Can I own one here
Owning one in Lake 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 Lake County.
To confirm. Leadville lets OHVs cross town by the shortest route off Harrison Avenue and bars unguided rentals, and Lake County's 2023 ordinance opening county roads was read only in an unsigned copy.
In town Some
- Some Leadville. Any street except US 24 on Harrison Avenue, only by the shortest direct route between a starting point and the city limits and at 25 mph. Renting or leasing OHVs for unguided use in or through the city is prohibited and no more than three businesses may be licensed to guide OHV tours. Ordinance No. 2024-1 is the newest act in the chapter and the 2023 moratorium no longer appears in it. Leadville Municipal Code 10.24.030 (Ordinance 00-7) and 5.04 as amended by Ordinance No. 2024-1 of 2 April 2024, code version of 9 June 2026, read 28 October 2026
County roads Open
County roads off the state highway system, for direct travel from a starting point to a destination, never for shopping, the post office or general transport, in daylight unless the vehicle has a working head and tail light. Commercial use needs a county special use permit. Ordinance No. 23-01 of 2023, read in an unsigned copy a trail group hosts, with the adoption date blank, read 28 October 2026
State highways Closed
Closed to OHVs.
Getting one here
From Japan to Lake 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
Lake County, counted.
Lake County averages 202 inches of snow a year. 1 active surface mine or quarry works Lake County's ground. Farms in Lake County hold 3,373 acres of woodland.
Areas
The areas Lake 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
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