HiAce interior dimensions: which body actually fits your camper build

A listing that says “long wheelbase, high roof” tells you almost nothing about whether your bed will fit. The numbers that matter are 2,530mm against 3,180mm of load length and 1,340mm against 1,615mm of internal height, as measured by AutoExpert. Get those two wrong and you rebuild the whole interior.

The HiAce comes in two body lengths, and the choice between them decides your layout before you cut a single sheet of ply. Here’s what each one gives you, and where the walls stop you.

• What are the actual HiAce cargo dimensions?
• Which HiAce fits a fixed bed?
• Which HiAce fits a standing kitchen?
• How much weight can the build actually carry?
• How do I measure a van before I buy it?
• So which HiAce should you buy?

What are the actual HiAce cargo dimensions?

The LWB cargo bay measures 2,530mm long, 1,760mm at its widest and 1,340mm high, while the SLWB runs 3,180mm long with 1,615mm of internal height, according to AutoExpert’s figures. Width is where the two bodies stop differing. Both are 1,950mm across the outside, per Wikipedia’s specification table, and both measure 1,268mm between the rear wheel arches.

Know where those numbers come from before you design around them. Toyota Australia’s August 2025 specification sheet publishes cargo volume, kerb weight and GVM, but it does not publish load-bay length, width or height, so the linear measurements above are AutoExpert’s rather than Toyota’s. The two sources corroborate each other on the size of the gap: Toyota lists 6.2 cubic metres for the LWB Van against 9.3 cubic metres for the SLWB Van, and a 50 per cent volume gain is what a 650mm longer floor and a 275mm taller roof produce.

That 1,268mm arch-to-arch figure is the one most builds get caught by, and AutoExpert records it as identical on both bodies. It is the narrowest point of the load area, measured across the wheel arch humps. Anything that has to sit flat on the floor, a bed base, a drawer unit, a water tank, is limited to that width unless you build it above arch height.

LWB and SLWB side by side

The table below draws its cargo measurements from AutoExpert, its volumes, kerb weights and GVM figures from Toyota Australia’s specification sheet, and its exterior dimensions from Wikipedia. Door apertures are not listed, because the published figures for them are inconsistent and you should tape the actual opening yourself.

Measurement	LWB Van	SLWB Van
Cargo length	2,530mm	3,180mm
Max cargo width	1,760mm	1,760mm
Between wheel arches	1,268mm	1,268mm
Internal height	1,340mm	1,615mm
Cargo volume	6.2m³	9.3m³
Overall length	5,265mm	5,915mm
Wheelbase	3,210mm	3,860mm
Overall height	1,990mm	2,280mm
Kerb weight	2,240kg	2,400kg
GVM	3,300kg	3,500kg

One structural detail is worth noting before you plan a layout. The SLWB adds 650mm to the wheelbase as well as 650mm to overall length, per Wikipedia, which means the extra floor sits between the axles rather than hanging off the back. For a camper that is good news, because weight added in the middle of the van loads both axles instead of overloading the rear.

Which HiAce fits a fixed bed?

Only the SLWB fits a fixed lengthwise bed with room left for anything else, because the LWB’s 2,530mm floor is almost entirely consumed once you allow for a sleeping platform and space to get onto it, going by AutoExpert’s cargo measurements. Work it through on the short van and the problem is obvious. Assume a 1,900mm sleeping length, which is a reasonable planning figure for an adult plus bedding rather than a published specification, and 2,530mm leaves you 630mm. That is one narrow cupboard and a place to stand while you get dressed.

Run the same assumption against the SLWB’s 3,180mm, as measured by AutoExpert, and you have roughly 1,280mm of free floor once the bed is in. That is a galley, a wardrobe and a spot for a fridge rather than a single cupboard. If you are taller than average, raise the bed allowance before you cut anything, because every millimetre you add comes straight off that figure.

Why you can’t sleep crossways

Sideways beds are the standard trick for making a short van work, and the HiAce will not allow it. With 1,268mm between the arches on both bodies, as AutoExpert records, a crossways bed is shorter than nearly every adult. The 1,760mm maximum width only exists above arch height, so a sideways platform has to be mounted high, which eats the headroom you need for sitting up.

The other option is a slide-out or fold-down bed in the LWB, which buys you daytime floor space at the cost of making the bed every night. If you’re weighing the cost of that extra complexity, our breakdown of what a HiAce camper conversion costs once your own labour counts is worth reading before you commit to moving parts.

Which HiAce fits a standing kitchen?

Neither body lets an average adult stand fully upright, but the SLWB’s 1,615mm of internal height is enough for a standing-height kitchen bench used with a slight stoop, while the LWB’s 1,340mm is not, on AutoExpert’s measurements. The honest version of this is that 1,615mm is roughly the height of a short adult, and that is before you line the roof.

What insulation and lining cost you

Every millimetre of floor and ceiling build-up comes off the figures above, and nobody publishes how much. Our own working estimate, not a sourced figure, is that a ply floor on battens plus an insulated and lined ceiling takes somewhere between 70mm and 100mm out of the cavity. Measure your intended materials and stack them up rather than trusting that range.

Apply it to the SLWB’s bare 1,615mm, which is the figure AutoExpert measures, and you land in the low 1,500s. Apply it to the LWB’s 1,340mm and you get a space you cannot kneel upright in comfortably.

This is the main argument for a pop-top or a raised roof. It is also the main argument for doing the insulation before the cabinetry, a sequencing point covered in our list of the conversion jobs that cost double if you leave them until last.

Loading the kitchen in through the back

If you plan to build the galley as a module and slide it in finished, the door opening is your real limit, and it is the one measurement you should not take from a spec sheet. Published aperture figures for the HiAce are thin and sometimes just repeat the internal cargo height, which is not the same thing. Take a tape to the van you are actually buying.

Two things change the opening on an otherwise identical van. Barn doors and a lift-up tailgate give different heights and different usable widths, and the side door opening is narrower than the rear on both bodies. Measure the opening you intend to load through, then build the module to fit it with clearance, not to the width of the floor it will sit on.

How much weight can the build actually carry?

Payload runs from 954kg to 1,100kg depending on variant, which sounds generous until you add a full fit-out, water, batteries and two people. AutoExpert lists 1,075kg for the LWB manual van, 1,060kg for the LWB automatic and 1,100kg for the SLWB automatic. The LWB Crew Van drops to 954kg, because its second row of seats is dead weight you carry whether you use it or not.

Gross Vehicle Mass, the maximum legal weight of the loaded van, runs from 3,300kg to 3,500kg across the HiAce range, according to Toyota Australia’s specification sheet. The same sheet lists kerb weights of 2,240kg for the LWB Van and 2,400kg for the SLWB Van, each rising 20kg with the optional barn doors. Subtract one from the other and you have the number your whole build has to live inside.

Where the kilograms go

A realistic fit-out spends that budget faster than most people expect, and these are the heaviest items in almost every build.

• Water, which is the single heaviest thing most campers carry, and all of it sits in one place.
• The battery bank and inverter, which get heavier the more days off-grid you want.
• Ply lining, insulation, framing and cabinetry, which add up quietly across the whole van.
• Two adults plus clothing, food, tools and recovery gear.

Add solar panels and a roof rack and the top of the van starts carrying weight too, which raises the centre of gravity rather than just the total. Our guide to getting a HiAce camper solar setup right the first time covers how to keep that install light, and if you’re also eyeing suspension work, the state limits on a HiAce 4WD lift are worth checking before you spend.

What the van does with the load

Toyota Australia lists 130kW at 3,400rpm and 450Nm from 1,600 to 2,400rpm for the 2.8-litre turbo-diesel automatic, with 420Nm from 1,400 to 2,600rpm in the manual. The same sheet quotes combined fuel consumption of 7.8 litres per 100km for the LWB automatic and 8.1 litres per 100km for the SLWB automatic, from a 70-litre tank. Loaded to GVM with a roof rack, expect real figures well above both. If you’re also choosing between drivetrains, our comparison of the HiAce 4WD petrol and diesel options on range rather than price goes further into fuel use.

How do I measure a van before I buy it?

Take a tape measure to the van itself and record five numbers, because published figures vary by measurement method and none of them account for the lining you’re about to add. Fifteen minutes in a dealer car park saves a rebuild.

Step 1: Measure the load floor length at the floor, not the roof

Run the tape from the back of the front seats to the closed rear doors along the floor itself. The side walls taper inward above the wheel arches, so a measurement taken at shoulder height will flatter the van.

Step 2: Measure between the wheel arches, not wall to wall

This is the number that sets your bed and cabinet width. Record it and design to it, because the wider maximum width only exists above the arches, where a floor-mounted bed base cannot reach.

Step 3: Measure internal height under the roof ribs

Measure from the bare floor to the underside of the roof structure, not to the trim. Then subtract your intended floor and ceiling build-up before you decide whether a standing bench is realistic.

Step 4: Measure the rear and side door openings yourself

Open everything and measure the actual apertures, at their narrowest point rather than at the widest part of the frame. Compare each one against the largest single item you plan to slide in, whether that’s a fridge, a finished bed frame or a bench module.

Step 5: Weigh the van and subtract from GVM

Take the van over a public weighbridge, then subtract that reading from the GVM stamped on the compliance plate. That figure, not the brochure payload, is what your build and your gear have to fit inside.

So which HiAce should you buy?

Buy the SLWB if the van is going to be lived in, and the LWB if it is going to be driven. The decision comes down to whether you need a fixed bed and a fixed kitchen at the same time, which 2,530mm of floor cannot deliver and 3,180mm can, on AutoExpert’s measurements.

Price pushes the other way. As at October 2025, AutoExpert listed the LWB automatic at $58,300 driveaway against $67,100 for the SLWB automatic, a gap of $8,800, with the LWB manual the cheapest way in at $56,250 driveaway. Check current driveaway pricing before you budget, because those figures are a year old. The short van also stands 1,990mm tall against 2,280mm for the high-roof SLWB, per Wikipedia, which keeps it under most shopping-centre height bars.

Choose the SLWB Van if you’re travelling for weeks at a time, cooking inside with the doors shut, or carrying a shower and a large water tank. Its 1,615mm ceiling and 1,100kg payload are what make a full-time layout possible, going by AutoExpert’s figures, and the longer wheelbase puts that weight between the axles.

Choose the LWB Van if the van has a second job as everyday transport, if you park in height-limited car parks, or if the $8,800 saving on the automatic shown in AutoExpert’s October 2025 driveaway pricing funds a meaningful chunk of the fit-out. Accept a convertible bed and an outdoor kitchen going in.

Best for a weekend-only fit-out: the LWB Van. Two or three nights at a time works fine with a bed platform, drawers underneath and a cooker that slides out the side door. Not for: anyone living in the van full-time, or anyone who wants to cook standing up in bad weather.

Skip the Crew Van entirely for a camper. Its 954kg payload is the lowest in the range, per AutoExpert, and the second row of seats occupies exactly the floor space your galley wants. If you genuinely need to carry four people, the seats earn their keep. For a conversion they do not.

Whichever you pick, the arch-to-arch width of 1,268mm is fixed and no amount of extra length changes it, as AutoExpert’s measurements confirm. Design the bed first, then fit everything else around it. If you’re still not settled on the HiAce as a base, our comparison of the HiAce, Delica and Estima as conversion platforms covers how the alternatives measure up.