As I understand it, bringing them in as non-road vehicles bypasses the need to be an NHTSA registered importer, therefore Eaton Minitrucks is most likely not an NHTSA importer. However I believe one must get authorization from the EPA to do so and like I said, they have to be speed limited. The EPA has caught on to people using temporary speed governing devices so they're more strict on the types of speed limiters they will accept now. Customs may inspect the vehicles coming in to ensure that the EPA requirements are met during the importation. To answer your question, you will not be able to get a modern KEI truck through an NHTSA registered importer. It is not practical to make them conform to US standards unless you don't mind paying for the importer to strip the truck down completely, heavily modify the frame and cabin by welding additional support, crumple zones, etc. to meet US crash test requirements, add airbags, add bumpers, emission systems and more. By then it won't resemble a KEI truck. You might as well simply build your own vehicle at this point which many states allow.
Thanks once again!! I'll definitely do a little research in seeing what it takes to get authorization from the EPA, and if the exporter/dealer in Japan I'm looking at using is able to put the speed governor on it. I reached out to a NHTSA registered importer before I typed my previous response and the lady asked me to e-mail her the year, make, and model of what I plan on importing. They deal with a broker here in the port of Baltimore, so even through from based on what you last said about not being able to go through an NHTSA importer I'll be curious to see what she comes back with and I'll share that here. Again, I reached out to them BEFORE your latest response But the lady I spoke with seemed somewhat familiar with the mini trucks so maybe I might be able to get somewhere with importing one, rather than paying an arm and a leg to buy one already here in the states. The stripping down and piecing back together subject is something I've read a little about and is definitely an absolute nightmare. No thanks, right? Haha. I'll keep you posted, but if you come across anything else that might help me in this attempt I'd surely appreciate it an awful lot. Thanks RENLI3D!!!!!!
I've posted this in another thread so I'll just copy and paste: In my opinion, the downfall of the mini truck market could come from too many people handling the same truck causing the price to get out of sorts. Initially, this was one of the appealing aspects of kei trucks: it was a cheap, usable alternative to overpriced and sometimes limited UTV, RTV and side by sides. Look at the cost of a new Gator or Kubota RTV, you can buy 2-3 if not 4 decent little trucks for that money, haul more cargo and do it more comfortably. Even some of the new Mules are breaking 10K. To answer your question more directly, on trucks less than 25 years old, the engine family will need to be emissions tested and will need and EPA certificate as well as a few other slight mods. This all popped up late 2008 and brought things to a halt with importing the under 25 year old trucks. Things really didn’t start flowing again in 2010 and 11’. There are only two companies that bothered to go through with the EPA emissions testing. One is a US based company that only wholesales the EPA certificates to dealers who move containers of trucks each year. I believe he has certified 10 engine families last I checked which allows a good variety of trucks to be brought in, different makes, carb and EFI. Yamagin is the other company that tested and certified the kei class engines. They are a Japan based exporter that also operates minitruckdealer.com out of Los Angeles. Outside of resources like Craigslist or Adhuntr, these guys will probably be your best bet (on something under 25 years old) and are great to deal with. They get containers weekly and have a vast stock of trucks in California and Japan. They would probably have something to fit your budget. They buy the truck at auction and sell to you. Some like getting their trucks "fresh off the boat" from Japan. Sometimes buying a truck that has been in the states for a while is like buying a used bush hog. It may be tough to tell how it was used and maintained. OP has a great write-up on importing your own truck 25 years and older in this thread. If you decide to go that route, Japan Car Direct is amazing to work with. Again, the problem importing anything under 25 yourself if the EPA engine certificate. These engines are classed small, non road engines (SNRE) so they can be held to less strict emissions standards. I believe my 01’ Hijet burns as clean as anything domestic I drive! To be a SNRE, top speed can’t exceed 25 mph. This is where the speed limiters come in. Basically a metal cage around your shifter that leaves you with 1st and Reverse on a manual transmission. Automatic trannys are governed electronically. My fuel injected 01’ basically had an engine certification label in the engine compartment, a speed limiter and the OEM rubber fuel lines had been changed out to some rubber lines that met the EPA’s fuel line permeation rate. There are a few more slight mods that are made to the carbureted models. The emissions parts have to be warranted for two years by the importer also known as the engine manufacturer. Once both companies did their initial engine testing in late 2009, 2010, each engine family received a unique family code. These two companies are allowed to carryover their test results each year, no new testing needed right now. Only the first letter in this unique family code changes each year, B to C, C to D and so on. This EPA testing, while the bulk of the work is already done, does add some extra cost to each truck (speed limiter, fuel lines, labels, etc.) But, outside of this extra, necessary cost, what you are seeing today is likely the result of the truck passing through too many hands before it gets to the end consumer. Don’t get me wrong, there are a ton of other fees (auction, customs, cleaning, shipping, etc.) but every hand that touches the truck adds a profit. There are Japanese auto auctions 6 days a week, with big sales on Thursdays and Saturdays. Do yourself a favor and sign up for free access to these auction portals and watch how many of these trucks sale and what they actually bring, especially with the weak yen now. The life of a typical mini truck can be a busy as: truck sold at auction to Japanese company such as Clarkies, Davey Japan or Meiwa Auto. Truck then sold on to select US dealers. Truck then sold to local mom and pop style dealer. Truck lastly sold to end consumer. Now we’re up to selling prices that can make these trucks not as attractive as they once were. The research is easy. It’s easy to even find the same truck advertised on multiple dealer sites, all with different prices. Work with someone that will get you the truck YOU want with the options you want. Don’t fall for the “each truck is hand picked” line when in reality, someone is scouting for low to mid grade trucks that can be bought cheap and sold for maximum profit. Not meaning to rant, but the whole doom and gloom, ignore the man behind the curtain attitude about importing kei trucks get old, especially with the wealth of info and knowledge available online. If you do enough research, you can find trucks on Japanese wholesale websites and then find the exact same truck later on US websites.
Forgot to mention, minitruckdealer.com just updated their Japanese inventory last week. They have over 100 models in stock right now. Check with Rika or David.
