Purchase a Class A without a Class B license

[Wayne M]

Originally Posted by hydro45640

Christian51; Go to Google and type in Texas commercial driver license. Scroll down to the Texas CDL handbook. It will tell you that you do not need a class A license. You just need a valid regular license.

Absolutely not true. Go to Google and search for - Texas Driver's License Handbook - or instead, just read this:

http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/DriverL...ments/DL-7.pdf

[Christian51]

I have the hand book already and what I need is a class B non commercial if I am correct. Thanks guys, I'm clear, or at least the wife is clear on how we'll get her done.

[gemini5362]

I am curious if you have driven a newmar yet. I looked at their website and they are nice looking coaches. I had to laugh at all of the power everything. I am a bit of a geek and love gadgets. I will say that it is the only coach I have personally seen with power luggage slides and a power door to the engine compartment. I notice they are on a spartan chassis. There are a lot of people that love spartan and others that dont. I have driven both the spartan and the freightliner personally I liked the feel of the freightliner best but that was just my opinion and what suited me. I did not look at the floor plan I am leaving on a trip today so had to quit looking and start packing. I would personally agree with the other poster that said get your learners permit then have the salesman drive with you while you are driving it home. That will cover all bases on legality and you can get some valuable driving practice and tips. I looked at the comfort steer it appears to be adjustable power steering. I am not sure how much of an aid that would be since I have never had it. The coaches I have driven were not hard to drive at all so it was never a problem for me. You mentioned steerable tag axles not sure what they are and did not get that far into the newmar research. If i understand it correctly when you are driving slow and doing turns lie in a parking lot or campground the tag axles actually lift off the ground and do not distract from your turning ability.

I noticed you mentioned your wife driving there is an interesting post elsewhere on IRV2 about that subject.

Good luck in your future travels. The newmar is a nice unit from what i saw. I might drive down to miami one of these days and look at one. From What I have seen I did not think they were nice enough to justify the extra 400 or 500 thousand dollars above some of the other coaches out there but I have not seen one in person yet. I looked at coaches for ten years before buying so I had a pretty good idea about what I wanted. Then I bought used to not take the drop on resale value.

One other thing I do not know about newmar but I have seen on some of the other new coaches. With all the slides in some of the coaches have almost no room to walk down the center to get to the refrigerator or bathroom etc. You might want to have them bring the slides in and check that out while looking and I would surely test drive one or more before buying.

[Christian51]

Gemini, they build their own chassis and they are stronger and have more steel than a Prevost and they are build like an aircraft, with a metal roof. The Steerable Tag Axle actually turns the wheels so a 45 turns like a 37 footer. You are correct about their Easy Steer, it is like Newmar's comfort drive. You can find videos of the Newmar's with the steerable tag and comfort drive being used by little old ladies driving with one finger being amazed how easy it is. But it is not just a fancy power steering, it counteracts side winds, pavement issues, and assist is straight line driving when in tight lanes. Talk to those with it and they don't want to live without it again. Also, look at the capacities of these coaches, water, power, etc. I was ready to spend a couple hundred grand when I started studying RVs and over the last few months, I was pulled up to considering a cost I still shutter over when contemplating a used Newell. New is out of the question even with a 20% cash buyer discount.

[Christian51]

Also Gemini, they have a raising bed where it raises at the head board so to set up while watching TV or reading in bed and when the slide is in it makes room so you can walk around it to the back end. Those guys don't miss much. Automatic fire surpression in the engine and generator compartments. Didn't see that in any of the late model Prevost I looked at. And getting two years of factory backing on an 06 or 08 RV is surprising to say the least but it says something about how they feel about selling their used inventory. They told me that they will retrofit their computer drive system back to their 2006 models which works for me. The wife wants that and I want to save as much as possible on a used one. Besides Prevost, I would not touch a used one from any other manufacture. My luck I'd get another guys lemon.

[knight2011]

My insurance agent says it wouldn't effect coverage if I had an accident. I drove for years without a Class B. Many of the fellow RVers I spoke to say it is not a requirement but it is if your rig is over a certain weight (15,000LBS?) I did finally get my Class B, just a good idea since it is the law.

[TXiceman]

Rather than speculate and be concerned about what would/could happen if you did not have the right class license for your RV, why not go down to the DPS and start the procedure to get a B or an A Non-CDL. It is not that hard. Then there are no guessing games.

Ken

[HeavyH2O]

Every state is different. Most require no additional requirement for an RV. Some base it on weight (26,000 plus) or what you tow ( 10,000 plus points) with some defining length (45 feet).

[gemini5362]

[QUOTE=Christian51;1651852]Gemini, they build their own chassis and they are stronger and have more steel than a Prevost and they are build like an aircraft, with a metal roof.

From what I have read they are fantastic coaches. I might go look at one just to see what they look like but not going to be trading off my allegro bus in the near future. According to the website they use a spartan chassis. I know that tiffin builds there own chassis because I have been to the factories and saw them but that might be for smaller units because their web site shows the zephyr as a spartan also.

Used coaches to me are a good way to go. My 2005 only had 30,000 miles on it when i bought it the diesel is still wearing in with that mileage. Like you I did not have a clue what could be wrong with it as a used unit. I purchased the good sams complete warranty for three years. It was a bit pricey but has very good coverage. I have had several small things go wrong. The worst being a cracked high pressure fuel line the first trip I tried to take it on. But that was on the cummins engine same thing as in the coaches you are looking at and stuff happens. I got it replaced under warranty. I believe one of the bigger problems with used MH is stuff going wrong because they have been sitting. I had a jack that was slow coming back up had it replaced under the warranty. Had a leak in the shower plumbing once again warranty issue. My sattelite dish went out. I upgraded to a traveler and just paid the difference between it and my old dish replacement price. By the time the three years is up I should have all of the things that I might have inherited with the unit repaired. And I am hundreds of thousands of dollars below what a new one would cost.

[theroc]

Originally Posted by knight2011

My insurance agent says it wouldn't effect coverage if I had an accident. I drove for years without a Class B. Many of the fellow RVers I spoke to say it is not a requirement but it is if your rig is over a certain weight (15,000LBS?) I did finally get my Class B, just a good idea since it is the law.

I think you made the correct decision in getting your Class B, knight2011

However, I would dispute what your insurance agent contends as that is the same advice we originally received from our agent (this was for DW as I had a prior CDL). He said it "shouldn't" matter if she did or did not have her Class B whether we'd be covered if she was driving the rig.

However, when we consulted our attorneys, they did tell us that an insurance company when up against a multi-million dollar claim will search ways to find "loopholes" in order to deny the claim. They told us that one of the conditions of coverage generally is the existence of a valid driver's license and being properly licensed for the type of vehicle one is driving. Therefore, the insurance company could have a defense for not covering a claim or denying coverage under certain circumstances or conditions.

We tended to believe our lawyer rather than our insurance agent. To us, it made more sense what the lawyers were saying than what the insurance agent was claiming. Therefore, we arranged to get DW her non-commercial Class B so we wouldn't have to worry about it one way or the other.

It's not worth the risk to be financially wiped out should the stars line up to where a catastrophic event should happen where we might be liable or had some contributory negligence and where the insurance company would deny all coverage because we were not properly licensed. Who knows if that is right or not. We just didn't want to take the risk even though such an event is highly unlikely.

[Don and Barb]

In California you don't need a class B to drive an RV. But I would say to the people that are saying you can get away with it, that you can only get away with it if you don't get pulled over. I rode a motorcycle for years without a MC license until I got caught, then I had to pay a fine and get the MC license.

[Technobody]

Wow you folks in the U.S. certainly have a difficult time with your licensing. Here in Ontario I have a class BZ. The B license here allows me to drive any bus including school buses and any size truck without a trailer. The Z is the Air Brake endorsement which you must have for any vehicle which has air brakes. The B license is the second highest licence you can have with A for transport trucks being the highest. Once I retire fully I will drop my license to a CZ which still allows me to drive any bus but not a school bus and any vehicle which has Air brakes. The good part for us is that our license is reciprocal with all states.
They have also come up with a new license class for towing a 5th wheel called an AR. It's basically the same test that you get for an A license but you can't drive a commercial vehicle.

[Fkrel]

Here's a site that has all of the states requirement some states require if over a certain weight some require a non commercial A or B some states exempt RV's Here in Minnesota any licence will work RV's are exempt.

RV Driver's License Requirements

[MickBrennan]

Originally Posted by Technobody

Wow you folks in the U.S. certainly have a difficult time with your licensing. Here in Ontario I have a class BZ. The B license here allows me to drive any bus including school buses and any size truck without a trailer. The Z is the Air Brake endorsement which you must have for any vehicle which has air brakes. The B license is the second highest licence you can have with A for transport trucks being the highest. Once I retire fully I will drop my license to a CZ which still allows me to drive any bus but not a school bus and any vehicle which has Air brakes. The good part for us is that our license is reciprocal with all states.
They have also come up with a new license class for towing a 5th wheel called an AR. It's basically the same test that you get for an A license but you can't drive a commercial vehicle.

I don't see much difference except the nomenclature.
It is the way people understand the requirements that lead to most of the confusion.
CDL C indicates "Commercial"
There are very few commercial motorhomes.