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General information about mini trucks

Discussion in 'General Truck Info' started by kilgoja, May 30, 2014.

  1. kilgoja

    kilgoja New Member

    hey i'm considering buying a mini truck. i've seen a few around but not many and i have no idea where a dealer is in Alabama. I know there are some around or at least maybe there used to be because i've seen a few of these trucks around over the years. i even saw one driving around about a week ago. others i've seen just sitting on the side of the road not in use. mostly suzuki carry models. i saw 1 mitsubishi.

    anyways i was looking for some information about the trucks.

    first they are street legal in alabama. i don't want one that is restricted to 25mph or are they all restricted these days??? how can you even shift through 4 or 5 gears if that is the case? you will hit 25mph in 2nd gear.

    if they are all limited to 25mph then that may be a deal breaker right there. i don't want to spend $10k on something that only goes 25mph unless it's a lawnmower lol.

    i read somewhere about something if the truck is older than 25 years old then the laws don't apply or something along those lines???

    anyways here you just can't drive them on interstates. i think you would be an idiot to do so anyways lol. i would more so just drive it to the gas station on back roads or to eat lunch or something along those lines. i would mostly drive it at home or off road and on dirt/gravel roads. that sort of thing.

    i went through an ordeal with a vw bug last year. i found it was more work than fun if you know what i mean? i'm not looking for a project car i want something with minimal maintenance and something that doesn't need to be worked on alot to keep it running.

    in other words i don't want to have to rebuild carbs and that sort of thing.

    i want to get one with efi which i think they started making those in 1999 if i've read correctly???

    also a/c is a must since it's 90 degrees or hotter 4 months out of the year down here.

    of course 4wd...diff lock would be nice but not a deal breaker.

    i want manual transmission. i hate automatics. i've never owned one in my life. lol

    i read some guys adjusting valves on their trucks. is this something just on the older models or are the newer ones the same way? i'd like to get one with hydraulic lifters so i wouldn't have to mess with that maintenance item.

    also i had a question about the timing belt/chain. i know that toyota and honda changed from a belt to a chain on their vehicles from 2003 onward and you no longer have to change it out. the chain lasts for the life of the engine. i was wondering if they had done that with the mini trucks at some point of if they all still use timing belts that have to be changed?

    is there a certain year where they stopped using points and a mechanical distributor?

    on the mini trucks are they more like a car or more like an atv? like do you change the oil every 3-5k miles or every 100hrs like an atv? i had a honda 400ex a few years ago and it was really expensive just to do something as simple as an oil change with all the special oil you had to use and everything. also every 100hrs came around too quickly. seemed you were doing maintenance as much as you were driving it lol.

    i work all week long. i don't want to have to work all weekend if you know what i mean?

    anyways i own a 2009 toyota tacoma 4x4 reg cab 4cyl as my main truck. i was thinking of getting a diahatsu hijet mini truck. i thought about a honda but i'm not sure about the real time awd system and how good it is off road or in the snow or whatever. plus you can't shift into low range on the hondas either.

    i would want to put a 2" lift on it and get some itp ss wheels size 12x8 and carlisle all trail tires 23" tall. also would want a sprayed in bedliner or rubber mat to protect the bed.

    anyways any help, ideas, or suggestions would be nice.

    i have found a few online with efi priced from $8000 all the way up to $14,000. my toyota truck only cost me $20,000 so i would like to keep the cost at $10,000 or below if i could on a mini truck. lol

    i get suspicious of these trucks i see for sale for $5-$6k and they only have 50km on them and they are a 1990 model. my guess is they have 150km or even 250km on them if they are that old.

    i dunno there seems to be alot of confusion about these trucks and alot of laws that don't make any sense to me. why are mini trucks limited to 25mph when an atv can easily go 60-80mph depending on which kind you buy? why are mini trucks not street legal because of safety yet motorcycles are legal? lol

    strange country we live in i must say.
     
    Last edited: Jun 1, 2014
  2. spaner

    spaner Well-Known Member

    Yup, it's all bureaucracy in the governance of the mini-truck ownership/operation here in North America; they build these by the milions all over the world but, NOT in North America.

    Why?
    It's an old argument, and has been covered here, ad nauseam. Akin to tax law; perhaps you'd enjoy that discussion over that of the transportation violations of the region.
    If you want one, then you'll have to jump through the hoops associated with the ownership/operation of the unit, in your region. Unless you're a senator in charge of transportation rhetoric...OR, perhaps, a lobbyist...:p

    Good enough for Mumbai, but not for Ohio, or even Idaho.
    Up here in Canada, we also have our problems with the mini-truck question. Lie, cheat and steal, the regs are starting to get so tight, that we too are starting to do what we have to, just to be able to drive a vehicle that makes sense;
    Evident through, that the government wants us to buy and drive, the 50 thousand dollar Dodge. Eco, this and that, the rhetoric does not lend itself to the reality of the ownership/operation cost. People DO ask the questions though due to the reality of the cost to get from A to B, but they are stopped COLD, in their tracks, by the bureaucracy.

    What ever happened to "it gets me from A to B"; you're not spending enough of your money to do so though. Spend more, less restrictions,
    spend less, MORE restrictions....

    An OLD argument, we here (at mini trucks) just do what we have to, to drive what we know makes sense...:pop:
     
  3. woodhe1

    woodhe1 Member

    Alabama; to be street legal they must be speed limited to 25 MPH that is your State Law.

    If you want one that goes faster than 25mph, then it must be sold with an ORV (Off Road Vehicle) MSO and is not street legal ... would be considered an ATV.

    Private Message me if you need more clarification.

    TN 35 mph
    AR 55 mph farm use
    LA/MS 55 mph no Interstates/multi lane hwys.

    http://www.iihs.org/iihs/topics/laws/minitrucks
    dan at woodysminitrucks
     
    Last edited: May 31, 2014
  4. kilgoja

    kilgoja New Member

    wow that's the first time i've ever heard of a law in alabama being more strict than another state. lol

    usually alabama has the fewest red tape of any state in america.

    well couldn't you have one not speed limited and just when you drive on the road don't drive it faster than 25mph? that is the same thing isn't it. you are still going the same speed.

    we drive cars that can go well over 100mph but we drive them within speed limits required by law. what is the difference?

    you need a mini truck to go at least 40-45mph when driving on dirt or gravel roads around a farm so anything slower wouldn't be something i would want.

    i would just get an off road one then and not even drive onroad or keep it less than 25mph if i did drive on road.

    to me 25mph is more dangerous than going 40-45mph on a road. you are more likely to get run over by other cars.

    it's not like i would use a mini truck as my daily driver. people out there just don't know how to drive anymore. i would mostly use it off road. the only time i would get on road is to maybe drive it to the gas station to fill it up with gas or go to taco bell for lunch or i would drive it on the road when it snowed. you can drive atv's on the road when it snows because they close all the roads down here when that happens.


    i guess i will have to go the atv route if i get a mini truck. plenty of trails to drive on around here.
     
    Last edited: May 31, 2014
  5. woodhe1

    woodhe1 Member

    If a vehicle can go over 25 MPH it does not meet the law. 25 has to be the max. MPH
     
  6. kilgoja

    kilgoja New Member

    it's not like the cops would check to see if you had it restricted or not.

    there's trucks that drive without mufflers on them or catalytic converters and that is against the law too.

    heck people drive atv's and golf carts on the road all the time here. i mean not on main roads but back roads. it's very common. illegal but common. they don't get tickets for doing it. the cops will just tell them to get off the road if they get caught. most times they don't even get caught.

    i would just keep it off road. that way i don't have to buy a license plate or get insurance or anything for it.
     
  7. woodhe1

    woodhe1 Member

    Then buy your truck with an off-road vehicle MSO and your good to go ... does not have to be speed limited.

    dan at woodysminitrucks
     
  8. kilgoja

    kilgoja New Member

    ok so all the legal stuff aside. anyone have any info about the trucks as far as adjusting valves or changing timing belts and such as that?

    is there a certain year where they stopped using points and a mechanical distributor?
     
    Last edited: Jun 1, 2014
  9. kilgoja

    kilgoja New Member

    i just read something. is it true that if a mini truck is 25 years old or more then it wouldn't have to be speed limited to 25mph and it would be street legal?

    say if i got a 1990 model for instance it would be 25 years old in 2015.

    am i understanding that correctly?

    or would it still have to be restricted to 25mph for the state of alabama?

    i'm just curious. i need to know these things before i purchase a truck so i will know what to look for. thanks
     
    Last edited: Jun 1, 2014
  10. TRAX and HORNS

    TRAX and HORNS Well-Known Member

    25 yrs or older they are exempt from epa rules.
    But they come at a price. There are different rules and regs. to get them through customs.
    Look up "importing vehicles" on the Fed. EPA web site and get a six pack of your favorite adult beverage and start reading.
     
  11. kilgoja

    kilgoja New Member

    i wouldn't have to import a truck. they have honda 1990 acty trucks for sale on ebay right now from a guy in tennessee which is one state above me.
     
  12. snakedoc

    snakedoc New Member

    I have my honda acty tagged in Alabama all I had to do was bill of sales and insurance. That gave me a special mini truck tag Mt0000. It is non interstate use I have never been stopped or questioned and the inspection was a joke all they did was check the vin
     
  13. ozarkman

    ozarkman Member

    Last edited: May 27, 2015
  14. ozarkman

    ozarkman Member

    Dan, I just posted the same link. My mini truck experience here in north-central Arkansas has been very smooth. I have encountered every type of LEO in four counties — city police, auxiliary police, Sheriffs, and State Police — nearly every day and never had a problem. They just wave and drive on. My truck has street tires and 15-inch alloy wheels so it's obvious it isn't a farm implement, there's no license tag, and I don't display an orange triangle. Of course, I keep up with traffic, observe traffic laws, and always wear my seatbelt.
     
    Joshish likes this.
  15. joesan

    joesan New Member

    I need to know where I can find the proper spark plugs and oil filter for a 2003 Marathon Wuling minivan. Can someone help me?
     
  16. woodhe1

    woodhe1 Member

    Call GR Imports ...
     
  17. TRAX and HORNS

    TRAX and HORNS Well-Known Member

    Ditto, GAndR Imports
     

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