Future regulatory changes affecting work trucks

From an NTEA member We are an upfitter installing equipment and bodies for customers. Are there any upcoming Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) changes that will affect us? Some new and enhanced standards will become effective in the next few years, impacting the vehicles you build and equipment and body installation. FMVSS 214: Side Impact Protection Trucks, buses and multipurpose vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of 10,000 pounds or less, manufactured in two or more stages (or altered), will need to meet FMVSS 214, effective for vehicles built on or after Sept. 1, 2016. Modifications to the requirement include changes to door crush resistance, using a few different tests. Depending on OEM compliance method, upfitters may encounter the addition of side curtain and seat-mounted airbags. This can result in limitations to what can be mounted near the front passenger seat of a work truck. Many chassis manufacturers are adding side curtain airbags and restricting further equipment installation in airbag deployment zones. For example, this can affect van partition positioning. Also, adding a side curtain air bag may impact upfitter ability to touch the vehicle headliner. Before quoting a 2016 or 2017 model year work truck, review body builder books, incomplete vehicle manuals or other compliance documentation for restrictions in the driver and passenger areas. FMVSS 216: Roof Crush Resistance All trucks, buses and multipurpose vehicles with a 10,000-pound or less GVWR, manufactured in two or more stages (or altered), will need to meet FMVSS 216, effective for vehicles built on or after Sept. 1, 2016. This newly upgraded standard requires a two-part crush test (one performed on each side of the vehicle roof). A limited group of multistage manufactured trucks with 6,000–10,000-pound GVWRs is excluded from the new testing requirement. This is limited to trucks not built on a chassis cab or incomplete vehicle, with a full exterior van body. Multistage manufacturers and alterers that modify roofs on chassis cabs and full-body vans by removing them partially or completely and replacing with a roof higher than the original can use FMVSS 220_ School Bus Roof Crush Test for compliance. In all cases, OEMs may limit mounting attachment points around the roof and pillar locations in vehicles with a GVWR of 10,000 pounds or less. Review incomplete vehicle documents and body builder books to identify mounting location restrictions for equipment potentially affected by this standard. FMVSS 226: Ejection Mitigation For most upfitted vehicles manufactured on or after Sept. 1, 2018, FMVSS 226 will become effective. Trucks, buses, and multipurpose vehicles with a GVWR of 10,000 pounds or less, manufactured in two or more stages (or altered), will need to meet this requirement. Expect OEMs to use side curtain air bags as their main compliance strategy. Side curtain airbag length may require redesigned partitions and modified installation methods. For companies installing seats in vehicles not originally designed for rear passengers, requirements for side curtain airbags not supplied by OEMs will necessitate extensive and expensive design work and testing. FMVSS 111: Rear Visibility Updates were also made to FMVSS 111. Trucks, buses, multipurpose vehicles and school buses with a GVWR of 10,000 pounds or less, manufactured in two or more stages (or altered), will need to meet this rear visibility requirement (rearview camera), effective for vehicles built on or after May 1, 2018. A small population may need to comply by May 1, 2017, as described in FMVSS 111 documentation. The new rear camera rule contains exact target locations and visibility requirements. Starts at the rear bumper (or rearmost part of the vehicle), 20 feet rearward and 10 feet side to side (or 5 feet left and 5 feet right of the vehicle centerline) Requires clear visibility of specific sized and marked test cylinders, placed in precise locations on a 10-foot by 20-foot grid, together with other testing conditions

Future regulatory changes affecting work trucks

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