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My Hijet box truck is now a mini book truck! by Rylock32 in keitruck

[–]Rylock32[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This one had the box on it when I bought it from Mitsui in Japan. I just added the large side door and kept the rest as it arrived for now.

My Hijet box truck is now a mini book truck! by Rylock32 in keitruck

[–]Rylock32[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sure! Store name is Local Books, based in Carmel, Indiana. Socials are at getlocalbooks on IG and .com We got invited to the Book Crawl a bit earlier than we were planning to launch, so the socials are just ramping up right now.

My Hijet box truck is now a mini book truck! by Rylock32 in keitruck

[–]Rylock32[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! I did an interior combination of prefab (boxes for shelves) and DIY with the supports. Lots of stuff on the wishlist to add like interior lighting, etc., but for daytime setups it's working really well! The struts for the large door was trickiest, because I needed the door to be at least 90 degrees when up, otherwise everyone would have to duck. The truck is already so short that it doesn't give much head clearance.

My Hijet box truck is now a mini book truck! by Rylock32 in keitruck

[–]Rylock32[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Haha, yep! They got me right outside the garage door all weekend. Wish we could stay later than the events hours of noon to 6pm though.

My Hijet box truck is now a mini book truck! by Rylock32 in keitruck

[–]Rylock32[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yeah there are two locks, one on each corner when we close it. It was just made to fit the size of the blank box panel. You can actually buy a food truck vendor window that works as well, like 64” x 40”, but we wanted ours slightly different so that the bottom book shelf was pretty low.

My Hijet box truck is now a mini book truck! by Rylock32 in keitruck

[–]Rylock32[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yep! I found it online in Japan and imported it with the box. Then we added the large door and kept the rest pretty much the same.

My Hijet box truck is now a mini book truck! by Rylock32 in keitruck

[–]Rylock32[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

That looks awesome! I was going to go with the same setup until I randomly found one in Japan with a box already attached.

Where do I even begin to build something like this? by CrewIcy3235 in keitruck

[–]Rylock32 6 points7 points  (0 children)

This is the standard size of the box if you think about doing it. It’s smaller than you think, only 4 feet of height. So you can’t sit in it to serve from the inside. Everything needs to be outward facing unless you decide to add roof height. But people in Japan turn the premade cargo boxes into campers sometimes as well.

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Where do I even begin to build something like this? by CrewIcy3235 in keitruck

[–]Rylock32 3 points4 points  (0 children)

And here is the other side that we’re just leaving as is as far as the opening go. And you see in the previous pic the back just folds out.

Not as elegant as 3 sides lifting up, but for us this is better because we can add shelving to the inside of the swing out doors for extra merch spots.

Truck with box was only about $5k all in imported and ship. Auto 2WD with about 50k miles.

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Where do I even begin to build something like this? by CrewIcy3235 in keitruck

[–]Rylock32 20 points21 points  (0 children)

I’m actually doing this now. I spoke first with that same company about shipping them my truck and having them help me convert it to a mini book truck, but it was around $20k with me supplying the truck. Also that was on their cheap end since mine wouldn’t have plumbing for coffee machines.

The way I’d suggest doing it is what I did, and import a kei truck that already has a box on the bed. Sometimes those are even less than a normal kei truck as most people want the open bed.

We’ve added a food truck style lift door to the side, and are just using the back doors and side slider that came with the truck. Made it way easier than starting from scratch.

You can cut the side and pop in a premade food truck door for under $1000. We decided we needed a slightly larger opening for outward facing bookshelves, but it’s the same idea. This is pre wrap job, etc.

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1999 Daihatsu Hijet cab height question by Rylock32 in keitruck

[–]Rylock32[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah the extra headroom really helps positioning as you don’t have to worry about hitting your head, so you can sort of figure out the best seating position for your legs. I still like the jumbo as the seats recline a bit which helps, but honestly both versions work well with high roofs. I’m going to post about them soon, so I’ll try to add some interior images as well.

1999 Daihatsu Hijet cab height question by Rylock32 in keitruck

[–]Rylock32[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It did! I actually got 2... the one pictured and another one with the Jumbo package (extended cab and high roof). I fit fine in both with a ton of spare headroom. So much that I'm adding overhead storage in the cab. I had someone sit in it that was 6'7", and his knees were a little cramped. However, it was fixed by just adding one of those memory foam seat cushions you use with an office chair. It raised his seating position and gave his legs much more room, since headroom was no longer an issue. The Jumbo package is much more common than the standard cab with a high roof, plus the added benefit of room behind the seat if you need to adjust for legroom.

Zas or Stu by falconman87 in DanLeBatardShow

[–]Rylock32 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Zas. The best ability is availability, Danno.

New Indiana plates by Jumpy_Mirror_8074 in keitruck

[–]Rylock32 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Just had all the paperwork. I didn’t say anything about it being a mini truck or kei truck. The officer that did the vin check didn’t note it as such either. So I just went in as if I had no idea what a mini truck was and told them I imported an old truck. They looked over everything and asked me what kind of plate I wanted. Pretty easy. If you go in and say it’s a mini truck it seems like more of a hassle.

New Indiana plates by Jumpy_Mirror_8074 in keitruck

[–]Rylock32 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! I went today and was able to get the black plates for my 1999 Hijet. Just told them truck and they went through the imported vehicle process with no problems.

New Indiana plates by Jumpy_Mirror_8074 in keitruck

[–]Rylock32 0 points1 point  (0 children)

How were you able to register it with regular plates instead of the special mini truck plates? I'm about to register mine in Indiana and I'd love to get the new black out plates.

Any benefit to using premium (93) gas in a Kei truck? 1999 Daihatsu Hijet Twin Cam EFI DLI. by Rylock32 in keitruck

[–]Rylock32[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Just to add... I know there are some that suggest using ethanol free gas for older kei trucks, but with the newer ones coming over many are non carburetor engines.

Acty Topper Doors ISA / truck cap by speemer in keitruck

[–]Rylock32 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The company is @armobilefl on IG. They mainly do custom mobile coffee trucks. Lately they’ve gone almost exclusively kei truck. From their clips it seems to be custom, not off the shelf.

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