California finally "allows" over 40 foot fivers

This will only likely be of interest to those currently shopping for the longer fivers in California. As some of you know DMV incorrectly ruled that fivers over 40 feet were illegal to register in California, closing the door to many Heartland trailers (the 4000 Cyclone) in my case. Many California dealers were still stocking them, but it was hit and miss to get them registered. After several letters back and forth to the DMV legal department, I learned that Assembly Bill 64 was making its way through the house. Long story short, the bill was signed last week by the Governor. It will take effect on January 1, 2014. If anyone in California is running into dealers that are afraid to stock the 40 foot or longer trailers, let them know about this new law.

Hopefully the dealers become aware of this law and start stocking or ordering the longer trailers. Of course the ultimate silliness is that DMV only judged length by model numbers, so only the fivers with 4XXX model numbers were affected. Dealers around here are stocking trailers with 3XXX model numbers over 40 feet like it was never a problem.

http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml;jsessionid=b380bd2a585d49223f51ba7d0d7a

Wow. I'm glad we managed to get our 4100 registered then. It would be pretty unnerving to spend all that money on a camper only to find out we couldn't register it. EEEEK!

They probably woke up and realized all of the taxes and registration fees they would be losing....

The dealers may be stocking them and you may get them registered but the dealers do not inform the buyers that to legally tow any Cyclone 3xxx and up in California you need to have a Class A - Non Commercial Drivers License.

Swanny59 said:

...dealers do not inform the buyers that to legally tow any Cyclone 3xxx and up in California you need to have a Class A - Non Commercial Drivers License.

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Model number has nothing to do with the licensing requirement. It is based on the GVW of the trailer. 15,001 lbs. and up requires Class A, commercial or non commercial license in California.

I actually had an argument the other day with a salesman at one of the largest RV dealers here in southern California. He thought you needed a Class B license. I informed him of the 15,001 lbs requirement for Class A and his response was that they do not "actually" weigh that much, therefore no Class A is needed. I then informed him that the state would go by gross weight and what the sticker says, not what the scales say.

Oh well, I guess I am glad I learn for myself and not believe much of what sales people say.

frumbawa said:

Model number has nothing to do with the licensing requirement. It is based on the GVW of the trailer. 15,001 lbs. and up requires Class A, commercial or non commercial license in California.

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Yes, very true. But In the Cyclone series, model 3010 and any model above that has a gvwr => 15,500lbs.

Mizmary said:

Wow. I'm glad we managed to get our 4100 registered then. It would be pretty unnerving to spend all that money on a camper only to find out we couldn't register it. EEEEK!

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I called a few dealers that stocked the trailers, and none had even heard of the registration fiasco. Every dealer up in the Sacramento area was well aware. I assume the local DMV offices followed suit.

Tom-Kathi said:

They probably woke up and realized all of the taxes and registration fees they would be losing....

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That was the main "reasoning" behind the bill. DMV incorrectly ruled a particular vehicle code section did not apply to fifth wheels, and instead of correcting their error, forced the legislature to act. The assemblyman that wrote the bill cited the lost revenue as one of the main reasons.

Ladiver said:

I actually had an argument the other day with a salesman at one of the largest RV dealers here in southern California. He thought you needed a Class B license. I informed him of the 15,001 lbs requirement for Class A and his response was that they do not "actually" weigh that much, therefore no Class A is needed. I then informed him that the state would go by gross weight and what the sticker says, not what the scales say.

Oh well, I guess I am glad I learn for myself and not believe much of what sales people say.

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Sadly, I've had similar arguments with the DMV workers. For a good time go to DMV and ask to take the test for "restriction 41". How hard can it be to read the manual or vehicle code and know what license a particular person needs? Especially when it is their job to know. Do anything "out of the box" (like a non-commercial class A) and the entire office grinds to a halt as they whisper back and forth, trying to decide which part of the wrong test to give out first.

Is total RV length still 65'?

crazybanshee said:

Is total RV length still 65'?

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Yes, the total combo length law didn't change. It just worded the new law to say a "fifth wheel travel trailer" can be up to 48 feet. The rocket surgeons at DMV claimed a "fifth wheel travel trailer" was not a "semi trailer." Since they wouldn't call it a semi trailer, it couldn't be any longer than 40 feet. We are still bound to 65 feet with a single trailer or 75 feet with two trailers under 28.5 feet.