Can I own one here
Owning one in Aleutians West.
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
Open to road use. Alaska titles and registers a vehicle at least 25 years old that was legally imported into the United States without requiring it to meet current federal safety standards. A kei truck of that age registers as an ordinary motor vehicle.
A newer governed truck
Off highway vehicle. Alaska issues no title for an off-highway vehicle. AS 28.10.201(b)
Getting one here
From Japan to Aleutians West.
The sailing
- By sea from the Port of Everett.
How to import a mini truck, step by step.
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
Aleutians West, counted.
Aleutians West averages 73 inches of snow a year. 100 percent of Aleutians West's people live outside urban areas.
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 Aleutians West?
Ask about a truck, a state or the papers, and we answer with what applies to you.
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