others that I'm not aware of. Any further detail on these, my other questions, or any other issues I might not know about would be greatly appreciated!

Here's what I know:

• 2nd row seat removal - no issues if you use a resistor. I presume this is the case for both 7 and 8 passenger models?
• Those damn seat sliders will remain, and there's no easy way to remove them. Guess I'll build over them. Is it the same set for both 7 and 8 seaters, or is the layout different?
• 3rd row seat removal - no issues, except that your "don't forget your child" warning will flash on dash (I presume this is momentary and doesn't last long, right?)
• I'll likely need to disengage the power sliding doors (this is just a quick setting on the dash, right?) since I'll likely have the doors open for long periods of time.
• The spare tire is now in the rear corner, so I'll need to maintain access to that.

Some questions I still have:

• Any intel on other things that won't enjoy the side sliders or rear gate being open for long periods of time? Obviously I'll manually switch off each of the dome lights in those areas...I presume the driver/passenger lights work on a different system and won't be affected?
• I'm unclear on the airbag situation beyond the second seats...are there curtain airbags we'll need to worry about? I ask because our expected build plan will have high cabinets between the sliding doors and rear hatch. We're also considering a thin threshold that spans the roof just forward of the front edge of the sliders (immediately behind the drivers seat). If so, is there a way to disable those too?
• You can use the climate control system via hybrid battery while vehicle is in ready mode, but the engine will come on after 9 minutes and run for about 3 minutes (and repeat this cycle), presumably to recharge the battery. Is there any way to avoid this, perhaps by supplying additional power? And do all of the dash lights remain on constantly in this mode, or is there at least a way to dim them? I understand that you can avoid the one hour auto-shut off alarm by simply locking the doors from the drivers seat.
• Are all of the rear climate control vents up high, or are there ground level ones I'll need to avoid obstructing? I guess I'm not clear on what the difference between 3-zone and 4-zone climate control is...
• The only windows that roll down or vent are the two front ones, correct?

Do I have anything wrong above? Is there anything else that might be annoying to using this as a campervan?

P

Sigh

We did a market survey and the Sienna minivan won it hands down. However, we purchased a Certified Pre-Owned 2017 LP. Why? The newer ones, 2022/2023 were shorter, the 2nd row seats were not removable (needed 1 out for a wheelchair and the opening to the 2nd row seats were smaller by quite a bit. There were probably other differences but they were not relevant to us, as we needed a roomy minivan to install a Harmar interior/exterior scooter lift too. Researched showed that 2012 through early 2017 had the least problems. Also discovered 2011 through 2018 sliding door problems were covered by a Class Action Lawsuit against Toyota. Google it.
we set out to buy the 2023 coming out and decided not to because of the difference and redesign and there were no stats to show encountered problems. This was a good decision. The dealer fixed pre-existing problems the 1st year, gave us a present if a new 84-mo HD battery and even checked the frame since 1 sliding door was not in alignment. This is an amazing vehicle. It even has a pull out coin holder and a switch to turn off the sliding doors. Check to see if the 2023 does. Don’t ask the sales people. They fo not know and neither do some mechanics. They could not even gif the coin drawer where we keep the registration. It is below the extra feature buttons to the left of the steering wheel. Same for the sliding ing door switch. It’s around there too.
Think of the money you could put to good use on your rebuild. BTW we left the Captain chair raid in, just in case we want to put it back to seat more people. Our 2nd vehicle is a 2013 Avalanche. Good Luck with your project.

 

[CyprusCorner]

If the power doors are on, and the rear doors are open for too long (maybe 30+ minutes? Hard to know…), they will not power close. This has happened to me twice when i left one open in my garage after getting my kids out. If you try to manually close it, it’s tricky/or bumpy (as the motor is manually pushed through its windings). Regardless, if this ever happens to you, the easy trick I found is to just turn off the power sliding doors via that button in the front seat, then turn them on again (basically just reset it). Then the doors will close automatically again.

I’m not sure what the time-out limit is on the power sliding doors. If it becomes too much of a nuisance, you could just leave the power doors off at all times.


Good luck on the van build! I’ve seen some youtube videos from Tellvia, and Kevin’s vanlife. They have different approaches, but lots of information on how it’s worked for them. While I don’t intend to live/sleep out of my van full time, I will use mine really heavy for roadtrips (Ex: I do use a thermoelectric 40qt coleman fridge), and enjoyed learning about the capability of the vehicle/different configurations. I just bought the Van in January and looking forward to our second road trip next week.