With the outrageous pricing on ATVs and side-by-side off road vehicles, mini trucks make for a compelling alternative. Mini trucks can be better in nearly every measurable way compared to the overpriced toys. Hell, in some states you can legally drive a mini truck on certain roads. If you look hard enough, you can find a used 4X4 mini truck with serious off road potential for significantly less than various ATVs cost.
In fact: Chinese mini trucks, which (in many cases) clone older Japanese Kei tucks, are very inexpensive to buy and own and they are available in left-hand drive as well. Lots of farms, warehouses and large areas of private property already employ these vehicles.
Rather than explain each state’s requirement for these vehicles, here is the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s (IIHS) explanation of state-by-state requirements. Keep in mind: if a state has no state law regarding these trucks, (usually) that means they are forbidden on state roads. If you know of any updates to these ordinances, drop us a line!
- Alabama 01/01/2012 – any road except interstate highways – 25 mph – mini-truck
- Alaska no state law
- Arizona no state law
- Arkansas 07/30/09 roads with a posted speed limit of 55 mph or less excluding interstate highways and controlled access highways if vehicle is being used exclusively for farm purposes 55 mph mini-truck
- California 01/01/07 located on a natural island with an area in excess of 20,000 acres and that is within a county having a population in excess of 4,000,000 no autoette
- Colorado no state law
- Connecticut no state law
- Delaware no state law
- District of Columbia no law
- Florida 06/16/09 roads with a posted speed limit of 35 mph or less 35 mph mini truck
- Georgia no state law
- Hawaii no state law
- Idaho 01/01/09 local option no utility type vehicle (UTV)
- Illinois 08/31/07 roads with a posted speed limit of less than 35 mph if allowed by local ordinance 25 mph neighborhood vehicle
- Indiana no state law
- Iowa no state law
- Kansas 07/01/08 public roads except interstate, federal or state highways; within corporate city limits if allowed under local ordinance no micro utility truck
- Kentucky 6/24/13 local option no mini-truck
- Louisiana 08/15/08 roads with a posted speed limit of 55 mph or less except interstate highways, controlled access highways, or multi-lane divided highways with partial or no control of access no mini-truck
- Maine est. 9/09 roads with a posted speed limit of 35 mph or less 25 mph low-speed vehicle
- Maryland no state law
- Massachusetts no state law
- Michigan no state law
- Minnesota 08/01/09 local option local option mini truck
- Mississippi no state law
- Missouri 08/14/08 local option 45 mph utility vehicle
- Montana no state law
- Nebraska 01/01/11 any road except interstate highways, freeways or expressways no minitruck
- Nevada no state law
- New Hampshire 9/11/10 roads with a posted speed limit of 35 mph or less located within 25 miles of the registrant’s home or place of business no low-speed utility vehicle
- New Jersey no state law
- New Mexico no state law
- New York no state law
- North Carolina no state law
- North Dakota 08/01/07 any paved road except highways with a posted speed of more than 65 mph 55 mph off-highway vehicle
- Ohio 01/01/17 roads with a posted speed limit of less than 35 mph if allowed by local ordinance (effective 01/01/17) 35 mph (effective 01/01/17) mini-truck (effective 01/01/17)
- Oklahoma 11/01/08 any road except interstate highways no mini-truck
- Oregon no state law
- Pennsylvania no state law
- Rhode Island no state law
- South Carolina no state law
- South Dakota no state law
- Tennessee 07/01/08 streets where the posted speed limit is less than 40 mph; a county or municipality may prohibit the operation of medium-speed vehicles on any road under its jurisdiction if the governing body of the county or municipality determines that such a prohibition is necessary in the interest of safety 35 mph mini-truck
- Texas no state law
- Utah 10/01/08 any road except an interstate freeway; limited access highway; street within a county of the first class; or a municipality that is within a county of the first class 45 mph off-highway vehicle or street-legal all-terrain vehicle
- Vermont no state law
- Virginia no state law
- Washington no state law
- West Virginia no state law
- Wisconsin no state law
- Wyoming 01/01/08 any road except interstate highways if a multipurpose vehicle is incapable of achieving the maximum speed allowed on the specific highway, it shall be operated on the extreme right hand edge of the roadway multipurpose vehicle
