Anyone been in a Japanese RV?

I am of two minds:

First, I would love to see some innovation in the small RV market. Right now, class "B"s have a lot of new stuff going on, but they are going up to a quarter of a million dollars for units now, with about half that the average price. It would be nice to see Chevies, not just Cadillac in that market segment.

Second, and this is not intended to be a knock of Japan or Japanese vehicles, but I try to buy American when possible. It would be nice if the US RV industry could pair up with the auto industry and start taking advantage of the economies of scale that would be doable by Ford, GM, or other auto makers.

We were in a scenic pull-out once and a bus of Japanese tourists pulled up. They immediately came over to our 40' motorhome in awe. We opened the living room slide and invited them to peek in the door. They were amazed at all the space. They had smiles galore. :)

free radical wrote:

1L243 wrote:

Carolinadingo wrote:
Squatting is better.

Lots of reading here http://www.nhtsa.gov/cars/rules/import/

Website will tel you everything about importing a vehicle and which ones are approved to be imported. Happy reading. It's really not hard, some federal forms, fees and make sure it's on the approved list.

Not only no but heck no! But to each their own....

Those squatting toilets are becoming scarce now,
asians like them because many people are constipated from eating too much rice and squatting apparently helps in pooping

Fortunately most new houses and hotels have these new high tech
toilets that will wash and blow dry your oshiri and even raise and lower the seat..which being heated makes going on cold mornings total nirvana

https://youtu.be/_Xnm1syPnwE

I saw these all over in Hiroshima, never brave enough to try one. My toilet in my hotel had a touch pad control panel. Luckily for me it also had a standard flush handle around the side!

I was recently on a business trip to Hiroshima. Many of my Japanese counterparts being curious about Americans asked about my hobbies and past times. None of them had ever heard of a travel trailer, and most had no idea about RV's at all. In fact I had a hard time just getting the concept through to them. They all had knowledge of camping in general. But I think just from movies. None of them had ever done it.

Zebedee wrote:

Carolinadingo wrote:
They are quite small, but have everything you need. Japanese are used to compact so it fits their needs. They have some cool camping areas as well, such as Three Peaks which I hiked last month. I went in one a few years ago on Okinawa, there nice, would take Americans some time to get used to it.

Small with all the basics is exactly what I'm looking for. I found a website that exports them, but I wonder if they're legal to drive here ( especially since the driver sits on the right side)

I see many people importing japanese cars,have to be 20 years or older I think to be exempt from emissions rules..not sure about RV'S

Try asking the owner of this channel he would know

https://youtu.be/Z49l2z27yXU

1L243 wrote:

Carolinadingo wrote:
Squatting is better.

Lots of reading here http://www.nhtsa.gov/cars/rules/import/

Website will tel you everything about importing a vehicle and which ones are approved to be imported. Happy reading. It's really not hard, some federal forms, fees and make sure it's on the approved list.

Not only no but heck no! But to each their own....

Those squatting toilets are becoming scarce now,
asians like them because many people are constipated from eating too much rice and squatting apparently helps in pooping

Fortunately most new houses and hotels have these new high tech
toilets that will wash and blow dry your oshiri and even raise and lower the seat..which being heated makes going on cold mornings total nirvana

https://youtu.be/_Xnm1syPnwE

I wonder about the construction. In my trailer little short cuts are quite annoying. Ever drive a finishing nail into aluminum tubing then wonder why it came out. Replaced some staples in the finish board around the frig and restuck with finishing screws. The staples looked lighter than the ones from my desktop!
All this reminds me of the car industry of the 60s and 70s. Look out American RV manufacturers. The same thing could happen to you. Remember the tiny but well built Hondas, Toyotas and Datsuns that would never catch on? The same thing could happen to you.

Valkyriebush wrote:

RobertRyan wrote:

Cloud Dancer wrote:
The market is not big enough to attract the Japanese into the large DP class A motorhome industry. They insist on mass production operations, using robotic equipment for most of the construction.
But, if you're only looking at smaller RV units which might sell worldwide, then IMO you're on the right trail.

A few misconceptions on this thread. A DP Class A would be a nightmare on the small streets they have in Japan.

Unless your a former Japanese Bus Driver! Forget pulling a toad.

They build smaller Buses for the urban areas. Larger Coaches for main highway travel.
These 4.5 litre to 7 litre diesel Busses are treated as Class B's here in Australia .

Tatest wrote:
Our RVs are partially exempt from MVSS, depending on size and type, but it might be tougher on a smaller RV, that comes in as a passenger vehicle

It is actually fairly tough all around, unless your importing a US RV back into the US. Exporting US RV's raises many hurdles

Thank you Mr. Moderator.