Kei Truck, Why?

In reply to gearheadmb :

If you get the right one there are a lot of advantages. Lift bed options, dump bed options, PTOs, Smaller than the normal truck to get into tight places. You can still get them landed for under 5K. 

Talking to a friend there, It was about in the $1500-$2K range to get it shipped here and to clear customs depending on the port. East coast is obviously more. 

gearheadmb said:

They seem quirky and cool, but do they have any actual advantages over a small pickup for the same price?

On the street? No.  On property? Many. Smaller footprint with a 6 foot bed is the main one.

The fold-down bed sides are also a much more practical and versatile approach than the solid bed sides of a small pickup. It's a bed, it's a workbench, it's a platform, it can handle things much bigger than the bed because they can lay flat, a tool box with pull-out drawers works better, a load of sand of gravel can be unloaded easier, plywood can lay flat, no wheel wells in the way, etc, etc.

It also has an advantage similar to vans.  When the engine is pushed fully or partly under the floorboards, the cargo space/ overall length ratio improves. A van has much more cargo space than an equal length pickup. Hoods waste space. The Kei truck has that similar advantage with the additional pickup-like advantage of still having an open bed. 

The beds are great. My mom has stacked 16 square hay bales in the back of theirs, and the headache racks have little ears for transporting long boards. We once put a couple of 12' long 2x12s in the back hanging out above the cab - the boards were longer than the truck.

Steve_Jones said:

DrBoost said:

In reply to lownslow :

Is that what it cost to ship it here?

I'd guess the truck was @$1900 and shipping was the rest.  Add another $1200 or so for fees, duties, etc. to get the "in your driveway" number

Truck was $1,950.  Shipping and insurance brought it to around $3,100.

Due on July 7th.

FWIW, I saw this at Lime Rock last weekend and thought of this thread:

In reply to lownslow :

Damn, off by $50. Not bad

Odd question, what sort of MPG do these things get?

Would it make a decent DD? Like, have AC in them? Radios? 

In reply to hybridmomentspass :

It's a RHD tin box with no safety stuff, no insulation, and maxes out @45mph. 95% do not have A/C. Other than that, sure, perfect DD

They only do 45?! holy cow. 

They go great with an ironic beard, flannel shirt and a mustache tattoo on your finger.

Considering that the landfill charges a tip rate (landfill in bc was around $30 each time), plus weight every time you show up, I'd be taking the truck with the biggest bed I could find in order to keep costs down.

They're cute but kinda useless unless space is a factor. 

And I can get 40 50lb bales in an 8' box.

16 bales x 50lbs = 800 lbs. That's a lot in a little truck. Three string Timothy bales are closer too 100lbs each.

In reply to ShawnG :

Your tipping rate will not exceed the fuel you burn to feed that big truck every day, unless you are tipping every day. 
 

Just saying...

A Kei truck that looks this good would be a hoot for weekend trips to the store or car shows!

ShawnG said:

They're cute but kinda useless unless space is a factor. 

The only Truck bed that is bigger is the 8 ft bed. They have a bigger bed than the other F-150s, Silverados, etc. The Diahatsu HiJet bed is 80 inches long, and 55 inches wide. Having a bigger truck with less bed space seems more useless to me. You'd be surprised what they can do, that being said, they're not a replacement for a daily driver truck at all. 

hybridmomentspass said:

They only do 45?! holy cow. 

The will go faster, but you don't really want to. They're very loud above that, and not exactly  known for handling. 

I saw one on the side of the road today with a for sale sign.  I was towing my trailer and it was empty 4 miles later.  I saw it again on the way out and it took everything I had to not stop.

Steve_Jones said:

hybridmomentspass said:

They only do 45?! holy cow. 

The will go faster, but you don't really want to. They're very loud above that, and not exactly  known for handling. 

My van will do 60 comfortably, 65 starts to get buzzy.  AC blows cold.  Agree on the handling and I'd never want to drive one on the highway.  Good DD if like me you can stick to the backroads and enjoy the drive.

In reply to JThw8 :

Vans ride much nicer than the trucks, and are quieter. I assume it's the carpet, door panels, etc that give it some sound deadening vs none at all. Note the 1/8 inch rubber mat, that's not even on the wheel wells, or behind the seat  That's all you get to keep out road noise :)

These truck beds are the same length.  

In reply to stuart in mn :

Payload is a little different though.

In reply to stuart in mn :

Only one of them is a toy.

(Real pickups have 8 foot beds)

In reply to Appleseed :

Meh. 
 

I've had multiple real pickups that didn't have 8' beds.  My current truck has a 5 1/2' bed with a towing capacity of 13,600 lbs. 

Appleseed said:

In reply to stuart in mn :

Only one of them is a toy.

...and one of them is 10% of the cost of the other. 
 

Different tools for different purposes. 

Appleseed said:

In reply to stuart in mn :

Only one of them is a toy.

(Real pickups have 8 foot beds)

By that definition, they're both toys then.