Vac-Tron Structure

Vac-Tron is recalling about 21 vehicles over a problem with the structure. In the event of a rear impact crash, the other vehicle can travel under the rear of the vacuum excavator, increasing the risk of serious injury or death to someone in the other vehicle.

Campaign
20V293000
Manufacturer
Vac-Tron Equipment, LLC
Reported
20 May 2020
Vehicles
21
Built between
Not published
Models
7
Recall type
Vehicle
Initiated by
Manufacturer
Owners notified
14 July 2020
Repaired
14%
Unrepaired
18

Does this affect my vehicle?

The manufacturer did not publish a build-date range for this recall, so the model and year list below is the only way to tell whether your vehicle is covered.

  • 2016-2020 Vac-Tron CS 1270 GT
  • 2016-2020 Vac-Tron CS 1273 GT
  • 2016-2020 Vac-Tron CS 870 GT
  • 2016-2020 Vac-Tron CS 873 GT
  • 2016-2020 Vac-Tron CV 1273 GT
  • 2016-2020 Vac-Tron CV 1273 SGT
  • 2016-2020 Vac-Tron LP 1273 XDT

Repair progress

18 of 21 vehicles in this recall had still not been repaired as of Q2 2022.

14% repaired — 3 of 21 reported

Manufacturers file these figures with NHTSA each quarter. Vehicles the manufacturer could not trace, or that have been scrapped or exported, are counted separately and are not included in the unrepaired figure.

What the defect is

Vac-Tron Equipment, LLC (Vac-Tron), a subsidiary of Vermeer Manufacturing Company (Vermeer), is recalling certain 2016-2020 CS873GT, CV1273GT, LP1273XDT, CS1270GT, CS1273GT, CS870GT, and CS1273SGT Vacuum Excavator trailers. The rear most extremity extends too far beyond the rear of the trailer frame, reducing impact protection. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) Number 224, "Rear Impact Protection."

What could happen

In the event of a rear impact crash, the other vehicle can travel under the rear of the vacuum excavator, increasing the risk of serious injury or death to someone in the other vehicle.

What gets fixed

Vac-Tron will notify owners, and Vermeer dealers will install remedy kits provided by Vac-Tron, free of charge. The recall began July 14, 2020.

Timeline

  1. Recall reported to NHTSA20 May 2020
  2. Owners notified14 July 2020
  3. Latest repair reportQ2 2022 — 14% repaired

Your rights

A safety recall repair is free. Under US federal law the manufacturer must fix a safety defect at no cost to you — no charge for parts, labor or diagnosis — whether or not you are the original owner. A dealer cannot charge you for recall work, and cannot require you to have bought the vehicle from them.

That entitlement is not unlimited. It applies where the vehicle was first sold less than 15 years before the recall was announced — 5 years for tires. Past that a manufacturer may still do the repair free of charge, and many do, but they are no longer obliged to. This recall was reported on 20 May 2020.

To arrange the repair, contact any franchised dealer for the brand. If a dealer refuses the work or tries to charge for it, you can report that to NHTSA at nhtsa.gov/recalls or on 1-888-327-4236.

Manufacturer contact

Owners may contact Vac-Tron customer service at 1-888-822-8766. Vac-Tron's number for this recall is VVK0009.

Official source

Manufacturer's recall number
VVK0009
Recalling manufacturer
Vac-Tron Equipment, LLC
Safety standard
FMVSS 224
Recall initiated by
MFR

Everything on this page — the models listed, the build dates and the repair figures — comes from the manufacturer's filing to NHTSA and describes the vehicle line as a whole, not any individual car. Only the manufacturer can confirm whether a specific vehicle is affected, and whether its recall work has already been carried out. Check yours by VIN and read the official notice at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

Additional 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.

Check your own vehicle

This page describes the recall, not any one car. To see which recalls cover a specific vehicle, search by make, model and year.

A VIN lookup here identifies your vehicle and shows recalls issued for that make, model and year. It cannot tell you what is still open on your individual car - only the manufacturer knows that. Search by VIN instead, or check your VIN at nhtsa.gov for whether a recall is still open on your individual car.

Same component

Same brand