Can I own one here
Owning one in Chaffee 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 opens later. Colorado made kei vehicles a legal road class in 2025 and title and registration open on 1 January 2028.
A newer governed truck
Off highway vehicle. From 1 January 2028 Colorado names it a kei off-road vehicle, an off-highway vehicle under the Certificate of Title Act, titled at the county motor vehicle office.
Roads and towns
Roads and towns in Chaffee County.
Some routes. Chaffee County opens only named county road segments near Alpine and St. Elmo, Fourmile and Salida for trips to public land and keeps every other county road closed.
In town To confirm
- To confirm Salida. The town's code was not read in this pass.
- To confirm Buena Vista. The town's code was not read in this pass.
- To confirm Poncha Springs. The town's code was not read in this pass.
County roads Some
Alpine and St. Elmo: all of County Roads 267, 295 and 296, the north south part of 292 west of Alpine between 162 and Forest Road 292, about 1,350 feet of 162 from about 75 feet east of the 292 turnoff and three quarters of a mile of 162 from the Grizzly parking to the Tin Cup Pass trailhead. Fourmile: County Road 375 except the closed stretch from 371 to the BLM ATV lot and all of 187. Salida and Turret: all of 185 from 175 to Forest Road 185 and 175 north of 181. Every other county road is closed. Ordinance 2012-02, adopted 7 August 2012 and recorded 10 August 2012, with the list the county now posts, read 28 October 2026
State highways Closed
Closed to OHVs.
Getting one here
From Japan to Chaffee County.
The nearest ports with a sailing from Japan on record
- The Port of Los Angeles, about 900 road miles.
- The Port of Oakland, about 1,000 road miles.
- The Port of Tacoma, The Northwest Seaport Alliance South Harbor, about 1,200 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
Chaffee County, counted.
Chaffee County averages 43 inches of snow a year. 1 active surface mine or quarry works Chaffee County's ground. Chaffee County has 273 farms and 101 cattle operations, by the 2022 Census of Agriculture.
Areas
The areas Chaffee 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.
News for Colorado Colorado's kei vehicle class, and the two dates that matter
Contact
A question about the law in Chaffee County?
Ask about a truck, a state or the papers, and we answer with what applies to you.
Reach us
Use the form on this page. We read every message.