‘Mini truck’ owners show off their wheels at the Vermont Statehouse – VTDigger

Some of Vermont’s smallest haulers were parked outside the Statehouse on Friday to drum up support for a bill that is meant to make registering these so-called mini trucks easier.

“If you asked me everything I like about this truck, I would not be able to stop talking,” said Xavier Stevens of Newport, who brought his 1995 Mazda Scrum — length, just 11 feet — all the way to State Street for the gathering, branded as Mini Truck Day. “It’s the perfect vehicle.”

About a half-dozen other tiny tow-ers lined the street alongside several similarly scaled cars. One was decorated to look like a firetruck — presumably used for putting out very small fires. Under a tent nearby, supporters handed out miniature cupcakes.

While mini-truck owners use their vehicles just like any other truck, their small size and weight, coupled with limited modern safety features, means their legality on the road varies from state to state. The trucks are manufactured in Japan and later imported to the U.S. as used vehicles.

Vermont’s Department of Motor Vehicles allows people to register mini trucks here — and indeed, some at Friday’s event had Vermont license plates. But according to Sen. Becca White, D-Windsor, who’s vice chair of the Senate Transportation Committee, owners have had varying success getting their trucks registered in practice. She said it seems to depend on which DMV location they use.

Enter a portion of this year’s miscellaneous motor vehicle bill, S.326. The legislation would create a new definition of mini trucks, also known as Kei trucks, which White said she hopes will give the DMV more clarity when someone comes in seeking to register one.

The Senate approved the DMV bill last month, and it’s now being considered in the House Transportation Committee. White said she sees “all green lights” ahead for the mini-truck provision in the other chamber.

Stevens, the mini-truck owner, is among those who wasn’t able to get his vehicle registered. Instead, he registered the truck in Montana using a limited liability company he set up in that state, he said.

His truck is painted like a helmet for his favorite NFL team, the New York Giants. It’s an ironic paint job, he acknowledged, given the truck’s small size. A sticker on the back windshield warns that its 650cc engine will work its way from zero to 60 mph … eventually. 

One of the best things about Kei trucks, Stevens and others at the event said, is that they are far cheaper than the average truck sold in the U.S., but still offer a decent-sized bed and, in many cases, even have four-wheel drive. Stevens paid just $2,300 for his, including the cost of importing it from Japan.

“So many people in Vermont want a four-wheel-drive pickup truck. So, this market makes that accessible,” said Cristina Shayonye, who met her spouse when they both pulled up to an apple pie festival in Dummerston in the same model of miniature van.

These days, the couple operates a vehicle repair shop in Brattleboro that specializes in tiny vehicles. Both said that on top of the practicality, the trucks are simply a good time.

“I kind of feel like Santa Claus every time I roll up into a parking lot,” Shayonye said. “It just brightens people’s days.”

— Shaun Robinson

In the know

Friday marked the end of the first legislative week for which public access to the Statehouse was limited to a single entrance daily. A combination of Capitol Police officers and sheriff’s deputies were scanning bags and wanding down entrants daily, too. Previously, it had often been just once a week that the loading dock entrance was the only one available. 

Agatha Kessler, the sergeant-at-arms, has said it was “very likely” that officials would make the single point of entry permanent before the end of this year’s session. The decision to bolster security was made, in part, over concerns stemming from the assassination of a Minnesota lawmaker and her husband last year, Kessler has said.

— Shaun Robinson

Some of Vermont’s Olympic medalists were out and about in the Statehouse on Friday, part of their celebratory homecoming after this winter’s Milan-Cortina games. 

Alpine silver medalist Ryan Cochran-Siegle of Starksboro, Alpine bronze medalist Paula Moltzan of Waitsfield and two-time cross-country silver medalist Ben Ogden of Landgrove were honored in a House resolution. So were gold medalist Alpine racer Mikaela Shiffrin, who trained at Burke Mountain Academy, Stratton-trained cross-country bronze medalist Jessie Diggins, and ski big air silver medalist Mac Forehand, of Winhall.  

Current and former Olympians — both medalists and competitors — toured the Golden Dome with Rep. Jed Lipsky, I-Stowe, who commended Vermont’s winter sports excellence in a floor speech. 

— Ethan Weinstein

On the trail

Newbury resident Susan Culp is running as an independent for the Caledonia-Orange House seat, she announced this week. Culp serves as the Newbury Selectboard chair. 

That House seat is held by Newbury Rep. Joe Parsons, who is listed on the Legislature’s website as an independent and has previously run as a Republican.  

And Rep. Elizabeth Burrows, D-West Windsor, announced last month that she’s running for Senate. A vacancy in the three-seat Windsor County district opened up after Democratic Sen. Alison Clarkson said earlier this year she would not seek reelection. 

— Ethan Weinstein