​Membership renewals have already been sent to members, which makes the end of the year a perfect time for the Association to reflect on how membership dues are critical in supporting the actions, services and educational programs that NATM provides for its members and the light- and medium-duty trailer industry. 

In 2018, NATM membership dues allowed NATM to:

• Complete 258* compliance consultations 
• Hire a 3rd full-time compliance consultant 
• Proactively address government affairs issues, particularly tariffs
• Educate members of Congress during the annual Regulatory Roundup and Capitol Hill visits
• Host two free Regional Educational Workshops with topics covering the skilled labor shortage, NHTSA and EWR regulations, and employee recruiting and retention best practices 
• Update the 2018 Guidelines for Recommended Minimum Manufacturing Practices for Light- and Medium-Duty Trailers
• Conclude the 2016-2018 Strategic Plan and begin work on the 2019-2021 Strategic Plan
• Execute the first annual national Trailer Safety Week
• Redesign the Association's website, www.NATM.com 
• Raise awareness of the importance of compliance by exhibiting at conventions such as the Lifesavers National Conference, the KDOT Transportation Safety Conference, and the North American Trailer Dealers Association (NATDA) trade show.

Membership renewals for 2019 have gone out in the mail and the main contact for your company will receive an email notice as well. If you would like to check to see who your main contact is, please contact NATM Membership & Education Director Kelli Maydew or call NATM at (785) 272-4433. You can also log into the Members Only portal of www.NATM.com and select the “Update Your Contact Information” link to make edits instantly to this information. 

In addition to paying your membership dues by check or over the phone by credit card, you are also able to pay online using the Members Only portal at www.NATM.com. Once you are logged in using your company’s login credentials, select “Pay My Bills.” If you need your credentials, or have any questions during this process, please contact NATM Membership & Education Director Kelli Maydew

Membership dues will again go unchanged in 2019. Rates are $795 for Associate (Supplier) members, $135 for Associate (Supplier) Branch members, $925 for Regular and International Regular (Trailer Manufacturer) members, $300 for Regular (Trailer Manufacturer) Branch members. If you joined between February and October of 2018, your 2018 dues will be for the prorated amount provided when you joined. 

For trade show exhibitors, it is important to note that NATM DUES MUST BE PAID BY DEC. 31, 2018 to maintain the member rate for your booth at the February 2019 trade show in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. 

As NATM enters the final quarter of 2018, membership numbers remain strong. All categories of membership are up from the same time last year. As of Oct. 15, 2018, NATM has a total of 930 members. The membership breaks down as 425 Regular Members, 50 Branch Regular Members, 28 International Regular Members, 386 Associate Members and 41 Branch Associate Members. 

Contact NATM Membership & Education Director Kelli Maydew if you have any questions at (785) 272-4433 or email Kelli.Maydew@natm.com.  
*Consultation estimates as of Oct. 15, 2018

To directly communicate proper trailer usage and safety to end-users, NATM recommends that all trailers include an owner’s manual. As members of NATM, trailer manufacturers understand the importance of safety and build trailers accordingly. Unfortunately, it does not matter how well a trailer is built if the end-user improperly hitches, loads or fails to maintain a trailer.

To educate customers, trailer owner manuals provide instructions regarding maintenance and safety, as well as important warnings. Creating owner's manuals for the trailers you manufacture can be a daunting, and often expensive task. Fortunately, NATM has made it easy and affordable for members to include manuals with their trailers as an additional resource and benefit to doing business with their dealers. By providing a quality owner’s manual with every trailer, it not only markets the company as reputable, but also helps to reduce liability due to legal issues and misuse by end-users.
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NATM offers manuals for 12 trailer types. Bumper pull style trailers include: utility, enclosed, horse, livestock, dump, and boat trailers. Gooseneck-style trailers include: utility, enclosed, horse, dump and boat trailers.
Every manual purchased will be personalized to include the company’s name and address, and each manual is product-line specific. The manuals have the required compliance items and include the following sections:

• Section 1 - Introduction/General Information
• Section 2 - Safety
• Section 3 - Tire Safety Information
• Section 4 - Coupling and Uncoupling
• Section 5 - Loading and Unloading the Trailer
• Section 6 - Towing
• Section 7 - Inspection, Service and Maintenance

One of the top shortcomings of trailer manufacturers working to become NATM Compliant is failure to include the NHTSA notification statement. It is required that trailer manufacturers provide the following statement to the purchaser in the owner’s manual, or, if there is no owner’s manual, on a one-page document:

If you believe that your vehicle has a defect that could cause a crash or could cause injury or death, you should immediately inform the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in addition to notifying [Insert company name here].

If NHTSA receives similar complaints, it may open an investigation, and if it finds that a safety defect exists in a group of vehicles, it may order a recall and remedy campaign. However, NHTSA cannot become involved in individual problems between you, your dealer, or [Insert company name here].
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To contact NHTSA, you may either call the Vehicle Safety Hotline toll-free at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY: 1-800-424-9153), go to http://www.safercar.gov; or write to:
Administrator
NHTSA
1200 New Jersey Avenue S.E.
Washington, DC 20590
You can also obtain other information about motor vehicle safety from http://www.safercar.gov.

By including an owner’s manual, trailer manufacturers are easily able to meet this requirement of both NHTSA and NATM, as well as reduce the chances that customers are left frustrated and confused. The inclusion of an owner’s manual helps to avoid mistreatment and misuse of the trailer in a way that could damage both the trailer and your company’s reputation by word-of-mouth.

The manuals are available for purchase by members only and are sold individually, but discounts are available when ordering multiple manuals. Once purchased, they are emailed as a non-editable PDF format and can be easily reprinted as many times as necessary.

For more information about purchasing generic owner’s manuals, or having your manuals updated, contact Marketing Coordinator Savana Morrison.