Jayco, Inc, Receipt of Petition for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance, 554-556 [2019-28474]

Agencies

• National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
• DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 3 (Monday, January 6, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 554-556]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-28474]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-2019-0078; Notice 1]


Jayco, Inc, Receipt of Petition for Decision of Inconsequential 
Noncompliance

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 
Department of Transportation (DOT).

[[Page 555]]


ACTION: Receipt of petition.

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SUMMARY: Jayco, Inc., (Jayco) has determined that certain model year 
(MY) 2020 travel trailers, manufactured by Jayco, do not fully comply 
with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 110, Tire 
Selection and Rims and Motor Home/Recreation Vehicle Trailer Load 
Carrying Capacity Information for Motor Vehicles with a GVWR of 4,536 
Kilograms (10,000 Pounds) or Less. Jayco filed a noncompliance report 
dated July 16, 2019. In coordination with Jayco, Starcraft RV 
(Starcraft) and Highland Ridge RV (Highland), subsidiaries of Jayco, 
also filed noncompliance reports dated July 17, 2019. Jayco 
subsequently petitioned NHTSA on July 31, 2019, and later amended that 
petition on September 26, 2019 and November 6, 2019, for a decision 
that the subject noncompliance is inconsequential as it relates to 
motor vehicle safety. This document announces receipt of Jayco's 
petition.

DATES: The closing date for comments on the petition is February 5, 
2020.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written data, 
views, and arguments on this petition. Comments must refer to the 
docket number and notice number cited in the title of this notice and 
may be submitted by any of the following methods:
     Mail: Send comments by mail addressed to the U.S. 
Department of Transportation, Docket Operations, M-30, West Building 
Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 
20590.
     Hand Delivery: Deliver comments by hand to the U.S. 
Department of Transportation, Docket Operations, M-30, West Building 
Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 
20590. The Docket Section is open on weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. 
except for Federal Holidays.
     Electronically: Submit comments electronically by logging 
onto the Federal Docket Management System (FDMS) website at https://www.regulations.gov/. Follow the online instructions for submitting 
comments.
     Comments may also be faxed to (202) 493-2251.
    Comments must be written in the English language, and be no greater 
than 15 pages in length, although there is no limit to the length of 
necessary attachments to the comments. If comments are submitted in 
hard copy form, please ensure that two copies are provided. If you wish 
to receive confirmation that comments you have submitted by mail were 
received, please enclose a stamped, self-addressed postcard with the 
comments. Note that all comments received will be posted without change 
to https://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information 
provided.
    All comments and supporting materials received before the close of 
business on the closing date indicated above will be filed in the 
docket and will be considered. All comments and supporting materials 
received after the closing date will also be filed and will be 
considered to the fullest extent possible.
    When the petition is granted or denied, notice of the decision will 
also be published in the Federal Register pursuant to the authority 
indicated at the end of this notice.
    All comments, background documentation, and supporting materials 
submitted to the docket may be viewed by anyone at the address and 
times given above. The documents may also be viewed on the internet at 
https://www.regulations.gov by following the online instructions for 
accessing the dockets. The docket ID number for this petition is shown 
in the heading of this notice.
    DOT's complete Privacy Act Statement is available for review in a 
Federal Register notice published on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477-78).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Overview

    Jayco has determined that certain MY 2020 travel trailers, 
manufactured by Jayco, do not fully comply with paragraph S4.3.5 of 
FMVSS No. 110, Tire Selection and Rims and Motor Home/Recreation 
Vehicle Trailer Load Carrying Capacity Information for Motor Vehicles 
with a GVWR of 4,536 Kilograms (10,000 Pounds) or Less (49 CFR 
571.110). Jayco filed a noncompliance report dated July 16, 2019, and 
in addition, Starcraft and Highland, subsidiaries of Jayco, also filed 
noncompliance reports dated July 17, 2019, pursuant to 49 CFR part 573, 
Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility and Reports. Jayco subsequently 
petitioned NHTSA on July 31, 2019, and later amended that petition on 
September 26, 2019 and November 6, 2019, for an exemption from the 
notification and remedy requirements of 49 U.S.C. Chapter 301 on the 
basis that this noncompliance is inconsequential as it relates to motor 
vehicle safety, pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 30120(h) and 49 CFR 
part 556, Exemption for Inconsequential Defect or Noncompliance.
    This notice of receipt of Jayco's petition, is published under 49 
U.S.C. 30118 and 30120 and does not represent any Agency decision or 
other exercises of judgment concerning the merits of the petition.

II. Trailers Involved

    Approximately 6,354 MY 2020 Jayco, approximately 1,006 Starcraft, 
and approximately 814 Highland travel trailers, manufactured between 
May 1, 2019, and June 27, 2019, are potentially involved.
    In Jayco's petition, they stated that the total number of vehicles 
affected is 8,983, however, that number also includes travel trailers 
sold in Canada. NHTSA can only grant exemption for vehicles sold in the 
United States, totaling approximately 8,174 vehicles.

III. Noncompliance

    Jayco explains that the noncompliance is that the subject travel 
trailers are equipped with vehicle placards that show the incorrect 
vehicle capacity weight and an extra character in the recommended tire 
inflation pressure and, therefore, do not meet the requirements set 
forth in paragraph S4.3.5 of FMVSS No. 110. Specifically, the vehicle 
placards show the vehicle weight capacity as 80 kg when it should be 
807 kg. Also, the recommended tire inflation pressure for the rear tire 
states 552 IKPA and the spare tire states 552 7KPA when they should 
read 552 KPA.

IV. Rule Requirements

    Paragraphs S4.3.5 of FMVSS No. 110 includes the requirements 
relevant to this petition. Each trailer, except for an incomplete 
vehicle, must show the information specified in paragraphs S4.3(c) 
through (g), and may show the information specified in paragraph 
S4.3(h) and (i), on a placard permanently affixed proximate to the 
certification label. Each trailer, on the vehicle placard, contains a 
cargo capacity statement expressed as ``The weight of cargo should 
never exceed XXX kilograms or XXX pounds.'' A vehicle manufacturer's 
recommended cold tire inflation pressure for front, rear, and spare 
tires, are subject to the limitations of paragraph S4.3.4.

V. Summary of Jayco's Petition

    The following views and arguments presented in this section, V. 
Summary of Jayco's Petition, are the views and arguments provided by 
Jayco. They have not been evaluated by the Agency and do not reflect 
the views of the Agency.
    Jayco described the subject noncompliance and stated that the 
noncompliance is inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle safety. 
Jayco

[[Page 556]]

submitted the following views and arguments in support of the petition:
    1. The ``should not exceed'' weight of cargo shown as 80 kg on the 
Tire Placard Label is in error and should be 807 kg. Jayco believes 
this information is redundant in that the cargo carrying capacity (CCC) 
label depicts the same information required by FMVSS No. 110 paragraph 
S4.3 and is correctly shown as the 807 kg.
    2. The cold tire inflation pressure shown as 552 KPA, 80 PSI, is 
printed with an extra character for the rear and spare tire. Jayco 
believes this error is inconsequential to vehicle safety in that the 
correct information can be found on the sidewall of the tire.
    3. The top section of the Federal label depicts the exact same 
information as the tire placard, with the tire size dimensions and the 
cold pressure inflation values of 552 KPA/80 PSI.
    4. The bottom section of the Federal label depicts the CCC of the 
trailer including the weights with the fresh water and the waste water 
tanks full.
    5. The owner's manual for Jayco, StarCraft, and Highland instructs 
an owner on the loading of their vehicle and where to find the required 
ratings that are displayed on the Federal Certification Label. The 
owner's manuals are also available on the company website at 
www.jayco.com.
    6. The Manufacturer's Certificate of Origin (MCO) also contains 
both the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) and the unloaded vehicle 
weight (UVW). The difference in these two numbers would also give the 
owner the available CCC of the trailer.
    7. The most important time for RV purchasers to have the CCC 
information is at the point-of-sale. Almost all of the trailers 
affected by this noncompliance have been purchased already by a 
consumer. Jayco has had no complaints or inquiries regarding CCC from 
any of its owners or dealers on the affected models.
    8. NHTSA has previously granted similar inconsequential petitions 
with respect to FMVSS No. 110. See 84 FR 25117 (May 30, 2019).
    Jayco concluded that the subject noncompliance is inconsequential 
as it relates to motor vehicle safety, and that its petition to be 
exempted from providing notification of the noncompliance, as required 
by 49 U.S.C. 30118, and a remedy for the noncompliance, as required by 
49 U.S.C. 30120, should be granted.
    NHTSA notes that the statutory provisions (49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 
30120(h)) that permit manufacturers to file petitions for a 
determination of inconsequentiality allow NHTSA to exempt manufacturers 
only from the duties found in sections 30118 and 30120, respectively, 
to notify owners, purchasers, and dealers of a defect or noncompliance 
and to remedy the defect or noncompliance. Therefore, any decision on 
this petition only applies to the subject trailers that Jayco no longer 
controlled at the time it determined that the noncompliance existed. 
However, any decision on this petition does not relieve vehicle 
distributors and dealers of the prohibitions on the sale, offer for 
sale, or introduction or delivery for introduction into interstate 
commerce of the noncompliant trailers under their control after Jayco 
notified them that the subject noncompliance existed.

    Authority: (49 U.S.C. 30118, 30120: delegations of authority at 
49 CFR 1.95 and 501.8).

Otto G. Matheke III,
Director, Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2019-28474 Filed 1-3-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P