Interpretation ID: nht76-1.42

DATE: 12/01/76

FROM: AUTHOR UNAVAILABLE; F. Berndt; NHTSA

TO: Truck Body and Equipment Association

TITLE: FMVSS INTERPRETATION

TEXT: This responds to the Truck Body and Equipment Association's November 8, 1976, question whether any provision of Standard No. 120, Tire Selection and Rims for Motor Vehicles Other than Passenger Cars, prohibits the certification of a vehicle following the addition of an axle system (typically known as a "tag" or "pusher" axle) that is not equipped with tires or rims at the time of sale and delivery to the first purchaser for purposes other than resale.

The answer to your question is no. The requirement of S5.1.1 that ". . . each vehicle equipped with pneumatic tires for highway service shall be equipped with tires that meet [specified requirements] . . . . " prohibits the installation of tires that do not meet certain performance requirements, but it is not a requirement that tires be fitted to every axle of a vehicle prior to certification and sale.

I would like to point out that @ 567.4 (g) (4) of Part 567, Certification, requires that a gross axle weight rating be assigned to each axle system. Section S5.1.2 of Standard No. 120 specifies that the GAWR be not more than the sum of the maximum load ratings of the tires fitted to the axle in question. While the agency interprets Standard No. 120 to permit the assignment of a GAWR on the basis of tires listed on the certification plate for that GAWR, the assignment of an arbitrarily high (or low) GAWR for purposes such as avoiding a Federal motor vehicle safety standard (such as Standard No. 121, Air Brake Systems), would constitute a violation of @ 108(a)(1)(D) of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act:

@ 108(a)(1) No person shall

(A)

(c) Fail to issue a certificate required by section 114 of this title, or issue a certificate to the effect that a motor vehicle or item of motor vehicle equipment conforms to all applicable Federal motor vehicle safety standards, if such person in the exercise of due care has reason to know that such certificate is false or misleading in a material respect;

SINCERELY

TRUCK BODY AND EQUIPMENT ASSOCIATION, INC

November 8, 1976

Frank A. Berndt Office of Chief Counsel National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

FMVSS 120 Tire Selection and Rims for Vehicles Other Than Passenger Cars states in S 5.1.1 that:

"Except as specified in S 5.1.3 each vehicle equipped with pneumatic tires for highway service shall be equipped with tires that meet the requirements of Standards 109 or 119."

It is possible to read this statement to require that all axles must be equipped with tires and rims prior to certification. By prohibiting the shipping of bare axles, this interpretation would cause the many intermediate and final stage manufacturers represented by the TBEA a great hardship.

The installation of auxiliary axles on incomplete vehicles comprises a large portion of the work performed by our industry. The twenty-five to thirty thousand tags (added axle behind the OEM rear axle) and pushers (added axle-ahead of the OEM rear axle) are installed on a truck chassis to provide increased carrying capacity or to more evenly distribute the payload's weight onto the road surface. The installers of these tags and pushers are generally small business men engaged in the adaption of standard commercial truck chassis to vocational vehicles ie fire apparatus, dump trucks, refuse trucks . . . . .These small companies are not in business to sell truck tires and rims. An inventory of every common truck tire size times every truck tire manufacturer would utilize more floor space than many of our companies have to begin with.

In the past, it has been common practice to install an additional axle on truck chassis and to ship the completed vehicle less the new tires. Upon delivery, the end user would contract a tire dealer to install the required tire and rim combination to provide the rated GAWR. Tire sizing is not new to the tire dealer, because he is also the same individual responsible for supplying the replacement tires needed to comply with the GVWR.

Present certification requirements allow for the posting of multiple GAWRs and GVWRs when the appropriate tire sizes are also listed.

Are we correct in assuming that additional axles can still be installed and delivered to the end user less tires, provided that the new GAWR listed for the new axle reflects the tire and rim size(s) needed for the specific rating(s)?

Byron A. Crampton Manager of Engineering Services