Interpretation ID: aiam1542
President
Hellstar Corporation
1600 N
Chestnut
Wahoo
NE 68066;
Dear Mr. Gostomski: This is in reply to your letter of June 17, 1974, requesting furthe information on the applicability of Federal safety standards to auxiliary fuel tanks.; Standard No. 301 does not apply directly to auxiliary or extra-capacit fuel tanks. However, it does apply to motor vehicle fuel systems. Therefore, if an auxiliary of extra-capacity tank is installed in the fuel system of a vehicle that is subject to the performance requirements of Standard No. 301, *before* its first purchase for purposes other than resale, causing that fuel system not to be in compliance with the standard, the person installing the tank or offering the vehicle for sale would be in violation of S108(a)(1) of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act. Since Standard No. 301 becomes applicable to trucks with a GVWR of 6,000 pounds or less on September 1, 1976, the fuel systems of such trucks will have to meet the performance requirements of the standard as of that date.; The fact that a customer may have ordered the auxiliary o extra-capacity tank to be installed in the vehicle he is purchasing does not affect the installer's responsibilities under the Act. he would still be in violation of Standard No. 301 if the tank were installed prior to the first purchase causing the fuel system to be in noncompliance.; Auxiliary and extra-capacity fuel tanks are not subject to regulatio under Standard No. 301 where they are installed *after* the first purchase of the vehicle for purposes other than resale. However, the auxiliary and extra-capacity tanks are subject to the section of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act that authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to make a determination as to whether of not an item of motor vehicle equipment contains a safety-related defect. In the event that such a determination is made, the manufacturer may be compelled to notify purchasers of the hazard.; If the installation of the fuel tank occurs *before* the first purchas of the vehicle for purposes other than resale, the installer must affix to the vehicle an additional certification label stating the alterer's name, the date of the alteration completion, and that the vehicle conforms to all applicable safety standards in effect on a date no earlier than the manufacturing date of the original vehicle, and no later than the date the alterations were completed.; We appreciate your interest. Yours truly, Richard B. Dyson, Assistant Chief Counsel