Hello all, new member and researching all I can before I decide what to purchase. So far I'm leaning towards the hijet or carry, still trying to learn more. Main purpose will be going to cabin with tools and supplies etc. The drive up to cabin is sketchy with a full size truck at best lol, so a mini is a no brainers for me. Thanks for all the great info. Shane
Nice! I'm North up between Cleveland and Akron. Keep reading the older posts as you'll learn a lot and find out much. Are you thinking of trying to find an older unit and kinda restore it or a newer one with less work to be Done? Mine was Gifted to me and needed a lot as it was abused by my Friend grand kids as he got older and unable to look after things and when he saw what they did he gave it to me in front of them as they both hung their heads in Shame! It was rode hard and put away more than just WET! If I we're to purchase one today a must would be Fuel injection!!! Good Luck, Limestone
A 25 yrs old one so it can be street legal is where i want to be. So I can drive straight to the cabin legally or back road cruises. Where I work recently purchased 2 new hijets for us, with plows and salt spreaders. Whoever they got them from should have been on this site lol. Too high of lift, springs not strong enough etc. Anyways, between a hijet and carry, I'm trying to understand the differences. It seems the hijet is full time 4x4, vs the carry that is 2wd plus 4h and 4l, at least on some models. A dump would be nice but not necessary, but diff lock seems like it is.
Shane, MY S81LP-TRK "89" HiJet is a Left Side Driver which is what I prefer but it's also 2 Wheel Drive with optional 4 wheel Drive,(4x4) and also the High and Low Range option. The Book shows the S81LP-TRK to be a 4X4 Vehicle but Mine is a 2 wheel drive with optional 4x4! Could be a misprint. It also shows the S80LP-TRK to be 2Wheel Drive. (Maybe this one is a 4x4 and not 2 Wheel Drive. Don't Know. Could be a misprint. I know what I've got and it works for me! With the 4 wheel Drive I don't have a Dif. Lock on mine. Never needed it although I am familiar with it on other Heavy Equipment. Limestone
Thanks limestone, I may not need a diff lock either, it's just hard to know. I would like to drive a few different ones before I finally decide. I have been looking at mayberry mini trucks, it would likely be worthwhile to make the 5 hr drive there and see for myself.
I got my van from Mayberry. They can also delivered it for a modest fee. I was almost 3 hours away and he dropped it at my house for a few hundred bucks. Plus they have a huge selection of minitrucks 25+ years old and new. The old ones come with a NC title as well.
Yes they do have a large selection, and he seems like an honest man. At least I haven't read anything bad about him.
I'm thinking it might be wise to go see what they have after you do your research and decide what you might want and possibly drive as many as you can. Like I said mine fell into my Lap unexpectedly in the middle of several projects but that's normal for me. Good Luck, Limestone
Well I ended up finding a 96 carry within a couple hrs of me. It was in really good shape, and a good price, so I brought it home lol. It's a dd51t 5 sp. Runs really good. Have had it up to 95kph and it drives surprisingly good. I may regret not waiting on one with diff locks but I can swap axles sometime if I must. So really the first thing I want to find is a good manual for it, then i will decide what I need to do first
About the only time I use diff lock is when bed is empty and I only need a little more traction, like going up my gravel driveway. It's good to have, but I don't think it is necessary. My little truck has gone everywhere I've pointed it!
Hello from Vinton County Ohio , i happened along my lil suzy carry on the way to the grocery , a hunting preserve owned it to feed livestock , believe its a 93 dd51t , 4wd high /low with differential lock , had the little truck only bout a week so dont really know much about it yet , runs good but ugly ,
