buying a tuk tuk .

[cryptic]

Farangs driving a tuk tuk, what a f......en joke, are you cheap charlies. If you are a CC, you shouldnt be in Thailand.
The few falangs I have seen up there driving them look absolutely ridiculous. Buy a cheap 2nd hand car.

[jackspratt]

So the naysayers to date are cryptic, Texpat and Lee Rhodes.

Please feel free to make your own judgement

[Khun Paul]

Nothing wrong with owning a tuk tuk / samlor call it whatever you want, some of the customised ones around town are very good.
You do need licence and ins and tax though.
You can get them customised with a bigger engine if that is what you want, better than a bike and cheaper than a car.
Only people who think a farang is daft is the person who secretly wished he/she had one but thinks they look stupid in one.
Go for it and be dammed.

[panick]

Nothing wrong with owning a tuk tuk / samlor call it whatever you want Go for it and be dammed.

KP for once I agree with you ( I must be eccentric =D> )

But .... Tuk tuks and samlors are not the same

A Tuk tuk is the same as a BKK Taxi ... Daihatsu powered ( 450cc and up ) ,shaft drive with reverse, low center of gravity ( improves cornering ) , hydraulic brakes all round and fun to drive ( been there , done that )

A Samlor is a Chinese low class copy of a tuk tuk .... has a 125/150cc copy Honda engine, fixed rear axle ( crap around corners ) chain drive ( high maintenance ) Rear brakes????? .... 2 fan belts running on V-Drive pulleys ( YES SERIOUSLY! ) and a high center of gravity which makes them very unstable ...
IMO ... I'f you've got the money to buy a new Samlor in Udon ... spend it on a proper tuk tuk ( second hand ) and you'll have more fun and a longer life expectancy =D>

[BKKSTAN]

Farangs driving a tuk tuk, what a f......en joke, are you cheap charlies. If you are a CC, you shouldnt be in Thailand.
The few falangs I have seen up there driving them look absolutely ridiculous. Buy a cheap 2nd hand car.

When I see someone enjoying themselves,at no expense to anyone else,I feel good for them!Not in a major hurry,family involved driving if needed,convenient and easy,thought about getting one myself,but don't have anywhere to keep it now!

I know a couple of guys that have them,along with their cars,motorcycles,motorbikes and bicycles!!Does that make them ''cheap''??

I think people that are so judgmental without knowing the people, are ''a f......en joke''

[panick]

Farangs driving a tuk tuk, what a f......en joke, are you cheap charlies. If you are a CC, you shouldnt be in Thailand.
The few falangs I have seen up there driving them look absolutely ridiculous. Buy a cheap 2nd hand car.

Totaly agree with Stan =D>

If I had a tuk tuk, it would be parked somewhere between the Chopper and the Fortuner!
Wifey tends to take the Fortuner and the niece runs off with the chopper ... SO .. does that make me a CC for havin' a tuk tuk? ... Cyrptic ... I think you need to be a little bit more broadminded before you start condemning farangs here!

P.S. Buy a cheap second hand car here? ... Get out of holiday mode and start living here .... There's no CHEAP 2nd hand cars here!

[Flo]

There are some interesting comments in this thread!

silly, attention-seeking eccentric -- without the common sense.

Jeeze, I feel sorry for these people. Check out of the psychiatric ward and catch a flight to Thailand.

...are you cheap charlies. If you are a CC, you shouldnt be in Thailand.

Is it frustration, disillusionment, awareness of the own sad life, envy or simply boredom that makes you write unqualified stupid comments like these? Is it necessary to prove the own mental narrowness in this way?

Interesting indeed! =D>

[beer monkey]

Nothing wrong with owning a tuk tuk / samlor call it whatever you want Go for it and be dammed.

KP for once I agree with you ( I must be eccentric =D> )

But .... Tuk tuks and samlors are not the same

A Tuk tuk is the same as a BKK Taxi ... Daihatsu powered ( 450cc and up ) ,shaft drive with reverse, low center of gravity ( improves cornering ) , hydraulic brakes all round and fun to drive ( been there , done that )

A Samlor is a Chinese low class copy of a tuk tuk .... has a 125/150cc copy Honda engine, fixed rear axle ( crap around corners ) chain drive ( high maintenance ) Rear brakes????? .... 2 fan belts running on V-Drive pulleys ( YES SERIOUSLY! ) and a high center of gravity which makes them very unstable ...
IMO ... I'f you've got the money to buy a new Samlor in Udon ... spend it on a proper tuk tuk ( second hand ) and you'll have more fun and a longer life expectancy =D>

thats right panick.....most confuse the two...and one is far better than the other, the real tuk tuk will out live the cheap tacky chinese copy which will need lots of loving care and major organ transplants..and will be a better purchase...imo. and a customized one(Real Tuktuk) can be real cool....and the brakes won't permanatly squeak... broom broom broom................

I must be eccentric

lol..you did have a coffin shaped petrol tank on your bike...

[KHONDAHM]

.....most confuse the two...and one is far better than the other, the real tuk tuk will out live the cheap tacky chinese copy which will need lots of loving care and major organ transplants..and will be a better purchase...imo. and a customized one(Real Tuktuk) can be real cool....and the brakes won't permanatly squeak... broom broom broom................

To naysayers, not beer monkey per se: A tuk-tuk is not the sort of vehicle one would drive on dirt roads during the rainy season. Which is WHY samlors are the vehicle of choice tee baan awk and tuk-tuks are rarely ever seen outside of Bangkok. Like others have posted, my samlor is going in the driveway next to the SUV and the Jazz.

I say good on anyone driving whatever toy their heart desires. =D>

[Stantheman]

A true Samlor does not have any type of motor, it is a 3 wheeled pedal power bike. You can go to the following site to see short history, pictures etc of Samlors and Tuk Tuks
http://www.frangipani.com/huahin/samlor.htm

[BKKSTAN]

P.S. Buy a cheap second hand car here? ... Get out of holiday mode and start living here .... There's no CHEAP 2nd hand cars here!

Unless you are a falang that wants to sell But you won't find any at the car dealers!!

[maaka]

my old papa called it a tuk tuk, but the above site refers to it as a sky lab..3 wheel motorbike / trike...whatever, lets not bring them ruddy noisy smoking tuk tuk's as seen on the above site, which they have in Chiangmai, the pollution ruined Chiangmai's inner city..stick to the sky lab chaps, they are more fun...

hey maybe we could have a sky lab gang, and shove it up the nose of them rich naysayers..if there was a smilie with the finger, it would be here..

[beer monkey]

The Chinese sit up high versions(Sky Lab) are noisy too you know, the only silent ones have pedals.....and i doub't a few people owning or driving a proper Tuk Tuk in Udon would have an adverse affect on pollution what so ever....

[Khun Paul]

I thought the Tuk Tuk's in Chiangmai were now LPG or CNG, pollution ???

[beer monkey]

The modern day ones are...(in bangers too), well ever since i recall so more environmentally friendly(note the gas tank under the rear)...a little noisy yes(Noise Pollution) but that is just one of the many 'sounds' of Thailand......that stick in your mind forever....and is used as a symbol of Thailand/Bkk, so don't knock em.... ......brooom brooooom...hey mister you want lady,,,massage..?

[polehawk]

A true Samlor does not have any type of motor, it is a 3 wheeled pedal power bike. You can go to the following site to see short history, pictures etc of Samlors and Tuk Tuks
http://www.frangipani.com/huahin/samlor.htm

When I hear "samlor" the traditional pedal one comes to my mind from 40-some years ago. There were no motorized samlors or tuk-tuks in Udon back then. Did we really get around town on those contraptions for 5 baht (25 cents)? Been meaning to get a ride in one again to relive old memories. Wonder if I can talk the samlor guy to get in the back while I do the driving again? Samlor race, anyone?

Yeah, riding in the tuk-tuks in BKK is a trip. Still enjoy it.

[beer monkey]

I would put money on that some of the ones trundling around Udon today are the very same ones back then Polehawk.....several new tyres and a saddle later mind you.

[KHONDAHM]

A true Samlor does not have any type of motor, it is a 3 wheeled pedal power bike. You can go to the following site to see short history, pictures etc of Samlors and Tuk Tuks
http://www.frangipani.com/huahin/samlor.htm

When I hear "samlor" the traditional pedal one comes to my mind from 40-some years ago. There were no motorized samlors or tuk-tuks in Udon back then. Did we really get around town on those contraptions for 5 baht (25 cents)? Been meaning to get a ride in one again to relive old memories. Wonder if I can talk the samlor guy to get in the back while I do the driving again? Samlor race, anyone?

Yeah, riding in the tuk-tuks in BKK is a trip. Still enjoy it.

Samlor literally means 3-wheel:
sam (pronounce saam) = three
lor (pronounced law) = wheel
So, samlor can be used for both the pedal and motorized variety and be equally correct. However, in day-to-day vernacular the pedal variety is referred to as bicycle, not a samlor.

The pedal variety is actually a "rickshaw" because it is human-powered.

[polehawk]

Maybe nowadays but back then everyone called them samlors. And I learned the English translation a long time ago but thanks anyway, Khun Khondahm.

[polehawk]

Yeah, Beermonkey. A few of those old samlor drivers do look familiar. Mention my name to them but don't tell them where I am. I can remember putting one in a klong a long time ago. 100 baht went a lot further back in those days.

Buying a tuk-tuk to get around town? Yeah, why not? The farangs that I see on them seem to be enjoying themselves.