Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Pond Boss Mini Trucks

Hey all;

Been considering a purchase of a UTV/MUV for some time, and have my sights set on the Honda Big Red MUV or Kubota 900 but both are pretty pricey. I have also run across Mini Trucks - here's a link to a website that offers them:

http://cajunminitrucks.com/zencart/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=1

Wondering if anyone has any relevant experience with these. The units I've seen for sale have around 50k miles and are around 12-18 yrs old. However, they cost 60-70% less than a new tricked out UTV, have enclosed cabs for cold weather, and other advantages. Thoughts?

Thanks

The mini trucks are kind of cool, but I am physically incapable of driving them. I am just too big. I have clients that love them though.

N8

thanks for the reply. do they favor them over utv option? any clues of advantages other than the obvious [engine size, speed, enclosed cab]?

any new vids? im jonesin!

3 clients have them, but I think just because they were the only toys that they hadnt had yet. I would much rather have a utv.

We have some videos that are close to being finished, but Allen has been on vacation and now he is back to school. Once he gets situated into a routine, he will start pumping out some more.

My police department serves an area that has a pile of bike and walking trails. They wanted a vehicle to purchase that could go off road to search these types of areas for lost children, the elderly or look for naughty criminals. They did a pretty lengthy testing process before they committed to buying anything. They ended up buying two of the Daihatsu Japanese Mini Trucks and 16 Polaris Rangers. I had nothing to do with the selection process though, so I cannot tell you why they selected them over anything else. Like n8 said, the minis are a bit cramped. If you're under 6', I think you'd be OK. I have driven the mini truck and the Ranger. What you end up getting I think would depend on what you are looking to do with it?

I looked at them and thought about repairs, parts availability, getting stuck, etc. I have a couple of 400cc Yamaha 4 wheelers that do just about everything I want to do including pulling a small 2 wheel trailer with 500 pounds of corn. I can also run a 4 wheeler up into the bed of my pickup (after I clean out all the junk) to bring to the house for maintenance.

You're definitely looking at the high end on 4 wheelers and I just haven't found anything that my 400CC's wouldn't do.

Age, maintenance, parts, weight, over all size, ease of entering/exiting the cab, blah, blah. Them thar are a few of de tangs that convinced me to keep my Rangers vs. selling one and buying a mini truck.
As far as a cab goes, you can buy a removable Roof, Windshield, Doors etc. on e-bay for half of what dealers sell them for.

Interesting thread TJ. I went through this same thought process. Folks that I had talked to said that the mini trucks felt under powered. I never actually drove one of the mini trucks but I looked at a couple of them. My parents bought a Polarius Ranger 500. It was the previous year model that was still on a dealer lot. I believe they paid about $7,000 for it. It is an amazing vehicle. Four wheel drive and in low gear setting it will climb very well. The dump bed comes in very hand for hauling brush, etc. We don't have an enclosed cab though, ours has a fabric top and a windshield. I would think that in this economy you might be able to find a good deal on a UTV.

While I haven't had one, we had something similar a few years ago at work. It was O.K. for getting around, and I can see where a big guy might be cramped. We used it on pavement/gravel/blacktop and traction was limited when it snowed. The truck that we had was 2wd (well, 1 wd - no limited slip differential), not 4wd. The motor is under the front floor, and it (at least on the one that we had) was pretty cramped to work on. I'm not sure if limited slip diffs are available for them. My neighbor has a Polaris UTV and it's pretty handy to have a bed to throw stuff in. His is a 2008 model, and it's noisier than my ATV.

I hunted with a guy that had a UTV with a cab on it, no doors, but he said they are easy to put on. His complaint about the cab is that in hot weather, there wasn't much air flow going thru the cab. The cab also dropped his top speed by 7 or 8 mph. OTOH, the cab was nice if you had to go out in the rain. He was going to re-work the windshield to put a couple of vent windows in it that he could open to get some air into the cab.

I can't find a link to it on the 'net, but Mother Earth News has an article comparing a bunch of them. They were pretty impressed with the Big Muddy Motorsports for the $7995 price: http://www.bigmuddymotorsports.com//Files/700_UTV_Back_8-09.pdf

Thanks guys...I can buy a used Polaris Ranger, Kaw Mule, Kubota etc. for $5-8k, about the same price as these Mini Trucks, and probably addresses my immediate needs more directly [towing, hauling arse around the property, etc]. Once I build a home on the acreage I think a Mini Truck might be a good tool for snow removal - but until then I'm back to focusing on the Honda or Kubota.

I have occassionally dreamed of a similar purchase (Re; Ranger or Mule), but it gets shelved due to financial priorities. Regardless, tho, when I do consider a side-by-side, and I look at the cost and jobs it can do for me, I always wind up saying "why the heck don't I just buy a good used Jeep Wrangler or CJ 4x4?" Other than the fact that it would be a little larger in size, it can do pretty much everything the UTV can do. Plus, it can plow snow, tow a boat to another lake, and still run to get groceries (and might even have A/C).

Having the 4 wheelers has changed a lot of things for me. Now, I use the F250 4x4 to get to the place, go to town or haul "stuff". However, I rarely take it away from the house. We go everywhere on the 200 acres on the 4 wheelers.

Exception: I seldom use the 4 wheelers during deer season. I think they notify a lot of deer that I'm around. Even then, I usually walk the last 400 to 500 yards from the pickup.

I guess a big difference might be weather related. We almost never get snow or really serious cold weather.

Our Mule is the perfect work horse for our 17 acres. She is not glamorous, she is not fast, and most don’t think she is pretty. She has never failed us in any of the acreage and pond endeavors we have put upon her (some have been in 4-wheel lock at max throttle).

We have a hydraulic dump kit and a winter-only snap on windshield/roof unit.

Oh yeah, she is fun too!

We have 4 wheelers and a Rhino 700 UTV. For just driving around, I prefer the regular 400-500cc class 4 wheelers. For combination, the Rhino is pretty nice. Would like a higher top end and MUCH better gas mileage on the Rhino though. Overall, I'm not sure that a person wouldn't really be better served with a 400-500 cc four wheeler and a good used Jeep CJ.

You guys don't have these where you are, which is too bad. This is an extended wheelbase (98") version of the mid 80s model that Consumers Union had a field day with during their roll over tests.

They run about 12k new, depending on the strength of the dollar, enclosed removeable cab, A/C, PB, PS, 4X4, 60HP, 5 speed. It will go almost anywhere, it is light, quick and if you pay attention almost impossible to stick.

We have several pieces of property that require pavement to reach and 4x to navigate and this is a hot ticket.

Here the Honda ATV 400cc costs 250 bucks less than this Suzuki.

I have a Kubota 900 and have had several of the original small gas Gators. One benefit the Jeeps don't have is a hydralic lift bed. I use this feature often around my farm where you can't use a front loader, and you would usually have to use a wheel barrow. The Mule may be a good option now, but at the time I was looking they didn't have power steering which is a must for the gals. Even if it's one of the larger 4-wheelers, if it has 4-wheel drive you need the power steering. The Kubota can out pull most everything( I've pulled a low boy trailer with 50 bales of hay), but it's not the fastest one. My only knock on the Kubota is the way they stop when you let off on the accelerator. I don't know if that's been fixed with later models..du

For the money, It is hard to beat a good golf cart. They are made tough as nails to with stand the abuse they go through on the golf course. I had a electric one that I used for hunt and that thing would go through mud like crazy.

There were tons of mini trucks in Japan. They are everywhere.

There are a few of those Hi-Jets around that are registered for the street. "Pimp My Ride" did an episode with one, you should have seen the look on their faces when he showed them the engine under the passenger seat. May be useful if you find a legal one.

I had a 1988 Nissan van that had a similar type of engine configuration. They were all recalled by Nissan due to engine fires. It worked out great for me. I bought it used, carried my surfboards around in it for a couple of years and then Nissan bought it from me for only a couple of hundred bucks less than I paid for it. Fortunately no humans or surfboards were injured during the making of that adventure.