North Carolina License requirements for towing 5th wheel - Class A or not

[avvidclif]

Re: NC License requirements for towing 5th wheel - Class A or not

The NC we're talking about here is Non-Commercial. But that's great that you don't need a special license in North Carolina.


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Since the location of the OP is listed as USA-NC my bet is he is in North Carolina and needs their rules.

 

[Michael47]

Well since I asked the question about needing a non CDL Class A license to pull our 2018 BigHorn, using an F350 DRW long bed truck I finally have better answers.
After talking with the NC CDL division I was advised that with a combined vehicle weight of over 26001 pounds I would indeed have to get a Class A addition.

My F350 sticker indicates the max weight for this truck is 13000.
The BigHorn sticker indicates the max weight for the RV is 16000 as are most of the BigHorns.
The law states that if your combined vehicle max weights are above the 26001 lbs and the Trailer is over 10001 lbs then you are to have a Class A non CDL license.

I took the written test last Thursday and completed my driving test today.
I now have the Class A license and am ready to go camping soon.

You have to study the CDL hand book and the test is taken from Chapters 1, 2, 3, 5, and 11. You can find online test to practice before you take the test.
The driving test took only about 20 minutes or so and I had to drive down town and then out in the country for several miles and return to the DMV office.
Chapter 11 talks about the control skills test. If you have driven an RV then the driving test will be pretty easy.

Glad to be legal - I don't like to have things like that hanging over my head.

 

[Power247]

Good to know! Congrats for getting it done right!

Greg
2012 | RAM 2500 | CCSB | Custom tuned by Double R Diesel
2016 | Heartland Pioneer | DS310

 

[ksucats]

In KS the rules is much the same - if the GVWR of the tow vehicle and the trailer are 26001 or higher then a non-commercial class A is required. To add to this, even if you don't hit the 26001 GVWR, if your RV trailer weighs 10K plus 1 then you need a non-commercial Class A as well. Lots of misinformation out there about this - dealers don't even know it or so it appears because I've never been told that I needed anything. I'm not 100 percent sure on this one since it has been a while since I've read the whole CDL driver's license booklet, and I've never driven a class A with air brakes, but looking at the states driving manual it appears that Class A's with air brakes (and I don't know of any that don't have such) require not only a Class A non-commercial if they are over 26001 pounds but also the additional air-brake endorsement on their drivers license. Even if under the 26001, with air brakes the endorsement is required. Know of two dealerships that didn't know that - was looking into going to a class A rig then decided better to stay with a 5th wheel. I asked each if any special license or endorsement was needed and both told me no, only a standard drivers license.