Manufactured Home Tires, Parts and Accessories Necessary for Safe Operation; and Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards

Summary: The FHWA and HUD are proposing amendments to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations and an interpretation of the Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards concerning the transportation of manufactured homes. The FHWA and HUD propose to adopt mutually consistent and readily enforceable regulations and interpretations that promote the safe and effective transportation of manufactured homes. The FHWA and HUD are proposing to permit the overloading of manufactured home tires by not more than 18 percent for a period of two years from the effective date of the final rule. During that two year period, both agencies would review test and other technical data concerning the relative performance of tires which are overloaded by 18 percent versus no tire overloading. Unless both agencies are persuaded that the 18 percent overloading does not pose a risk to the traveling public or have an adverse impact on the safety or transportability of manufactured homes, any overloading of tires beyond their design capacity would be prohibited after two years from the effective date of the final rule. These proposed changes are intended to clarify the regulations of the FHWA and the interpretation of its regulations by HUD and to resolve differences between Federal regulations for the overloading of tires used in the transportation of manufactured homes.