Micro Utility Meets Smart Tech: The Rising Global Interest in Kei Trucks and Their Modern Upgrades  

Kei trucks are wonderful and versatile cargo machines, more people in the West are starting to appreciate. They are also old vehicles overall, and finding some good kei truck tuning options to add to them is always a great idea. Here are a few suggestions.

1. Cargo net (or other modifications) for the truck bed

A standard kei truck bed doesn’t have a cover of any kind, so, getting a cargo net at the very least is a must. If you want to go extra fancy with it or expand the truck bed’s vertical capacity, there are countless ways to raise the sides, modify the entire bed into a mini shopping stand, or anything else you need.

2. Roof basket with a light bar

Kei trucks are small by definition. So, adding a bit of extra cargo space is always useful.

3. Replace the speedometer if you don’t use kph in your country

As Japan uses the metric system and the speedometer in most old kei trucks isn’t digital, American drivers will be stuck with a speedometer in kph instead of mph at first. Fortunately, speedometers can be replaced. If you’re having trouble finding the right parts, however, you can always also use a GPS speedo device in mph or a sat nav that has a built-in speedo until you can get a standard mph speedometer. Otherwise, you’d have to constantly turn the truck’s kph to mph in your head, which is a bother.

4. Stereo upgrade

The original Japanese radio could only pick up certain frequencies. You can also not just get one that’s better suited for your country but that also has Bluetooth, so you can use it with your phone while driving. However, putting in a piece with a larger screen or a touch display likely won’t be feasible, given how low the radio is located and how little extra space there is for and around it.

5. Portable speakers

Many kei truck models have built-in speakers in the bottom section of their doors. The quality of those can vary depending on the model, year, and how well they have been maintained over time. However, it probably always is a good idea to either upgrade them or add to them with newer speakers. You can always not just replace the old speakers, but add a couple of new portable ones to the top of the dashboard too.

6. Get a good phone mount

As there isn’t much space for a built-in sat navigation in kei trucks, the best and easiest solution is to just put a good phone mount on the windshield and use your phone’s sat nav app instead. For those who don’t like using their phones for navigation while driving, the simplest solution might be to just get a second low-cost phone or pick up an old phone that’s been lying around and just use that one on the phone mount as your sat navigation, while using your own phone normally.

7. Sound deadening

Most old kei truck models don’t come with any sound deadening in the truck’s interior. Adding some yourself is a great idea, as the cabin is so close to the engine that the noise is substantial, even if kei trucks aren’t all that powerful. So, cleaning and polishing the floor and side surfaces in the cabin and then fitting some sound-deadening material like butyl rubber or anything similar over them is very helpful.

8. Cup holder

Anyone who tends to travel a lot knows that a good cup holder is essential and there is no such thing in the original interior of most kei trucks. Fortunately, there are countless different models, types, and sizes out there, and you can always even 3D print one to your liking that you can just hook in somewhere on the dashboard.

9. Better sun visors or a windshield banner

Some people don’t like the look of windshield banners, others don’t like overly big sun visors. Wherever you sit on the issue, one thing is for certain – you are going to want to get some good sunlight protection for your kei truck because the standard sun visors these vehicles come with aren’t big enough to properly protect your eyes. With the windshield on these trucks being as large as it is, you’ll certainly want some protection, especially if you’re not too tall yourself.

There are countless other modifications industrious kei truck owners can go for, of course. But we’d say the nine above are must-haves if you want to be comfortable in your mini workhorse of a truck and get the most out of it.