March 2008, Work Truck - Feature
Re-rating GVWR: Why and How it's Done
By Paul Dexler
Driver Logbooks Required
Beattie and Chew noted their greatest involvement comes with vehicles rated at 10,000 lbs. and under. With heavy and medium trucks, VSOs are now set up to accommodate the special GVW ratings. One requirement for vehicles over 10,000 GVW is that the drivers maintain comprehensive logbooks.
So, according to Chew, "The customer might say 'I'm willing to give up the payload capacity. I really don't need it. I want you to de-rate the vehicle. I'm happy to have all the components that allow me to have that much capacity, but I want a vehicle that's rated at 10,000 lbs. or less, so I can avoid maintaining logbooks and some of the other markings that must be on the vehicle.' "
He added the logbook and vehicle marking issues are the main reasons, over the past few years, the VSO group has been asked to do a 10,000 lb. de-rate from a higher GVWR — either 11,500 or 10,700 lbs.
Canada mandates a similar requirement as well, based on a GVWR of 4.5 metric tonnes (9,900 lbs.)
Chew noted that in the latest model-year, he and Beattie have taken many such special requests and incorporated them into the regular ordering guide. Those special GVWRs can be ordered from Ford without going through VSO. A 10,000-lb. GVW rating, for example, is available in both Super Duty and Econoline products.
Econoline products concern the shuttlebus industry. "For one fleet customer, we have de-rated an 11,500 lb. GVWR vehicle down to 9,900 lb. GVWR. The reasons are similar in Canada and the U.S., except it is a 9,900 lb. GVW rating that doesn't normally exist on a Ford cutaway today," Chew said.
According to Chew, a recent request came from a customer who wanted to take a 9,600-lb. single-rear-wheel cutaway, and up-rate it to 10,050 lbs. Another such request came from a shuttlebus customer who wanted to move from a Class 2 to Class 3 vehicle. Both requests appear based on the fact that in some cases standards may be less stringent.
Vehicle Class Change Not Simple
Chew explained when a vehicle moves from Class 3 to Class 2, the de-rate is not simple. Other more stringent standards for brakes and crash-safety come into play.
"It is sometimes easier to up-rate than to de-rate a vehicle because the requirements may be lower," said Chew. "We've had occasions where we could meet certain safety standards with a vehicle at 10,000 lbs., rather than at 10,500 lbs., because once you drop it down that extra 500 lbs., your stopping distance improves. The vehicle weighs less, but the standard itself may be such that you can't meet it without major brake changes."
Chew also noted that upfitters make changes that affect the GVWR. "Sometimes upfitters will re-rate a vehicle, but when they do that, they're on their own as far as vehicle sign-off and certification is concerned. Most of our fleet customers want the vehicle to be VINed and certified by Ford to meet the safety standards that apply to the chassis when it leaves our plant. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has a Web site that covers all the requirements." (Visit www.fmcsa.dot.gov.)