Rjroxie Report post Posted September 28, 2013 I know this has been discussed to the point that you are all probable tired of it coming up anymore, but I did not find any info about the state that I live in, which is Alabama, of course. I am going to copy and paste what I have found as far as the license classes and the one exemption that I found. I know that our 2001 Monaco Diplomat has a GVWR of 30,000lbs so it will be over the 26,001 lbs but I can't find any information on Alabama having what all of you are talking about which is a "non commercial class B" My question is do you think that the exclusion that, I marked in red, makes it legal for me to drive our coach with a regular class C license? Thank you for your time. Driver Licenses - Classes, Endorsements, and Restrictions Classes: Class A —Any combination of vehicles with a gross combination weight rating (GCWR) of 11,794 kilograms or more (26,001 pounds or more) provided the GVWR of the vehicle(s) being towed is in excess of 4,536 kilograms (10,000 pounds). Class B —Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 11,794 kilograms or more (26,001 pounds or more), or any such vehicle towing a vehicle not in excess of 4,536 kilograms (10,000 pounds) GVWR. Class C —Any single vehicle, or combination of vehicles, that meets neither the definition of Group A nor that of Group B as contained in this section, but that either is designed to transport 16 or more passengers including the driver, or is used in the transportation of materials found to be hazardous for the purposes of the Hazardous Materials Transportation Act and which require the motor vehicle to be placarded under the Hazardous Materials Regulations (49 CFR part 172, subpart F). Class D – Private passenger, regular operator. Class M – Motorcycle Class V – Water Vessel Endorsements: T – Double/triple trailers P – Passenger vehicles N – Tank vehicles H – Haz- Mat X – Haz-Mat and Tank S - School Buses Restrictions: A – Corrective Lenses B – Motor Driven Cycle D – Outside Mirror - Left E – Daylight Driver only F – Hand Controls G – Automatic Transmission H – Outside Mirror – Right I – Outside Mirror – Right and Left J – Hearing Impaired K – Commercial Vehicles without Air Brakes L – Power Steering M – Power Brakes N – Built up Pedals O – Built up Seat P – Left Foot Accelerator R – Mechanical Signals V – CDL Medical Variance W – Intrastate Commerce Only Y – Learner’s License Section 32-6-49.7 - Commercial driver license required; exceptions. (a) Except when driving with a commercial driver license learner's permit and accompanied by the holder of a commercial driver license valid for the vehicle being driven, no person may drive a commercial motor vehicle on the highways of this state unless the person holds, and is in immediate possession of, a commercial driver license with applicable endorsements valid for the vehicle he or she is driving. Active duty military or National Guard personnel operating government vehicles, farmers operating certain commercial motor vehicles, firefighters and operators of emergency equipment exempt from licensing provisions of the CMVSA are exempt from this article as detailed in FHWA's "Notice of Final Disposition" published in the Federal Register, September 26, 1988, 53 FR 37313, and as hereafter updated. Commercial driver license requirements do not apply to drivers of vehicles used for personal use such as recreational vehicles which would otherwise meet the definition of a commercial motor vehicle. ( No person may drive a commercial motor vehicle on the highways of this state while his or her driving privilege is suspended, revoked, or cancelled, while subject to a disqualification, or in violation of an out of service order. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kingfr Report post Posted September 28, 2013 Alabama has no requirement for anything other than a class D license to operate RV's over 26,001 LBS! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sailwing Report post Posted October 2, 2013 Rjroxie, You say you are driving a Class A or B weighted coach, depending on what you might be towing. Looks like your state has the non commercial license and also the CDL license. The items in red just show you don't need a commercial license to drive your coach, just the correct Class A or B. The CDL licenses are more expensive to get and keep, and don't allow you to get a ticket dismissed in the event of an accident or rules violation. Many older and now retired CDL license holders drop their rating to non CDLs to still be legal to drive the weighted coaches, or trucks with 5th wheels. The questions to ask. Are you a Commercial operator, or just driving for fun? Then ask, how much does your vehicle weight? A look at what you posted, shows that the weight of what you are driving says you need more than a car Class D license. What you are towing, either less or more than the 10,000 pounds would determine Class A, or Class B. A pickup towing a 5th wheel requires the non CDL Class A if the 5th wheel is over 10,000 pounds. Here in TX driving a motorhome for fun is a non Commercial activity, unless it is for work. For example employees of RV sales lots need a CDL license to drive a coach that I as an owner would not need. I have taken the small amount of time and effort to get both a motorcycle license to ride, and a non CDL Class B to drive our over 26,001 pound coach. With those upgrades I would be legally licensed in the event of an accident, or a traffic stop. You should maybe check further about the requirements as written, and consider the risks of driving with only a Class C or D license. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kingfr Report post Posted October 2, 2013 Texas requires a class B non CDL to drive a coach over 26K, Alabama does not! I drove motorhomes with an Alabama DL for years before I "moved" to Texas last year. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rjroxie Report post Posted October 6, 2013 Rjroxie, You say you are driving a Class A or B weighted coach, depending on what you might be towing. Looks like your state has the non commercial license and also the CDL license. The items in red just show you don't need a commercial license to drive your coach, just the correct Class A or B. The CDL licenses are more expensive to get and keep, and don't allow you to get a ticket dismissed in the event of an accident or rules violation. Many older and now retired CDL license holders drop their rating to non CDLs to still be legal to drive the weighted coaches, or trucks with 5th wheels. The questions to ask. Are you a Commercial operator, or just driving for fun? Then ask, how much does your vehicle weight? A look at what you posted, shows that the weight of what you are driving says you need more than a car Class D license. What you are towing, either less or more than the 10,000 pounds would determine Class A, or Class B. A pickup towing a 5th wheel requires the non CDL Class A if the 5th wheel is over 10,000 pounds. Here in TX driving a motorhome for fun is a non Commercial activity, unless it is for work. For example employees of RV sales lots need a CDL license to drive a coach that I as an owner would not need. I have taken the small amount of time and effort to get both a motorcycle license to ride, and a non CDL Class B to drive our over 26,001 pound coach. With those upgrades I would be legally licensed in the event of an accident, or a traffic stop. You should maybe check further about the requirements as written, and consider the risks of driving with only a Class C or D license. After reading this post again, I realized that I made a mistake in the type of license that I have, I have a Class D license. You say that Alabama has a non commercial license but I can't find any information on them. They say that the class A,B, and C are strickly commercial? I don't think that we would ever pull anything that has a weight of more than 10,000 lbs as that is the max capacity of our hitch. Thank you Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sailwing Report post Posted October 6, 2013 Guess I sort of read, "Any combination of vehicles with a gross combination weight" as something like your 30,000# RV, seems to set the class of license requirement. Maybe all RV's simply fall into the "private passenger" class. When I was first looking at what I needed to do, I found a list that showed state by state regs. Lots of different answers, and many states, such as TX do plainly list having both a non CDL, and CDL regs., by weight of what is driven and towed. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rjroxie Report post Posted October 7, 2013 Guess I sort of read, "Any combination of vehicles with a gross combination weight" as something like your 30,000# RV, seems to set the class of license requirement. Maybe all RV's simply fall into the "private passenger" class. When I was first looking at what I needed to do, I found a list that showed state by state regs. Lots of different answers, and many states, such as TX do plainly list having both a non CDL, and CDL regs., by weight of what is driven and towed. And I thought exactly what you were saying that is why I started looking for a non-cdl license in Alabama, and have been unsuccessful in finding one. Then we ran across that exemption and was wondering, like you, if all RV's fall under the exemption regardless of the weight? If anyone know of anything that I am missing then I wish you could help point me in the right direction. Regardless of what is required, because of all of the reading and help that I have received from this site, I will get a cdl book and study and learn more about the air brakes. Thank you all again Donald Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kaypsmith Report post Posted October 22, 2013 Alabama does not require a CDL to operate an RV, be it a motorhome or pull behind, unless the rig pulling the pull behind must be driven by a CDL driver. I.E. you could be pulling your trailer with a big rig (18) wheeler type tractor. Here is a link to the Alabama web site that might be helpful. http://revenue.alabama.gov/motorvehicle/registration_faq.cfm Good luck with your motorhome, Kay Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rjroxie Report post Posted October 23, 2013 Alabama does not require a CDL to operate an RV, be it a motorhome or pull behind, unless the rig pulling the pull behind must be driven by a CDL driver. I.E. you could be pulling your trailer with a big rig (18) wheeler type tractor. Here is a link to the Alabama web site that might be helpful. http://revenue.alabama.gov/motorvehicle/registration_faq.cfm Good luck with your motorhome, Kay Thank you Kay, I am trying to make sure that we are doing everything legal, not so much for here in Alabama, it doesn't seem they care too much about RV's but we are planning some out of state trips and I want to make sure we don't find out we made a mistake when we are already thousands of miles from home. Thank you for your input. Donald Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kingfr Report post Posted October 23, 2013 Thank you Kay, I am trying to make sure that we are doing everything legal, not so much for here in Alabama, it doesn't seem they care too much about RV's but we are planning some out of state trips and I want to make sure we don't find out we made a mistake when we are already thousands of miles from home. Thank you for your input. Donald Every state in the US honors the requirements of the state that your license was issued in. They do not make out of state drivers meet their licensing requirements. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rjroxie Report post Posted October 23, 2013 Every state in the US honors the requirements of the state that your license was issued in. They do not make out of state drivers meet their licensing requirements. Thank you all for your comments, that is what I was trying to do, at least make sure that I am legal in Alabama, and it seems that I am. Thank you all again for your valuable feedback. Donald Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
