Pickup box removal and ADAS

From an NTEA member Performing box removal on pickups is getting increasingly difficult, especially with the newer, advanced safety systems. What are our responsibilities as an upfitter? In short, the responsibilities remain the same for altered-stage vehicle certification and ensuring the new pickups you upfit continue to meet all associated Federal or Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (F/CMVSS) and emissions requirements. However, as noted, vehicle technology advancements can often present challenges for vocational upfitting. Compounding this is the fact that the original pickup and its systems, especially electrical, may no longer function properly when the box is removed. Given these challenges, encouraging customers and dealers to order a factory box-delete is a straightforward option as the base vehicle is then intended to be completed with a body and equipment other than the factory box. This means many of these box removal issues may be remedied by starting with the chassis cab version of the pickup, which is configured by the OEM to accommodate commercial upfits. When box removal is being considered, a helpful approach could be to “reverse-build” the vehicle the same way it would have come from the factory as a box-deleted chassis. This means associated module programming for electrical systems, OEM fuel filler components and other unique components/functionality that would have come from the OEM if the pickup had been ordered with the box-delete option. This is not always possible because the OEMs do not necessarily offer box removal on every pickup model/trim level a customer may want. However, this is an area where managing expectations is essential, along with being able to evaluate what is and is not possible related to box removal, prior to a pickup being identified for box removal by a dealer, customer or upfitter. Following is an overview of the considerations needed prior to pickup box removal, including implications with advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). Alterers perform box removal on a new truck (prior to being licensed and titled in a given state or sold and delivered to a purchaser at the first retail level in a province or territory). They are responsible for ensuring vehicles meet applicable F/CMVSS and maintain relevant emissions requirements. Note, companies performing pickup box removal operations and the associated dealers are prohibited from selling vehicles that aren’t compliant with all applicable F/CMVSS and emissions requirements — and certified to that effect — to be used on public roads. Therefore, companies must know which OEM pickup models are capable of box removal in order to properly guide customers to ensure vehicle compliance. Truck models included in OEM box removal guidelines and body builder materials have undergone testing and analysis to support those representations. Therefore, understanding the limitations of OEM box removal offerings is essential. In particular, pickup models with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of 10,000 pounds or less must meet more F/CMVSS than their 10,000-pound-plus GVWR counterparts, so there are more limitations that must be reviewed and addressed. Weight is a major contributor to standards performance. A heavy truck body will likely have more difficulty meeting different aspects of weight limitations in OEM box removal requirements. For example, weight affects the way a vehicle manages energy in a crash, so results of dynamic tests that evaluate occupant protection in frontal, side and rollover events, as well as fuel system integrity, are affected. Brake system performance is also heavily influenced by weight and its distribution in the vehicle. Additionally, more weight negatively affects vehicle emissions, and typical box removal operations result in a vehicle that’s heavier than the original pickup. Accordingly, it’s important to be aware of the following standards which include, but are not limited to_ F/CMVSS 105: Hydraulic and Electric Brakes F/CMVSS 108: Lamps, Reflective Devices and Associated Equipment F/CMVSS 111: Rearview Mirrors and Rear Visibility Systems F/CMVSS 126: Electronic Stability Control Systems F/CMVSS 204: Steering Control Rearward Displacement F/CMVSS 208: Occupant Crash Protection (in Frontal Impacts) F/CMVSS 212: Windshield Mounting F/CMVSS 214: Side Impact Protection FMVSS 216a: Roof Crush Resistance F/CMVSS 219: Windshield Zone Intrusion (upgraded) F/CMVSS 301: Fuel System Integrity In addition, weight and frontal area are key considerations for meeting emissions requirements for vehicles up to 14,000 pounds GVWR. However, there may be a different method when determining the limiting unloaded vehicle weight for emissions compliance, so you’ll want to closely review the specific OEM conditions before proceeding. There are numerous upfront factors to consider during the purchase process before proceeding with box removal of a particular make/model/model year pickup. First, check to see if the vehicle make/model is part of the OEM pickup box removal offering for that model year. If not, there is no reason to continue with that specific model, and attention can shift to evaluating one offered under pickup box removal guidelines. After narrowing your scope to models included in OEM offerings, the next step is to review weight and other limitations and guidance for that specific model, and compare to the desired upfit vehicle. In particular, maximum unloaded vehicle weight (max UVW) limits for both F/CMVSS and emissions requirements are a good initial evaluation. For example, if the OEM max UVW for the model you’re considering weighs 7,500 pounds and you determine from a simple calculation that the UVW with the new body and equipment would be 7,000 pounds, you can continue evaluating suitability of that model for the application. Other straightforward limits can include maximum weights and center of gravity location of the proposed body to determine if it’s within applicable OEM limits. Perform a weight analysis to evaluate vertical and lateral center of gravity position limitations for the overall vehicle, as well as distribution of weight front-to-rear and side-to-side. Frontal area limits, including added body and equipment, must also be evaluated. Increasing frontal area creates a negative effect on emissions, and most box removals increase the frontal area where the body extends outward beyond the OEM cab as compared to the original pickup. The new configuration must be within the maximum square footage allowed. It’s helpful to think of these OEM limitations as a go/no-go step in the process of evaluating if the pickup in question is appropriate for the commercial vehicle application. Or, more proactively, they could be viewed as a means of narrowing body selection to those that can meet the limitations for a given set of pickup chassis. Unfortunately, the considerations don’t end here. There are vehicle and build limitations that can be specific to a given chassis. Common issues encountered with box removal include relocating or replacing cameras for rear vision systems required under FMVSS 111 and adapting rear lighting of a specific body, which may involve reprogramming a chassis lighting module to eliminate a fast flash condition of the turn signals. Additionally, modern vehicles are incorporating ADAS, such as automatic emergency braking, as well as warnings for lane departure, blind spot and rear cross-traffic. These systems are part of a new frontier of vehicle safety and are forming the foundation for autonomous vehicle operation. However, because of the way some of these systems work, they can be completely incompatible with mission-critical commercial upfits of the same vehicle and incorporated into the pickup box and/or attached components, as with rear vision system cameras. For example, rear cross-traffic sensors may be located into the OEM rear lighting, which is very often replaced as part of box removal. The removal of the sensors will be detected by the system and it may not be possible to relocate or replace the sensors and restore their functionality. At time of publication, ADAS functions are not currently incorporated in F/CMVSS; however, commercial customers may want these features, which are often part of higher trim level/more expensive pickup models, only to be disappointed after purchasing such a truck to find out that box removal is not possible and/or requires the disablement of the ADAS features that factored into their buying decision. Factory box-delete again becomes more important to consider as it can prevent situations like this, even if many ADAS systems are not enabled in the box-deleted version of the chassis. If factory box-delete is not readily available and pickup box removal is necessary, you will need to review all available materials from the applicable chassis OEM regarding the ability to maintain or disable the ADAS functions affected by removing the pickup box. While there are several layers to evaluate when determining if an off-the-lot pickup model can be a suitable chassis for a particular vocational body and upfit, some body manufacturers offer tools to help streamline the process. Starting with the body and upfit, they have performed engineering to determine which pickup brands/models are suitable from OEM box removal offerings and guidance. This approach helps prevent the wrong base vehicle from being selected, or the vocational upfit from being compromised due to limitations of the original pickup.

Pickup box removal and ADAS

Recommended Articles

Record retention and additional NHTSA reporting requirements for final-stage manufacturers or alterers

Tire and loading info label (vehicle placard) vs. load carrying capacity modification label

Pulsating brake lights: Know who can – and can’t – legally install them