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New Mexico
Mini trucks in Sierra County, New Mexico
Kei trucks in New Mexico earn their keep on farms, ranches and private land.
Sierra CountyNew Mexico
Can I own one here
Owning one in Sierra 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 Sierra County.
Roads open. Sierra County opens its maintained county roads to ROVs and ATVs and Truth or Consequences and Elephant Butte open their streets, while state highways stay crossing only.
In town Some
- Open Truth or Consequences. Maintained streets and roads owned and controlled by the city are open to ROVs and ATVs at the posted limit. Truth or Consequences Code 12-64, Ordinance No. 697, adopted 8 August 2018, read 28 October 2026
- Open Elephant Butte. Any street or highway owned and controlled by the city 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. 163, adopted 20 July 2016, enacting chapter 72, read 28 October 2026
- To confirm Williamsburg. 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
Maintained streets and roads owned and controlled by the county are open to ROVs and ATVs. Unpaved county roads are not closed by state law. Ordinance No. 18-015, adopted and recorded 15 May 2018, read 28 October 2026
State highways Crossings only
- The county asked the Commission to open paved sections of NM 51, NM 179, NM 181 and NM 195 in the county to OHVs. No Commission act on the request was found. Sierra County Resolution 110-159, adopted 18 April 2023, read 28 October 2026
Getting one here
From Japan to Sierra 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 1,100 road miles.
- The Port of Tacoma, The Northwest Seaport Alliance South Harbor, about 1,500 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
Sierra County, counted.
Sierra County grows 1,468 acres of orchards and vineyards. 2 active surface mines and quarries work Sierra County's ground. Sierra County has 269 farms and 130 cattle operations, by the 2022 Census of Agriculture.
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 Sierra County?
Ask about a truck, a state or the papers, and we answer with what applies to you.
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