Commuting with Kei Truck

Hi, I am new to the forum. I have questions related to commuting. I live outside of Winnipeg, Manitoba (Central Canada) and drive to the city for work. Round trip I drive about 130km (80miles) a day. I am not sure if a Kei truck would be capable of driving this distance everyday. I realize that they aren't that fast on the highways however If I can do 90km/h (55mph) that is fine. I want to be able to use this as a commuting vehicle as well as a work truck for the farm (going to the dump, watering trees with a water tote as well as some light off roading). My question is, will I burn out the motor constantly driving at this speed? Also, here in Winnipeg we have extreme winters. I assume these trucks don't have block heater capabilities, which isn't a problem as my family member works at a company that produces cold weather block heaters etc...I am more concerned about the heat these little trucks can produce so I don't freeze my azz off.

PS: The Kei I am interested in is the Diahatsu 4X4 5spd however I still cant decide between it and a Carry

 

Commute

Hey dude, I'm not sure what you have locally for minitruck supply, but my suggestion would be a Subaru Sambar due to the rear engine (quieter hwy driving) especially with such a daily commute.. If you're really lucky you might find one supercharged which will aid the top end, but really with a straight 660 and the 4cyl, I don't think you'll be overwearing the engine to any major extent.. On any other make/model, I'd be concerned with a 3cyl mid engine at full bore on the hwy every day. As for the heat, all I've seen is good results for heat in the little buggers, just crank it up and go for it!

 

Very true about rear engines and the quietness.
And the SC Sambars will have traffic keeping up with you
PM me if your interesed in a Sambar,I seem to have some taking up space,well a tiny space.

 

My Sambar will do 100-110 KM/H all day long (heavy tires ), and it's not supercharged. You'll have no trouble keeping up with traffic.

 

Commuting

Hey Colin, how heavy of tires? I'm thinking of going with the stock 12x7 and putting 23" or 24" for mixed hwy and offroad.. Any suggestions for a best overall ride.. I'm also going to have to go for the 2" lift from Crossroads I guess to do it.

 

Commuting...

I am sure the Sambar is a nice machine for the highway, my concern is that due to the rear engine, it reduces the payload capacity drastically. Not to mention they are harder to work on. Keep in mind, I don't mind doing 85 to work if I have to. I really need something I can dual purpose work/commute so I don't have to buy a truck and have two vehicles registered/insured just so I can run to the dump and hall a bit of firewood.

 

Working on them is actually incredibly easy,that is if they ever needed to be worked on

 

I dunno dude, I'd say the rear engine would be more of an ease for maintenance myself... Ever tried emptying your bedload on the side of the HWY to get at the engine? as far as the payload goes, i've found better results with the Sambar than the Carry, but heck any difference will be miniscule.. That's my understanding anyways.

 

Tell me about your Subaru? KM's, Price and how much to send it to MB

 

I'm still a wannabe (only test driven one) but I'm in more or less the same position. 90 km/h won't be a problem at all. The Suzuki 5-speed 4x4 that I test drove started getting noisy above 100 km/h, I had it up to 110 and I'm sure it would do more given a long enough run. I'm looking for a 5-speed because of the overdrive gear.

I don't think engine durability will be a problem as long as you stay on top of maintenance and oil changes. These are short stroke engines not unlike motorcycle engines. The engine spins like mad but the pistons aren't going all that far with each spin. I'd use synthetic oil as I do on my bikes. I have a 2004 Kawasaki ZX10R with about 50,000 km on it that runs like new, and I know someone with a '99 R6 with over 80,000 km on it ... neither engine has ever been apart.

For Winterpeg (!) you could always do what the VW diesel folks do, and use a plug-in coolant heater. Even if the engine doesn't actually need it to get going, if it's -30 C outside, there's something to be said for turning the heater knob on and having heat come out right away ...

 

Whoa, what? You're going to haul around more than 700 lbs of cargo routinely? If I'm not mistaken, most of these trucks are rated for ~300 kg of payload. :sly:

Yeah, exactly. The Sambar has a swing-down roll pan under the tailgate, giving access to all the vital bits. If you need to get in touch with any of the parts which are only accessible through the top, I think unloading your cargo would be the least of your worries.

Colin

 

on a mid engine you lift the driver and passenger seats and there is an access panel in the bed as well, and lots of room to move around under the truck

i have a 5 speed 660cc and cruise it easily at 65mph, more often than not i'm at 75 and have been known to bury the needle past 140kmh.



i drive 300-500 miles a week and have been doing it in my daihatsu for the last few months with no problem.

as far as payload goes, a spring rated for 350kilos is just that. regardles of coil or leaf, it's rated for that capacity. i had a 65 chevy long bed with factory coil springs at all 4 corners that never disappointed me when i had to carry something heavy.

 

Thanks man, that is exactly the info I was looking for. I just cant decide between the Hijet and the Carry. I have to get more info, all I know is the Hijet is a 5spd, Hi/Low with Diff lock, I don't even know the year. 44000kms (27300 Miles) and the guy wants $5500 CND. I will be testing it as well as the Carry tomorrow.

 

i have over 101,000 km on my truck now and it still runs flawlessly. starts every morning and off it goes. the year isn't as important as the condition of the truck in my opinion. i was looking at a 93 hijet that had less miles than the one i got, but was priced higher and it had a lift kit which i didn't want, so i passed on it.

 

Seeing as how in Canada we can't get anything newer than 15 years, are the trucks still very similar as far as style, comfort etc. I know newer ones probably have EFI standard, where as old ones would be carb.

 

i'm not well versed on the interior dimensions but i think they are pretty close. others know better than i, but if you look at the early 90's daihatsu versus the 99 and later, it looks like they just change the front body panel that holds the headlights. truth be told i wouldn't mind the earlier body style so i didn't have the composite headlights that cost a fortune to convert over for driving on the right hand side of the road.

 

Yeah, Milt's truck is EFI and twin cam, and anything in the years that we can get and legally register will be carb'ed and single cam.

 

Come on--Subaru SC--fuel injected baby

 

true; forgot about that one.

 

I regularly haul a 120 gal slip tank full of fuel to my farm which is 90 km away on my 2cyl, 550 cc Sambar. (which is about 1000 lbs). It only dropped the box height by less than an inch and handles it great. I do have to shift on hills more often, but luckily not many hills around here. The rear-engine is very easy to access by flipping down the "bumper". I drive it mostly on gravel roads where the speed limit is 80 kph and keep it around 75 with a load, 80-85kph empty.

 

My s/c sambar is much faster, but too many grasshoppers painting the front yellow this time of year.

 

Ok... here's my $.02:

If I was planning to commute I WOULD NOT choose a mini truck, even a SC Sammy. I love my truck, but, let's face it... these are not comfy cruisers. Neither are they that economical on fuel. I could be out to lunch on this figure since I don't track my mileage too carefully, but I doubt you'd get much over 30mpg (Canadian gallons) on the hiway, maybe less.

These trucks are great and have so many uses and so much fun, but would be just above a chainsaw on wheels on my list of favorite hiway commuter vehicles. Now, if you wanted a vehicle to drive to work WITHIN the city I couldn't think of much better.

OK... Flame away diehards!!

BLES

 

bles,

not to flame you at all, i typically see 32-35 on the hiway... but, i also have a late model truck.

even at only 30mph i would be elated to drive it. my full size dodge gets, at best, 19mpg hiway, don't get me started on the street mileage. it's small and cramped, but with gas prices what they are, when driving 3-500 miles a week, it's a gas saver.

 

Milage

you better get a tune up, I am driving a '91 Hijet and the milage averages about 41 per Candian (Imperial) gallon this is mostly around town,maybe 20% highway. Will have to try exclusive highway milage sometime.

 

i should also add that on the hiways i run it WOT typically between 120-140k that drains the tank pretty quickly. is i stick to the country roads at 100k i get closer to 38mpg. but i hammer it getting up to 100k

 

Yup. Try it and post back. Mine definately won't get 40 something on the hiway. Maybe mid-high 30s if I stay at 100 MAX. 110-120km/hr cruising on 4 lane hiway is high 20's low 30's for me. I can only get high 40s if it's strictly putting around town. Could be some of the other models are better than these, too.?

Milt:
Yeah, I agree compared to the big trucks (we have 3) they're economical, but neither of my 3/4 tons is at the top of my commuter list either! My point is just that there are cheaper, more comfortable vehicles if you just need to drive long distances on the hiway.

 

At present I have 15 Sambars, I travel to Regina (180 km) regularly and take a different truck each trip. I try to keep them just under 100 kph and on average I am getting 40-45 MPG (Imperial gallon), I took the S/C model last week and it did the worst, 34MPG but it was quite windy against me. On the other hand, the 2 cyl only made 30, but when I drive it on gravel roads at slower speeds it makes around 40. My wife drove one to Regina, she drives a bit slower and less agressively and she hit 52 MPG, but I think she had a tail wind that day.

 

Teeshka:
Yeah, that 34mpg at just under 100 is about what I'd expect. That's in line with the mid-high 30's comment I made earlier. I've had in the 20s against a big wind and a bit over the 100. Into the 40's if it's all just putting around.
BLES

 

TEESHKA= SAMBAR HOG!

why so many?