SALES BULLETIN
FILE: 15-027
RELEASE: June 26, 2015
SUBJECT: Transit Type 2 Center of Gravity
ORIGIN: Dave Marshall
During the extensive testing and certification process of the Ford Transit by ASV to insure compliance with all applicable standards, it has come to our attention that there is a major issue with the Transit regarding compliance with Ford’s Center of Gravity calculation requirements in a Type 2 ambulance configuration.
To help you better understand this issue you should know that the Center of Gravity requirements for a chassis without Roll Stability Control (RSC) were per the criteria of FMVSS 105. This would pertain to the E-350 Econoline chassis with the ambulance prep package. If a chassis is equipped with Roll Stability Control (RSC) as now required for all vehicles under 10,000 GVWR by Federal law, the Center of Gravity requirements are per the criteria of FMVSS 126. The Transit chassis includes Roll Stability Control (RSC) and as of today cannot be ordered without this feature. The current published Ford requirement is extremely low, and cannot be met with an ambulance conversion installed on this chassis.
This week we met with representatives of Ford to address this issue. Additional testing and verification of Ford’s Center of Gravity calculations will be conducted by Ford. This will determine if the Ford Center of Gravity calculations can be modified or remain in their current form. If they remain in the current form there is a possibility that this chassis will not be suitable for an ambulance application. This verification process will take several weeks before a resolution will be announced.
There are several of our competitors that have taken an early lead in releasing Transit in an ambulance conversion. One must wonder if they have done this testing through a certified testing laboratory as required, as it pertains to compliance to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, specifically to FMVSS 126. It would be unlawful for us to produce and sell this vehicle without documentation and verification of compliance to ALL Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.
While we are working through this issue you should make your customers aware of this situation and remind them that we can still supply E-350 Econoline chassis for their Type 2 ambulance needs. If you have a customer who has taken delivery of a Transit ambulance you should notify them of this situation and the safety risk potential for highway instability of a vehicle that is produced with a Center of Gravity that clearly exceeds the chassis manufacturer’s Maximum CG rating.
In addition you should make sure your customers are only accepting certification documents from a testing laboratory that is recognized as required by KKK-A-1822F, Paragraph 4.3.3. This requires the facility be either recognized by OSHA or be ISO 17025 accredited. The testing documents we provide you are from an ISO 17025 accredited laboratory.
We are focused on this issue and will continue to communicate to you as this project continues.
If you have any questions, please give me a call.
Thanks