These One-Cylinder Diesel Farm Trucks Only Need 18 HP (or Less) to Do Real Work

While it’s true that some big jobs require big power, not all of them do. Plenty can be managed with modest equipment and a heaping spoonful of patience. You’ll find evidence of that at farms all over the world, where simple-seeming machinery does the work of 10 men or more. Just check out these flatbed trucks that run off single-cylinder diesel engines.

I’ve written about these small-but-mighty power plants before. Depending on your social media algorithms or your world travels, you might’ve seen how popular they are outside the United States. There are a million and one videos of ag workers across Asia using the engines—often sourced from Yanmar and Kubota—to power wagons and irrigation pumps, among other contraptions.

Now, these humble horseless carriages are nothing new. Folks in countries like Thailand and Laos have been using them for decades in various forms. Still, they continue to be refined, as Somvang Kubota builds them with new Etan 4U truck bodies and Kubota ZT-series engines.

The result is these Unimog-looking workhorses with what appears to be a tiny tractor on the front until you realize that’s just the engine’s plastic fairing. Kitted out with winches and 4×4, you can bet they’re capable little boogers, too. When fitted with the top-tier ZT180 Plus, they make a whopping 18 horsepower at 2,400 rpm. (Others, like the tamer ZT155, make less.)

Examples of these trucks run from mild to somewhat less mild, as you can buy one with single rear wheels or duals, and a fixed stake bed or an electric dump. They’re incredibly versatile. Whether you’re hauling dirt or crops that come from it, like cassava, they ought to help get the job done.