Japanese Mini Trucks

Japanese mini trucks are unique trucks that come directly from Japan. Also known as “Kei” Class, “Keitora” or “micro” trucks, these durable vehicles are known as gas conserving workhorses. Some companies like Samurai Trucks actually specialize at customizing Japanese minitrucks with tracks. You can see some of these in the videos below.

These minitrucks are becoming more more popular because they are a cost effective, efficient alternative to off-road vehicles. Authentic Japanese minitrucks come directly from Japan through the JDM (Japanese Domestic Market). There are some cases where unscrupulous dealers will purchase minitrucks without seeing them or inspecting them, then they will resell them to people without ever knowing if the truck is in good shape are not. That is why it is important to purchase a Japanese minitrucks from someone who is seeing the truck in person before purchasing it.

The majority of Japanese minitrucks have fold-down box sides and come with hydraulic dumps and scissor lifts. We put a lot of pictures below so you can see what we're talking about.

Normally, Japanese minitrucks weigh around 1500 pounds and can go up to 75 mph. In some countries Japanese minitrucks are certified as regular road vehicles and some are known to get up to 60 miles per gallon. These trucks are normally very affordable in the average price is minimal compared to prices of trucks in the United States.

Most are equipped with 660 cc engines and four-wheel drive and a good majority of Japanese minitrucks are capable of hauling up to a half ton. They are also very light compared to normal trucks and vans.

Japanese mini trucks have continued to grow in popularity. As with any product with a healthy demand, there are always a lot of dealers who take shortcuts and you could end up getting something different than what you thought. That is why it is important to make sure who you're dealing with. Make sure they are inspecting the trucks in person before they purchase and resell to you.

KEI trucks is a term used in North America that describes a vehicle from Japan with an engine size of no more than 660 cc. Most of these trucks are built with higher standards than North American vehicles. In Japan they are extremely strict and require a lot of inspections.

These Japanese minitrucks normally have either four or five speed transmissions while automatic transmissions are very rare. The Subaru has a rear mounted engine and can be found with the supercharger in rare cases.

Japanese mini trucks weigh around 1400 pounds and have a payload of over 800 pounds. Most tracks come with the radio and normal -- accessories along with fold-down bedsides.

You can get parts for these trucks from any local parts dealer or store, so you don't need to go to Japan to get parts if something goes wrong. Most mechanics can work on these trucks without an issue. There are very few moving parts in a KEI truck and usually the parts are less expensive than North American vehicles.

The KEI truck will do mostly anything that an ATV can do, and in some cases they can even be licensed for street use