Well I discovered something very interesting today and thought I would share. First a little foundation so this makes since. I am a long time RVer and like to take 3 day to 14 day trips with the family. This month I traded our 32' Cougar for a Cyclone 300C ti so we could haul the Harley and have real beds for the kids. We have taken it on 1 trip so far over the 4th of July and we loooove the rig. We have 2 more trips coming up the first 2 weekends of August.
Now with that info... I am a Lieutenant with a Sheriff's Office in Northern Ca and have worked here for 25 years. I like to think I am proficient on the laws regarding driver's licenses. So I am updating the policy for our Mobile Command Vehicle, a Renegade Command build on a Freightliner frame. 32 feet long, air brakes and GVWR of 33,000 lbs. When it was built 5 years ago, they included a small kitchen and a very small bathroom so it could be classified as a motorcoach so only a class C licence would be needed to drive it. The rest of the rig is all business and has no resemblance to an RV. In short, while at the local DMV researching what license is actually required (Per DMV and Valley Division CHP Commercial Unit, Class B Commercial is required based on the GVWR) I discovered that any 5th wheel trailer with a GVWR of 10,000 lbs to 15,000 lbs requires a fifth-wheel recreational trailer endorsement and anything with a GVWR over 15,000 lbs requires a class A non-commercial license. They advised that until recently CHP nor DMV have been putting much effort into enforcing this. Working for a Sheriff's Office, we do enforce the basic traffic laws but the more detailed issues such as this are seldom dealt with. So what a shocker, I have been driving without the right endorsement for years when I had the Cougar behind me and now when pulling my new rig, I am driving out of class, a big no no. To be legal I have to do the following (cut and pasted from DMV website):
Obviously there are more consequences (career wise) for me than the average Joe for driving out of class such as a ticket, park the ride, or even have it towed if you encounter an officer having a bad day. God help you if you are the cause of an accident. From what I have read, many in the forums choose to drive overweight but I haven't seen any posts regarding the license class requirements even though almost all the posts talk about weights considerably over 10,000 lbs GVWR and 15,000 GVWR but I have yet to dig through all the posts. I know some states are less restrictive than CA. We will be driving to Texas in December so I guess I'll have some more researching to do... anyone know the rule/laws for Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona and Texas?
Now with that info... I am a Lieutenant with a Sheriff's Office in Northern Ca and have worked here for 25 years. I like to think I am proficient on the laws regarding driver's licenses. So I am updating the policy for our Mobile Command Vehicle, a Renegade Command build on a Freightliner frame. 32 feet long, air brakes and GVWR of 33,000 lbs. When it was built 5 years ago, they included a small kitchen and a very small bathroom so it could be classified as a motorcoach so only a class C licence would be needed to drive it. The rest of the rig is all business and has no resemblance to an RV. In short, while at the local DMV researching what license is actually required (Per DMV and Valley Division CHP Commercial Unit, Class B Commercial is required based on the GVWR) I discovered that any 5th wheel trailer with a GVWR of 10,000 lbs to 15,000 lbs requires a fifth-wheel recreational trailer endorsement and anything with a GVWR over 15,000 lbs requires a class A non-commercial license. They advised that until recently CHP nor DMV have been putting much effort into enforcing this. Working for a Sheriff's Office, we do enforce the basic traffic laws but the more detailed issues such as this are seldom dealt with. So what a shocker, I have been driving without the right endorsement for years when I had the Cougar behind me and now when pulling my new rig, I am driving out of class, a big no no. To be legal I have to do the following (cut and pasted from DMV website):
- Complete an application for a driver license (DL 44).
- Pay the application fee.
- Submit a Health Questionnaire (DL 546) dated not more than two years prior to the date of your application.
- Pass the basic Class C law test, unless you renewed your Class C license within the past 12 months.
- Pass the Recreational Vehicles and Noncommercial Class A Trailers law test.
- Pass a vision test.
- Pass a pre-trip inspection test.
- Pass the skills test.
- Pass a driving test while towing the type of vehicle you wish to be licensed for.
Obviously there are more consequences (career wise) for me than the average Joe for driving out of class such as a ticket, park the ride, or even have it towed if you encounter an officer having a bad day. God help you if you are the cause of an accident. From what I have read, many in the forums choose to drive overweight but I haven't seen any posts regarding the license class requirements even though almost all the posts talk about weights considerably over 10,000 lbs GVWR and 15,000 GVWR but I have yet to dig through all the posts. I know some states are less restrictive than CA. We will be driving to Texas in December so I guess I'll have some more researching to do... anyone know the rule/laws for Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona and Texas?
