Interpretation ID: aiam1657
Jr.
Executive Director
Truck Equipment and Body Distributors Association
602 Main Street
Cincinnati
OH 45202;
Dear Mr. Pieratt: This is in reply to your letter of October 1, 1974, in which you as whether a manufacturer who modifies a certified flat-bed trailer by adding beverage compartments and required lamps and reflectors may use the certification date of the trailer for determining conformity to applicable safety standards, rather than the date on which the modifications are completed.; We question your description of the trailer as certified by lacking floor, for this characterization would be unusual under the definitions provided in Part 568. It is difficult for us to envision a trailer being a 'completed vehicle' (requiring no further manufacturing operations to perform its intended function) if it lacks a floor, unless the floor is considered to be a readily attachable component, which we also view as unlikely. If, however, that is the case, the situation you describe is covered specifically in the requirements for vehicle alterers (49 CFR SS 567.7, 568.8). Section 567.7 of the Certification Regulations provides that a person who alters a vehicle that has been previously certified can certify the conformity of the altered vehicle as of any date between the date of manufacture of the original vehicle and the date the alterations are completed. This makes it unnecessary, unless the alterer chooses otherwise, for the vehicle to conform to standards which become effective after the date of the original certification.; This provision was intended to place the responsibility of alterers o a par with that of final-stage manufacturers for determining conformity to applicable standards. Some discussion of this point is contained in the preamble to the notice in which the vehicle alterer requirements were issued, and a copy is enclosed for your information.; The only other situation we can envision in which a trailer can b certified and still lack a floor would be one arising under S568.6, 'Requirements for manufacturers who assume legal responsibility for the vehicle.' If the incomplete or intermediate manufacturer has assumed responsibility for the vehicle, then the person adding the floor and beverage compartments, although a final-stage manufacturer, would be under no obligation to further certify the vehicle.; Yours truly, Richard B. Dyson, Acting Chief Counsel