Other thing on the Kei truck that can be an issue is parts availability.

Knew a guy who had one that was a miniature dump truck. It was not street legal. He brought it over on an LHA in the well deck when they brought BUNCH of stuff back from Okinawa. I don't know how that worked exactly, fill out some form in triplicate probably. Baby dump truck was cool, but there were a couple of motorcycles that guys brought over that really piqued my interest. There were two stroke bikes they sold in Japan that never made it stateside that were so fast they would make your watch run backwards

You might PM Arizona_928 about the mini trucks. He imported one from Japan if I'm not mistaken.

Wouldn't hurt to surf CL and FB Marketplace a bit too. Those mini trucks pop up all over the place.

https://fortwayne.craigslist.org/grd/d/floyds-knobs-nissan-clipper-mini/7512697392.html

You can't go wrong with kei mini trucks. The only down side is the 25 year old ones are still carburetor (can be a positive for some guys). Heater and a full cab. If i was gonna import another one i would get one with ac just bc it's az. All steel bed that can handle 350kg and an atv. One of the local fiewood guys went to one after beating the crap out of the plastic side by sides.


The 4wd is amazing on these little trucks. I replaced the stock tires with bias ply trailer tires. Does amazing in dirt, mud and snow. There's an overlook that i frequent and it's a 45°+ and i climb it in 4wd high. I'll have to find that video. It surprises a lot of people i show it to.

Parts are pretty simple from vendors in Japan and Canada. Even eBay in a pinch.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1658685497.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1658685497.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1658685497.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1658685772.jpg

^^^
I gotta admit, I'm a little disappointed it wasn't the F350 pulling the mini truck out.

I remember your thread from, I think over a year ago. How is the on road performance?

Is the cab comfortable in terms of size? I see the measurements on line but that often doesn't tell the whole story.

Thanks!

I've had 4 in 25 years and still own 2.. A Yamaha 450(still), a Honda Rincon 650(still), a Honda 250 Foretrax and a Kawasaki 450. I sold the last 2 during the pandemic and got good money for them.

The Yamaha wins hands down. I wouldn't buy another Honda.

And they stopped making those 3 wheelers for a reason. People were flipping them like crazy.

Funny - I had to go pick up a shipment at a nearby AFB, it was maybe the size of a shoebox, from one of the international logistics flights that support "government stuff". Hilarious to get called up by the loadmaster for my little box of special things that got carried in that Globemaster (holey wah my house would fit in that plane). Shooting the crap with the crew while my courier arrived they discussed how much non-military-related materiel "some guy they knew" might have accidentally left in the plane for those overseas trips. Bikes, portable fireplaces, a gazebo(!) from Home Depot and I suspect more than a little EtOH-containing liquids.

Speaking of excess, as a program manager I had to sign off on a polaris side-by-side that cost more than my, then new, Mazda 3. Those ATV makers are just printing money! I can neither confirm nor deny that those things might just jump further than a GSA vehicle (or rental car).

Kubota RTV. most used piece on the farm. solid bit of kit.

6ft 230. And with one of my buddies in the truck we don't touch shoulders. Plenty of head room. I would compare it to a compact car. The mazda 121 i just imported is a hell of a lot harder to squeeze into.

I have the 4 speed and will cruise at 100 km/h. It'll go 115 but you're winding the engine up. Has plenty of power to throw sideways on the dirt roads. And is very fun to do too.

I only have 2800 into mine as it hit the port. There's one in flagstaff with higher kms asking 11.5k

Pshhh. Hmmwv's hydraulic winch. No need pulling. ��

I actually upgraded to warm hub locker on the f350. Way better than stock.

VVV Excellent. Thank you. To be clear I do have a Polaris 6x6 that we love, going on year eight with it. it just gets absorbed by my wife on weekends for her selfish needs:D

I've had a bunch of farm vehicles and other fun stuff.

Polaris new:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1658690544.JPG

Other stuff: Yamaha 80 ATV (in for maintenance, skins hanging on the wall), old dirt bikes...we have had fun. EDIT: All the fun stuff is goe, btw.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1658690544.jpg

My neighbor has a Honda ATV he is going to let me use for two weeks - he is headed out of vacation and we trade tools all the time. I'll spend some quality time with it next weekend.

That and I have a bunch of homework on other vehicles. As always, thanks!

I used to do all of my work at our hunting property with an ATV. I was constantly having to drag a trailer around with the tools I was going to use for the day. IMO it's just so much easier to put everything in the bed of the UTV and have no worries about dragging a trailer around. I suppose it all depends on what you're really planning to do with the ATV.


Changing the locking hubs was something I wanted to do to the truck but I always suffered through the vacuum operated SOTF system.

I parked my dandy little 2005 Subaru Legacy wagon with 135k that might be worth $3,000 on a good day in the parking lot of a Home Depot or Lowes the other day, and walking into the store noticed they were selling some side by side UTV's that were $17,000. I thought holy crap. IF I had a large piece of land and needed an off road vehicle to get around for chores, hunting, whatever, I'd just go and buy a beater Subaru Outback for pennies on the dollar. (Afterall, it IS the Subaru Baja pickup truck with a built in camper shell.)

vvv I should have never sold my 1999 Tacoma. It went to a good home (member here bought it) but in retrospect I could have just put a flat bed with a lift on it and lived the dream.

The interest now is the ability to drag harrows and horse ring groomers, tow spray rigs and small trailers, and look like I know what I am doing.

A Boy can dream the last part:cool:

For that sort of stuff, I’d use a tractor…

Don't you have a compact tractor?

I have three. The two MF 2300s are nearing 20 years old, with a lot of hours. I maintain them to a high degree but they have other jobs...mostly mowing at least 150 hours each a year.

One also has a bucket loader and PTO powered tiller that get a lot of work on our large composting and manure piles, hundreds of feet of the stuff.

The larger tractor isn't efficient in the roles I am thinking about for the next 'thing'.

I hope I like the ATV I am borrowing. It is by far the most efficient and cheapest option. The small tractors are booked if that makes any sense.

That and I hope I am out of here in five years so I want to minimize investment.

I spent a large part of the day winnowing tools and stuff I have accumulated over the past 26 years here to give away or sell at the Amish Auction in November.

I guess you will see if an ATV will do the things you want to do. They are pretty good for getting from point A to point B in a big hurry to accomplish some small task. I doubt they’re suited to pulling the equipment that you mentioned.

The drag harrow is small and the ring groomer is towed by one of our horse boarders with her ATV now. It is a great piece of gear. I'll take a picture in a few minutes since we are headed out to feed.

She is getting out of the horse business since her daughter is not interested but we have others inbound.