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Comment by tarxvf | Hacker News Reader

It can certainly replace _some_ pickup trucks in the same way that there is overlap between a motorcycle and bicycle for _some_ purposes.

I would happily buy a kei truck, but something like an older Toyota Tacoma is my best bet right now.

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The real equivalent of a kei truck in the US I think is a minivan. I see a lot of blue collar workers that use an old beater minivan as a work truck basically. Its an easy engine and platform to work on; something like a honda odyssey shares parts with a civic and most anything else they made in the same era. There is a ton of space when you take out the seats, that locks up unlike a truck bed. The floor is a lot lower than a truck bed which makes it easy to load stuff in and out. You get much better gas mileage than most commercial van platforms. They sell for a few thousand dollars in decent shape used and hold their value.

My kei truck is actually a replacement for my Tacoma (had to sell it because it was starting to fall apart). I wanted something to fill the gap. It's always nice to have a truck bed available for hauling random stuff, but it was during the used car boom and Tacomas seem to hold their value (everything was expensive). Not since I first got my license have I had so much fun driving. It's like a right-hand drive, manual transmission go-kart.

I've hauled bikes, lumber, furniture, rocks and soil for landscaping. Unfortunately, it's no good on the highway, so long distances are out, and your knees are the crumple zone, so I drive the same way I bike...hyper-vigilant and try to anticipate danger. Still worth it.

Not trying to persuade you, I just love to talk about my truck!

N=1, moved into my current home a few years ago and it has a long and steep hill for a driveway (house is downhill from the street). I bought an early-00's pickup truck thinking I'd use it a lot more than I have. It's languishing in the driveway and will probably go up for sale soon.

If I could reasonably get and register a Kei truck in my state it would be the perfect replacement, literally all I need is some hauling space for big trash cans, and the occasional Home Depot run.

If they made them electric I'd already be getting one!

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