B20012 – Aerodynamic Skirts May Detach from Trailer – 2019-2021 Wabash Van Trailers

September 10, 2020 NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 20V551000

Aerodynamic Skirts May Detach from Trailer

If the aerodynamic skirt detaches while the trailer is moving it may increase the risk of a crash or injury.

 

NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V551

Manufacturer Wabash National Corporation

Components EQUIPMENT

Potential Number of Units Affected 218

 

Summary

Wabash National Corporation (Wabash) is recalling certain 2019-2021 Van trailers manufactured with flat bottom floors that are equipped with aerodynamic skirts. The aerodynamic skirts attached to the van trailers may come loose.

 

Remedy

Wabash has notified owners, and dealers will rework the safety tether assembly to keep the skirt attached, free of charge. The recall began September 21, 2020. Owners may contact Wabash’s customer service at 765-771-5404. Wabash’s number for this recall is B20012.

 

Notes

Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.

 

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September 14, 2020

 

IMPORTANT SAFETY RECALL

NHTSA Recall# 20V-551

 

Dear Wabash National Corporation Customer,

This notice is being sent to you in accordance with the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act.

Wabash National Corporation (WNC) has decided that a defect which relates to motor vehicle safety exists in certain 2019-2021 model year Wabash National Van trailers equipped with aerodynamic skirts.

A complete listing of your trailers impacted by this recall is included with this letter.

 

Description of Defect:

Safety tethers attached to the aerodynamic skirt on certain van trailers may become detached.

 

Risk to Motor Vehicle Safety:

If the aerodynamic skirt becomes detached while the trailer is in motion, there is an increased risk of crash or injury.

 

Precautions You Should Take:

The condition of the tethers typically will not be apparent during routine inspections. A visual inspection is needed to see if the tether is detached. We feel that this inspection should take place as soon as practical, but not to exceed your normal PM cycle.

 

Remedy:

Enclosed with this notification is WNC Safety Bulletin “B20012”, and a list of the affected equipment. The equipment listed within, should be inspected and remedied per the instructions described in bulletin B20012. This repair should take approximately 1.5 hours and will be performed at no cost to the owner. The owner may perform this recall and be reimbursed by Wabash National, or you may contact your nearest Wabash National Warranty Provider for assistance. If you need help finding a Warranty Provider, please contact the Wabash National Warranty Department at 765-771-5404, Monday – Friday, 7:OOam – 4:OOpm, ET.

If this repair has been performed at cost to the owner prior to receipt of this notification, the owner may be eligible to receive reimbursement for the cost of obtaining a pre-notification remedy of the problem associated with this recall. For more information, contact the Wabash National Warranty Department at 765-771-5404, Monday — Friday, 7:00am — 4:00pm, ET.

 

Further Assistance:

If your affected trailers have not been repaired within a reasonable amount of time after this defect notification, or if you have additional questions regarding this recall, please contact the Wabash National Warranty Department at 765-771-5404, Monday — Friday, 7:00am — 4:00pm, ET.

If you are the lessor of this vehicle, please forward a copy of this notice to the lessee within 10 days to comply with federal regulations.

 

Complaints:

You may also submit complaints to the Administrator, National Highway Traffic Safety

Administration, 1200 New Jersey Ave., S.E., Washington, D.C. 20590 or call the toll-free vehicle safety hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY: 1-800-424-9153); or go to https://www.safercar.gov, if it is believed that the defect has not been remedied without charge or within a reasonable time.

We apologize for the inconvenience caused by this safety recall.

Thank you,

Mike Jones
Warranty Manager
Wabash National
1000 Sagamore Parkway S
Lafayette, IN 47905

 

P.O. Box 6129         Lafayette, IN 47903         Phone: (765) 771-5300

 

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BULLETIN

Subject: Safety Tethers on units with Flat Bottom Floors

Date: September 15, 2020

Rev.: FR

No.: B20012

Re.: Inspection and Repair of Safety Tethers on units with Flat Bottom Floors

Type: Safety

Priority: As soon as possible

Units Affected: Please see VIN # listing.

 

Background:

We have received reports of the bolts connecting the two pieces of the redundant Safety Tether assembly not being present. This bulletin is intended to explain the need for an immediate inspection confirming the presence of these fasteners, and to also provide a remedy for correcting the cause of this issue long term.

 

Materials:

Item	Part Number:	Qty:
Aluminum Shim	02A00157	6
Tether Bolt	BLT00116	6
Tubular Nut	NUT00197	6
Self Tapping Bolt	BLT00155	12
Panel Mtg. Bolt	BLT00960	6
Panel Mtg. Nut	NUT00007	6

 

Tools: See page 6 of the bulletin.

 

CAUTION!

• Wear appropriate personal protective equipment [PPE] like gloves, safety glasses and hard hat for example, when carrying out the following procedure.
• Should welding or cutting be needed, do so in a well ventilated area and wear appropriate head/face/eye protection, welding gloves and clothing.
• Refer to adhesive and chemical manufacturer’s MSDS for safe use and handling instructions if applicable.
• Follow your company’s safety procedures in addition to these recommendations.
• Follow industry standards for installation and tightening of all fasteners where torque values are not called out

 

Inspection: An immediate inspection should be completed on all affected units to confirm that the bolts securing the two piece Safety Tether are present and secure. If these bolts are not present the unit should be taken out of service until the bolts have been replaced, or the instruction in this bulletin can be completed. It is preferred that this recall be completed in conjunction with campaign bulletin B20008 to reduce unit downtime. If the bolts are present the unit can remain in service, but it is recommended that the steps in this bulletin be completed as soon as practical.

 

Procedure:

1. Remove the bolt and nut securing the Tether bracket to Skirt panel.

2. Remove the bolt and Tubular nut connecting the two pieces of the Tether assembly.

3. Remove the two bolts securing the Angle bracket portion of the Tether assembly to the bottom of the Flat floor. Note: It is not uncommon for these bolts to break during removal.

4. If one or both bolts break during removal, locate and mark the holes in the oppoite diagonal mounting locations, and drill out for reassembly using a 9/32” Drill bit.

5. Apply Mylar tape to the mating surface of the Angle bracket prtion of the Tether assembly.

6. Position the provided ¼” Aluminum shim between the Angle bracket and the Aluminum plate on the bottom of the Flat floor.

7. Using bolt part number BLT00155 insert the bolts and tighten.

8. Rotate the secondary piece of the Tether assembly 180 degrees, locate for proper position, and mark for drilling new mounting hole.

 

Note: After rotating this portion of the assembly 180 degrees, the offset section should be pointing down vs. up as in its original location. This is to gain adequate clearance for the Free Floating assembly.

 

9. Install the new Tether bolt and nut. When tightening be sure that there is no gap between the Tubular nut, and the mating surface of Tether Angle bracket.

10. Finalize the repair by re-securing the Tether bracket to the Aerodynamic panel using the new provided bolt and nut, and fill the pre-existing hole with the original bolt and nut. Repeat these steps on all six Safety Tether assemblies. Note: It may be required to remove the front most panel on the roadside of the unit to gain full access to the Tether assembly in the area of Fuel tank.

 

Standard Repair Time: 1.5 hrs per unit

 

Tools Needed

• TX 27 Torx Bit & Cone
• TX 40 Torx Bit & Cone
• TX 55 Torx Bit & Cone
• Cordless Drill or equivalent
• Cordless Impact or equivalent (2 of these is a plus but not required)
• ½” Drive Ratchet
• 3/8” Drive Ratchet
• Barrier Tape7/16” Wrench

For questions or concerns regarding this repair please contact the Wabash National Warranty department at 765-771-5444 or at 765-7715428. We can also be reached at eric.johnson@wabashnational.com or at john.gabriel@wabashnational.com

 

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September 14, 2020

IMPORTANT SAFETY RECALL

NHTSA Recall# 20V-551

 

Dear Wabash National Corporation Dealer,

This notice is being sent to you in accordance with the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act.

Wabash National Corporation (WNC) has decided that a defect which relates to motor vehicle safety exists in certain 2019-2021 model year Wabash National Van trailers equipped with aerodynamic skirts.

A complete listing of your trailers impacted by this recall is included with this letter.

 

Description of Defect:

Safety tethers attached to the aerodynamic skirt on certain van trailers may become detached.

 

Risk to Motor Vehicle Safety:

If the aerodynamic skirt becomes detached while the trailer is in motion, there is an increased risk of crash or injury.

 

Precautions You Should Take:

The condition of the tethers typically will not be apparent during routine inspections. A visual inspection is needed to see if the tether is detached. We feel that this inspection should take place as soon as practical, but not to exceed your normal PM cycle.

 

Remedy:

Enclosed with this notification is WNC Safety Bulletin “B20012”, and a list of the affected equipment. The equipment listed within, should be inspected and remedied per the instructions described in bulletin B20012. This repair should take approximately 1.5 hours and will be performed at no cost to the owner. The owner may perform this recall and be reimbursed by Wabash National, or you may contact your nearest Wabash National Warranty Provider for assistance. If you need help finding a Warranty Provider, please contact the Wabash National Warranty Department at 765-771-5404, Monday- Friday, 7:00am -4:00pm, ET.

If this repair has been performed at cost to the owner prior to receipt of this notification, the owner may be eligible to receive reimbursement for the cost of obtaining a pre-notification remedy of the problem associated with this recall. For more information, contact the Wabash National Warranty Department at 765-771-5404, Monday – Friday, 7:00am -4:00pm, ET. P.O. Box 6129 Lafayette, IN 47903 Phone: (765) 771-5300

 

Further Assistance:

If your affected trailers have not been repaired within a reasonable amount of time after this defect notification, or if you have additional questions regarding this recall, please contact the Wabash National Warranty Department at 765-771-5404, Monday- Friday, 7:00am -4:00pm, ET.

If you are the lessor of this vehicle, please forward a copy of this notice to the lessee within 10 days to comply with federal regulations.

 

Complaints:

You may also submit complaints to the Administrator, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 1200 New Jersey Ave., S.E., Washington, D.C. 20590 or call the toll-free vehicle safety hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY: 1-800-424-9153); or go to https://www.safercar.gov, if it is believed that the defect has not been remedied without charge or within a reasonable time. We apologize for the inconvenience caused by this safety recall.

Thank you,

Mike Jones
Warranty Manager
Wabash National
1000 Sagamore Parkway S
Lafayette, IN 47905

 

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3 Affected Products

Vehicle

MAKE	MODEL	YEAR
WABASH NATIONAL	VAN	2019-2021

 

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11 Associated Documents

Recall Quarterly Report #3, 2021-1

RCLQRT-20V551-9166.PDF 211.32KB

 

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Recall Quarterly Report #4, 2021-2

RCLQRT-20V551-3161.PDF 211.428KB

 

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Recall Quarterly Report #2, 2020-4

RCLQRT-20V551-1340.PDF 211.24KB

 

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ISSUED Owner Notification Letter(Part 577)

RCONL-20V551-0635.pdf 4978.212KB

 

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Recall Acknowledgement

RCAK-20V551-4936.pdf 244.634KB

 

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Defect Notice 573 Report

RCLRPT-20V551-8284.PDF 215.203KB

 

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Recall 573 Report- Amendment 1

RCLRPT-20V551-9254.PDF 215.199KB

 

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Remedy Instructions and TSB

RCRIT-20V551-6816.pdf 1428.453KB

 

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Manufacturer Notices(to Dealers,etc)

RCMN-20V551-1048.pdf 4990.963KB

 

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Recall Quarterly Report #1, 2020-3

RCLQRT-20V551-6979.PDF 211.142KB

 

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Recall Quarterly Report #5, 2021-3

RCLQRT-20V551-9796.PDF 211.536KB

 

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Latest Recalls Documents

https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/acms/cs/documentList.xhtml?docId=20V551&docType=RCL

 

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Last update on 2025-04-17 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

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