Offroad-Express

After some info about getting truck certed and what's the best way to go about it from people with highly modded trucks.

I'm building my Zuk that I want to get certed, its over half way through the build, has safari diffs 5 link front and 4 link rear, coilovers etc. What I'd like to no, am I best to ring the certifier now and show him photos? Or will he want to see the actual truck? Or do I get it pretty much finished then take it to him?
I just don't want to waste his time so trying to get as much sorted first.

Cheers Rich

the local certifier here prefers to either see it, or see plenty of photo's of the work thats been done before during and after, specialy stuff that is hidden behind body etc.

i.e on a scratch build car he would want to either see the door locks and seat belt anchorages before they get covered up by trim/body or atleast see photo's of whats been done.

Probably best ringing the certifier however and asking what his preference is, as in the end theyre the one ya want to do right by,

Hope this helps ya,

all the cert chaps that i know want to see all the safety stuff before its painted. so it will be best to check

Thanks for the replys. Will take a lot of photos as bit of a back up and will ring cert fella. Closet to Christchurch from what iv heard the guy in Timuka is the best to deal with, has anyone had dealings with him?

yep, "body in white" as the saying goes don't paint, trim anything when it comes to structual until it's well documented or the cert guy has viewed it in person.

Talk to the cert guy ASAP! Talk about your whole general plan. Describe the ways that you plan to go about things. That way he can tell you what not to do and what must be done. Google specs etc.

It sucks to get to the cert man and find that what you have done is realistically good and safe, but doesn't quite tick the boxes the way rules are written. Doing stuff more twice sucks.

If you can't get him to do a "mid build" inspection, email a bunch of photos (ask him what he wants to see after describing your mods to him).

Hope that helps.

Went and saw Don and put afew questions to him. He has said he won't cert fiddle brakes even if they can be locked up. is there a standard cert guys stick to, as iv heard from someone else you can cert fiddle brakes, guess if iv got to remove them I will, but just trying to find out if they are legal before I remove them.
Rich

don isnt the best to deal with, there is a thread here somewhere with the guy from down south details or pm pete as he has dealt with him

Yep there are specific guidelines on how vehicles can be modified. Check them out here http://www.lvvta.org.nz/documents.html

In terms of fiddles, lvvta do not specify directly fiddle or sidebrakes. The closest thing they come to is braking bias proportioning valves

Proportioning valves which are adjustable from inside a vehicle
must have the facility to be temporarily disabled or locked into a
position of normal operation to prevent unintended changes in
front to rear brake balance occurring whilst the vehicle is being
operated on public roads.

At the end of the day it does come down to the certifiers discretion. Some are prepared to cert them and others are not. No different to having a hydraulic handbrake but the parking/emergency brake system is unmodified.

Certifiers have rules they work too.... some certifiers add other bits in to make it harder, most common I hear of is for welding tickets

this has come from the Hobby car technical manual, basicly the rule book for builders this is the rules for fiddle brakes but they call it "manual traction control system"

8.12.1
a manually controlled individual wheel brake system if fitted must:

a Not compromise the safety and reliabilty of the original service braking system

b incorporate purpose built automotive brake system components

c incorporate a warning light that is clearly visible to the driver when the system is operable

d incorporate operating levers that
1 return to neutral postion when released and
2 have the facility to be temporarily enclosed or disabled to prevent use while the vehicle is being operated on public roads and
3 are mounted in such a way that does not obstruct normal operation of the vehicle and
4 meet the requirements specified for interior impact

as you can see they can be fitted

Aah well there you go. Listed in the special book

Thanks de-ranged for that bit of info I'm in the process of borrowing one of those books off a mate,but that definitely gives me something to work with.cheers

Having the book will most likely not change anything... if he has stated it "no fiddle brakes" then, I would say he will not change his mind due to you reading it from the book
Having gone through LVVTA's complaints system over a dodgy incompetent certifier, there system is set up to protect certifiers lol

My advice is to try your luck by showing the book to him, I don't expect this to work
If this doesn't work write a letter of complaint and send it to LVVTA, don't worry nothing will happen to him lol this protects you incase the certifier is pissed you are taking your work to another certifier, each one is setup in there area, they are protected in there area LVVTA will not allow anyone else to setup in that area they try and stop competition
The complaint letter also protects the next certifier you go to, be honest let the next guy know you have laid this complaint... odds are he has been involved in this before, the stupid ones are well known

Heres a little bit of information for you to show you how little training and qualifications you need to become a certifier
You need to be a qualified mechanic, thats it, you have to have passed your apprenticeship....
And you need a certain number of years as a member of an automotive club
As you can see it isnt alot lol and there is nothing that you'd expect about engineering.... they dont even have to know how to weld!!
Or if they have been around a while more than likely they were the one that stuck there hand up when LVVTA started "yea I'll be a certifier for the area" and that was it

Good luck, oh if you have any troubles just pm me

Thanks for the words of wisdom will let you no how everything progresses

My rear fiddles are certed.got removeible handels .lid that closes over them and a micro switch turns on light on dash when lid is open .some of those cert guys think there god