SandBlasted

Yea I have a full set. Give me a call tomorrow at the shop 702-987-0202

Low speed vehicles are already on the streets. They have to stay on roads with a posted speed limit of 35mph or less. Most of these vehicles are NEV (Neighborhood Electric Vehicles) The GEM Car is one such vehicle. LSV and NEV have to meet FMVSS (Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards) and for owners of side by sides they are fairly easy to convert. One of the reasons we want to register them is to have access to park service approve dirt roads, like to the river where only street legal vehicles are allowed or be able to drive them to the desert without having to load them up in a trailer. The other is they are fun to drive and for myself easy to get around town here in Boulder City. It is also perfect for other states if you travel, as most have LSV laws on the books. Because of the FMVSS required, like windshields meeting AS-5 glazing standards and seat belts ATV's would not be allowed.

I looked over that bill, it is a bill that according to what i've read in the minutes was drafted by the Nevada wildlife coalition. It is a mandatory registration program.

No. What I'm trying to do is find a way for us to be able to register our side by sides here in Nevada so we may operate them on the streets. This is NOT a mandatory program. We are not reinventing the wheel. Low Speed Vehicles (LSV) are already on the roads here in Nevada and are already being registered. Several manufactures make LSV’s. We are asking that the DMV allow owner modified vehicles to be registered as well. The DMV policy is to allow only vehicles made by a licensed manufacture to be registered as a LSV. No one would be required to register their Side By Side as a LSV. The bill you are referring to is for off-road registration. While I have not read the bill, it is most likely a mandatory program for all off road vehicles operated off road only. If our side by sides were allowed to be registered as LSV's they would be exempt from the off road registration. In AZ, you must register your vehicles. You can register them as a on-road vehicle or an off-road vehicle. ON road registration requires the addition of safety items to be installed in order for registration for on-road use. Basically we are asking for the same here in Nevada.

What most people who buy a side by side out of state don't know, is there is a tax paid stamp that is supposed to be affixed to your ATV or side by side. This came about a few years ago. You can be ticketed for operating a ATV, side by side or dirt bike if you don't have this stamp. The stamp is given to you when you purchase the vehicle in Nevada by the dealer or by the DMV (I think) when you pay the sales tax on a vehicle purchased out of state. So far I have not heard of anyone being ticketed, but sooner or later it will happen.

There is no actual law I can find in AZ that allows registration, they just do it.

The problem is, the DMV does not want to register them. I have been working on this issue for more than 2 years. Registering them as a low speed vehicle was a way of answering the DMV about the vehicles not meeting FMVSS (Fed. Motor Vehicle Safety Standards) Meeting FMVSS as a low speed vehicle is the easiest way to convert a side by side. The feds made is fairly simple so people can convert their vehicles We can take them over to AZ and get them registered, but Nevada has some strict laws on being a resident of Nevada and out of state registration. This is a last resort option personally, as we don't know how LEO will handle it, or if the comity clause of the constitution will end up allowing it in a court of law. Even if it is ruled that we did not break the law for operating the side by side in Nevada, we can still be ticketed for being a resident of Nevada and having out of state registration. The DMV has in my opinion either lied to our reps in Carson City, or really does not know the law. They know the law now and I doubt the EPA ruling will change their minds. The federal laws about certification and emissions greatly differ when an owner modifies his own vehicle, and a vehicle that is produced in commerce. In short, we are trying to do this legally in Nevada. Last ditch effort, I will find a way to legally tie it to AZ and have it licensed there and see what happens when it is operated here in Nevada. There are several possible ways to do this. Through a trust, a LLC, or since my wife does not work in Nevada, I may set her up as a legal resident of AZ. As a protest if that is successful, I plan then to register the rest of my 6 plated vehicles in AZ as well. Currently since there is no state law or federal law that stops my registration and if the DMV still won't allow it, I feel it is my right to protest in any legal way I see fit. Cutting off the funds I pay for registration of my vehicles is how I plan to do it. The only person that can control the DMV is the governor. While I have supported him for years, I did not give him enough cash apparently for access for him to hear my grievance. While we have many that want to register their side by sides here, and while many of you have written emails, we really don’t have the numbers to force a change.

We have cleared the latest hurdle thrown at us who wish to register our Side By Sides; The EPA. While this is good news at the federal level, I have yet to receive a reply back from the DMV and don't expect the DMV to be receptive to this, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed. We sent an email to the EPA a few weeks ago asking about EPA rules on owner modified side by sides. Below is the response. I will be creating a letter to the DMV asking for registration if the DMV again denies registration so if everyone can be prepared to do the email campaign again, I would appreciate it. ----------------- Dear Mr. Froese. It appears we have crossed the latest hurdle the DMV has placed to stop the registration of our owner modified side by sides. I have been in contact with the EPA and have received their response and it is below. We have shown there is nothing in state law or federal law either with the NHTSA or the EPA that prohibits our registration. I now ask again that you please allow the registration of my Rhino, which meets all state and federal laws. Craig Castleberry -----Original Message----- From: Wehrly.Linc@epamail.epa.gov [mailto:Wehrly.Linc@epamail.epa.gov] Sent: Tuesday, May 19, 2009 12:00 PM To: Craig Castleberry Cc: Chen.Emily@epamail.epa.gov Subject: Fw: Hello. I have not received a response - the Yamaha Rhino Mr. Castleberry, You asked whether there were any federal emission standards that you needed to comply with if you converted your 2006 Yamaha Rhino to a Low Speed Vehicle. The answer is no. Yamaha certified the Rhino as a nonroad recreational vehicle to our ATV emission standards. As best as I can tell, the modifications you have made to your vehicle is to reduce the top speed to 25 mph. There have been no changes to the engine or emission control system. Since the EPA is not involved in state registration issues, any other issues you may have in converting your vehicle will be between you and the state. Regards, Linc Wehrly Linc Wehrly Manager, Light-Duty Vehicle Group Compliance and Innovative Strategies Division United States Environmental Protection Agency (734) 214-4286 wehrly.linc@epa.gov

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We can't get a straight answer on this. I have looked at AZ law and I have no idea.

I received this today from Mr. Froese. I enclose his reply as well as my intended reply. Since it is the weekend I have to time ponder it over. Recommended any changes you see fit. From: Mark Froese [mailto:MFroese@dmv.nv.gov] Sent: Friday, May 01, 2009 3:05 PM Cc: Edgar Roberts; Farrokh Hormazdi; Kristine Nelson Subject: Owner Modified Low Speed Vehicles - SB179 Good Day, The DMV has received several emails from different individuals expressing their concern with the Department on the apparent opposition to registering and titling UTVs (“modified” Rhinos) as Low Speed Vehicles. I would like to respond to these emails. Some of you have indicated that existing laws were enough for you to proceed down the path of getting your off-road vehicles registered and titled. You are correct if you do the following. You have the option of pursuing the steps required by NHTSA (safety) and EPA (emissions) to becoming an approved manufacturer. As a licensed manufacturer you will have the authorization to label the vehicles you manufacture to the Federal safety and emission standards and assign them a conforming Vehicle Identification Number (VIN). Once you have been approved by both of these agencies, you can apply for a “licensed manufacturer” by the Nevada DMV. The Rhino has a gas engine so it must comply with both safety (NHTSA) and emission standards (EPA) for on-road use, even as a LSV. A manufacturer certifies a vehicle by permanently affixing to the vehicle, in a prescribed location, a label that, among other things, identifies the manufacturer and the vehicle's date of manufacture, and states that the vehicle complies with all applicable FMVSS in effect on that date. The mere act of affixing the label constitutes the manufacturer's certification that the vehicle complies with all applicable FMVSS. If a vehicle with a conforming VIN is presented to the Department, and it is properly labeled by a licensed manufacturer that it meets all U.S. safety and emission standards for on-road use, the DMV will title and register that vehicle. We have conveyed this to Mr. Castleberry in previous email correspondence. In addition, our attorney general has advised us that the department should not take on the Federal certification process of these vehicles. The certification of these vehicles is done by the manufacturer of these vehicles. In fact, when a business is established as a manufacturer with NHTSA and EPA, this business (manufacturer) certifies a vehicle by permanently affixing to the vehicle, in a prescribed location, a label that, among other things, identifies the manufacturer and the vehicle's date of manufacture, and states that the vehicle complies with all applicable FMVSS in effect on that date. The Department does not have the expertise in the Federal certification process. Regards Mark Froese, CPM Administrator Research & Development Nevada DMV ---------------------------------------------- Dear Mr. Froese. The people that you have replied to have received your arguments for over 2 years and all are fully aware of the DMV position, as well as our opposing arguments. Many have helped with the research. It is with their own rationale that they did not agree and asked for a fair hearing by the DMV on this issue. I know you probably will not agree, however those of us who are seeking this are reasonable people, we are not however lemmings. We have shown the DMV repeatedly where the research at the federal level used to deny our registration was either out dated or misapplied when it came to meeting FMVSS and/or as owner-modifiers. According to Coleman Sachs, Chief Council from the NHTSA, a copy which you were provided and again included in this reply, the owner who modifies his own vehicle automatically becomes a manufacture and by the owner affixing a label to his own the vehicle that it meets FMVSS is certifying as a manufacture that his vehicle meets all FMVSS and as such meets all NHTSA requirements for certification. This should satisfy the attorney general that the DMV is not taking on the federal certification process. The DMV however may wish inspect these vehicles, as it does with others if it desires so. Once again in your response, you failed to address the above issue, reverting back to a licensed for profit manufacture, ignoring the difference of a owner who modifies his own vehicle. To me, this is the same as a prosecutor who would ignore exculpatory evidence. When you provide questionable information to reasonable people and when we see the DMV registering other vehicles which are similar in nature, we as reasonable people may question it. By the DMV not giving correct information and ignoring information contrary to the DMV’s opinion for over 2 years on this issue, you have prolonged getting this resolved, not us. The items below have still not been addressed by the DMV. 1. It was the DMV who suggested we get a new law and when one was written it was fought by the DMV. Why did the DMV tell us to get a new law, and then fight passage of the new law? 2. It is my opinion having sold the DOT approved dirt bike conversion kits and knowing people who received registration that the DMV did register off-road vehicles like dirt bike conversions, at the time when we asked for registration of our vehicles. 3. It has been shown that owners can modify and certify their own vehicles, satisfying all NHTSA requirements with regards to FMVSS and certification. 4. Home built vehicles including trailers must also meet FMVSS and to our knowledge these vehicles are being registered in the state and the DMV seems willing to register these vehicles without requiring formal NHTSA certification. 5. We have also asked how other states have been registering these vehicles. Some states enacted laws as late as 2008. While we understand you don’t have to answer to what others states do, failure to address this only serves to make us optimistic that registration can be done. It is noted that EPA regulations were not used in the past to deny our registration or part of the 5 points used to fight against SB179, we are attempting to find how this affects our vehicles. Electric golf carts do not have gasoline engines and should be exempt from EPA certification. If you remember we have since the beginning asked for registration of these vehicles as well. The DMV has taken the position of not working with us but against us. We will continue to press this issue until you give satisfactory explanation of why our arguments and evidence is not valid or upon evidence from our own research that registration is not possible due to law. We are not the experts in this field, the DMV should be, however we understand that with so many laws, rules and regulation, no one can completely understand it. The other day when I called the NHTSA with a question, a lower level employee with 24 years experience, told me I could not do what I wanted to do. I emailed him the opinion I received from Mr. Sachs and he said “I did not know this” He also stated Coleman Sachs is the attorney who makes the opinions and if he said you can do it, you can. If we would have worked together on this issue from the beginning, we probably would not be where we are today. We stand willing to work together with you regardless of the outcome. Thank you, Craig Castleberry Opinion from Coleman Sachs, NHTSA Dear Mr. Castleberry, Thank you for referring these questions to us. As discussed in the excerpt from the Federal Register document that you provided, we do take the position that a person who converts an off-road vehicle into an on-road vehicle takes on the responsibility of a motor vehicle manufacturer, and, as such, must certify the resulting motor vehicle as complying with all applicable Federal motor vehicle safety standards (FMVSS). We do not approve or certify any motor vehicle as complying with all applicable FMVSS. That is instead the responsibility of the vehicle's manufacturer. A manufacturer certifies a vehicle by permanently affixing to the vehicle, in a prescribed location, a label that, among other things, identifies the manufacturer and the vehicle's date of manufacturer, and states that the vehicle complies with all applicable FMVSS in effect on that date. In the scenario you describe, the person who converts a golf car into an LSV would be responsible for affixing such a certification label to the vehicle. That person would not need to submit any information concerning the vehicle to NHTSA. Instead, the mere act of affixing the label constitutes the manufacturer's certification that the vehicle complies with all applicable FMVSS. You should understand that a manufacturer must exercise reasonable care in certifying a vehicle to all applicable FMVSS. If NHTSA should learn that a vehicle certified to our standards in fact does not comply with one or more of those standards, we could ask the manufacturer to demonstrate how it exercised reasonable care in certifying the vehicle. If the manufacturer fails to establish that it in fact exercised reasonable care, it could be subject to civil penalties. You should understand that these provisions are primarily applied to commercial entities that manufacture motor vehicles for resale, and not to consumers who manufacture a motor vehicle for their own use. I hope this adequately addresses all of you questions. Coleman Sachs, Chief Import and Certification Division Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance

No thanks are required. All the help you and others have done is more than enough thanks. You Rock!

I received an email from a person stating ATV's should not be street legal, as they are dangerous. It was apparent from their email they had no idea what we were trying to do. I have decided to write why we should have the ability to register these vehicles. As most of you know, many of us have been involved with a fight to get Side by Sides registered as a Low Speed Vehicles here in Nevada. While this may seem silly to you, why do I want to make my Side by Side slow? Slow can be a temporary thing, after it is registered that is between you and law enforcement. As long as it is operated on the streets no faster than 25MPH on a road with a posted speed limit of 35MPH or less, you should not have a problem. Meeting the requirements of a LSV is the easiest way for owners to convert side by sides and make them street legal. This is why we choose this route. To give an example of access, I live in Boulder City. We have fantastic approved roads here in Boulder City. Most of these roads however are located in the national park service are opened to street legal vehicles only. There are many approved roads in the NPS where people want access. Jeeps, Trucks and other vehicles can access these approved roads, but ATV's and side by sides are not allowed simply because they are not street legal. We have a few roads that are accessible from Boulder City, one will take you to the river and another takes you to a high mountain top with a breathtaking view of the entire lower basin of Lake Mead. Even in wilderness areas like Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area near Henderson, the access road to this wilderness area is for street legal vehicles only. Many of you may have your own area you'd like to ride in but the street legal requirement keeps you out. I'd like to ask everyone for their support in helping get passed side by side as Low Speed Vehicles, and the restoration of the DMV to reinstate registration of dirt bike converted to dual sport on-road Motorcycles. Even if you don't own one we need your help. This is what is on the agenda now. In the future I will always fight for access of other OHV's. We are attempting to again slip an amendment for this in a new transportation bill. We need people to support and email or phone the heads of the transportation committee and their reps to allow registration of these vehicles. I will create an email to send and provide email addresses to those involved in getting this passed here in the near future. I can be reached here, or at extremeoutdoors@cox.net Thank you Craig Castleberry

Thank you everyone for your emails it may be working. I hope everyone will continue to send the emails. Assemblyman Hardy asked me to draft a summary of what we wanted. He is looking for a transportation bill to insert it in. As many of you know, we have been asking for registration for over 2 years now. Nevada DMV stated they do not register off-road vehicles. Even when I insisted they did, gave them examples of it, the DMV denied it. About 8 weeks ago, the DMV decided to toss out the baby with the bath water and I assume because of me telling them they did register off road vehicles, they stopped registering converted dual sport dirt bikes. It was not my intention to involve the bikers, but now the dirt bike folks are pissed off at the DMV. In my summary draft, I included the restoration of dirt bike registrations as well. Copy of summary for proposed legislation. Summary Amendment would allow owner-modified Side By Side vehicles and golf carts to be registered and restore owner-modified dirt bikes, built to FMVSS to again be registered in the State of Nevada. Owner Modified Vehicles must meet FMVSS 571:500 and NRS 484.527 Owners who modify their own vehicles become the manufacture and as such must affix to a prescribed location that the vehicle meets FMVSS in effect at the time of manufacture, and that the vehicle is a Low-Speed Vehicle. Amendment affirms existing Low-Speed Vehicle Laws that modified Side By Sides and Golf Carts must be capable of speeds not less than 20MPH and not greater than 25MPH If registered, a low-speed vehicle may be operated upon a highway where the posted speed limit is 35 miles per hour or less. A person shall not operate a low-speed vehicle upon a highway where the posted speed limit is greater than 35 miles per hour, except to cross such a highway at an intersection. Amendment allows the DMV to collect fees for inspection of vehicles as they deem necessary and to issue Vehicle Identification Numbers as the department sees fit. Gasoline powered vehicles would be exempt from emissions testing as are street motorcycles. Amendment would instruct the Department of Motor Vehicles to restore the registration of owner-modified dirt bikes built to FMVSS for on-road motorcycles and allows the DMV to collect fees for inspection of vehicles as they deem necessary and to issue vehicle identification numbers as the department sees fit. Side By Side Utility Vehicle Defined. The term includes a side by side utility terrain vehicle which has been modified to comply with the standards specified in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard, No. 500 at C.F.R. 571:500 1. Designed with a roll cage and a minimum of two seats installed side by side 2. Designed to be driven on a variety of terrains 3. Having at least four wheels in contact with the ground; 4. Having the capability of four-wheel drive Golf cart” defined. The term includes a golf car vehicle which has been modified to comply with the standards specified in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard, No. 500 at C.F.R. 571:500 1. Has no fewer than three wheels in contact with the ground; and 2. Is designed to carry golf equipment and no more than four persons, including the driver. 3. A vehicle which is customarily used on golf courses.

This is not just for the Rhinos but for all side by sides. I just have a Rhino. Once one is registered then all can be registered as long as they can meet the FVMSS for a LSV. There are some stipulations on how we speed control the side by sides. I know how to do the Rhino. Not sure on the others s as I have not done one yet. The rest of the requirements are easy.