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How to register a Kei truck in Pennsylvania

danwilkerson.com

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Re: How to register a Kei truck in Pennsylvania

#101

Post by leviathant »

warmwaffles wrote: post #25
waiseristy wrote: post #24

These HN threads about trucks are amazing. It’s like watching the same movie over and over again * Kei trucks are the coolest. Big gubment is making it so we can’t register them due to protectionism! * Chicken tax chicken tax chicken tax * Big trucks cause more crashes because reasons! * Trucks are just lifestyle vehicles and nobody actually needs or uses them Over and over and over again

> nobody actually needs or uses them These make me chuckle. Those people have never done home improvement projects or just projects that require picking up 8ft sheets of plywood or 20 bags of mulch.

My wife and I completely gutted and renovated a 2 bedroom home built in 1905 with a used 2007 Dodge Magnum and a roof rack. We initially bought it for a road trip around the US because it saved us thousands of dollars in fuel economy (it was a 3.5l V6) over the month-long trip compared to any van or truck. I initially bought it with the intent of selling it right after the road trip, but it ended up being a really well-rounded vehicle.

I grew up in south central Pennsylvania, and while we still have a fair amount of farmers in that region, most people buy trucks because they're marketed to, not because they're the right vehicle to own.

I clicked through here because I've seen a couple of Kei trucks in Philadelphia lately.

Re: How to register a Kei truck in Pennsylvania

#102

Post by placesalt »

warmwaffles wrote: post #25
waiseristy wrote: post #24

These HN threads about trucks are amazing. It’s like watching the same movie over and over again * Kei trucks are the coolest. Big gubment is making it so we can’t register them due to protectionism! * Chicken tax chicken tax chicken tax * Big trucks cause more crashes because reasons! * Trucks are just lifestyle vehicles and nobody actually needs or uses them Over and over and over again

> nobody actually needs or uses them These make me chuckle. Those people have never done home improvement projects or just projects that require picking up 8ft sheets of plywood or 20 bags of mulch.

My corolla takes 10' long boards. Never maxed out the bags of mulch, but it's >10 for sure.

Have been thinking about a roof rack for sheet goods. Can't see why it wouldn't work.

Re: How to register a Kei truck in Pennsylvania

#103

Post by markdown »

tshaddox wrote: post #81
markdown wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For what the average person uses their $50k pickup for, you most certainly can. Do you really imagine most pickup trucks in the US are hauling bricks on a dirt road up the side of mountains?

No, I imagine the average person in the U.S. is using their truck to drive to and from their office job and taking their kids to and from school. And for that these tiny trucks obviously would not work.

Sounds like they should be using a sedan, station wagon, or compact SUV

Re: How to register a Kei truck in Pennsylvania

#104

Post by FpUser »

chihuahua wrote: post #13
mdtusz wrote: post #4

In the PNW these are absolutely everywhere and for good reason - they're exactly what most people need when they need a truck bed for hauling capacity. Plus, many are 4/AWD and have relatively high clearance so they're great adventure wagons for forest roads and getting out there. If a manufacturer made a truck similar (or slightly larger - not much room for people 6' and over in them) available for the market here,…

If by "they are absolutely everywhere" you mean "I've seen one of them in 25 years of living here", then I agree.

I enough of those in Toronto right in the area where I live

Re: How to register a Kei truck in Pennsylvania

#105

Post by coredog64 »

majormajor wrote: post #67
waiseristy wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Break the cycle how? Every time one of these threads come up I suggest buying a domestic full size 90’s truck instead and nobody gives a shit. The only things that gain traction in these threads is people shitting on their cultural enemies. Because Truck People bad!! Maybe you can help break the cycle by looking at the huge used truck market we already have

> buying a domestic full size 90’s truck instead 90s trucks still had poor mileage and were less safe overall than new vehicles, they aren't gonna be many people's top choice. My current pet theory is that an equally big problem to the "aggressive bro styling super high front grill" issues is an overall decline in relative income/living standards. Less space + money to have a family car + a utility truck, so your tru…

I had a 95 F-150 that I sold off like 20 years ago and I’m contemplating another (or possibly a 250). Like you say, it wasn’t particularly safe: It had one non-progressive airbag and no ABS. If you didn’t keep a bunch of sandbags in the back, the rear end was liable to come around right after any rain.

Re: How to register a Kei truck in Pennsylvania

#106

Post by wrycoder »

dirtyid wrote: post #54
asdfigandfiono wrote: post #3

This goes to show just how superficial and backwards the American car industry is. You can do the job of a $50,000 pickup using a machine that is half the size of a Honda Civic, costs $10,000 new, gets 40 MPG, fits in any parking spot, is easy to load, and sells for around $10,000 new. But they look weak and girly . Vanitas vanitatum, omnia vanitas.

Well are they actually weak vs a pickup? I'd love a Kei car if I can pay 10k to survive a crash against mass monsters out there.

They will do better than a bicycle. Assuming you stick to roads and speeds that you would use for a bicycle.

Re: How to register a Kei truck in Pennsylvania

#107

Post by alexjplant »

joeframbach wrote: post #77
warmwaffles wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> nobody actually needs or uses them These make me chuckle. Those people have never done home improvement projects or just projects that require picking up 8ft sheets of plywood or 20 bags of mulch.

Home Depot rents a big truck for $20-$40 for the 2 hours I'd need it. I could rent this truck every weekend for 30 years for the same price as a giant truck. And I wouldn't have to worry about its maintenance either.

Once you do this math it becomes very difficult to justify truck ownership without also being responsible for something that needs hauling/towing on a regular basis. The truth is that in 2023 a truck is a lifestyle purchase for many people as evidenced by the average cost of a new F-150 and the inability to buy buy a no-frills Regular Cab pickup outside of fleet sales.

If you'd have told me 15 years ago that people would be buying pickup trucks brand new for $60k with regularity I wouldn't have believed you but here we are...

Re: How to register a Kei truck in Pennsylvania

#108

Post by rootusrootus »

woodruffw wrote: post #68
rootusrootus wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's the expensive route if you do it too often. I can buy 2 yards of mulch scooped into the back of my truck for quite a bit less than the cost of 20 bags. And then there's things like gravel, which you really don't want to try and get in bags at all. I could probably get by with a smaller truck if I didn't tow a big trailer with it, but I'd still choose an actual open-bed truck over an SUV or minivan. Different s…

Sure. To your point above: do you think that trucks are the best-selling car in the US because Americans are routinely hauling loose gravel, or could it be something else? I suspect it's something else.

I suspect it's because a modern crew cab half-ton pickup is pretty close to the perfect vehicle for a big swath of Americans. Huge interior room for the family, enough bed & payload to be useful for everything from hauling appliances to gravel, dirt, lumber, whatever.

Just about the only thing it doesn't do well is fuel economy and driving in downtown urban areas. A large number of people rank those issues low on the list.

Re: How to register a Kei truck in Pennsylvania

#109

Post by manuelabeledo »

avar wrote: post #87
manuelabeledo wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cars nowadays are larger for improved comfort, not because of safety features. Larger cars aren't inherently safer. Modern safety features, such as airbags, crumple zones, etc., have been around for over twenty years now, but cars have gotten larger. Regardless, the comparison was between Kei trucks and pickup trucks.

Cars are in fact larger partially due to advanced safety features, in particular doors, pillars etc. have gotten a lot thicker over the last 25 years. > Larger cars aren't inherently safer. Yes they are, you're probably better off in a crash without a seatbelt in a bus than in the highly safety rated mini the bus crashes into. Newton matters.

> Cars are in fact larger partially due to advanced safety features, in particular doors, pillars etc. have gotten a lot thicker over the last 25 years.

I would like to see a citation on this. Car doors have gotten larger partly because there is so much more stuff going on there than 20-30 years ago, mostly a bunch of new electronics. They are also larger because, well, the cars are larger.

> ... you're probably better off in a crash without a seatbelt in a bus than in the highly safety rated mini the bus crashes into.

This is obviously not a fair comparison. I would be safer in a tank as well. Fact is, a current generation Toyota Camry is effectively safer than an early 2000s F-150.

Re: How to register a Kei truck in Pennsylvania

#110

Post by sellmesoap »

mdtusz wrote: post #4

In the PNW these are absolutely everywhere and for good reason - they're exactly what most people need when they need a truck bed for hauling capacity. Plus, many are 4/AWD and have relatively high clearance so they're great adventure wagons for forest roads and getting out there. If a manufacturer made a truck similar (or slightly larger - not much room for people 6' and over in them) available for the market here,…

Another advantage for off-road kei trucks is they are narrow, allowing you to drive around obstacles that you would need a lot of clearance (big tires/lift kits.) A lot of trails in the PNW get overgrown and a narrow vehicle that weighs less causes less trail erosion and can squeeze past obstacles rather then going over them. My understanding is that in Japan insurance cost is based on your odometer, and there are strict inspection and maintenance requirements (mandatory replacement of suspension after so many KMs) so most of these vehicles are lightly used before export. I notice saber rattling by the auto industry here in B.C. trying to limit imports, I see this as a regulatory capture move, I'm not impressed!
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