New member of Team Roxor from Texas

[BDRAG]

Welcome - you've got a great product and you've found a great group to share experiences.
Regarding the full-size plate thing; I hope don't get too hung up on that. Instead enjoy your ride, have fun tweaking and customizing to suit your preferences - there are a ton of possibilities to explore.
We're early in the track record of this vehicle; the real test of street legal legality will come when the inevitable accidents happen and insurance companies start defending lawsuits - criminal and civil.
What makes the Roxor appealing in my opinion is that it is a clone of the real deal - a bullet proof early era jeep - like my old '46 CJ2A, only better! But - it's new, so it can't be "grandfathered", and it is heavy and can be made to operate at highway speeds, and no attempt has been made by the manufacturer to pass highway safety standards. In fact, quite the opposite, the manufacturer, who should know their product best, says it should ONLY be operated off highway - kiss of death. Sure, some local DMV agents may sign off, but I've not heard of any DMV at the state level which lists it as anything but an off road UTV - FCA has seen to that and is eager to remind them.
And then there's the reciprocity thing - getting other states to sign off on a classification they themselves don't recognize - it gets really sticky fast when you try to transfer a registration to another state. Plus we also expect reciprocity with insurance coverage; how does that work if you drive in a state that says the Roxor is only off road? Will the insurance company hang in there with you or bolt when they realize the registration in "unusual".
Don't attack the messenger here; I am confounded, baffled, annoyed, yep - pissed off, by seeing golf carts in my neighborhood operating with impunity and LEO turns a blind eye. "It ain't right, it's unfair, silly, ridiculous" - but, the fact is the Roxor hasn't passed highway safety standards and it classified by the manufacturer as an off road vehicle - can't get around that.
I bet there's no way that a brand new, straight off the line, CJ2A, 3B or even early CJ5 could be registered today as street legal either. There's this little thing called the NHTSA and their rules and regulations which came into being in 1966. New vehicles must meet their standards to be highway worthy.
So, I for one have accepted that I have a really great off road utility vehicle which I've modified to meet basic street legal requirements - can't do much about the formal highway testing though. The day I bought it home I started looking into making it "street legal". Now I'm considering getting a SD registration and MC tag which can add some semblance of legality to operate on local roads, but it also opens up another can of worms (besides the odd fact of a MC tag on "jeep") because is that in my state, FL, residents are required by law to transfer registration within 30 days. I'm sure I can "skate" by for a few months or more, but once I have to renew the out of state SD registration it will be very hard to explain why I did that again since I'm a FL resident.
Those of you who live in western states, or in very rural areas with a more open minded approach to these things, are probably fine. I"m in a semi-rural area within 10 miles of two US highways, a major interstate, and toll road and I'm 1,200 miles from SD where I have no roots or contacts. A SD MC tag on my "Jeep" becomes a rather flimsy proposition... still, better than nothing? or maybe not?
I'm not going to get my knickers in a wad over it - don't want to spoil my fun

Yep, you bout covered it all. Lol. There are truths to everything you point out. My only real comment is related to " Real World use " . As far as being a safe ride, Mahindra built in Real Components that make these machines SAFER than most cars built before 1980! It has seat belts, roll cage, side retaining bars, lights, horn, and current brake technology used industry wide in the automotive industry. It does NOT have air bags or lane change, cruise, rear view cameras and all the current NHTSA requirments. The only real useful item I just mentioned is the air bag. The rest use to be left up to a attentive and compitant driver. I still do not use my back up cameras. Why? I have mirrors. I do use it hooking up to a trailer.lol.

With the addition of the safety items left off by Mahindra, a Roxor is completely compatible for most SIDE ROADS, FARM TO MARKET ROADS, AND MANY CITY STREETS. I agree 100% that the Roxor is not the best choice for highway use. It has the same draw backs as its jeep predissesors had. Speed, body roll, shot wheel base, high center of gravity. All a bad combination in an evasive emergency situation.

I am mostly satisfied with the current Off Highway only tag the state of Texas came up with. For me, I want to be able to go FUEL THE TANK, NASTY ASS DIESEL without having to drip that crap all over from a gas jug. Lol. I like doing my Sunday morning beagle runs. I like the occasional jaunt to work in it like on a short half day at work. I gave up riding motorcycles after 45 years. This thing gives me a small glimpse to the past with a little OUT IN THE WIND FEEL. Lol. Not the same but it does put a smile on my face AND I can occasionally get my wife to go ride for breakfast or the store. That's a big deal to a couple married over 40 years to find something new to do together. Lol.

BDRAG

 

[BDRAG]

Welcome - you've got a great product and you've found a great group to share experiences.
Regarding the full-size plate thing; I hope don't get too hung up on that. Instead enjoy your ride, have fun tweaking and customizing to suit your preferences - there are a ton of possibilities to explore.
We're early in the track record of this vehicle; the real test of street legal legality will come when the inevitable accidents happen and insurance companies start defending lawsuits - criminal and civil.
What makes the Roxor appealing in my opinion is that it is a clone of the real deal - a bullet proof early era jeep - like my old '46 CJ2A, only better! But - it's new, so it can't be "grandfathered", and it is heavy and can be made to operate at highway speeds, and no attempt has been made by the manufacturer to pass highway safety standards. In fact, quite the opposite, the manufacturer, who should know their product best, says it should ONLY be operated off highway - kiss of death. Sure, some local DMV agents may sign off, but I've not heard of any DMV at the state level which lists it as anything but an off road UTV - FCA has seen to that and is eager to remind them.
And then there's the reciprocity thing - getting other states to sign off on a classification they themselves don't recognize - it gets really sticky fast when you try to transfer a registration to another state. Plus we also expect reciprocity with insurance coverage; how does that work if you drive in a state that says the Roxor is only off road? Will the insurance company hang in there with you or bolt when they realize the registration in "unusual".
Don't attack the messenger here; I am confounded, baffled, annoyed, yep - pissed off, by seeing golf carts in my neighborhood operating with impunity and LEO turns a blind eye. "It ain't right, it's unfair, silly, ridiculous" - but, the fact is the Roxor hasn't passed highway safety standards and it classified by the manufacturer as an off road vehicle - can't get around that.
I bet there's no way that a brand new, straight off the line, CJ2A, 3B or even early CJ5 could be registered today as street legal either. There's this little thing called the NHTSA and their rules and regulations which came into being in 1966. New vehicles must meet their standards to be highway worthy.
So, I for one have accepted that I have a really great off road utility vehicle which I've modified to meet basic street legal requirements - can't do much about the formal highway testing though. The day I bought it home I started looking into making it "street legal". Now I'm considering getting a SD registration and MC tag which can add some semblance of legality to operate on local roads, but it also opens up another can of worms (besides the odd fact of a MC tag on "jeep") because is that in my state, FL, residents are required by law to transfer registration within 30 days. I'm sure I can "skate" by for a few months or more, but once I have to renew the out of state SD registration it will be very hard to explain why I did that again since I'm a FL resident.
Those of you who live in western states, or in very rural areas with a more open minded approach to these things, are probably fine. I"m in a semi-rural area within 10 miles of two US highways, a major interstate, and toll road and I'm 1,200 miles from SD where I have no roots or contacts. A SD MC tag on my "Jeep" becomes a rather flimsy proposition... still, better than nothing? or maybe not?
I'm not going to get my knickers in a wad over it - don't want to spoil my fun

Oh I also forgot to mention, I keep my tow bar in my wife's Explorer so she can come get me if LEO wants to be a pain and says PARK IT OR WE TOW IT! Lol.

BDRAG

 

[oldgreybull]

Yep, you bout covered it all. Lol. There are truths to everything you point out. My only real comment is related to " Real World use " . As far as being a safe ride, Mahindra built in Real Components that make these machines SAFER than most cars built before 1980! It has seat belts, roll cage, side retaining bars, lights, horn, and current brake technology used industry wide in the automotive industry. It does NOT have air bags or lane change, cruise, rear view cameras and all the current NHTSA requirments. The only real useful item I just mentioned is the air bag. The rest use to be left up to a attentive and compitant driver. I still do not use my back up cameras. Why? I have mirrors. I do use it hooking up to a trailer.lol.

With the addition of the safety items left off by Mahindra, a Roxor is completely compatible for most SIDE ROADS, FARM TO MARKET ROADS, AND MANY CITY STREETS. I agree 100% that the Roxor is not the best choice for highway use. It has the same draw backs as its jeep predissesors had. Speed, body roll, shot wheel base, high center of gravity. All a bad combination in an evasive emergency situation.

I am mostly satisfied with the current Off Highway only tag the state of Texas came up with. For me, I want to be able to go FUEL THE TANK, NASTY ASS DIESEL without having to drip that crap all over from a gas jug. Lol. I like doing my Sunday morning beagle runs. I like the occasional jaunt to work in it like on a short half day at work. I gave up riding motorcycles after 45 years. This thing gives me a small glimpse to the past with a little OUT IN THE WIND FEEL. Lol. Not the same but it does put a smile on my face AND I can occasionally get my wife to go ride for breakfast or the store. That's a big deal to a couple married over 40 years to find something new to do together. Lol.

BDRAG

I fully agree with everything you say, and as you point out, with the exception of airbags, most of the important stuff is all there plus some.
Like you, I've quit worrying about it. I drive locally for diesel (and donuts!), and my wife and I cruise for breakfast and burgers and around our lake.
No issues so far but lots of thumbs up. My ready speech for LEO is , "on my way to fill up with diesel, can you believe it, this thing has a turbo-diesel! Working on the tag thing - turns out it is complicated..."
The point I was trying to make is that obsessing over a completely legal unrestricted full auto tag that's transferable among states is probably not in the cards at this time - certainly not in my area. And anything short of that may be subject to some inconvenience as it attracts attention, raises issues and requires some flimsy explanations, so not much point knocking yourself out.
My Roxor replaces several Rangers and a Mule which over the years replaced my old CJ2A. Now I'm back to where I started and delighted.

 

[Roxasuras]

I fully agree with everything you say, and as you point out, with the exception of airbags, most of the important stuff is all there plus some.
Like you, I've quit worrying about it. I drive locally for diesel (and donuts!), and my wife and I cruise for breakfast and burgers and around our lake.
No issues so far but lots of thumbs up. My ready speech for LEO is , "on my way to fill up with diesel, can you believe it, this thing has a turbo-diesel! Working on the tag thing - turns out it is complicated..."
The point I was trying to make is that obsessing over a completely legal unrestricted full auto tag that's transferable among states is probably not in the cards at this time - certainly not in my area. And anything short of that may be subject to some inconvenience as it attracts attention, raises issues and requires some flimsy explanations, so not much point knocking yourself out.
My Roxor replaces several Rangers and a Mule which over the years replaced my old CJ2A. Now I'm back to where I started and delighted.

I would easily say I feel safer in my Roxor than I did in the 67 MG I used to have. LOL, At almost 6'1 265lbs, felt like someone poured me in there.

 

[BDRAG]

I would easily say I feel safer in my Roxor than I did in the 67 MG I used to have. LOL, At almost 6'1 265lbs, felt like someone poured me in there.

And would the SU carbs fire off and let you get home on the worn out lever action shocks. Lol. My buddy had a 67 Austin Healy Sprit. We were 16 in 1975. It was a lesson in being an on the spot mechanics. The trunk would only hold so many tools and a tow strap. Lol.

He had a broken wire spoke steering wheel he replaced. So I mounted that steering wheel on a broom stick and would hold it between my knees and we would drive around and I would have me a steering wheel too! We got some great reactions. I tell them its a student driver car and I have a wheel and brake pedal. LOL!

BDRAG

 

[Cheech]

welcome aboard.....It's all in the name of fun !! ...Love the color !!

 

[Roxasuras]

And would the SU carbs fire off and let you get home on the worn out lever action shocks. Lol. My buddy had a 67 Austin Healy Sprit. We were 16 in 1975. It was a lesson in being an on the spot mechanics. The trunk would only hold so many tools and a tow strap. Lol.

He had a broken wire spoke steering wheel he replaced. So I mounted that steering wheel on a broom stick and would hold it between my knees and we would drive around and I would have me a steering wheel too! We got some great reactions. I tell them its a student driver car and I have a wheel and brake pedal. LOL!

BDRAG

Hahaha, the crazy thing about that MG is MG in all of there infinite wisdom had there own tools sizes (a complete different size than standard or metric). Carbs were horrible, not to mention the positive earth ground system. The more I think of it, makes me love my other vehicles even more.

 

[BDRAG]

Hahaha, the crazy thing about that MG is MG in all of there infinite wisdom had there own tools sizes (a complete different size than standard or metric). Carbs were horrible, not to mention the positive earth ground system. The more I think of it, makes me love my other vehicles even more.

Smith electrics and gauges, British witsworth tools. LOL.

BDRAG

 

[Roxasuras]

Smith electrics and gauges, British witsworth tools. LOL.

BDRAG

LOL thats right. Makes me appreciate the simplicity of my Roxor even more.

 

[BDRAG]

LOL thats right. Makes me appreciate the simplicity of my Roxor even more.

View attachment 7408

His Sprite was a darker Green. We built a roll bar that looked like that one. We used 2.0" galvanized water pipe and wrapped it with foam. Welded, or should I say BRAZED it in place. LOL. We were pulling its dead in the roads ass by the roll bar with my 72 Pinto and yanked the thing out almost knocking my buddy out when it hit him in the head. LOL. Gawd those were the days.....

BDRAG

 

[txroadkill]

Surprised the pinto had enough power to do that

 

[Roxasuras]

Surprised the pinto had enough power to do that

Surprised the Pinto didn't blow up when you shut the hatchback

 

[Perunapete]

Thanks for your comments on the road-legality issue. Mine has the speed limiter and the 5.38 gears for 2020, so I haven't been up past 55. At 55 it felt stable, and I didn't think it would be a problem on a highway at 60-65. I definitely would not want to take it past 65, but is that speed a problem? It feels really solid.

I really hear what you guys are saying about "just appreciate it for what it is", but I don't want to let my kids or wife drive around in something that is susceptible to getting pulled over based on a technicality.

Good tip on putting a tow bar inside my wife's car, or at least having a current AAA membership that can tow me back home (that might be a better option ).

 

[BDRAG]

Surprised the Pinto didn't blow up when you shut the hatchback

Dude! That 3 door, $2100, 2100 lb car was the best investment my dad ever made. Headers, carb mod to open both carb barrels at once, glass pack, locking gas cap. Oh and strips from Kmart. Lol. We put that Canadian built, German powered car through some poop! Lol.

It eventually got a rebuild at 110,000 miles. We dropped a blue printed, twin Webber carbed, ported polished head, big cam, lowered on nylon bushings and sway bars. It would run 145 mph behind a trans am just long enough to pull out and sling shot to pass it. Lol. That guy swore I had a 302 in it till I popped the hood to reveal the 2.0 liter 4 banger. Had prolly 160-180 hp. A sleeper. This is a before the work pic and before the lower air dam got installed. Lol. Boy. I'm old. Lol.

BDRAG

 

[Roxasuras]

WOW, far cry from a Roxor, but man that is some nostalgia there. Super cool BDRAG, thanks for sharing!

 

[Roxasuras]

Dude! That 3 door, $2100, 2100 lb car was the best investment my dad ever made. Headers, carb mod to open both carb barrels at once, glass pack, locking gas cap. Oh and strips from Kmart. Lol. We put that Canadian built, German powered car through some poop! Lol.

It eventually got a rebuild at 110,000 miles. We dropped a blue printed, twin Webber carbed, ported polished head, big cam, lowered on nylon bushings and sway bars. It would run 145 mph behind a trans am just long enough to pull out and sling shot to pass it. Lol. That guy swore I had a 302 in it till I popped the hood to reveal the 2.0 liter 4 banger. Had prolly 160-180 hp. A sleeper. This is a before the work pic and before the lower air dam got installed. Lol. Boy. I'm old. Lol.

BDRAG

View attachment 7409 View attachment 7410

This car deserves its own fourm.

 

[txroadkill]

Next thing we know he’s gonna body swap to a pinto and be street legal. Reliving the good ole days.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[oldgreybull]

I think I saw that car the other night in an old Mad Max movie!

 

[BDRAG]

Next thing we know he’s gonna body swap to a pinto and be street legal. Reliving the good ole days.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

NAW. The wheel base is all wrong. LOL. !

BDRAG

 

[BDRAG]

This car deserves its own fourm.

DUDE! The stories. Lol. A few now. Hang On. To start with, between me, my brother and my dad, EVERY body panel sept the roof and passenger door were replaced at least once. Some 4 times. Lol.

I use to drive down to Austin when my dad had his National Guard Duty at Camp Mabry. I had an old neighbor that lived down there. Now I was 16 and 17 years old. I would drop him off and go hang all day with my buddy. One time we drove to his cousins place outside of Austin. They had a figure 8 dirt track in the land next to a barn. We tore it up! It was that texas clay dirt. Like fort hood. I got that car dirty that day so stopped and car washed it off befor picking dad up.

We stopped on the way home for a gas and piss. I come out of the can and he is staring under the hood. OH CRAP! i walk over and OH MY GAWD! There was what looked like 10 bags of cement mix piled everywhere under the hood. He looked at me in a real pissed look. I almost peed my pants, would have sept I just went. He said, I guess you had fun? I said what? He said, WHAT MY ASS! You been dirt tracking this thing someplace. LOL. He could not keep his scowell and he said, Take him next time. LOL. Dads cool!.

then the time I decided I needed to do bat turns, E brake turns on the sides of the FM roads. Came home. Did not notice the johnson grass sticking out of every wheel at the tire bead. That got me a HUMMMM from him. Lol.

Oh so many more. Beer time for more at a meet. Lol.

BDRAG