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Published October 14, 2008 12:55 pm - Jack Dalrymple, city engineer in Miami, has been a fan of mini-trucks for about a year. Half-size trucks making inroads in local markets By Debbie Robinson
news@joplinglobe.com MIAMI, Okla. — Jack Dalrymple, city engineer in Miami, has been a fan of mini-trucks for about a year. Tinker Air Force Base, a former client of Dalrymple’s when he was a private engineer, had more than 1,500 of the mini-vehicles, he said. They were great for zipping around in the tight quarters in the buildings where airplanes are rebuilt, he said. Today, Dalrymple uses a mini-truck to haul fences, fence posts and other items around his farm. “They can go places that a pickup won’t go,” he said. To the list of places where they can go, add another: Oklahoma roads. On Nov. 1, Oklahoma will join a handful of states that have legalized the use of Japanese mini-trucks and vans on state and local roads. The bill was approved earlier this year by the Oklahoma Legislature and was signed into law. It makes the mini-vehicles street legal with the exception of turnpikes. Dara Graham and her husband, Gary, hope to tap into the growing market. The co-owners of Graham Equipment opened a showroom last month at 430 N. Main St. in Miami to sell the diminutive vehicles. The couple have another showroom at Graham Equipment Truck Sales in Welch. “We got into this as a sideline,” Dara Graham said. “We originally sold them mostly to farmers.” They import the used vehicles from Japan, recondition them and paint them in Welch, then sell them for between $4,600 and $6,000, she said. The company can customize the vehicles, painting them in school or university colors, for example. The small trucks are capable of speeds of 55 mph, and they get between 40 and 50 miles per gallon. Dara Graham said she has one turbo-charged mini-vehicle in Welch that can reach 80 mph. The vehicles are roomier than they appear, she said, with a fold-down rear seat in the vans and side dumps on the trucks. Lift kits and front brush guards also can be added. 
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