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New Mexico
Mini trucks in Luna County, New Mexico
Kei trucks in New Mexico earn their keep on farms, ranches and private land.
Luna CountyNew Mexico
Can I own one here
Owning one in Luna County.
On your own land, yes
Owning a kei truck and working it on a ranch, a farm, a mine or private property does not depend on a road title. Some states still ask for a title or an off road registration.
A 25 year truck on the road
Road use unclear. New Mexico has no kei truck law. The MVD's written procedure for a vehicle built for sale abroad asks for conformity to federal safety and emission standards and a NHTSA bond release letter, and it has no lane for a vehicle imported at 25 years under the federal age exemption.
A newer governed truck
Private land only. The two statutory OHV definitions disagree on a governed work truck, so no OHV title path is settled.
Roads and towns
Roads and towns in Luna County.
Roads open. Luna County opens every county road outside Deming and Columbus to OHVs, and Deming opens its streets to side by sides with an adult driver, while state highways stay crossing only.
In town Some
- Open Deming. ROVs with a driver eighteen or older may use any road, street or highway owned and controlled by the city, and ATVs only its dirt roads, from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. at 45 mph or the posted limit if lower. NMDOT roads in town, Pine Street, 8th Street, Florida Street and Country Club Road among them, stay closed. Ordinance No. 1319, adopted 21 February 2023, adding Title 7 chapter 5 to the city code, read 28 October 2026
- To confirm Columbus. No online code or OHV act was found for the town in this pass, so whether it opens a street is not known.
County roads Open
Every designated county road outside Deming and Columbus, maintained or not, with its rights of way and easements, is open to OHVs. State and federal roads are not. Ordinance 112, adopted and recorded 9 June 2022, codified as Luna County Code chapter 70, read 28 October 2026
State highways Closed
Closed to OHVs.
Getting one here
From Japan to Luna County.
The nearest ports with a sailing from Japan on record
- The Port of Los Angeles, about 700 road miles.
- The Port of Oakland, about 1,100 road miles.
- The Port of Tacoma, The Northwest Seaport Alliance South Harbor, about 1,600 road miles.
How to import a mini truck, step by step.
A newer off road truck never lands in California. It comes in through Tacoma or by way of Houston.
Trucks travel in containers, one to a 20 foot box with room for parts or three to a 40 foot box.
Road miles are an estimate, the straight line times 1.2.
The ground
Luna County, counted.
Luna County grows 3,072 acres of orchards and vineyards. 3 active surface mines and quarries work Luna County's ground. Farms in Luna County hold 1,836 acres of woodland.
Importing a kei truck
The essentials, in short.
A truck under 25 can come in only as governed off road equipment, and only if its engine family held an EPA nonroad certificate for that model year. No kei engine family was certified for mini trucks before model year 2010, so a truck built after 31 October 2001 and before model year 2010 has no federal door until its 25th birthday.
Two lanes
A road truck must be 25 years old by its own build date. A newer truck comes in only as governed off road equipment with a certified engine.
The 25 percent duty
Every kei truck pays the 25 percent truck duty at the port, whatever its age.
The paperwork
The customs entry and the two federal declarations, DOT Form HS-7 and EPA Form 3520-1, travel with the truck to your title office.
The title
Keep every stamped paper with the truck. Your state title office asks to see them.
Contact
A question about the law in Luna County?
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