tireman9 Report post Posted April 21, 2020 Has anyone seen an all state inclusive list of driver license requirements for driving or towing an RV or even just a heavy trailer or truck? I have heard that one or more states have a requirement for driving an RV with GVWR greater than 10,000 Lbs. Am wondering if that would be different or covered if we were talking about towing a trailer with some specified limit. Obviously someone driving or towing as part of their job would have some special requirements but what about the rest of us driving ot towing our personal equipment. It would be nice to have that list available to all FMCA members here on the forum. Just a suggestion. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hermanmullins Report post Posted April 21, 2020 Roger there are 50 different answers to that thought. All I know is that in Texas if you drive an motorhome in excess of 26,001 lbs you need either a Class A or B operators License. There are three Class of Operator License in Texas. Class C= Standard License to drive a non commercial vehicle weighing less then 10,000 lbs. Class B= license to drive a non commercial vehicle weighting over 26,001 lbs and towing less then 10,000 lbs. Class A= same as B but able to tow in excess of 10,001 lbs. When testing for either a Class B or A there are some questions that you will find in the CDL handbook but you are not taking a CDL Test. When I got my Class B License I had to take a Computer test and a driving test. The driving test consisted of Backing 100 ft., Parallel Parking, and a road test to prove you road knowledge. I do not know of any requirement for driving a vehicle weighing less then 10,000 lbs and towing anything. This is just for Texas. I would say that less than 10% of Motorhome operators in Texas have such a License. I think this would be a great topic for a Retired Tire Design and Quality Engineer to tackle and present it to FMCA's Technical Committee. Don't you? Herman Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bm02tj Report post Posted April 21, 2020 The way I understand you have to be properly licenced at your home and you are good The rig has to comply with the State or Province regulation you are driving in Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wolfe10 Report post Posted April 21, 2020 34 minutes ago, bm02tj said: The way I understand you have to be properly licenced at your home and you are good The rig has to comply with the State or Province regulation you are driving in Absolutely correct. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jleamont Report post Posted April 21, 2020 4 hours ago, tireman9 said: Has anyone seen an all state inclusive list of driver license requirements for driving or towing an RV or even just a heavy trailer or truck? As I have said many times, Ignorance is no excuse, you the operator are responsible to know the laws and follow them, please sign here sir/mam, have a nice day. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wildebill308 Report post Posted April 21, 2020 2 hours ago, jleamont said: As I have said many times, Ignorance is no excuse, you the operator are responsible to know the laws and follow them, please sign here sir/mam, have a nice day. Yes I bet you have. Bill Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wolfe10 Report post Posted April 21, 2020 I agree-- VERY unlikely you will be stopped and asked for your license. Also agree-- VERY LIKELY that if you are involved in an accident and do not have a license to operate the vehicle you are driving, that your next call will be to a (very expensive) lawyer. Not sure operating under the "how lucky do you feel" concept is recommended. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rayin Report post Posted April 21, 2020 You mean like this? https://airsafehitches.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/TrailerTowingLaws.pdf Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
richard5933 Report post Posted April 22, 2020 Some states have totally separate rules for towing a trailer vs towing a travel trailer as well, as there are exceptions for an RV that don't exist for other types of trailers. So, it may matter if that trailer is a large 5th wheel or a large closed trailer with a car inside. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wayne77590 Report post Posted April 22, 2020 Roger, does this help Changing Gears Web Site Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tireman9 Report post Posted April 22, 2020 11 hours ago, wayne77590 said: Roger, does this help Changing Gears Web Site Great. That's what I was looking for along with the statements that as long as you meet the requirements from the license issuing state. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wayne77590 Report post Posted April 22, 2020 All the states recognize and reciprocate on licenses. If you license is legal in your state it is legal in all the other states. A problem could arise in the different state laws for vehicle length weight, height, towing. etc. However, I have never been stopped for any of those checks. I think someone would have to be doing something wrong or dangerous on the highway to be stopped. California has a law for towing that the speed limit is 55 mph when towing. I try to stay with that but sometimes I'll push it to 59 or 60. So far so good. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
manholt Report post Posted April 22, 2020 Our licence is good in Texas, all other 49 States, US Territories and Canada....Even if you don't have the B or A licence, bet you wish you did in an accident, your fault or not, you'll pay! I purposely left out Mexico! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
richard5933 Report post Posted April 22, 2020 Two totally separate issues here - driver licensing and trailer towing laws. You may be legally licensed to drive/tow your rig in your home state (which would usually carry into other states) and at the same time your rig may not be legal to drive in all states. Driver licensing usually carries from one state to others. Vehicle/trailer legality does not. For example, if your home state does not require a Class B license to drive your coach you're pretty much good to go in any state driving it with your current license. But, even if you are legally permitted to drive your rig/trailer without trailer brakes in your home state, that same rig might be required to have trailer brakes in another and be illegal to two there without them. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wayne77590 Report post Posted April 22, 2020 I agree with Richard except for the "class of license." Class C, B, and A all have different meaning in different states. In Texas, if the vehicle is below 26,000 pounds all one needs is a regular class C license but if it is over 26,000 pounds a Class B or A is needed depending on the weight of the towed vehicle. Yes, different states, different laws but the driver license is reciprocal as long as the driver is legal in the driver license state of record. All rules and regulations pertaining to anything other than the class of license being reciprocal is determined state by state. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jleamont Report post Posted April 22, 2020 31 minutes ago, wayne77590 said: I agree with Richard except for the "class of license." Class C, B, and A all have different meaning in different states. In Texas, if the vehicle is below 26,000 pounds all one needs is a regular class C license but if it is over 26,000 pounds a Class B or A is needed depending on the weight of the towed vehicle. Yes, different states, different laws but the driver license is reciprocal as long as the driver is legal in the driver license state of record. All rules and regulations pertaining to anything other than the class of license being reciprocal is determined state by state. Correct, some states utilize different letters. Depending on the state class D is the same as a PA class C license. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rayin Report post Posted April 23, 2020 On 4/22/2020 at 12:11 AM, wayne77590 said: Roger, does this help Changing Gears Web Site Some of the DL license websites are broken-404 error, which to me mean it hasn't been updated in a long time. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wayne77590 Report post Posted April 24, 2020 Yes, but they are Govt. Websites so it would be easy to search on their main site for the information. Not to many DL's change. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kaypsmith Report post Posted April 24, 2020 On 4/23/2020 at 10:45 AM, RayIN said: Some of the DL license websites are broken-404 error, which to me mean it hasn't been updated in a long time. Nothing to do with state web site being updated. he HTTP 404, 404 Not Found, 404, Page Not Found, or Server Not Found error message is a Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) standard response code, in computer network communications, to indicate that the browser was able to communicate with a given server, but the server could not find what was requested. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wayne77590 Report post Posted April 25, 2020 I'll guarantee that several months ago the Changing Gears web site had good links to all of the sites listed on their page. Now, one of 3 things will happen. One, you get to the web site, 2, you will get a page not found error, or 3, you get to the state web site and that page will say "page not found," which indicates that the state has changed the location of their driver license information. You will notice on those pages that give you a 404 error that there is a hyperlink. If you notice for Alabama the hyperlink is http://dps.alabama.gov/DriverLicense, But that will get an error. Backing up to dps.alabama.gov also gives an error, but just alabama.gov will get you to the Alabama web site. From there you can search in their search box for Alabama driver license and be given some choices. Not as easy as just clicking on the link in Changing Gears, but it is not Changing Gears fault that the states have moved their information pages. It is very difficult for a web site to keep up with everyone else's problem links. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rayin Report post Posted April 26, 2020 Got it, thanks guys. That pdf website i linked does not have hot links to state websites, but it appears to be the same as changing gears, which BTW has an excellent towing calculator, Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
richard5933 Report post Posted April 26, 2020 I wouldn't be surprised if some of the state websites are down/problematic right now. With many offices closed, there are bound to be issues like this since there is not full staff to go re-boot systems or correct problems. Combine that with the number of state govt IT people who have likely been moved from their normal departments to help work on the unemployment systems to help keep them from crashing, and it's not surprising at all to see DMV pages not working. I've encountered this happening on not just govt sites, but on many business sites as well. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wayne77590 Report post Posted April 26, 2020 It's not just Govt. sites. All web sites can have errors like that. They start prettying up their web site and it just breaks links when they start moving stuff around. More prevalent on web sites that have a lot of items linked. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rayin Report post Posted April 26, 2020 FMCA forums was broken for a short time a few days ago; one of the IT folks fixed it quickly, because I went to get a glass of water, came back- it it was working. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wayne77590 Report post Posted April 26, 2020 I reached out to Changing Gears. Here is what I received back in reply: "Wayne, Thanks for letting me know about the broken links. I went through all 50 and updated them. I know there are more broken ones, including the email page, but I don't have time lately to update these. One of the days. Charlie" It is amazing what a simple contact email can accomplish now-a-days. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
