Hi everyone! I've been thinking about mini truck for a long time and I'm finally at a point where I want to get serious about one. One thing that confuses me is why no quad cabs? I travel to SE Asia and South America for work and see them all over but I don't see any on the auction sites. Is itb they aren't popular in Japan? I'll admit that I haven't really been to Japan in about 15 years, And they aren't driving many trucks in the airports... Does anyone import trucks from other countries in a quad cab?
Hi focojs! And welcome to the minitruck forum., I think there are no quad cabs in japan because if they would make a quadcab out of it, it would be too big to classified it as a KEI car/truck. So That leaves you up to get a kei van. Or 1 step bigger.
The Japanese have a tax system, which makes it expensive to keep and run older ones. So, they are either exported or broken up, with regularity. So, they export some of them to the US. They do make them with in a quad cab”, but the aren’t any longer, just have a shorter bed. The Japanese Domestic Market, has very strict regulation of the Kei class vehicles for length, width, height, engine size, horsepower, torque, and gross vehicle weight.. The Kei class is the only size of vehicle in the JDM. Whichyou can buy without having a dedicated parking spot. and, in the older cities and towns, there are roadways which have bollards on the entries, which limit the vehicles to less than 55-inches, which is just larger than the width of the Kei class with the mirrors folded in.
Thanks for the replies. What I'm looking for is still kei sized but like you mentioned, with a shorter bed. Something like the double cab that Kia makes, http://m.kia.com/worldwide/vehicles/k2500-k2700-k3000s-k4000g.do Maybe I'm just too early? It seems like most of the ones I see in South America are newer perhaps.
They are a size class, maybe two, larger, than the Kei class minitrucks. Those do show up on the auction sites occasionally. The closest you can get in the Kei class, is a “Deck Van”. https://www.japan-partner.com/Auto/21902/Subaru/Sambar/car-for-sale.html But, they don’t really have much of a bed. Because the overall length is still limited to 3.4 m (134 in), a maximum width of 1.48 m (58 in) and a maximum height of 2.0 m (79 in) with a maximum displacement of 660 cc, the larger trucks you’re looking at don’t fit the class for a minitruck. You’re looking at something two classes larger, like a Mazda Bongo. https://www.japan-partner.com/Auto/20063/Mazda/Bongo+Browny/car-for-sale.html# they do show up on auction, and pretty much anybody importing minitrucks, can get one into the US for you. But, you may not be able to license it. Due to emissions, and safety restrictions. Legally the EPA and Department of Transportation restrictions both expire at 25-years from the manufacture date, and the Bongo I linked meets those requirements. However, since the States are the ones who issue titles, registration, and license plates. Your state laws come into play, and it may be difficult or impossible to license one, or depending on your state it might be really simple. So, do a lot of research first. You don’t want to import one, and then find out you have no way to license it for the highway. I’m in Idaho, they will only issue ATV plates for minitrucks, regardless of the age. Montana, right next door, will license them for full highway use.
That Mazda bongo looks exactly like what I'm looking for. What do they call that class size? I've seen a few others from Isuzu in that size. Is there an importer that specializes in them? I've emailed a few but heard nothing back. I'd be registering it in CO as a passenger vehicle so I think as long as it's 25 years old I should be fine. The DMV can be tricky here but I've found some creative solutions to issues with weird motorcycles before. This can't be that much more difficult...
