Toyota Introduces 'Tacozilla' Tacoma 4x4 Camper Trucks To U.S. Market

Toyota is introducing a spiritual successor to the Toyota camper trucks of the 1970s and 80s.

Photo Insert: The Tacozilla Tacoma Camper

The brand-new Tacozilla marries a rugged Tacoma TRD Sport pickup chassis and a custom-built "micro-house" into an amazing, little 4x4 micro-RV that's precise and nimble on the trail and roomy and livable overnight, C. C. Weiss reported for New Atlas.

Just a few months ago, overland startup TruckHouse introduced its take on a Toyota Sunrader revival, a state-of-the-art Tacoma camper truck with a gorgeous interior.

The $325,000 fully loaded, carbon fiber masterpiece doesn't quite fit the mold of a simple, nostalgic off-road truck camper, Weiss said, while the Tacozilla fits the mold quite nicely, helped right along by its beautifully retro golden-tan/orange/bronze striped paint job.

Weiss said the Tacozilla isn't inspired so much by the Sunrader but another much-loved Toyota micro-RV from decades' past, the Chinook. According to Tin Can Tourists, Toyota and Chinook partnered on their first small, efficient Hilux pickup-based fiberglass mini-motorhomes in 1973, against the backdrop of a looming US oil crisis.

A very far cry from TruckHouse's $325,000, the first Toyota-Chinook models retailed for under $5,000, which falls below $31,000 in 2021 money.

In fact, advertisements at the time encouraged buyers to "buy an economy car; get a camper free." Toyota angles the sides of the camper to give the vehicle better clearance from rocks, tree branches, and other obstacles without squeezing out too much interior space.

Toyota's high, hard-roofed Tacozilla appears to be most closely influenced by the Chinook Newport/Omega that followed the earlier pop-top models. In addition to a similar roof, the Tacozilla shares an angled-sidewall design with the Newport and Omega campers.

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