Interpretation ID: aiam4372
Program Manager
Inspection Services
Office of Fleet Administration
1416 -10th- Street
2d Floor
Sacramento
CA 95814;
Dear Mr. Fujitani: This letter responds to your inquiries addressed to Joan Tilghman of m staff. Your letters concern buses purchased by the State of California, and manufactured by Champion Home Builders, Commercial Vehicle Division (Champion). You inform us that Champion is a final stage manufacturer of vehicles built on a Ford chassis. You have rejected delivery of these vehicles because you assert that they do not comply with either California or Federal motor vehicle regulations. This response addresses only those issues arising from Federal requirements.; As I understand your letters, you pose two principle questions. First you ask whether classifying an incomplete vehicle as a 'chassis' rather than as a 'chassis cab' means that a final stage manufacturer can not alter the original chassis manufacturer's gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR). You assert that Champion's altering of the GVWR on a vehicle classified as a 'chassis' is a noncompliance under 49 CFR sections 567.5 and 568.4 which you may use as grounds for rejecting delivery of Champion's vehicles.; Your second question involves data set out in your letter of April 14 suggesting that Champion's certified GVWR for these vehicles is less than the sum of the unloaded vehicle weight, the rated cargo load, and 150 lbs. times the vehicles' designated seating capacity. You state that this circumstance is a second noncompliance with Federal regulations upon which you have rejected delivery of Champion's buses.; >>>*The Cutaway Chassis/Chassis Cab Question*.<<< In both your letters, you refer to provisions of 49 CFR 567.5 an 568.4, and to a 1977 Federal Register document (42 FR 37814, 37816, July 25, 1977). You state your interpretation of these 49 CFR provisions as 'mean(ing) that final stage manufacturers (who build on RV cutaways) are not authorized to alter the (GVWR) imposed by incomplete vehicle manufacturers since final stage manufacturers do not have any basis for certifying a greater load carrying capaci(ty) without altering axle components to handle the extra load.' As I understand it, when you speak of an RV cutaway you mean a vehicle chassis with an incomplete occupant compartment, intended for completion as a recreational vehicle. For any incomplete vehicle (including a cutaway or chassis cab), Part 568 requires the incomplete vehicle manufacturer to provide a document that describes how to complete the vehicle without impairing the vehicle's compliance status. This document is *not* a certification.; If the incomplete vehicle is other than a chassis cab, the final stag manufacturer who builds on the incomplete vehicle must certify its compliance with all applicable Federal motor vehicle safety standards (FMVSS). On the other hand, the certification process is different if an incomplete vehicle meets the agency's definition of 'chassis cab.' The Federal Register document to which you refer amended 49 CFR Parts 567 and 568 to conform with a court decision holding that NHTSA could not require a final stage manufacturer to make the 'sole certification' of compliance for a vehicle built on a chassis cab. As a consequence of this decision, NHTSA established a dual certification scheme for such vehicles in which the chassis cab manufacturer makes one certification statement in each of three categories, and the final stage manufacturer makes corresponding statements depending on how the final stage manufacturer affects any applicable Federal motor vehicle safety standard (FMVSS).; Under this dual certification scheme, the original chassis ca manufacturer may provide instructions telling a final stage manufacturer how to complete a vehicle so that it conforms with applicable FMVSS. The final stage manufacturer has the choice of either conforming his work to the chassis cab manufacturer's instructions and shifting the burden under Part 567 of certifying compliance to the chassis cab manufacturer, or deviating from those instructions, and assuming the certification burden for himself. Further, the final stage manufacturer must certify compliance respecting any FMVSS for which the chassis cab manufacturer makes no representation.; While you are correct that in the 1977 Federal Register document th agency decided to exclude RV cutaways from the definition of 'chassis cab,' the only effect of this exclusion is that dual certification requirements do not apply to vehicles completed on an RV cutaway.; Therefore, the answer to your first question is that a final stag manufacturer may change the GVWR for any incomplete vehicle, irrespective of whether he builds the completed vehicle on an RV cutaway or a chassis cab. However, if the final stage manufacturer changes the GVWR for the vehicle, it must certify that the vehicle complies with all applicable FMVSS at this new GVWR. Compliance with Standards No. 105, *Hydraulic Brake Systems*, and No. 120, *Tire Selection and Rims for Vehicles Other Than Passenger Cars* might well be affected by an increase in the GVWR. The final stage manufacturer is required to exercise 'due care' when certifying that its vehicle complies with all safety standards at this increased GVWR. Our Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance has asked the final stage manufacturer of these vehicles to provide the data and other evidence that were the basis for Champion's certification of compliance at this higher GVWR.; >>>*Champion's Certified GVWR Calculation*.<<< Part 567 of NHTSA regulations sets out requirements for affixing certification label or tag to a motor vehicle. Section 567.4(g)(3) of that Part states that the certified GVWR:; >>>'...shall not be less than the sum of the unloaded vehicle weight rated cargo load, and 150 pounds times the vehicle's designated seating capacity. However, for school buses the minimum occupant weight allowance shall be 120.'<<<; In your April letter, you supply weightmaster readings for the tw Champion motor vehicles that are the subject of your inquiry. While Champion certifies the GVWR for both these vehicles at 12,000 pounds, you indicate that according to your S567.4(g)(3) calculation, the sums are 12,147 pounds and 12,580 pounds. This agency considers vehicle overloading a serious safety problem for the affected vehicle and for the motoring public, and NHTSA may take appropriate remedial action against any manufacturer whose vehicle, laden with its intended cargo load, exceeds the manufacturer's GVWR. NHTSA's Office Of Vehicle Safety Compliance is investigating this matter further.; Sincerely, Erika Z. Jones, Chief Counsel