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New Mexico
Mini trucks in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico
Kei trucks in New Mexico earn their keep on farms, ranches and private land.
Rio Arriba CountyNew Mexico
Can I own one here
Owning one in Rio Arriba 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 Rio Arriba County.
Towns only. Rio Arriba County has no act opening paved county roads, while Chama and Española open their streets to side by sides and ATVs and state highways stay crossing only.
In town Open
- Open Chama. Any street or highway owned and controlled by the village is open to OHVs that meet the state equipment rules, ATVs at 35 mph and other OHVs at 45 mph or the posted limit if lower. Ordinance No. 2016-01, adopted 21 November 2016, effective 26 November 2016, read 28 October 2026
- Open Española. Paved streets owned and controlled by the city are open to ROVs and ATVs at 30 mph or the posted limit if lower, never on a road posted over 50 mph, with a driver sixteen or older. Ordinance No. 2021-01, adopted 27 July 2021, effective 17 August 2021, codified as Española Code chapter 305 article V, read 28 October 2026
County roads Some
No county act opens paved county roads, so they stay closed to OHVs, NMSA 66-3-1011(A). The Act closes only paved streets and highways, so a registered OHV is not barred from an unpaved county road the county has not closed. none. The Department of Wildlife register of paved road acts, kept under 18.15.3.15 NMAC, lists no act for the county, read 28 October 2026
State highways Closed
Closed to OHVs.
Getting one here
From Japan to Rio Arriba County.
The nearest ports with a sailing from Japan on record
- The Port of Los Angeles, about 800 road miles.
- The Port of Oakland, about 1,000 road miles.
- The Port of Tacoma, The Northwest Seaport Alliance South Harbor, about 1,300 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
Rio Arriba County, counted.
Farms in Rio Arriba County hold 676,623 acres of woodland. Rio Arriba County has 1,285 farms and 544 cattle operations, by the 2022 Census of Agriculture. Rio Arriba County grows 471 acres of orchards and vineyards.
Areas
The areas Rio Arriba County is part of.
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 Rio Arriba County?
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