Are you using the right payload modification label?

From an NTEA member We are a truck equipment distributor, and we regularly work on pickups and vans that have the Tire and Loading Information labels from the factory. Can you help us understand our requirements for these labels on the vehicles we upfit? Certainly. The label to which you are referring (officially known as the “vehicle placard”) is required on new vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of 10,000 pounds or less (see label below right). The work truck industry was first required to use this label in 2005. It contains several information categories which can be affected by vehicle alterations (i.e., modifications performed between the final-stage certification of a vehicle and the point where it is licensed and titled). Other than some specific van prep package offerings, such as for ambulances, motorhomes or box-removed pickups, these vehicles are completed as produced by the OEM. Therefore, they will already have a vehicle placard when you receive them as an alterer. The OEM would not provide this label on incomplete vans, chassis-cabs or other incomplete vehicles with a GVWR of 10,000 pounds or less, since the information on the label must reflect the configuration of the completed vehicle. The primary intention of the placard is to provide information and awareness of the tire sizes and inflation pressures to the vehicle owner/operator. However, the related information on the placard can be affected by vehicle alterations, even when no changes are made to the wheels and tires. The two lines of information at the top of the label (one for seating and one for the combined weight limit of occupants and cargo) both relate to weight. Increasing the vehicle curb weight and/or the distribution of passenger weight by adding/removing seats will require corrections to the information provided on the original placard. Changes to the passenger seating from the original configuration from the OEM are more specific to certain vocational vehicles where the first line of information would require corrections. The second line states the limit for “the combined weight of occupants and cargo,” and this value is the difference between the GVWR and the curb weight of the vehicle as it was produced by the OEM. If, in the alteration of a vehicle, its curb weight was actually reduced, there would be no need to correct this value on the placard because the amount of weight stated on the label would not exceed the GVWR if added to the vehicle. Accordingly, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration allows up to 1.5% of the GVWR, or 100 lbs., whichever is less, to be added to an altered vehicle before its first retail sale without modifying the vehicle placard (as long there are no changes to the tire and wheel or seating information). Altering a vehicle and increasing curb weight Most commonly in the work truck industry, alterations to completed vehicles result in increased curb weight. So, upfits such as bins/racks in vans or box removals using a body heavier than the original pickup box will reduce the amount of weight of occupants and cargo that can go in the vehicle before hitting the GVWR. If you know, for example, that you are adding more than 100 lbs. of body and/or permanently attached equipment, then this value must be corrected so the owner/operator understands the new, reduced value of the altered vehicle. There are several methods for correcting this information, but the simplest involves utilizing a Load Carrying Capacity Modification Label. This smaller label is used specifically to show the amount of weight by which the capacity of occupants and cargo on the placard has been reduced. There are requirements for the color and position of the label, but you will just note the amount of permanently attached weight (in both kilograms and pounds) that you are adding to the vehicle. For example, if you add a toolbox and ladder rack to a new F-150 pickup for a dealer, and the toolbox and ladder rack with all attachment hardware weigh 170 lbs. (77 kgs.), you would complete the Load Carrying Capacity Modification Label and place it next to (within 1 inch of) the existing vehicle placard. Note that this is used to state the net increase in curb weight, so any non-permanently attached equipment, such as the removable blade of a snowplow, does not need to be accounted for on this label. While the weight of such items is also important information, those items are considered “cargo” and are not included in the curb weight of a vehicle. Altering a vehicle and changing tires If, in your alterations of a vehicle, you are changing tires from those noted on the placard, you will need to replace the original placard. This can be accomplished by completely covering the original placard with one containing all the new information. Final-stage manufacturing If you are completing new vehicles with a GVWR of 10,000 pounds or less from incomplete vans, cutaways, etc., you will need to complete a new placard and apply it to the driver’s side B-pillar.

Are you using the right payload modification label?

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