Any Opinions on Mini Trucks?

[Iplayfarmer]

I'm only half serious at this point, but I've thought about getting a mini truck. Does anyone have any experience with these mini trucks?

What Appeals to me is that they get 50 MPG.

I'd be using one for my commute <10 miles one way on county roads... 50 MPH. My Chevy 1/2 ton is getting a lot of miles on it. I could use one of these mini trucks to eat up the miles and save the big truck for the heavier stuff.

 

[bdeboer]

There is an importer of new mini-trucks that posts occasionaly in the ATV section of this forum. There were some EPA issues with used ones and getting licensed for the last couple of years.

We have a left hand drive Mitsubishi from the late 80/s it has a governor limiting the speed to 25 miles/hour. The late 80's unit is carburated with a manual transmission. It is geared low.

 

[TimberXX]

At work we ran two mini trucks for several years. We ran them hard off road, and on road.

We had zero issues with them, except the lift kits were poor quality.

I would not suggest one with a lift kit.

Be careful on the roads with them.

Have you considered a high speed golf cart that runs on batteries, Im only half serious. 10 miles isn't too long, and these carts I hear go 25 mph.

 

[bdeboer]

This is the thread I was talking about.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...150093-has-any-one-considered-japanese-9.html


Poster woodhe1 is the dealer.

 

[Iplayfarmer]

This is the thread I was talking about.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...150093-has-any-one-considered-japanese-9.html


Poster woodhe1 is the dealer.

Thanks for that link. I got through page 3, and I'll probably keep reading to the end. It seems most of that discussion is for off-road use. My intention would be for commuter use. I like having the bed on my truck, but nothing with a bed gets better than 20 MPG. If one of these little guys really does get 50 MPG it would probably pay for itself in the fuel cost alone not to mention reducing wear and tear on my full size truck.

Obviously if I got a mini truck I couldn't have one that's governed to 25 MPH. That's what rules out the electric golf cart idea, too. I have a 4-wheeler, but the cab in the winter will be part of what makes this pipedream worth considering.

 

[capt_met]

Wildfire Motors - WF800-T

have you seen these? they are street legal and capable of 45 mph.

 

[timswi]

I'm only half serious at this point, but I've thought about getting a mini truck. Does anyone have any experience with these mini trucks?

What Appeals to me is that they get 50 MPG.

I'd be using one for my commute <10 miles one way on county roads... 50 MPH. My Chevy 1/2 ton is getting a lot of miles on it. I could use one of these mini trucks to eat up the miles and save the big truck for the heavier stuff.

Depends on what you mean by "mini". Some of the smaller trucks are a similar price to the full size..ROI is negative (referring to overall utilization) unless you keep it forever and get your money back on gas mileage.

Otherwise, I'd buy a diesel car and keep the full size truck..At this point in history, you can't have 50MPG and full utility.

 

[Gary Fowler]

If you are talking about the Japanese mini trucks, be careful, most states now refuse to license them for road use due to safety and emission issues. I also hear that they are way, way under powered for climbing even the slightest hills. Check the HP on the engine, I think they have less than 900 cc engines.

 

[Inspector507]

Ohio won't allow them on-road for commuter use.

 

[jeffsw6]

Unless my arithmetic is wrong...

If you do that commute five days a week for fifty weeks a year, at $3/gallon, you reduce a $750 fuel expense to $300, for a $450 savings. By the time you purchase insurance and tags you might break even and have a spare vehicle in case your truck needs maintenance, or you might come out a little ahead or a little behind. Either way, with only 20 miles of daily commuting, it is not a huge win or loss.

Except... you spend some money purchasing the truck itself!

Change that to $5/gallon fuel and your expenses are $1250 @ 20 MPG or $500 @ 50 MPG. I would bet fuel will cost $5/gallon before you wore out the vehicle, so at some point in its life it probably would save you a little more.

Then there are other savings on tires and maintenance of course, but you have to ask yourself if you will really come out ahead, factoring in the purchase price of the truck, insurance, and tags. I think it is hard to justify a commuter vehicle for 20mi/day unless you don't already own a second vehicle and you want the comfort of knowing you can still get to work, run errands, make it to the auto parts shop, etc. if one breaks down.

Just my $0.02!

 

[mitch becton]

had a local motorcyle dealer buy 20 of these from the dist with the understanding they could be made street legal in the state of georgia. sold a couple only to have to buy them back state of ga would not title them for on the road use in essence he bought a group of very high dollar farm use only vehicles state of ga says you can use for farm purposes only and would you beleve he tried to contact dist and they are out of business he took them to local car auction took his beating and got away from them. do as much research as possible before making this purchase

 

[Bigfoot62]

Recently, one of our La State Troopers told me that they were only legal where the maximum posted speed limit was 45mph or less. That would limit them to city driving only.

Now, that's what the current law is here, in Louisiana.

YMMV. (pun intended)

 

[woodhe1]

Recently, one of our La State Troopers told me that they were only legal where the maximum posted speed limit was 45mph or less. That would limit them to city driving only.

Now, that's what the current law is here, in Louisiana.

YMMV. (pun intended)

Good Morning Everyone.

I have been selling these trucks for several years both new and used. The agriculture industry is the biggest purchasers of these vehicles (for me). They are great chore trucks on dairy operations.

I think the 50 mpg is a little high. 40 would be closer. I had a Suzuki Shuttle Micro Van tested in a 305 Postal stop route for 7 days. She got 26 mpg with it.

These vehicles seem to get better mileage at lower speeds. The little 660 cc (45 hp) motor has to really wind up at higher speeds.

My new trucks are street legal in all States under the Federal LSV/MSV ruling. They may have to be speed limited for your States requirements (example IL 35mph, WI 25mph, MD 54mph) They are streel legal "as built" in several States NE, WY, MS, etc. You can google mini truck state laws.

I know there are a lot of questions so ask away.

A good link is Japanese Mini Truck Forum - Powered by vBulletin

My web page is Welcome

Photos: Suzuki Super Stalker (truck), Shuttle (van) Mail Mate (auto)

 

[Iplayfarmer]

Thanks for chiming in woodhe1 (and everyone else). I'm see a lot of comments, but I'd like to hear more first hand experience. Can anyone give me first hand knowledge of a time you were not allowed to operate a mini on the road? I checked the Idaho rules, and these trucks are considered UTV's. That makes licensing cheap and easy. They are allowed on roads, but not the interstate. I'd have to figure out how the insurance thing would work.

I understand that these little guys are limited use. In other words they either work for a specific need or they don't.

Here's my commute... 10 miles. No hills. 50 MPH for 7 of the 10 miles and the rest is city driving. I usually run one or two errands during the day, too.

The truck I'm driving right now gets about 15 mpg on a normal tank. That's the gas mileage I'd be replacing. I figured that the 50 mpg the salesman advertised was an overstatement, but the 40 mpg that woodhe1 claims seems reasonable.

I use the bed of my truck a lot. I'll often be hauling packages to the shipper. It's a lot nicer to put 6 packages in the bed of a truck than on the seat. That's why this mini truck idea appeals to me vs. a cheap little compact car. I also like that many of them have a 4X4 option. I tried the motorcycle idea for a while, but I only have 4 months out of the year that are nice motorcycle weather. I can get another 3 months of riding in, but it's not real enjoyable on the cold mornings. Plus, I couldn't haul packages or pick up stuff from the store very easily with a motorcycle.

I ran the numbers based on $3.15/gallon gas (what I paid at the last fill up). The minimum savings in gas would be $682 assuming 40 mpg out of a mini truck. Another thing to factor is in that I use mid grade fuel in my Chevy, and I assume that the mini would use low grade. The guy selling them around here wants ~$3K. I'm sure that goes up if I start asking for 4X4 or any other options.

The appeal to me is saving miles on the Chevy.

 

[Gary Fowler]

You seem pretty satisfied that you can use it on the street as a ATV. ATV arent legal on streets in Texas for sure. I just moved to Ark. so I am not sure about here. Wyoming they rode them all over town and country roads so they must have been legal there.
Before you buy one, check out the different makes for parts availablility and reliabity. I was thinking about one of those before I bought my RTV and I remember that some of them were better than others and part were easier to get.

 

[woodhe1]

These mini trucks are street legal in several States. AL starts 1/1/12. NE was 1/1/11. An easy way to check your State is google mini truck state laws and the list will pop up.

These are not titleable in IL but I know a few people who have bought a titled truck from a different State and transferred it to an IL title. They got IL plates and are using it on the roads. One guy drives his on the IL Tollway into Chi.

Insc. State Farm insures them.

Texas, they are street legal in certain county's.

Most parts are available in stock at a few mini truck parts dealers. You can check out Japanese Mini Truck Forum - Powered by vBulletin for their names. I use GR Imports and RSM & Assoc. Gr has about everything for every brand pre'99 (Suzuki, Daihatsu, Honda, Mazda, Subaru, Mitsubishi).

AR street legal.

On the '90-98 models the cab sizes vary a little Suzuki/Mazda (smallest), Subaru (largest). All are 3 cyl., 660 cc except Subaru is a 4 cyl. 660cc. The Suzuki/Mazda engine is under the seats. Dai. and Mit are a little behind the seat. Hondas are in front of the back axle, and Subarus are a rear engine. The '99 and newer had a change in the body style and the cabs are a little bigger. All '99+ went to fuel injection.

4 wd Honda is full time. The other models are either electric of manual lever to engage 4wd.

dan

 

[Iplayfarmer]

You seem pretty satisfied that you can use it on the street as a ATV. ATV arent legal on streets in Texas for sure. I just moved to Ark. so I am not sure about here. Wyoming they rode them all over town and country roads so they must have been legal there.
Before you buy one, check out the different makes for parts availablility and reliabity. I was thinking about one of those before I bought my RTV and I remember that some of them were better than others and part were easier to get.

In Idaho I have the option to buy a plate for an ATV so that I can drive it on the street. I've done it with my 4-wheeler. I'm sure there are still restrictions like no interstate driving, etc., but I can drive on some streets.

 

[tcartwri]

Ford subcontracts an all electric Transit van. They have an extended range compared to the electric cars, and the gov will give you a hefty rebate because they are all electric. If you were to lease one under the company, and write off the lease, it could be very cheap to operate.

Azure Dynamics - Transit Connect Electric

 

[Iplayfarmer]

Ford subcontracts an all electric Transit van. They have an extended range compared to the electric cars, and the gov will give you a hefty rebate because they are all electric. If you were to lease one under the company, and write off the lease, it could be very cheap to operate.

Azure Dynamics - Transit Connect Electric

If I were to go electric it would probably be like this... [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLjnRj2Dhwk&feature=related]White Zombie 1/4 Mile Speed Record PIR 9.10.2010 - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Renze]

Dont know how well your current truck rides, but you cant be serious about running one of these 10 miles a day. In Holland, its only the townships and municipalities that use them for urban traffic, because they are narrow enough to drive over a bicycle path. YES and thats Europe, where vehicles in general, are smaller than what you guys are used to...

at 50mph these things with narrow trackwidth already risk being blown over...

For commuter traffic i'd get a Jetta TDI.... They have as much room in the trunk as the minitruck has in the bed...