I live close to Spokane but in Idaho. CDA/Sandpoint area. Looking to see if anyone is close by with a mini truck? Planning to buy a Sambar but would like to see/drive one before driving 8 hours to Seattle to buy one. thanks!
One more question. How does registration work in Idaho? Do they get normal license plates or the restricted ATV license plates? thanks for the help
Mini Trucks get an ATV plate in Idaho. There is explicit wording in the state statutes regarding minitrucks, which allows them to only be plated as off-road vehicles. I heard a rumor that license offices, in some counties are licensing the vans as on highway vehicles. And, there is a Hijet truck, here in Lemhi County which has regular license plates, because the guy bought it from Boeing, and had a Washington title when he showed up at the license bureau, so they plated it. There was a guy in CD who was importing the vans about a year ago. Don’t know if he is still up there.
Thanks so much for the detailed information. So the truck will be limited to roads under 45 mph? I am actually looking at a truck in Washington that is already licensed so I am hopeful that I could just transfer it to Idaho. We will see. Thanks again and what a great forum, so much handy information.
Actually you can’t legally drive them on State highways. but can drive them on City and County roadways, unless they have decided to ban them. That said, it kind of depends on our law enforcement. I drive mine on a State highway fairly frequently, without issue from the local LEOs. I’ve only been seen by the Highway patrol a couple of times, and they just smile and wave. But, I’m in Lemhi County, and the more populous areas might take a dim view of them.
Very cool. I’m hoping to get a Sambar and I’m really excited. I’m a little bit tall so I was told the Sambar would fit me better then a carry. But the Suzuki’s have the neat lift kits and accessories
The Carry and Hijet seem to have the best availability of lifts and custom parts like bumpers. Sambars seem to be one of the hardest to get custom parts for.
I wonder why that is? I am hoping to mostly drive on streets. I’m a contractor so hoping to use it to run around town and check in jobs. I live in a small town with low speed limits.
I bought a Hijet, because I intended to use it to plow snow with. That was the main driver in my decision process. I have one of the BlackLine electro-hydraulic plows. With 300-pounds of sand in the back. I ended up with a fifty-fifty weight distribution. In 4wd low, it sticks really well. The little trucks are far superior to plowing on a ATV or UTV, because the trucks have real doors, windows, and pretty good heaters. Being up in the panhandle area, the snow is at least of as much issue for you as it is me. So, give serious thought to the ability to add a good solid front mounting point for a plow. And, as a contractor, a scissors lift dump unit like I have could come in really handy.
That’s really good advice. I had not thought of a plow before. We live in town for now but eventually want to be in the country where a plow would be needed.
Might actually be a chance to pick up some winter plowing contracts. The little trucks can get into places which the bigger trucks don’t fit into.
There are a ton of guys around here who plow, I’m surprised I have not seen any. do you know anything about how Washington licenses them? I’m thinking about buying a registered one in Washington, and it seems those are legal on freeways there. So I am wondering if when I transfer it to Idaho it would be regular license instead of restricted?
It kind of depends on our license bureau, and those are run by the Counties. So, there is some variability. The week after they refused to give me a title and plates, a guy came in with one from Washington with a clean title, and they just registered it, and gave him a set of plates. With plowing, not a lot of guys have seen them, and realize the potential. And the size lets them get into places a larger truck won’t fit. But if you mount one of the winch operated ATV plows they don’t have any down force, and are a real pain. I have the BlackLine with the hydraulics on it, and it will generate 600-lbs of down force. So, I can get the hardened snow, and most ice to bust loose. If your doing contracting a dump bed, and or scissors lift comes in real handy. I can fill the bed with remodeling debris, then just back into the landfill, and hit the switch to get rid of it. And, the scissors lift was really handy when we redid my buddies roof, because we could just put his underpayment, and new shingles on the truck, then lift them up close enough to the eaves to toss them on the roof, and did’t have to schlep them up a ladder a bundle at a time.
That’s really good advice on the dump bed. I am hoping to pick up a Sambar, everything I’ve read sounds like it will best fit my tall body. Ha ha Miya gotten to a point where I have to have one of these little trucks. I’ve thought about it for to long. at first dmv refused to title your truck? What did you end up doing? That’s my biggest fear is that I won’t be able to license it. I’m originally from Kalifornia so I’m used to being told no by dmv
I am 5'11" and I fit in my Sambar quite comfortably. I think if I were taller than about 6'2" my knees wouldn't fit under the steering wheel, but headroom wouldn't become a problem unless I was much taller.
Right on. Thanks so much. I’m hoping to take a look at a few trucks in Washington in the next week or so. I’m hopeful that with Washington title I can get a normal Idaho plate for them instead of the restricted plate.
If you're in/near Seattle, hit me up a few days in advance and I'd be happy to let you get a feel for the Sambar assuming I'm available.
Thanks a lot Reese. Unfortunately I’m in Sandpoint so about 400 miles away. I’m pretty sure I’ll have fun driving one around a few times a week but if not I think I could sell it fairly easy. There are lots of ranches and people with property here who could use it around their land. do you daily drive yours in Seattle?
Yeah, I drive it about 5 or 6 days a week right now. The novelty hasn't worn off yet. Had it for a month and it's still a blast. Long term I will probably be dividing my commutes 50/50 between the Sambar and my WRX. You are almost certainly right that you could easily sell it if you decided not to keep it. You'd probably actually turn a small profit. I posted pictures in one of the Seattle Subaru Facebook groups and not only did several people express serious interest in getting one of their own, they were shocked at how little I paid.
That is so cool! I’m hoping to enjoy mine several days a week. do you have pictures of it? How many miles were on it when you bought it? Do you mind sharing what you paid?
https://imgur.com/a/3Qr7Q6V I have hundreds more but haven't gotten around to curating the best ones into a bigger shared album. I am in the process of setting up a small blog where I will detail all of the work and upgrades I have done and plan to do. It had 76,000 km on it. I paid: $1,650 for the car $50 insurance $1,400 shipping $1,660 import broker fee $381 registration in WA Total $5,241
Wow that’s really nice looking van man. Congrats! Let me know when the vlog is up I would love to read it. Who did you import the van thru?
That is super cool! I’m hoping to get to Seattle in early December to check out a few Sambar trucks. Wish I could find a fuel injected one that was reasonably priced but everyone wants an arm and a leg for those.