Snowplow considerations

From an NTEA member We are a truck equipment distributor and are considering adding a line of snowplows to our product offerings. What are the primary considerations for us to make in our installation preparations? While numerous Federal/ Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (F/CMVSS) can be affected by adding a snowplow — particularly for trucks with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of 10,000 pounds or less — most compliance guidance needed is available in each OEM’s body builder information. Specific sections of body builder books and applicable bulletins from Ford, GM and RAM are dedicated to snowplow installations. Consulting the OEM information is critical in identifying any chassis/model-specific methods to install the plow mounts, tie in headlamps and avoid potential conflicts with associated advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) functionality. Snowplow compatibility As a first step, review chassis and snowplow manufacturer guidelines to determine which models were developed to accommodate plows as well as conditions/limitations for weight, minimum OEM option features, etc., before agreeing to an installation. Since plow blades and mounting hardware add weight and structure to the front of a vehicle, crash compliance, airbag deployment, braking, ride/handling, engine cooling, lighting and other performance measures can be affected. Such factors have been taken into account with models and required options represented by OEMs through these guidelines, so staying within chassis and equipment manufacturer limits can help you as a large part of meeting your certification requirements. Upfitting vehicles that are not equipped with a snowplow prep option or designated features can also have serious warranty implications. Whether a customer starts with a particular truck model or the plow itself, these parameters can be used to help determine a suitable truck/plow combination. Guidelines typically list minimum option content for front gross axle weight rating, suspension, tires and other key features corresponding to the truck model’s ability to accommodate plows up to a certain weight. These features are included in snowplow prep option packages and may be available as separate, retrofittable options. Identifying these option codes for the respective OEMs is an important aid to your control processes to ensure that the chassis/models being planned for installation are properly equipped by the OEM with those features or provide the time needed to plan available retrofitting of the snowplow prep option features, especially if dealer installation and programming are required. Where retrofitting is possible for a specific vehicle, engaging the selling dealer in the process helps to ensure that OEM warranty can be maintained through any changes needed to reconfigure the truck. More details on matching a plow to a customer’s truck that meets chassis manufacturer guidelines can be found on snowplow manufacturers’ websites. In conjunction with determining a suitable model/plow combination, perform a detailed weight analysis to ensure the upfit vehicle will meet all applicable limitations. Ballasting weight at the rear of the truck to offset a portion of the detachable plow blade system is allowed in some cases (conditions for doing so may be available in OEM or plow manufacturer guidelines). Determining the amount of weight needed for ballasting a specific vehicle configuration — and, just as important, where it should be located — can also be done through weight analysis. Check with your plow manufacturer to ensure you’re using the latest weight information, and see if they offer other tools and resources to help match the equipment to the application. For more weight calculator information and resources, visit ntea.com/weightcalculatortools. As previously noted, chassis manufacturer warranty coverage can be affected if a plow is used on a model not equipped with the OEM snowplow prep package or equivalent minimum options. These situations may occur when customers purchase a new pickup for upfitting with a plow without being presented with these considerations. Truck dealers can be well-served by working with upfitters that routinely review OEM and snowplow manufacturers’ guidelines and limitations, and perform weight analyses as a standard operational process. Newer vehicles Newer vehicles equipped with automatic emergency braking (AEB) can detect a snowplow blade as an obstacle in the vehicle’s path and attempt to actuate the brakes. When vehicles are properly ordered with the snowplow prep options, OEMs can make these systems unavailable or create features to accommodate snowplows and disable AEB when the blade is installed and reactivate it when removed. This again shows the importance of ensuring a given vehicle has the OEM snowplow prep option before agreeing to install a plow on a customer-provided model. For vehicles that can be retrofit with snowplow prep options, it may require the OEM dealer to disable these systems. While AEB is not currently required, many vehicles now have it as standard equipment, and rulemaking is underway to require it in the near future, so customers supplying their own vehicles need to be aware of this. In particular, there may be very limited or impractical options for equipping some non-snowplow prep models. Additionally, questions have arisen regarding plow capabilities, as well as box removal and other commercial adaptations, of upcoming electric pickups. At time of publication, there have been no promotions or details by OEMs to support plow installations on any of the upcoming electric models, but NTEA will monitor these applications and assist OEMs in making this type of information available. Labeling If you are upfitting incomplete chassis cabs or box-deleted pickups, the completion of the vehicle, including snowplow installation, would be considered part of your final-stage certification of the vehicle. Since pickups are completed vehicles, a truck equipment distributor installing a snowplow on a pickup before the first retail sale is considered a vehicle alterer — and the corresponding altered vehicle certification label must be applied. In either stage of manufacturing, if the vehicle has a GVWR of more than 10,000 pounds, no additional labeling is required for F/CMVSS compliance. However, for vehicles with a GVWR of 10,000 pounds or less, additional labeling requirements could be impacted: The vehicle placard, and A supplemental label for the Stars for Cars rating required for vehicles tested under the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) New Car Assessment Program (NCAP). Both labeling considerations depend on vehicle and upfit specifics, but it’s possible to determine if one or both will be affected and necessitate additional labeling upfront in the bid process. The vehicle placard contains a weight limitation following the statement “The combined weight of occupants and cargo must not exceed…” This value, which represents the difference between the vehicle’s GVWR and its as-built curb weight, serves as a consumer aid to avoid overloading the vehicle. When permanently-attached equipment is added to a vehicle, thus raising its curb weight, this capacity is reduced and may need to be corrected, depending on the amount of net increase to the curb weight. Final-stage manufacturers are responsible for installing the placard, based on the completed curb weight of the vehicle, including the plow mount. For altered vehicles, if the total weight of the permanently attached equipment (e.g., snowplow mounting hardware, non-removable hydraulic system components, electrical attachments, etc.) is more than 100 pounds or 1.5% of the GVWR (whichever is the lower threshold), you will need to correct the capacity for the combined weight of occupants and cargo listed on the vehicle placard. For vehicles in the U.S., there are several options for accomplishing this, but if you’re also changing tires or wheels, you must replace the entire placard. For vehicles in Canada, options for correcting this capacity are limited to replacing the entire placard with the reduced capacity value, even if there are no tire changes. Note, the removable plow blade is considered cargo, so its weight is part of the “combined weight of occupants and cargo” for which the capacity limit is provided. That said, the weight of the removable blade must still leave enough capacity for the driver and any other occupants. If the particular model has been tested under NCAP, an additional label will be needed to indicate that as altered, the Stars for Cars rating may no longer be applicable. If the specific model has not been tested, it would not have a rating, and no supplemental labeling is required. A list of models rated under this program (and, therefore, requiring this label, if altered) is available at safercar.gov. You can search models assessed on this site, as well as a list of upcoming the agency plans to test. For a new vehicle that’s in-hand, check to see if it has a star rating on the Monroney Label (also known as the MSRP label or window sticker).

Snowplow considerations

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