Cordova Chronicles: The mini-trucks are here

Have you noticed little mini-trucks zipping around town?

The first time I saw one cruising down Main Street, I thought I was back in Korea.   During a 13-month Army tour of duty there in the late 1960s, similar pint-sized vehicles, albeit with only one wheel in the front, were commonplace. Typically they were overloaded with freight, often cages full of live chickens, wobbling their way to market in Seoul. Dodging flying feathers while driving Army jeeps through four unmarked lanes of downtown traffic may have been why we drew hazardous duty pay.

Cordova’s main drag is much more sedate. The driver of the Lilliputian pickup I saw was Dave Branshaw, sitting on the wrong side of the cab, in what turned out to be a Suzuki Carry 4×4.  He smiled, waved, and then pulled into a parking space by Seaman’s about the size of Susan Bourgeois’ St. Bernard.

Branshaw, our ski hill manager, likes to extoll the virtues of his machinery, be it a snow groomer, snow maker, or wee pickup. It turns out this diminutive rig is seeing considerable action on the Eyak Ski Area, hauling gravel, rocks, sawdust and pipes to improve the surface and drainage of ramps that now go all the way to the top of the chair lift.

I chatted with Branshaw at the base of Ski Hill one sunny day, and he sounded like a Suzuki car salesman.

“It’s all-wheel drive, with a 45 horsepower engine, and gets 60 miles a gallon,” he said. “This is a 1995 model, which I bought in Anchorage for $10,000 used. I’ve had it for two years, and it runs great. Heck, I pay for it in gas alone. I’m pretty fed up with the cost of transportation.

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“All the sides fold down to a make a flat bed work surface, and even with the sides up you can just reach over a get stuff out, unlike on full size pickup,” continued Branshaw. “It’s classified as an ATV, so it only requires a $10 permit instead of state licenses. The tires are so small I can replace all four of them for the cost of one U.S. pickup tire.”

Branshaw was using it to haul 5-gallon buckets of gravel up the ramps.

“You’d be surprised by its payload,” he said. “I can carry a 750-pound gillnet, or my boat reel, easily.”

I asked him about the steering wheel on the right side, which led me to assume it was of British manufacture.

“Nope,” he said. “They drive on the opposite side of the road in Japan too.”

Branshaw has done his research.

“Did you know that over there they increase the price of vehicle licenses as they get older?” he said. “The idea is to get the junk off the highways. No cars over 20 years old are allowed on the road.”

Hmmm. That would sure cut down on traffic in Cordova. Bob Smith and a whole bunch of other fisherman would definitely have to consider upgrades.

I had already seen a demo of its parking abilities, but he added: “I love it when I drive up Main Street, see full size pickups go past spaces, and then just zip right in. It drives ‘em crazy.”

Branshaw mentioned that the small Suzukis are being used in various configurations, such as fire trucks and ambulances, all over the world. Customizing them is also a growing hobby. He noted that the itsy-bitsy rigs are catching on here.

“People are asking me about them all the time,” he said. “Local contractor Steve Schmidt has one, and likes not only its efficiency but its convenience to load and unload, plus fold out as a work surface.”

The third local owner of a Suzuki Carry 4×4 spends his days maneuvering huge AML vans about town, often in very tight quarters.

Jake Holley must chuckle everyday on the way to and from work in one of the smallest trucks in town.

 

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Dick Shellhorn
Dick Shellhorn is a lifelong Cordovan. He has been writing sports stories for the Cordova Times for over 50 years. In his Cordova Chronicles features, he writes about the history and characters of this Alaska town. Alaska Press Club awarded Shellhorn first place for Best Humor column in 2016 and 2020, and third place in 2017 and 2019. He also received second place for Best Editorial Commentary in 2019. Shellhorn has written two books about Alaska adventures: Time and Tide and Balls and Stripes. Reach him at dshorn44@gmail.com.