Special Non Commercial Class A License for Pennsylvania

[07Ram5500]

My son and I are going thru this right now.
Last week my son and I we're driving our personal use ram 5500 red with red utility bed and our 14k tilt deck trailer.
We went to govplanet to pick up 13 space heaters. They we're at a great price and for our own use. I did get a bit over excited and bought 3 lots totaling 13 units. Site unseen, unknown condition and if working or not. We want them for our she'd. A tin box, 26x26x16 tall. Corrugated steel open 4 wall covered with a tarp and no insulation and plenty of air holes and leaks. These were way cheaper option than any waste oil heater.

Anyway, buy them, pick them up strap them down, they only weigh 200 pounds each. We leave and not 10 minutes later we are pulled over by state trooper before we even get on the turnpike.
He asked a lot of questions and gave ticket for class violation needing a class A license for trailer over 10,001 pounds and a ticket for trailer not inspected. $25 tickets but with fees were $142 each. Ouch.

He said he had to be in court in 15 minutes and had to leave and couldn't see if we drove and left or not. We waited and drove off and on to the turnpike.
Stopped for lunch and got back onto the turnpike.
15 minutes later got pulled over again by state trooper.

This time he was really pushing 'you are commercial'. We told him this is all personal, father and son, same address, I had receipt in my name and he kept insisting that we were commercial. 'why else would you buy 13 heaters'.
I believe he wanted to get us for not having a CDL license and when we told him we thought we needed a non commercial class A license which we had to show him on PA.gov.dmv site he dropped the issue.

He wanted to see our fire extinguisher which we told him was under the pile of stuff in the back seat and he said ok don't need to 'yard sale' the contents of the truck on the side of the turnpike.
Then he wanted to see our triangles. They we're in the utility bed. We had 2. He sited us for not having 3. Another ticket $25 with fees $142.

He also threatened us with a full DOT inspection and we told him we were not commercial and that it doesn't apply to personal non commercial.

He then told us we couldn't drive without a class A license and had to get someone to drive this all home. We could have unhitched and left the trailer but that is also illegal.

My son put it out there in his group and a friend with CDL drove out 2 hours and drove truck and trailer home. He really bailed us out.

Not we have to get our non commercial class A drivers license.

[07Ram5500]

2 years ago, We looked into the non-commercial class A drivers license before. Very confusing. Different answers who ever we called. We did find one dmv guy who knew and we got our 'learners permit', $5 and a form. Easy just long line at dmv. With this permit you have 1 year to take test. We let it expire.

So now we got another learner's permit. All test center near us were booked 4 months out. The DMV where I work in Lewistown had openings every Wednesday and Saturday.

Requirements for non commercial class A license is
-gross combined weight over 26,001
or
-towed vehicle/trailer over 10,001

You have to show up for test with your rig, all the papers, insurance and for us an inspected trailer over 10k AND a class A driver with license that must be shown to take our test.

We have to borrow a friend's inspected trailer and our truck. We can drive this combination as long as the class A licensed friend is in the front passenger seat.

Drive 3 hours to site and test. That will be in the next 2 weeks.
More to come.

[07Ram5500]

So what have I learned.
-not everyone at dmv knows about non commercial class A driver license
-state police don't even know
-there is a big push to catch all the 'hot shot' guys for class and commercial violations and we get bumped into that group

-trailer under 3000lbs does not require yearly inspections or trailer brakes. Over 3000 requires both yearly inspections and trailer brakes on every axle
If you tow any trailer you must carry a fire extinguisher and 3 reflective triangles or equivalent. These are easily available at Walmart. Class A,B,C extinguisher.
Even Uhaul doesn't know nor supply these items if you rent a trailer from them

You will get pulled over! It is happening to me and others.
Get your non commercial class A license, fire extinguisher and 3 triangles.
So far all this has cost me over $600 in tickets, fees, permit and 'renting' a class A driver. And. Still have to borrow my friends 12k trailer, 3 hour trip gas and tolls to test center, 'rent' a class A driver to go along, at least another $500.

Over $1,000 will get spent on getting this all done.

And don't think that you can 'down rate' your truck or trailer. Yes it will save you money for registration but if you are stopped, they will go by the highest of either the manufacturer plate or your registration. Check your label on the door. And if you are over weight, yes it is $900/pound for fine over your weight.

Good luck everyone.
I will let you know how the actual non commercial class A driver test goes.

[basspal]

What testing location are you going to? I voted my non commercial class A last week in Harrisburg.

[07Ram5500]

Lewistown.

What did they make you do for your driving test?

[WorldCat25]

Goodness, Maryland makes it seem easy.

Tow vehicle over 26,000# and trailer less than 10,000# - Class B non CDL or CDL
Tow vehicle over or under 26,000# and trailer over 10,000# - Class A non CDL or CDL

[basspal]

O7Ram, This a little long but it is the notes I made for my wife who will be taking the test soon. Some is specific to our rig and testing location but most is generic.
These are the notes for the driving test for Class A. Once all your paperwork is checked the driving tester will ask you to go to the front of truck and talk about your procedure 4 checking the truck out. You will not have to open the hood the main thing that you should talk about here is that you look underneath the vehicle to make sure that there's no oil marks or water marks on the ground that would indicate that there might be a problem with the vehicle. Also that you do a visual inspection that there's nothing loose on the truck and that everything is in seems to be in working order. You'll go to the side of the truck and it'll ask you to talk about your procedure on the side of the truck the main thing that you're going to be looking for is that your tire pressures are correct.(I did not have but I would suggest having a tire gauge in your back pocket. State that your normal procedure would be to check tire pressure with a tire gauge that you have in the truck and that they are at the correct PSI. As you move move towards the back of the truck you will be looking behind the tires around the the rear end to make sure again that there's no fluids on the ground that there's nothing that looks like it's broken or any loose bolts screws and things look like they're in good working order. From there you moved to the tailgate of the truck and you're going to be looking at the connection of the fifth wheel to the truck. The things to take note of here as at the silver bar on the hitch is a cross indicating that the hitches in the lock position.(your hitch will be different, just indicate how you verify it is secure) Also to notice that that the the pin is through the handle that actuates the the lock open and closed and that that pin is in the lock position indicating that it is safe. Also note that the emergency brake cable is attached to the fixed location in the back of the truck. The next thing that you notice as you're doing your visit inspection is that the 7-way plug for the lights in the brakes is firmly attached to the receptacle and that it is in the lock position the cap has a lot to plug into place. That concludes the things in the truck on the driver side all the way to the hitch.
Moving to the trailer the things to take note of is that the baggage doors are secured in locked. Also note that the tires are the correct pressure with a tire gauge looking behind the tires to make sure that there is no fluid leak that there's no broken bolts that there is no loose bolts and that everything looks and proper working or her. As you walk around the back of the trailer the lights will looked at a different time in the test. As you move to the passenger side all you simply have to say is that you would do the same exact things on the passenger side that you did on the driver side. At this point you will get in the truck the driving tester will be in front of the truck and asked you to turn on your high-beam and low-beam lights. This will need to be done in the on position for the lights. Then the tester will move to the back of the vehicle and he will have you put on your flashers he will have you make sure that your running lights are working and he will test your left and right turn signal indicators. If all these things are working properly he will get in the truck and begin the testing. He will ask you to crank the truck and he will ask you what you see on the gauges what what you would do first and then our truck it's pretty much automatic so the only things that are showing our fuel and tachometer if there was anything wrong with the truck they would be a warning light so you're looking for a warning lights that would indicate that there might be some problem with the truck if no one in lights than the assumption is that things are functioning properly. He will ask you about your brakes you need to know that they are electric over hydraulic (in our case) and that you do not have to do anything inside the cab of the truck to actuate the brakes just to step on the gas pedal that once you plug the 7-way plug into the back of the truck the brakes are ready to be used. You could briefly explain that electric over hydraulic means that when you step on the brake pedal and electrical signal goes back to the trailer when there's an actuator that pushes hydraulic to the brakes and that the brakes are disc brakes and the the hydraulic fluid presses the hydraulic brake pad against the rotor stopping the vehicle. At this point I mentioned before that I leave I will make sure that all my passengers are safe and seat belted in I will check my mirrors to make sure that they're in the proper position and I'm ready to proceed. At this point he will tell you to proceed through the parking lot and to go to the stop sign he wants you to stay left of the cone and as you come up to that stop sign come to a complete stop and you will make a right hand turn making sure to not hit any curbs. if you hit any curb it's an automatic fail on the test. From there he will have you go out through the light and then go one more light and take a left. This is narrow if you wait long enough just make sure that there is no oncoming traffic and it should get plenty of room. You will take your first right onto the Interstate on ramp and immediately you will have to make two lane changes. You will stay in this lane until you exit off Penn hard drive. On the exit ramp he the instructor will have you simulate an emergency blown tire. Exit to the shoulder of the road and immediately turn on your flashers. He will ask you what your procedure would be if this had been an actual blow out. You stay that after inspecting the vehicle and seeing that it could not be moved safely you would put your reflective triangles at a distance of 10 ft by 100 ft and 200 ft. Since this road is a divided highway you would not put any triangles in front of the vehicle. You can stay if this was not a divided highway you would put your triangles at rear 10 ft 100 ft and one triangle in the front at 100 ft. The only other thing that is really kind of difficult is when you're getting back on 83 you will make a right-hand Lane turn near the Mexican restaurant and he will ask you to look at signage above to tell you what the problem is what you should be looking for is the sign that says no trucks in the left-hand Lane. What the inspector will want to see is you making a left hand turn from the right lane not the left lane if you get into the left lane it will be a failure on the test. From here it will just be interstate highway back to the exit at exit 13 he will tell you and plenty of time when to make your lane change making sure at all times to use both your mirrors and using your turn signal indicators throughout the test make wide turns make use of the road even if you have to cross the line that is not a problem he will state this at the beginning of the test that you can position your vehicle anyway even if you have to block other vehicles as long as you do not hit curbs.

[07Ram5500]

Originally Posted by WorldCat25

Goodness, Maryland makes it seem easy.

Tow vehicle over 26,000# and trailer less than 10,000# - Class B non CDL or CDL
Tow vehicle over or under 26,000# and trailer over 10,000# - Class A non CDL or CDL

PA is the same.

Vehicle over 26,001# - Class B non commercial or CDL

Gross Combined over 26,001# (vehicle+trailer)
or
Trailer over 10,001# - Class A non commercial or CDL

[07Ram5500]

Basspal, thanks! That is exactly what I was looking for.

This is really a tutorial for how to get a non commercial Class A drivers license in PA.

My son is taking his test at the end of the month, I have to work and will test next month.

Share.

[thomasd923]

Just took my test a few hours ago at the Allentown Test Center.
Jason introduced himself and stated he never performed the test. Needed another examiner to assist him. After awhile Dave came out, introduced himself and advised me of what's to come. 1-walk around and explain to him what I'm checking externally, tires, brakes, leaks..etc. 2-check all light functions, horn wipers, gauge operation. 3-performed air brake function test. 4-back up 100 feet in a straight line. 4-road test(don't forget the underpass height!). Head inside and get the updated license. Both Jason and Dave were very professional and polite. Now I'm legal!!

[07Ram5500]

Thanks, I will pass this on to my son.
He is at Lewistown today for his test. In truck Ram 5500 and 14k trailer.


For him, Gross Combined over 26,001 and trailer over 10,001 pounds.
Double reason to need NC Class A DL.


Were you in a MH or truck and trailer for your test?
Do you have air brakes?

[07Ram5500]

He Passed!!


I will get all the details and post them later.


He did say that there was a fair amount involved in the road test. He was surprised. But they are lenient for the non-commercial class A.


Only thing is you need a check or money order for $30 for the new drivers license.
We didn't know there was this new DL fee.
He only had cash and had to go to the local convenience store to get a money order.

[thomasd923]

Motorhome with air brakes. I was speaking to an employee and she stated that since there is no real process for class b non cdl a lot is left up to the discretion of the person administering the test...that's not good!

[Superburban]

Thats a pretty dumb thing for the examiner to say, Pa has it all in writing.



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