Hi all, for the last 6 months or longer have been trying to decide on a mountain toy for the cabin either being a Polaris Ranger or the mini truck. After a lot of research I settled on the mini truck and bought one on Saturday. Here is some pictures and video I took today getting familiar with it. I had to take a lot of short videos or they won't load if they are too long. For size reference the truck parked next to it is a Nissan Frontier. It weighs under 1500# 4 speed manual trans with 2hi-4hi-4lo and diff lock ( lockers ) The engine is 660 cc. 60 hp. 4 valves per cylinder. Has everything a Japanese truck comes with heater, radio, wipers some come with A/C mine does not have that option. One thing I noticed is as small as the truck is the interior room isn't much different than my Nissan Frontier. Some have dump bed or a scissor platform that raises up. I plan to modify it and will post the build as it goes. Marty
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Suzuki Carry Japanese mini truck new to me
- Thread starter m1west
- Start date
plan to add a skid plate to protect the radiator a buddy of mine got one and wiped out the low hanging radiator on a hunt.
Yes, I see there is a lot of low hanging items under there that a piece of 1/4" aluminum and a Saturday could take care of. The biggest project will be on the lift. You can go 2" without binding the front drive CV joints by spacing under the struts then another 3" by spacing the between the body and the whole running gear for a total of 5" so you can get 15" wheels with a 26" UTV wheel and tire on it also change front springs to 300# springs. with that lift it gives plenty of lift for tracks. With tracks and 1500# weight the PSI is .6 where I would be using it its always wet heavy snow that crusts over at night. So I thing it might just work well enough to replace the snow cat in the winter and that would be great. Marty
Hi Doc, there is a Ohio dealer. fremontminitrucks.com I bought mine for $5,000.00 from a craigslist ad here in Ca. If you google Japanese mini trucks there a lot of dealers parts and support everywhere. Some states will license them for the street, they will not here in Ca. but they do in Nevada thats 80 miles from the cabin. I may register it there later and drive here. If you are going to modify it for off road the Suzuki Carry seems to work best and more off road parts are available. If left OEM I think the quality on all of them are good. Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Subaru and Suzuki all make them. I think the Subaru unit has the engine in the rear and accessible under the bed. They even make vans. Marty
Here you go. That blade looks a little heavy for it though.
I got a lucky and found a un used set of old stock Camso tracks that I can cobble on the Suzuki along with some Tucker parts I could use for spares in a trade for my Thiokol 603. If I make the deal the Suzuki will be a snow cat too. The track area is 2400 sq. inches the Suzuki weighs nearly 1500# plus 2 adults and equipment so say 2000# thats .83 PS! thats not much different than a Tucker and the Suzuki has lockers where the Tucker does not. I recently talked to someone that has tracks on one and he said he has taken it places that he probably shouldn't have but it went right through without a problem. There may be a Tucker for sale in the near future. The hardest part of the track conversion is the lift kit and some front fender well trimming. Marty
Pictures as you progress please!
i saw a lot of those pod track conversions around here on utv's and mini trucks back when I first got my snow trac running. the pod tracks are gone the snow trac is still running around. I believe the tucker will in the long run be more reliable and a longer lasting machine than the pod track conversion
Problem is the current snow conditions and where the unloading area is 2 plus miles of muddy rocky forest road so using the Tucker is out. After you get to the snow the hills and drifts prevent me from getting there in my 4X4 so I am going this route and when the big snow comes if it does that OK the Tucker will go. I just did all of the maintainance on it and can't imagine the Suzuki could require more maintenance than that, also bought some parts and I can get another engine for the Suzuki for the cost of a few track rollers for the Tucker. The interior on the Suzuki is more comfortable. There is a lot of support with parts and accessories everywhere in the lower 48. The most any repair could cost is $5000.00 that is what the truck costs. It would be nice to have a vehicle you can use year round by swaping tires for tracks . The snow there at the cabin is always wet heavy snow so it has a good chance of working out. We will see. Marty
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMB4stPiV8g[/ame]
you must have a steel track tucker I cant imagine any thing needing more love than one of those. the problem I see with the pod tracks is the tracks and boggies are intended for 500 lb snowmachines not full size trucks or even 1000 lb utvs it does seem to be a never ending battle keeping the the ice wheels in good condition. ive spent some time working on tehm for others so I know the weak points. mattracks seem built better but they are way expensive and also do require maintenance to about the sam amount as a belted snow cat.
I plan to use the tracks in winter only the cabin is 4-5 miles off grid and there are maybe 5-6 trips per winter plus a little playing so the tracks may see 100-150 miles per year. I have read reviews on the camso tracks and people are putting more thane 2000 miles on them without problems running them pretty hard on the Polaris RZR's at much higher speeds than this little truck will ever see. In the summer tires will go on. Customer reviews for the trucks are very good. And yes I have a steel track Tucker . I will be the forum test dummy for this concept and report with pictures and video. Marty
I expect they will work acceptable for part time use the ones up here are used on a daily basis but when you live in an isolated community like bush ak snowmachines ,atvs , and utvs out number cars and are used daily. it isn't what a recreational rig was ever intended for.
I agree, even with the limited use mine will see I don't want belts and chains. I would imagine a RZR or a Ranger would be completely worn out with 20k miles even if maintained. A snowmobile with over 5k has been worn out and rebuilt. I like the old Tucker but the weather this year threw me a curve ball plus 1500# is a lot nicer to haul around than 4500# and if stuck 1500# will be a lot easier than 4500# to un stick. Sounds like off grid is a way of life where you are. If I was younger and know what I know now I may have migrated to AK myself. Marty
So today I traded my old Thiokol 603 for the Camso tracks for the Suzuki and some other parts for the Tucker snow cat. Now the fun begins cobbling them on the Suzuki. In measuring the bolt circles on both the Suzuki and the tracks. the Suzuki is 4X115mm and the tracks are double drilled 4X110 and 4X137. There are adapters readably available both ways. First I want to do some research on which pattern is more common for aluminum wheels. When those are ordered (tomorrow) I will start working on the lift. After doing research I have settled on 4" by fabricating 4" risers for the struts then 2" between the engine/drivetrain for a total 4" lift research indicates you do not want more than 2" spacers on the struts without spacing the Engine /drivetrain due to increased angle of the front CV axels to the wheels. that should get the tracks to fit and 25" UTV tires as well. I have to finish my Christmas shopping tomorrow but next week all of the manufacturing plants are closed and I can put some time in it. Looks to be about 24-30 hours fabricating and installing. Most of it ( engine/drivetrain ) will be 2" square tube with holes in 6 places then fabricating the strut spacers. Also some modification to the steering arm and front A frame stabilizers plus what I haven't seen yet. I will try my best detailing what I am doing with pictures so it will be easier for the next guy. Marty
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After measuring a couple more times I determined the bolt circle on the Suzuki is 114.3 mm ( 4.5" ) not 115 mm. After researching wheels and tires I ordered the wheel adapters to fit the 110mm pattern as there are more choices and the prices are better to. The 137mm pattern there are few choices in a 12" rim mostly 14" and 15" with 30" tires. I will end up with a 25"- 26" tire. I found a mini truck forum on Facebook that sells progressive rate springs up to 475# that give you a decent ride but really control dipping and body roll and are reported to give a 2" lift in the front just due to the stiffness. I don't have Facebook so a friend mailed him for me. He got back to me sometime last night. I replied with my needs and now waiting for his. I hope to have this thing on tracks within a week or 2. Marty
Harley Rose the facebook mini truck forum administrator got back to me. We talked on the phone about what I am trying to accomplish and settled on his master kit $690.00. It is a NO chassis lift 3-1/2" lift that with some front fender well trimming which I planned on anyway will fit the tracks and up to 26" UTV tires. He said the kit can be installed in less than 4 hours with shop tools. It uses progressive 275#-425# springs up front custom heavy duty rear spring shackles for the rear , a polyethylene bushing kit with custom air shocks to set the ride hight exactly where you want it. Also up front strut spacers are included and are adjustable between 1-1/4"- 2" for fine tuning. He also has an assortment tires and wheels at good prices and will order a set when I settle on which ones I want. The lift kit should show up in about a week. I will document the installation with pictures. Marty
So yesterday the wheel adapters showed up so today I
removed all mud flaps
installed the wheel adapters
trimmed the front wheel wells and doors
bolted on the tracks
got some ideas for mounting the rotation limiters, the front ones attach to the lower A arm. I plan to use the 2- 12mm bolts in the picture that hold the stabilizer bar and add a couple more for my new fabricated brackets I will work on tomorrow. The rear bars attach to the frame. I can't do the rear because the lift kit isn't here yet and when installed the dimensions will change. the front won't change so I can do those now.
just with the tracks and no lift kit the ground clearance is 18" and will go up another 3-1/2" with the lift kit. That will be 21-1/2" almost as much as the lifted Dodge. After the anti rotation bars tomorrow when the lift kit shows I am a day away from finishing plus some finish work. Marty
removed all mud flaps
installed the wheel adapters
trimmed the front wheel wells and doors
bolted on the tracks
got some ideas for mounting the rotation limiters, the front ones attach to the lower A arm. I plan to use the 2- 12mm bolts in the picture that hold the stabilizer bar and add a couple more for my new fabricated brackets I will work on tomorrow. The rear bars attach to the frame. I can't do the rear because the lift kit isn't here yet and when installed the dimensions will change. the front won't change so I can do those now.
just with the tracks and no lift kit the ground clearance is 18" and will go up another 3-1/2" with the lift kit. That will be 21-1/2" almost as much as the lifted Dodge. After the anti rotation bars tomorrow when the lift kit shows I am a day away from finishing plus some finish work. Marty
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good work Marty. Impressive. 
One thing I am learning is all the track pods are not created equally. Quality is one example and another consideration is the square inches of the total track area. In the tracked 4X4 section another member posted information and experience installing and using the tracks. There are some negative comments about the tracks and their capability. What I have determined through research is they vary in square inches of track riding area. one example one poster wrote they had a Polaris ranger with Duratracks and did not like off trail snow. When I googled Duratracks I found the specifications to say that they are a very robust track designed for any type of off road, mud, rocks what ever but they are heavy 142# each and the total track area of 1400 square inches. on a 1500# ranger thats 1.071 PSI and thats with curb weight not loaded so thats why the poor performance in deep snow. Another wrote that a friend put a set on a RZR and one season ruined the RZR bent axels bearings worn out etc. Tracks are around 100# each. How was his friend driving with tracks on? If like with tires I can understand how in ruined it in 1 season. The Camso tracks that I have can go about 3000 hours before needing serious maintenance and have a total area of 2400 sq. inches with the weight of the mini truck 1500# the psi is .62 and loaded about 2000# is .83 not much different than the snow cat. So there are some things to consider when getting tracks. I plan to run it slow and not abuse the machinery. Marty
Today I started off by cutting the material for the rotation limiters then the lift kit showed up so I switched gears. The front lift is not overly complicated but the spring is a challenge. First it was very tight on the spring seat and had to be worked down with vice grips. Everything is tight I had to use a bunch of vice grips with the teeth ground off and a couple of small C-clamps to get the spring compressed enough to get the parts and nut back on. everything is so small and tight you can't use a normal spring compressor, if I was going to do a few it would be worth it to make one. The 275#-475# spring is very aggressive and difficult to work with in that small space but I got it in the end. Got one side completely done nd the other 90% tomorrow I will finish it and do the rear lift then get back on the anti rotation brackets.
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Today I started off by finishing the front lift. The adjustable castor camber 2" strut spacer is definitely needed. I used every bit of the slot to get the tracks flat on the ground. When the lower A-arm goes down it really gets the camber out of wack. You can see the adjustment in the picture. Next I moved to the rear lift. I supported the frame with dunnage and used a floor jack under the rear end. The only thing that made it a little difficult is the new polyurethane bushings. I had to cut the shackle bolts on the left side to get the old ones off due to exhaust pipe interference. The new air shocks have more stroke for the lift. I routed the air lines to a utility box on the side of the truck. It ended up about 3-1/4" higher with the lift kit 2" with the strut spacers and the other 1-1/4" from the stronger spring. The only thing left now is the anti rotation brackets front and rear then adjust the tie rods so the front tracks are parallel. Change oil and head to the mountain. I have to work in the field for the next couple days so I can't get back on it until Wednesday. Marty
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Ok, today I was able to finish the rotation limiter brackets front and rear. I set the tracks parallel in the front. There is always something, as I was adjusting the tie rods to get the tracks parallel the one on the passenger side had one tie rod end that would not budge. I even took it off put it in a vice with heat and penetrating oil, still wouldn't budge and I didn't want to brake it so I ran the one in that would move far enough to get it on the driver side tie rod. I got it but now the steering wheel is not centered
Anyway the fabrication was time consuming about 12 hours, some of that was time spent figuring it out ( the front bracket rotation arm pivot needs to be centered under the ball joint and I wanted to attach it at the strongest point on the A-arm which is where the front stabilizer attaches to the A-arm). But I didn't want to modify the truck and when you take them off you can't tell. I did back it out of the shop and pull back in just to check it out. Still have to set track tension change oil and test it around the property then clean it up and put on trailer aimed at the mountain. Marty
Anyway the fabrication was time consuming about 12 hours, some of that was time spent figuring it out ( the front bracket rotation arm pivot needs to be centered under the ball joint and I wanted to attach it at the strongest point on the A-arm which is where the front stabilizer attaches to the A-arm). But I didn't want to modify the truck and when you take them off you can't tell. I did back it out of the shop and pull back in just to check it out. Still have to set track tension change oil and test it around the property then clean it up and put on trailer aimed at the mountain. MartyAttachments
Today I double checked bolts for tightness like lug nuts. I backed out of the shop watching as I went, when the front tracks broke over the driveway angle the rotation limiter bolt came very close to contacting the front track wheel so I pulled back in and cut of about 1-1/4" it looks much better now. Next I drove it around a little looking for problems. Everything looks good so I washed it and will clean the inside later today. You can see in the video it travels at 1/2 walking speed in 4-low in first gear at idle. It seems to have plenty of power. I will continue to test and post as I go. I would like to take it to the Mountain soon for some real world testing. I have about 32 hours in the installation, the worst part was the front springs. Marty
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Not many recent threads regarding mini trucks. I just bought one and am excited to get started customizing this thing but can’t get enough data. Four Sons in Canada seemed a great place but they said they don’t work on older (1994) Mitsubishis or deal outside Canada. I was bummed.
Check out the tracked 4x4 section in the snowcat section, The Suzuki burned in a forest fire here this year but I already built a Mitsubishi mini cab van on Mattracks to replace it. There're plenty of parts on the net to keep them going. I have been able to source any parts needed rather easily.