Our “New” Kei Truck

Update! September 19, 2024 – Effective 9/18/2024 the Massachusetts RMV are now registering Kei vehicles whilst they continue to investigate the safety of the vehicles on the road. Earlier in September, our truck had its registration revoked. Since we bought the truck we have been working with our State Senators and Representatives to ensure the future of Kei trucks in Massachusetts. There is a bill to going through the State House to fully recognize Kei vehicles. As you can image, we a thrilled by this announcement and we will continue to push to fully recognize the vehicles!

I’ve been keeping a little secret for the last couple of weeks. One I was bursting to share but all the paperwork is official and we have the title. We got a little Kei Truck!

Before I share more details about Kei Trucks. I think I need to tell you a story.

Once upon a time, there was a boy who grew up in England. He lived on the rustic Cornish Coast and he worked very hard. He looked after his family’s animals and did chores on their small holding. He also helped his dad with his construction company. His dad was a tall man and quite a skilled builder. He owned some normal cars but also had a mini truck and mini van, both from Japan, which were useful on job sites. The boy drove this little truck on sites they were building on but he also drove it to the beach and around the narrow lanes.

Okay, so I guess you figured out the boy in the story is Luke. He always told me about the little truck he drove as a youth. A glint of happiness in his eye when he talked about it. Fast forward to last fall. It was a quiet Saturday and we were sipping coffee at the Lucky Finn and what do we see?!? A Kei Truck parked across the street!!!! I told Luke, “you need to get one. Wouldn’t it be so great to make brush dump and dump runs, but it could also double as a pop up truck and we could sell stationery and art from it.” Ever since then the seed was planted.

Since then Luke researched online trying to figure out how to import one, but it seemed like a lot of work and that it might be a hassle. Then we were chatting with our friend Kjeld (who owns the Afterglow Gallery) and he said his friend had them at his car dealership….but first more about Kei Trucks.

What is a Kei Truck?

Kei trucks are mini Japanese trucks. The word Kei is short for “keitora” which means “light vehicle” and really it’s the size that makes these trucks so adorable.

Some facts:

• Kei trucks are tiny trucks that are built to meet Japanese light vehicle regulations.
• The trucks are right hand drive and are manual (perfect for Luke!)
• Kei trucks are legal in the US and can be imported but each state decides if they are permitted to go on the road (more about this later in the post). In order to be imported they need to be 25 years or older.
• The mini truck is adorable and almost looks like a toy but it’s a hard working vehicle and can be used for construction, gardening, farming, or pop ups!
• They also make a closed in version van. It’s also adorable.

Above photo is the Street Van at the dealership.

Where Did We Get Our Kei Truck?

We took a ride up to Ocean Honda in Hanover after talking to Kjeld’s friend, Lou. Lou has a Honda Acty himself and owns the dealership. He imports trucks and vans and pretty much takes care of everything so you don’t have to worry about issues with import or paying extra fees and filling extra paperwork.

We went up with the kids to take a look. Everyone was excited about the idea of having a Honda Acty.

Can you see Luke’s excitement seeing his new truck for the first time? We looked at several but this had the best mileage and was in really good condition. The truck he went with is a 1994.

Luke took both John and Conor for a test drive (one at a time because there are only two seats). Then we told Lou and Aaron that, “Yes, we definitely wanted one of our own!” We filled in paperwork and paid for the vehicle. Then we waited for the plates and registration to be ready. We got a call about a week or two later to say the truck was ready!

This is Aaron. He is the Honda Acty expert at Ocean Honda and was wonderful to deal with:

Ocean Honda has a page devoted to Kei Trucks and Street Vans. They are the only Northeast dealership specializing in Honda Acty. If you go up there be sure to tell them we sent you!

So exciting!!!! Conor was the first passenger in the new Kei Truck! I’ve never seen Luke so very excited for something. I jokingly tell friends it’s his mid-life crisis car. Ha! Ha!

The next morning we go up early to watch the sun rise but also take photos of the new truck:

We got up at 4:45am to watch the sun come up and it was spectacular! It was the first time Conor watched the sunrise by the lighthouse. So special.

Answering Your Questions:

Our New Kei Truck

So we are all very, very excited about this micro truck. Luke plans on teaching all of us how to use a manual. I enjoy being a passenger and it’s so lovely to see people’s reaction to the truck – we’ve had people smile and wave and even people come over to chat to Luke about it, especially when we picked up fish and chips down on the Town Pier from the Miss Emily’s Food Truck.

If you walk by our home, you’ll see Luke’s little truck parked right next to our house. It’s adorable.

He’s done many dump and brush dump runs and we’ve gone for drives at night up to the beach after dinner. It’s perfect for a beach day too. Just throw all the beach stuff in the back and you don’t have to worry about sand getting in the car.

He’s stuck the Cornish Flag on it (it’s a magnet):

He also added the 3 inch magnet of my Lucky to Live on the Irish Riviera. The 5 inch magnet looked a little too big on this micro truck.

Are Kei Trucks Allowed In Massachusetts

The RMV is no longer allowing registration of Kei Trucks but existing vehicles are currently not at risk of losing their plates. It’s a developing story and you can read more about it here. If you have a Kei Truck and live in Massachusetts please get involved and write to your state representative and senator to try and have them look into so the RMV won’t ban these vehicles. As of 9/18/2024 – We can now register Kei trucks in Massachusetts!!!!

More Resources

There are loads of resources for Kei Truck and street van enthusiasts. You can find one facebook group Luke loves:

The Honda Acty Sub Reddit

The Kei Trucks Sub Reddit

The New England Mini Truck and Van JDM Group

So much helpful information and fun pictures of really cute vehicles.

We’re Popping Up

Of course, we’re really excited to pop up as Finding Silver Pennies with the truck! We’ll update when more Pop Ups are in the works!

Did you enjoy this post? If so, let me know! Do you now want a Kei Truck or Van? If so, I’d love to hear!

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