Hey all, Josh here, glad to be a part of the community here. I'm looking into either importing or buying stateside a Kei Truck. I'm pretty dead set on a Daihatsu Hijet S1X0P truck. I'll be test driving a few in Nashville towards the end of the month to make sure this is for me. I'm 6'4", 220lbs so I want to make sure I not only fit, but am comfortable driving one. I plan to make it my daily and keep my Tacoma as a trail/travel truck. See my signature for that build. In order to accomplish this, I need to be able to title it in a way I'm able to drive it at highway speed on the highway, (65mph here). So I've made some preliminary inquiries to the DMV and my insurance agency. Haven't yet heard back so, fingers crossed. Plans for the Daihatsu if the stars align and I can actually drive it here, I plan to build or buy a body kit and lower it some. I'm also going to find some nice looking wheels, which is easier said than done since the size belays an ATV rim here in the states.... I've found that I like the look of the Vision TIS wheels that come in a 14x7 4x110 setup, so those are the provisionary choice at the moment. Beyond all that and a paint job, I'll probably leave it alone. Although I'm sure at some point I'll want to make it go sideways, as one does when driving a JDM product. Perhaps I'll rig up a drift brake of my own design. I'll probably end up making custom seats, and installing a quick release steering wheel to make it easier for me to get in and out as well as more comfortable. As most things do, this will probably snowball into me looking at wrecked sport bikes to try to swap into the truck, but my wife will kill me if I create another money pit vehicle I love to fabricate when I have access to a welder, and welded up my bumper and skids on my Tacoma. Fiberglass will be a new foray and one I've been thinking about trying my hand at for a while, and one that will benefit my wife in that she has a roof spoiler on her 21 Corolla that doesn't fit right, and so we could remake it. Using the Hijet as a canvas to get good at it will enable us to tackle her project. Also I'm a machinist and have tons of experience solid modeling, so I plan to possibly 3D print some of the parts needed for replacement, as well as possibly model metal parts to be manufactured here. We'll see, I'm ADHD and lazy which = high ambition, low motivation. I had planned to design and build several things for my Tacoma that I either half modeled, completely modeled and never made, or just got pushed off to the side. (Like my rock sliders that I haven't built for 4 years that have sat in my garage in pieces... finally getting to those this month for an offroad trip in TN.) If you all know of some good places to get aftermarket or OEM part support on these trucks let me know! Thanks, and I hope I can learn a lot from you all!
Hey, welcome to the forum. I'm new as well and have a Suzuki Carry for all of about a month. It's been fun so far. I understand you're in Kansas City, MO? You've looked at trucks in Nashville, TN? At Duncan Imports? They seem to have a big selection. I'm in west TN but wound up buying in Jackson, MO at G&R Imports. I'm not sure what a "S1X0P" is. You'll be tagging in MO? My contact at G&R Imports was Travis and he was very knowledgeable on tagging in MO. In TN, no problem getting mine titled but it is a restricted tag (no Interstates OR State Highways). Don't know if any of this helps. Good luck!
First of all going 65 mph on a highway is wishful thinking if its a 4 speed or 4wd. If it 2wd and a 5 speed you will be able to do that downhill and on some level roads (KC has some of that on the Kansas side for sure). Drifting with the stock motor probably not a reality. For your height, try sitting in a lot of different trucks and ones with extended cabs. Also before you do all that fancy stuff you need to tune it, change all the fluids and rubber hoses (vaccum/fuel/coolant etc). You'll have fun I'm sure.
I'm passing through Nashville and I'll be stopping at Duncan. S1X0P is either the 2wd S100P or 4WD S110P. I'm 30 minutes along 470 to work so I want to be able to drive that. Yes, I'll be taking it easy at first, making sure its all tuned up and just driving on the stock engine for a long while. I watched several videos of the climber with the 5mt doing 65mph comfortably, so I just assumed.
KCMO? I purchased a truck from Duncan and had no problem licensing it in Missouri. Duncan will give you 30 day temp tags, so if you have insurance, you'll be able to drive legally right away. It takes about 30 days to get your TN title after buying. Once you have the TN title, you'll be able to go to the MO DMV and get your reals tags just like any other vehicle. I highly suggest that you sit in one before buying. I have a friend close to your size and he didn't come close to being able to comfortably fit in my kei truck. Additionally I wouldn't do highway commutes with a kei truck. Realistic top speed maybe 60 but I wouldn't drive it extended distances at that speed. I use mine as a daily driver but my commute to work is only 2 miles. When I have to go somewhere farther away, I stick to side streets with 45MPH speed limits. In Missouri when you license it, you can drive it anywhere, but for my own safety, I stick to side streets.
This is what I wanted to hear, the ability to drive anywhere without limitation! As far as speed goes, I figured the lofty goal of 65 would be limited but the whole concern was whether I'd legally be allowed on the road. I found a route that avoids interstates, but still travels along slower state routes and only lengthens my commute by about 10 minutes. Hopefully that'll work. If not, then I'll just start looking into wrecked/cheap motorcycles to plunder engines from.... As mentioned in the OP, I sent an inquiry to the DMV about titling, and a message to my insurance agent to make sure everything is kosher.
Well, the dream is dead. I went out to Duncan Imports Thursday the 31st and tried to fit in a Daihatsu Hijet, a Suzuki Carry, a Subaru Sambar, and a Honda Acty. I only barely fit in the Acty and Sambar, but it wasn't comfortable at all. So I won't own one. Maybe I'll revisit once the newer Jumbos are stateside legal. Thanks for all the info!
Ah, too bad. These are the only trucks that my wife and I feel like adults in, but on the other hand it's true that when my dad sat in the passenger seat I practically had to butter the door opening to get him out again. For this generation of Hijet you might try a Super Jumbo if you can find one.
