Kei Trucks - Japanese Mini Tricks

[Request Dust Off]

Kei Trucks - Japanese Mini Tricks
Would you drive one on the street?

I was offered one a while back:
OK, they are cute, but I see some issues.

- Street Legal? This Kind of sums it up:
You can use mini trucks freely in Louisiana with a speed limit under 55 mph.

They cannot be used on controlled access highways, multi-lined divided highways with partial or no control of access* and interstate highways. - *I am not sure what this even means.

- Then you have to get it titled, licensed and insured. That in itself sounds tricky.
- I foresee problems with parts and knowledge availability.
- I would NOT want to get hit in one.
- They don't actually get that great of gas mileage.

Any one know anything about these trucks?

 

[thperez1972]

Most of the time I've seen them in the US they have been on college campuses being used by their maintenance department.

 

[whbonney26]

Kei Trucks - Japanese Mini Tricks
Would you drive one on the street?

I was offered one a while back:
OK, they are cute, but I see some issues.

- Street Legal? This Kind of sums it up:
You can use mini trucks freely in Louisiana with a speed limit under 55 mph.

They cannot be used on controlled access highways, multi-lined divided highways with partial or no control of access* and interstate highways. - *I am not sure what this even means.

- Then you have to get it titled, licensed and insured. That in itself sounds tricky.
- I foresee problems with parts and knowledge availability.
- I would NOT want to get hit in one.
- They don't actually get that great of gas mileage.

Any one know anything about these trucks?

We have one that we use on the ranch in Mississippi. Good luck finding someone that will work on them. They are hard to find parts for. We had carb issues when we got the truck. Someone gave it to us so we could not pass up "free". That said, we tried and tried to get the carb working. Could not figure it out so we called around and no one wanted to work on them. We finally found a guy who would but wasn't thrilled about it. After a couple months of trying to find the right carb we finally got a brand new one from Japan and while it runs a little better its still not perfect. Hard to adjust them apparently. If I was going to spend money on one I would just look for a Toyota 4x4 or something else that is better all the way around.

 

[Request Dust Off]

Most of the time I've seen them in the US they have been on college campuses being used by their maintenance department.

Thanks.

I never see them any where - I don't get out much. Exception was at NOLA Motorsports Park Range. Brandon (NOLA COP) had them. I have not been out there since Covid hit and range shut down prior to that.

One aspect is it seems like a hassle to determine what roads are definitely OK and which are iffy. I could see getting stopped just to get checked a few times as it would seem sketchy. I know the WB Expy would be out on the elevated portion but the ground level sounds out as well.

 

[Request Dust Off]

We have one that we use on the ranch in Mississippi. Good luck finding someone that will work on them. They are hard to find parts for. We had carb issues when we got the truck. Someone gave it to us so we could not pass up "free". That said, we tried and tried to get the carb working. Could not figure it out so we called around and no one wanted to work on them. We finally found a guy who would but wasn't thrilled about it. After a couple months of trying to find the right carb we finally got a brand new one from Japan and while it runs a little better its still not perfect. Hard to adjust them apparently. If I was going to spend money on one I would just look for a Toyota 4x4 or something else that is better all the way around.

Thanks for the info.
You are confirming some of the problems I am expecting. While anything is solvable it might not be worth the effort. At least with a full size vehicle I can pull a trailer.
Biggest issue is crash survivorability. No solution there. No guarantees with any vehicle but at least you have a shot at it.