My brothers live in a small town in Montana, a state in which kei trucks are street legal. Instead of firing up the diesel and letting it warm up for 10 minutes, they were thinking of getting a used kei 4x4 for running around town.
They wanted me to ask about the reliability, pitfalls,and preferred model/manufacturer. They'd like an injected engine, but if a carbed one is a better anvil, so be it.
What are parts availability on these things? What about mods?
What I know: They're awesome.
What I don't know: Pretty much the rest.
They show up for sale in the states from time to time. There's one local to me that is used as a food truck. They make grilled cheese sandwiches.
IIRC most are usually Suzuki Carry's with the FI F6A and iirc they are pretty popular
I wish they were legal in MD. All I've seen come without titles. I think they are very cool
http://www.ulmerfarmservice.com/
This is an old "ad" but it has a lot of details about some of them:
Up for auction/sale is this rare 1988 Suzuki Carry truck. It is a 4x4 with locking hubs and limited slip differential. It is virtually rust free, there are only a few small bubble spots. Please check photos. It will not need to be equipped with the 25 MPH speed limiter. It starts up without any issues. All 3 sides of the bed fold down to provide more surface room to haul boards, pallets, ect… I would not recommend this mini truck for anyone over 6’3”, although it is all about personal preference. This is a legally imported vehicle with all supporting documents. The truck is over 25 years old so it is NHTSA exempt. It is over 21 years old and original configuration so it is EPA exempt.
The 1988 Suzuki Carry truck is a 543cc engine, 5 speed. It is not fuel injected. The 4x4 is an option when driving. You can drive it in 2wd and with just a pull of a lever be in 4wd. The heat works, and it blows cool air, there is no AC option.
They're very reliable and very cheap to run. They're common by me, kei trucks here are like F150s in the states. I did my driver's ed in them.
Finding replacement parts is super-easy here at least. No real aftermarket performance support except maybe where they happen to share an engine with something that does - for example some have the same engine as a Swift or Samurai.
4x4 models, as far as I can tell, only exist for use as toys in the first world. I've seriously never seen one IRL but I know they exist. Dunno if there could be any weak points in the 4x4 powertrain.
Diesel trucks don't need 10 min warmup.
They're going to buy another vehicle and pay to insure it, to save money... Am I correct?
FWIW, I have a Toyota Tacoma shortbox 4-cylinder as a second vehicle (my wife uses the big truck). The Tacoma is too small to do anything useful. I can;t haul most things in it, my motorcycle does not fit in the back, it's not good at being a truck.
I keep it around because it was free (was my mother's truck) and it's good on gas.
I would love to get rid of it and get something larger even if it burns more fuel but nobody around here will spend any money on a 2003 Tacoma no matter how clean it is.
Too slow for highway use IIRC. 13" Truck tires are kinda hard to come by in the USA. Don't crash.
In reply to Trans_Maro:
It would be to save on wear and tear on the f350. If I remember correct, most deisels dont like short trips and they live in a very small town.
Keis are more useful than a 4 wheeler. It hauls more and has a heater. Something to to think about in Montana.
BYW, must be your area. Tacos are the most overpriced truck around. Clean ones are worth their weight in gold in places like Seattle.
Newer ones are limited to 25, so I'd get a 25 or 26 year old model from a reputable importer. If they're 25 or older, they top out at about 70 MPH, and are pretty revvy. They haul about 770 lbs stock. To keep up with traffic, you're going to be on it, so expect 36 MPG or so. Most are stick-shift, and you can get them with dump beds. I hope this helps!
BrokenYugo wrote: Too slow for highway use IIRC. 13" Truck tires are kinda hard to come by in the USA. Don't crash.
I wouldn't say they're too slow for highway use. A 1.3 super carry will hit 120kph without trouble. I've driven a 1L and it was quicker than a Samurai at least.
In reply to GameboyRMH:
I think the ones we get in the US are mostly used JDM stuff, proper Kei class trucks with the little 660cc engines.
If gran turismo has taught me anything, it's that the 660 kei truck is awesome. Drifts well, and does 90 when fully upgraded.
My buddy had a late-80's Honda van, which AFAIK is mechanically identical to the pickup, 550cc triple, manual transmission, 12" wheels. It would do 60 or maybe a bit more if you didn't mind lots of revs. 
The short gearing made for acceleration that wasn't exactly fast, but wasn't oh-my-god-were-about-to-flattened slow. Certainly more than adequate for around-town use, and he reported that it was fine on two-lane back roads. He said other highlights were great fuel economy, good hauling capacity for how tiny the engine is, and an amazing conversation starter everywhere he went. Parts availability wasn't great in the U.S.
I almost bought a daihatsu Kei truck with a blown head gasket for $300 a couple years ago, but a little research showed the parts to be really hard to find here in the states.
I see a few of them here in north Idaho. No idea on parts availability, but would be super useful as a runabout. Some 4 wheel drive models too, but not to sure how common they are. ATV tires also fit. The full cab with heater would be nice in the winter. It gets cold up here. Compared to a side by side UTV (which can be made street legal), they have pluses and minuses.
As a side note, Smyth Performance ( smythperformance.com ) makes a kit to turn a VW Jetta into a small front wheel drive pickup. I would think that's the real GRM way.
Oooooo ... that Smyth kit is VERY interesting !!
Trans_Maro wrote: Diesel trucks don't need 10 min warmup. They're going to buy another vehicle and pay to insure it, to save money... Am I correct? FWIW, I have a Toyota Tacoma shortbox 4-cylinder as a second vehicle (my wife uses the big truck). The Tacoma is too small to do anything useful. I can;t haul most things in it, my motorcycle does not fit in the back, it's not good at being a truck. I keep it around because it was free (was my mother's truck) and it's good on gas. I would love to get rid of it and get something larger even if it burns more fuel but nobody around here will spend any money on a 2003 Tacoma no matter how clean it is.
tell me more about the Tacoma, I've been looking into one of these lately
You can buy new ones with 40HP 4cyl engines a few blocks from me.
A good sized side by side is bigger, faster, more comfortable, able to carry more, and easier to buy parts for.
Can't licence a side by side, I presume.
Streetwiseguy wrote: A good sized side by side is bigger, faster, more comfortable, able to carry more, and easier to buy parts for. Can't licence a side by side, I presume.
In Montana you can. But...$4-6,000 verses $10-20,000, makes the decision easier.
Another source (not just kei trucks, but also other JDM legal imports):
https://www.japaneseclassics.com/inventory/
(Sorry, not sure how to make the link "active" .... )
You'll need to log in to post.
