Interesting article that breaks down by states requirements if a CDL is required to drive a RV through the state

[GON]

Surprised to see a CDL may required in some states to drive a RV through the state. Most of the CDL requirements are based on being 45 foot or longer and or 26k GVWR.

Simple Guide to RV Driver's Licenses by State [2023]

Do you need a special license to drive an RV in the United States? RVezy's guide explains the requirements for an RV driver's license in each state.

www.rvezy.com

 

[MSCH]

I don't think anybody really totally understands the CDL rules and all the technicalities. not even the DMV, the police or the people who wrote the article..

generally, if it is a private vehicle not for hire and it will carry more than 8 or 10 people, or the GVW is above 26k, it doesn't require a CDL but it might require a specialty license endorsement.

at a certain point you just say I don't care. what are the chances of being caught.

 

[Wayne]

Surprised to see a CDL may required in some states to drive a RV through the state.

Licensing reciprocity negates this concern.

generally, if it isn't a private vehicle not for hire and it will carry more than 8 or 10 people, or the GVW is above 26k, it doesn't require a CDL but it might require a specialty license endorsement.

I did a bunch of looking into this, because we go to Texas fairly often and the law in Texas says that if you have a gross combined vehicle weight of > 26k, then you are required to have a CDL. At that time we lived in Illinois and the law there was that you only need a normal operator's license to drive ANY RV, even if the RV is utilizing a class 8 tractor. We live in Colorado now and the Colorado law is the same as Illinois.

There was a concern that getting pulled over in Texas without a CDL could result in getting parked until you hired someone who had a CDL to either drive your rig to the campground or drive you back to the state border and pay a fine. I called the Texas DMV and spoke to an enforcement officer. She told me that the Texas law requiring a CDL for > 26k only applies to Texas residents. Texas honors the RV licensing requirement for all other states. Since I didn't need a CDL in IL and my license was issued in IL, then Texas didn't require me to have a CDL to drive my rig in Texas. She also said, "Think about what a licensing mess it would be if states didn't have licensing reciprocity with all other states". True that!

To the best of my knowledge, all states in the US have licensing reciprocity with all other states.

This quote from the article sums it up very well:

Requirements for driver's licenses are based on where you're licensed. You can legally drive anywhere in the United States and Canada if you have the appropriate license for your state.

 

[tnt_motorsports]

These same rules hold true if you drive commercial as well. A while back I looked at towing campers as a side job. In Iowa you need a chauffer endorsement on your license for that.

That said it is crazy what people are allowed to drive with no special license. Have you seen some of the rigs running up and down the road with rookies behind the wheel!

Just my $0.02

 

[Wayne]

Have you seen some of the rigs running up and down the road with rookies behind the wheel!

Yes, we have seen some of the most bone-headed dumb things you can imagine by people driving all types of RVs. Some examples, hitting fuel pumps with trailer tail-swing, backing into things, following too close, driving way too fast, no anti-sway, trailers so out of level front to back that you can't imagine anyone would think it's a good idea, no weight distribution so the tongue weight is so overloading the truck that the headlights are pointing to the sky, cutting us off with their trailer, because they forget they have a trailer, trailer sway accidents, the examples could go on and on.

That said it is crazy what people are allowed to drive with no special license.

I saw a guy who had never driven a truck pulling anything in his entire life, bought a 25k lb 5th wheel. He went into the local dealer and bought a dually truck, hitched it up to the 5th wheel, and drove away. At least he was smart enough to be scared, as he should have been, but he wasn't smart enough to not do it. You could also buy a class 8 based rig or pull a large 5th wheel with a class 8, having never even sat in the driver's seat of a big truck.

In my opinion there should be some licensing required, because lack of experience strongly equates to safety issues. If you don't even have to demonstrate knowledge and driving ability to handle those issues, then how can one be safe?

I'll bet @OLEJOE has seen so many examples you wouldn't believe it.

 

[MSCH]

Licensing reciprocity negates this concern.



I did a bunch of looking into this, because we go to Texas fairly often and the law in Texas says that if you have a gross combined vehicle weight of > 26k, then you are required to have a CDL. At that time we lived in Illinois and the law there was that you only need a normal operator's license to drive ANY RV, even if the RV is utilizing a class 8 tractor. We live in Colorado now and the Colorado law is the same as Illinois.

in a nutshell CDL rules generally apply to someone engaged in commerce.. and operating a vehicle type that is engaged in commerce. Hence a private RV is by it's nature is not engaged in commerce... but some states have specific endorsement rules that apply to large vehicles even though they aren't engaged in commerce.


basically you are licensed by the state you drive in... unless whatever you are driving is truly is defined as a Commercial Vehicle, then you shouldn't have any worries. Fla law doesn't require a special license for RV's... so you can drive a 45 foot air brake equipped Bus type RV, but other states have special licensing for large RV's... but it still goes back to the state you are licensed in.

Farm vehicles also get a CDL exemption, as long as they are within 150 miles of the farm.
Some of the horse people get caught in the trap because they go to shows a long way away and get caught up in the rules
as they are technically engaged in commerce when they go to horse shows...

Right now I have a CDL Class B with P A and S endorsements, recently the DMV contacted me and informed me my license would be suspended if I didn't get my medical certificate renewed... OR I could reclassify myself as intrastate only which means I don't need a medial endorsement... so I just changed myself to intrastate only... at some point it is just a bunch of nonsense..

 

[GON]

I am looking at purchasing a goose-neck flatbed trailer for personal- non commercial use. I keep reading how critical the length is, as if the overall length exceeds as a certain length, a CDL is required.

I have a CDL class A, but I don't want the added burden such as electronic logs that come along with driving a rig that requires a CDL. It is understandable about the reciprocity, but getting a ticket out of state , regardless if it is prosecutable in a court of law, can be a painful process.

During COVID, I received a speeding ticket on I80 in the vicinity of Green River, WY. The trooper's video captured what I was doing was defensive and appropriate, but the county attorney would not drop the charges. I came to court three times to challenge the charge, only to have the case rescheduled. The final time I filed a motion, and the judge let the case go forward without the trooper present. I was found not guilty, and the county attorney have me a very unhappy look. Bottom line- it is always a best practice to avoid being ticketed, even if one is likely in the right.

 

[ctechbob]

I ran into a situation in IL back in 2000 when we were pulling a 38' triple axle race car hauler back from a show in Chicago. I wasn't driving at the time, but we got pulled for speeding and thought my buddy was going to take a ride for a bit. Our boss had never put anything on the rig denoting 'not for hire' or anything of the like. The trooper insisted that we needed CDL's to be driving the dually/trailer combo, but wasn't entirely sure if he was right or not. We confused him long enough that he gave up and sent us on our way.

Same trip that the crap roads in that state broke one of our tiedowns and the showcar we were hauling slid to the side up against the wheel well in the trailer and we ended up scratching the car bigtime in order to get it out.

Fun trip, good times.

Also have a good rental car story.....I'm sure the statute of limitations is long past.

 

[GON]

Neat video by a RVer on getting a NON CDL class A license (Kansas).

Long video, but think knowing the information may have benefits.

 

[Wayne]

I have lived in Illinois or Colorado for the last 30+ years. It's very simple, neither require a CDL for ANY type of RV. All other states honor your home state's requirements. Some don't have it so simple.

 

[GON]

I have lived in Illinois or Colorado for the last 30+ years. It's very simple, neither require a CDL for ANY type of RV. All other states honor your home state's requirements. Some don't have it so simple.

The video is stating a Class A license (non CDL) is needed for towing a RV of a certain length and/ or weight, not a CDL. Interesting twist, as it appears it may be a challenge getting a non CDL class A license issued.

I was not aware a class A license were still being issued after CDLs became mandatory. Of not, I do have a CDL A- but I do not have a class A license.

 

[MSCH]

I was not aware a class A license were still being issued after CDLs became mandatory. Of not, I do have a CDL A- but I do not have a class A license.

yes sir, you can still be required to get a Class A non CDL in a few states and there is such a thing as a non CDL class A... Texas and California come to mind... and if you have a CDL A you would not need the civilian version of it..

I'm in FLA, they specifically exempt RV's... so the most obtuse citizen driver in the USA with the worst skill set available can still go out and buy and drive a 25 ton 45 foot motorcoach to use so they can " camp".

if anybody can figure out all the exceptions to these rules they will be the first.. most cops don't know, most DMV people don't either..

 

[ctechbob]

Way back in my younger days I was towing a 38' race car hauler through IL with a co-worker. He was driving at the time and got pulled for speeding. We spent about an hour on the side of the road with the state police officer trying to talk our way out of him towing the assembly. He was convinced we should have had DOT stickers and CDL's to be pulling it, and maybe we should have, but it was a privately owned not for hire rig, although it did have a big corporate logo on the side.

*shrug*

We all ended up so confused that we were let to go on our merry way. This was just as the internet was becoming a thing so I never really bothered to research what the truth of the matter was.

Same trip their rotten roads ruined part of our showcar when the tiedown broke and the car actually shifted to the side in the trailer and completely mangled the rocker panel on the trailer wheel well. That was fun getting out of the trailer. We didn't have dollys or even a good floor jack to help us recenter the car.

 

[Wayne]

We all ended up so confused that we were let to go on our merry way.

It shouldn't have been confusing at all to the trooper. You weren't for hire and were hauling your own stuff, regardless of the company name on the trailer. You were not involved hauling someone else's stuff for hire, period.

 

[ctechbob]

It shouldn't have been confusing at all to the trooper. You weren't for hire and were hauling your own stuff, regardless of the company name on the trailer. You were not involved hauling someone else's stuff for hire, period.

You wouldn't think so, but he certainly was. This would have been circa 1999. We were about an hour south of Chicago.

 

[MSCH]

It shouldn't have been confusing at all to the trooper. You weren't for hire and were hauling your own stuff, regardless of the company name on the trailer. You were not involved hauling someone else's stuff for hire, period.

some of the law depends on the weight of the trailer..or the weight of the combination... there are some gray areas in CDL rules... if the cop looked at the paperwork for the trailer and it was a company owned, even if you use it privately, but they think it is over 10k or the GVWR is,you might actually need to have a CDL...