I really want a LHD mini truck with a dump bed. Can anyone help !!! I have been in contact with one dealer but I haven't gotten any responses yet.
LHD's are much less common, any particular reason why you don't want a much easier to find (not to mention no speed limiter) RHD? it's not that hard to get used to... all the pedals are in the right places, you just have to learn to shift left handed and the turn signal switch is on the right side of the wheel instead of the left
The truck will be used for my business which means different people will be driving it. With the help being as hard to find as it is , I'd like the truck to be as "normal" as possible.
mistersweeper, I see your from Saskatchewan, Canada. I think your plans for findind a LHD will be very limited in Canada because of the following: - Not sure if they were brought into Canada for off road use [i.e. forces bases, golf coures, etc] - You can't to my knowledge bring these in from USA to license for the road like you can import 15yrs or older Kei truck from Japan - If you do find a LHD here in Canada make absolutely sure it is already registered/ licensed/ insured for the road. If not the take papers to local MV branch and get it writing that you will be able to. DO NOT just take the sellers word for it if it is unlicensed/ uninsured/ not registered or you might be in for a big shock.
lhd min These people in Lower mainland of BC have lhd mini trucks they bring in from the Phillipines. I saw them at the Abbotsford Sportsman Show and they definitely have lhd drive , extended cabs. A lot more room in them. http://www.superlauto.com/sla.html James
i would be real careful about the ones coming from the phillipines. i'm pretty sure those are the "rebuilds". they buy them as scrap over there and re-assemble them. i've heard it's some pretty bad work. i've also heard a couple guys were really satisfied too. if you go that route, look it over REALLY well and probably take it to a qualified mechanic to look at how the steering has been assembled. just the fact that those guys are "auto recyclers" seems to say that they would be working with "salvaged" vehicles. JMHO search for craktskulls posts on the build of his truck in the phillipines and read through some of the posts he has participated in... should give you some good info.
I e-mailed them today. I asked for availibility. Price is a bit steep @ $10,000. But if it is a rebuild, then it may not be bad.
There's no way I would pay $10k sight unseen for something of unknown quality. What happen's if you get here and it has a serious safety flaw that requires repair before you get through the OOP or what ever Saskatchewan requires. Now you have a vehicle that you have $10k invested in and possibly require more major $$ to ever see the road. When you are getting into that price range I would get a dealer to bring it in and get it inspected. If they are not willing to deal with who ever the company is then that should tell you something right there. Personally I would save the $$$ and buy the best RHD Kei you can find in your area and use the money saved to have a professional driver training school put your employees through a "RHD" school in your new vehicle if you are that concerned about the RHD aspect. If they can't handle driving a RHD then I'm not sure I would want them driving a LHD of mine. By this I mean that driving a RHD is not much different than a LHD vehicle, there are very few instances where you have to take extra care because of the RHD factor. Passing on a two lane highway and left hand turns at intersections where you can't see the oncoming traffic due to the car across the intersection being the only two that make my list. Just yesterday while driving my E350 Cube Van I almost took a teenagers door right off and him with it as he didn't look before he opened it just as I was going by him. If he had been in a Skyline RHD it would'nt have mattered.
To me it is worth 10k for a rebuilt drivetrain, new paint and warranty AND left hand drive. As I said in original post, left hand drive I WANT. Why would I buy a right hand drive if it isn't what I want.
How are they warrenting it from the Phillipines when you are in Canada? Just remember to there idea of a "rebuild" might be nothing more than a bad paint job and a crazy glued dash for change over to LHD. Other things to consider: If for some reason your rig gets totalled in crash will you be able to get your money back out from insurance? Resale will be brutal as well as your market will be extremely small I would suspect.
i wouldn't even call it a "rebuilt" drive train, it is usually a replaced drive train. a lot of those phillipine trucks are shipped from japan as "junk" and in pieces. then once in the phillipines they are scabbed back together. it's not like having and engine rebuilt, the whole damn truck is rebuilt, but not like new rebuilt, more to the point, reassembled.
Spend a bit more and get a clean, all stock, super clean, super low milage lhd truck. Able to legaly reg'd for the street in any state. http://www.minitrucktalk.com/showthread.php?t=2276
California !! I think Japan would be closer for me to go than California !! Can that unit pull the cargo trailer in the background . Hee Hee..
I've actually used the hijet to move it around my lot empty with a pintle hook with ease... but I wouldn't tow on the street with it loaded.
