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California Class A with air brakes


raphaman

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Guest THE TRAILERKING

Check with your jurisdiction is the best.......However, you should take it upon yourself to know and understand the "Air Brake" system anyways. Just because you can and already have drove it 600 miles......When something goes wrong you better understand what's going on. Then you won't hurt yourself and/or others.

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In CA you can drive any motorhome under 40 feet in length, regardless of how it is equipped, with a standard Class C license (the same license you need to drive a car). Here is a link to the CA driver handbook where this is described:

http://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/dmv/detail/pubs/hdbk/lic_classes

 

If the motorhome is between 40 and 45 feet in length, you need a non commercial Class B license with endorsement. Here is the link to the commercial driver handbook where this is discussed (scroll to page 3): https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/wcm/connect/42c566ef-31ac-4df2-a8ed-480619084886/comlhdbk.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CONVERT_TO=url&CACHEID=42c566ef-31ac-4df2-a8ed-480619084886

 

If you are going to tow a trailer or Toad, you can tow up to 10000 lbs on one of the above class licenses (obviously you need to be within specs on your motorhome's towing capacity). If your trailer or Toad is over 10000 lbs, you need to have a Class A license to tow it.

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N

Do you not need ANY endorsement and training on "Air Brake" equipped vehicles??

We can't get away with that here.

No, not for a regular motorhome. Wealthy retirees buying big diesel pushers didn't want to have to test for new licenses, so they had their friends in high places get the laws set accordingly. Not saying it is right, but it is what it is.

2000 Kenworth T2000 w/ Cummins N14 and autoshift
2017 DRV Mobile Suite 40KSSB4 with factory mods, dealer mods and personal mods - now in the RV graveyard
2022 DRV Full House MX450 with customized floor plan
2018 Polaris RZR Turbo S (fits in the garage)
2016 Smart Car (fits in the garage or gets flat towed behind the DRV when the RZR is in the garage)
My First Solar Install Thread
My Second Solar Install Thread & Photos and Documents Related to the build
My MX450's solar, battery and inverter system - my biggest system yet!

chadheiser.com      West Coast HDT Rally Website

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AZCACOIDIAKSMNMOMTNENVNMNDOKSDTNTXUTWYxlg.jpg

 

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Guest THE TRAILERKING

N

No, not for a regular motorhome. Wealthy retirees buying big diesel pushers didn't want to have to test for new licenses, so they had their friends in high places get the laws set accordingly. Not saying it is right, but it is what it is.

I knew there was a simple explanation......Thanks Chad Heiser.

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N

No, not for a regular motorhome. Wealthy retirees buying big diesel pushers didn't want to have to test for new licenses, so they had their friends in high places get the laws set accordingly. Not saying it is right, but it is what it is.

 

 

Oh, come on. Do you really believe that?

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Oh, come on. Do you really believe that?

 

It is called lobbying and it is exactly what happened. I am not denigrating it, I am just explaining why in California you can drive up to a 40 foot diesel pusher with air brakes that weighs in excess of 30000 lbs with the same drivers license you need for a two door coupe.

2000 Kenworth T2000 w/ Cummins N14 and autoshift
2017 DRV Mobile Suite 40KSSB4 with factory mods, dealer mods and personal mods - now in the RV graveyard
2022 DRV Full House MX450 with customized floor plan
2018 Polaris RZR Turbo S (fits in the garage)
2016 Smart Car (fits in the garage or gets flat towed behind the DRV when the RZR is in the garage)
My First Solar Install Thread
My Second Solar Install Thread & Photos and Documents Related to the build
My MX450's solar, battery and inverter system - my biggest system yet!

chadheiser.com      West Coast HDT Rally Website

event.png    

AZCACOIDIAKSMNMOMTNENVNMNDOKSDTNTXUTWYxlg.jpg

 

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California is not alone, in Oregon you can drive any motorhome without a special license. I will add that I didn't really buy that so I checked the Oregon Driver's rules and they state that you need a special license if the MH is over 26,000lbs, mine is 31,000lbs (GVWR) so I called the DMV and asked directly. They told me that the Law in Oregon is actually that you can drive any MH/RV no matter the size with a standard driver's license. I questioned her regarding the printed information in the handbook and she told me that it was in error...Of course it is the DMV so I have my doubts, but I can't find anyone to contradict her so I am believing it...for now.

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It is called lobbying and it is exactly what happened.

If you do some checking you will find that most of the states do not require any special licensing to drive any size of RV. That same thing is true when it comes to the maximum age for keeping a driving license. Senior citizen lobbyists have a lot of impact upon state legislators. ;)

 

It is kind of funny how most of us change our views as our birthday counts increase. About 30 years ago I was an advocate for everyone over the age of 70 needing to take a driving test just to renew an ordinary license, but for some reason, I don't think that way so much today? :o

Good travelin !...............Kirk

Full-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.
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  • 2 weeks later...

A while back we did a page on Drivers License required for HDTs in the HDT Resource Guide. In many cases, HDTs, as RV trailer haulers, are considered as RVs.

 

The page State Listing of Drivers Licenses has links to the state codes that define whether a RV is subject to CDL (exempt) licenses or not. The listings are for all RV purposes, not just HDTs.

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