Hey all - long time lurker, first time poster. For context - I am based out of Virginia and I have been hooked on the idea of getting a Daihatsu Hijet with dump bed rather than sinking money into an open cab John Deere Gator or Kubota UTV for my small farm. My preference would be to get something newer - I've got a full time job & trying to maintain the farm, I need a reliable work horse, a project vehicle is out of the question. Not so say there aren't solid older vehicles, I am obsessively monitoring JapanCarDirect for "the one" - but the dump bed Kei trucks sure as hell look like they've been put through the wringer (as one would expect with a dump truck). ... I also intend to put it through the wringer here! Has anyone attempted to import a newer minitruck than 1999? If so, any words of advice, or resources / contacts would be greatly appreciated. Below is the summary of my efforts to learn how to bring one over to be used for off-road only purposes. I've read through the EPA's guidelines and relevant parts of the Clean Air Act, along form 3520-21. I've also read a few lawsuits against dealers in the early 2000's that didn't have the appropriate speed limiters in effect hoping for a nugget of intel to use. Closest I've gotten is by searching for importing ATV's from Mexico, which lead me to at least one importer who just reiterated I needed the EPA info, and crash testing (still debating that with them). It is also a bit fuzzy on if I can accomplish this with an auction purchase, or if I need to go directly to a seller to abide by the EPA guidelines / submission timelines. All of my research suggests it is possible to import something - so long as the engine has been EPA certified and the tag is on the truck, or there is 'lab data' that proves out that the vehicle model meets the offroad requirements. This is where my internet digging has failed to turn up anything. I can not find anything on this- so I've come here to ask for help! With so many dealers importing newer Hijets, I assume they are either EPA Approved, or there is data out there that the EPA has accepted to allow these imports. Short of calling Toyota (the Japanese HQ, likely), does anyone know if there are any Hijet years are EPA stamped, or have lab data to be found? Any assistance, or commentary would be greatly appreciated. As soon as I lock in my truck, I am looking forward applying the other knowledge from this forum to get it into farm work'n condition! Edit to add: I did search the forum, and couldn't find the magic terms terms to get anything relevant to my hunt. Cheers, SaltyFarmer
