The defect
THE CHARLES MACHINE IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2000-2011 DITCH WITCH CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT TRAILER EQUIPPED WITH 500 GALLON VACUUM EXCAVATORS. THE TANK MOUNTING CAN BREAK WHICH CAN ALLOW THE TANK TO FALL FROM THE TRAILER DURING DUMPING OR TRANSPORTING.
The risk
A FALLING TANK FROM THE TRAILER COULD INCREASE THE RISK OF A CRASH OR COULD CRUSH BYSTANDERS OR WORKERS INCREASING THE RISK OF INJURIES.
The remedy
KITS WERE CREATED TO REDISTRIBUTE THE WEIGHT OF THE SPOILS TANK MORE UNIFORMLY ACROSS THE TRAILER. DEALERS WILL ORDER THE APPROPRIATE KITS TO REMEDY THE TRAILERS FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON MAY 2, 2011. OWNERS MAY CONTACT THE CHARLES MACHINE WORKS, INC., TELEPHONE 1-800-654-6481. OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES, CALL 1-580-336-4426 EXT. 8833.
NHTSA's own wording · initiated by MFR
Vehicles covered
| Model | Model years |
|---|---|
| Ditch Witch T12SE | 2009, 2010, 2011 |
| Ditch Witch T18S | 2009, 2010, 2011 |
| Ditch Witch T9S | 2009, 2010, 2011 |
| Ditch Witch T9SH | 2009, 2010, 2011 |
Components: EQUIPMENT
Model years in this recall
NHTSA complaints and the number of recall campaigns for each model year this recall covers.
| Model | Year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ditch Witch T12SE | 2009 | 0 | 1 |
| Ditch Witch T12SE | 2010 | 0 | 1 |
| Ditch Witch T12SE | 2011 | 0 | 1 |
| Ditch Witch T18S | 2009 | 0 | 1 |
| Ditch Witch T18S | 2010 | 0 | 1 |
| Ditch Witch T18S | 2011 | 0 | 1 |
| Ditch Witch T9S | 2009 | 0 | 1 |
| Ditch Witch T9S | 2010 | 0 | 1 |
| Ditch Witch T9S | 2011 | 0 | 1 |
| Ditch Witch T9SH | 2009 | 0 | 1 |
| Ditch Witch T9SH | 2010 | 0 | 1 |
| Ditch Witch T9SH | 2011 | 0 | 1 |
Other equipment recalls in 2011
113 of the 597 recall campaigns reported to NHTSA in 2011 concerned the equipment; CHARLES MACHINE WORKS INC filed 9 campaigns in all.
| 11V604000 28 Dec 2011 | JAGUAR LAND ROVER NORTH AMERICA, LLC |
| 11V600000 21 Dec 2011 | ALTEC INDUSTRIES INC. |
| 11V588000 14 Dec 2011 | GULF STATES TOYOTA, INC. |
| 11V575000 8 Dec 2011 | GILLIG CORPORATION |
| 11V581000 8 Dec 2011 | KINGMOR SUPPLY, INC. |
| 11V571000 1 Dec 2011 | STARCRAFT BUS |
| 11V560000 30 Nov 2011 | Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing |
| 11V561000 22 Nov 2011 | KEYSTONE RV COMPANY |
NHTSA recalls (public domain) · all recalls of 2011