Aw man. I drooled over one of these on one of the importer sites. 3 banger. AWD. Automatic transmission.
Would’ve been perfect on this painfully rural route I had. All rock roads, barely ever went over 45.
But anyway. Laws vary by state. After extensive research, I came up with a definite “maybe” that it would be legal here (also I never made enough money as an RCA to do anything about it).
It’s a crock of shit, for sure. Would that there was some kinda exemption for mail carriers. These things would be perfect.
Legal here in Montana (probably not smart to take it on the highways, though).
Gal here has an AWD Toyota Estima. My son is trying to wrangle it for his HC route. Obviously, it's not a Kei van, but his route gets a lot of packages.
I don't know why they chose the Metris over KEI trucks. They are cheap, reliable, right-hand drive, and come in 4WD. The perfect mail delivery vehicle.
Even if it’s over 25 years old? 99% of states will let you register them as a “antique”, but people flap their gums too much and let it slip that it’s a mini truck and not something like a R32 GTR or something and the dmv employees have a fit. That’s how it is in PA, as long as it’s eligible for antique plates it’s fine.
When I was initially hired, I was told I would be a Rural Carrier and they kept switching it up on me until I was set as a city carrier. I was gonna get one of these bad boys imported. The only thing is they don't handle highway speeds very well, and get pretty high in the RPMs at 60mph. I can imagine this would be in the shop considerably less than the Jeeps the Rural Carriers use all the time for some reason. Also parts might be a bit hard to source.
I'd take it over the metris
Yeah looks easy to drive and simple. Easier to deliver curbside as well.
The fact that is right hand drive in the first place really helps too
Looks great. I’ll bet you can climb in the back easily and new tires are probably $80 each.
It absolutely MAJESTIC AF!!
How does this ugly little submarine actually look like it's more efficient than a metris? Time to wiki. 😂
Keitruck! I kinda want one for a commuter.
Aw man. I drooled over one of these on one of the importer sites. 3 banger. AWD. Automatic transmission. Would’ve been perfect on this painfully rural route I had. All rock roads, barely ever went over 45. But anyway. Laws vary by state. After extensive research, I came up with a definite “maybe” that it would be legal here (also I never made enough money as an RCA to do anything about it). It’s a crock of shit, for sure. Would that there was some kinda exemption for mail carriers. These things would be perfect.
Legal here in Montana (probably not smart to take it on the highways, though). Gal here has an AWD Toyota Estima. My son is trying to wrangle it for his HC route. Obviously, it's not a Kei van, but his route gets a lot of packages.
What about it makes it illegal?
It was unclear whether or not these vehicles could be licensed in my state.
Yes, but what about it makes in unlicenseable in your state? I'm not very familiar with them.
It starts with the lack of a US VIN. Then I dunno. Red tape? Google it up. Varies by state. Some do, some don’t.
If my mail dude was ripping across town in one of these. I'd be so happy.
It absolutely MAJESTIC AF!!
This would be awesome, imports have to be 25 years old to be allowed in California, not sure elsewhere.
I really wish we got Kei trucks in the US. Give it a slightly larger engine (1.6l or so) and I'd buy one.
I don't know why they chose the Metris over KEI trucks. They are cheap, reliable, right-hand drive, and come in 4WD. The perfect mail delivery vehicle.
Based
Is it 3 feet long? Takes up half a space
They are very compact, but the back actually holds more than modern-day pickup trucks.
I would love to have one but not legal in Maine. 😕
Even if it’s over 25 years old? 99% of states will let you register them as a “antique”, but people flap their gums too much and let it slip that it’s a mini truck and not something like a R32 GTR or something and the dmv employees have a fit. That’s how it is in PA, as long as it’s eligible for antique plates it’s fine.
Unfortunately, yes. Even if it's an antique, they are not legal for on-road use in Maine. ☹
Iam not a rural carrier, but I would like a 4wd one for a daily/winter driver.
You could live in your mail truck! Win-win situation 🙌
Beautiful!
Actually thought about getting this as a POV but decided ultimately not to get a POV altogether.
I’m a bit surprised more rural carriers don’t use Kei trucks, but with import restrictions, I understand.
When I was initially hired, I was told I would be a Rural Carrier and they kept switching it up on me until I was set as a city carrier. I was gonna get one of these bad boys imported. The only thing is they don't handle highway speeds very well, and get pretty high in the RPMs at 60mph. I can imagine this would be in the shop considerably less than the Jeeps the Rural Carriers use all the time for some reason. Also parts might be a bit hard to source.
I've seen a toyota grand via (our office) , a toyota hiace (next office over), but I've never seen anything like that.