Class B license in Texas

[ShadowBolt]

At Hallett Motor Racing Circuit this last weekend racing and one of my friends tells us about what happened on his trip North. He got stopped because the Texas DPS officer thought he was too long (I think he said 65 feet is as long as you can be) but he was not. Cop ask for his license and he gave it to him. Wrote him a ticket that is supposed to be $200.00 for not having a class B license. I read that in Texas if your RV has a GVWR of more than 26,000 lbs. and you pull a trailer of less than 10,000 lbs. you MUST have a class B license. Guess I better go find out what the deal is. I understand you have to do a written test one day then driving the next.


JJ

[mel s]

Originally Posted by ShadowBolt

Guess I better go find out what the deal is. I understand you have to do a written test one day then driving the next.
JJ

Good, on second thought ....GREAT IDEA!

[adonh]

Originally Posted by ShadowBolt

At Hallett Motor Racing Circuit this last weekend racing and one of my friends tells us about what happened on his trip North. He got stopped because the Texas DPS officer thought he was too long (I think he said 65 feet is as long as you can be) but he was not. Cop ask for his license and he gave it to him. Wrote him a ticket that is supposed to be $200.00 for not having a class B license. I read that in Texas if your RV has a GVWR of more than 26,000 lbs. and you pull a trailer of less than 10,000 lbs. you MUST have a class B license. Guess I better go find out what the deal is. I understand you have to do a written test one day then driving the next.


JJ

Here is what I found:

Types of Vehicles

• Commercial vehicles weighing 26,001 pounds are commonly known as mid-sized vehicles. Examples include mid-sized freight liners, single person bucket trucks, mid-sized haulers and some dump trucks. A Class B license also allows you to drive passenger sized buses. In addition, vehicles weighing 26,001 lbs. towing cargo weighing 10,000 lbs. or less are also subject Class B requirements. Your standard two-horse trailers, slide in campers and even quad cab pick up trucks all meet the 10,000 lbs. weight limit.
  
  

Requirements

• To obtain a Texas Class B drivers license you must be at least 21 years old (18 years old if all of your driving is within the state boundaries). You'll also need to pass a skills test that includes a controls skills test, an on-road driving test and a vehicle inspection test.
  
  

Exemptions

• Active military personnel, firefighters, farmers driving certain types of tractors and individuals driving motor homes or moving trucks for non-business related reasons are all exempt from needing a Class B drivers license.
  
  

[RustyJC]

You don't need a Commercial class b driver license in Texas for a private motorhome (ref. Texas Transportation Code, Section 522). However, for a GVWR of 26,001 lbs or greater towing 10,000 lbs or less, a NON-Commercial class b driver license IS required (ref. Texas Transportation Code, Section 521).

Rusty

[RickO]

Yep, what Rusty said. The other reference above I believe is in reference to Commercial license requirements... and motor homes do not require a commercial license when used for private purposes in Texas.

But you DO need a non-commercial Class A/B if you're >26000#.

Having said that... this is the first time I can ever remember someone posting that they had gotten cited in Texas for not having one. I had the perception that even a lot of Texas LEO's didn't understand the requirements.

Rick

[TXiceman]

The B exempt is for if you have a GCWR of 26001# or more and towing a trailer less than 10,000#. The A exempt is a GCWR of 26001# or more and towing a trailer weight of over 10,000#.

For our truck and trailer the wife and I have class a exempt license. The truck is a rated GCWR of 30,000# and the trailer GVWr is 16,050#.

Any yes, I have heard of several locations where the DPS is ticketing motorhome and RVers. Up near Livingston and south Texas.

Ken

[DSL417]

Original OP posted also checking length. Is that common or just an excuse for checking something else because he had a Texas tag?

[TXiceman]

DPS can pull you over for any number of reasons. You need to have current license, inspection sticker(s) and proper drivers license. If you have a long rig and then towing something behind it, you are subject to being stopped and having the tape put on it.

Ken

[Tim McK]

Ditto what Rusty posted re requirements for class B license. When my wife and I took our test four years ago we called DPS several times trying to clarify what was required, and never got the same answer twice. The DPS staff do not deal with RVers very often and for the most part are clueless. If you get your license think about where you want to do the driving test. We took our written test in Houston and had to take our driving test in Houston traffic. After passing the written test I learned that the driving test was allegedly less complicated in Livingston. I tried to change the driving test there but wasn't allowed to. The Livingston driving examiner said we had to take the driving test where we passed the written test. Our experience with the whole process is best told over cocktails - in retrospect it is hilarious but at the time it was a three ring circus.

[TXiceman]

Tim, we took the written test in Houston for the class A exempt. It took 3 trips to a Houston DPS test center and several phone calls to Austin to get the right test. The ninnies in Houston insisted that we take the full CDL test. We finally talked to an officer in the commercial division in Austin and gave us a direct line in to them to give to the Houston office if they had any questions.

When we went in, again they started the CDL business and told them to call this number in Austin. Two or three of them took the number to the back and came back and said that we could take only a small portion of the written test.

We passed and I signed up about a month out for the driving portion. As I thought about it, I did not want to be trying to get the right test again and heard that the Livingston office new about the Class A and Class B exempt licenses. we cancelled the Houston test and signed up in Livingston. No problems with changing as long as we stayed inside the window that the test date was good to.

Since then, we have heard that there are a few other small offices that can get it done for you.

Ken

[H. Miller]

ShadowBolt,
Living in G'town you want to go to the DPS office in Marble Falls. They understand about class B licenses...The examiner is not a "gun toter" but a civilian. Drive over in a 4 wheeler and get the study material. Return in the 4 wheeler to take the written (no appointment necessary). They grade the test and if passed, (it's easy with a little study) you schedule the driving test.
My worry was getting a "B" licensed individual to accompany me in the MH while driving to the test. When asked, the civilian "tester" said he never asks how you got there. His only complaint for the entire 12-13 minute driving test was "hands at 10 and 2 o'clock".
Office is on the east side of 281 about a mile south of the river bridge.

[mel s]

Originally Posted by adonh

:

Types of Vehicles

• Commercial vehicles weighing 26,001 pounds are commonly known as mid-sized vehicles. Examples include mid-sized freight liners, single person bucket trucks, mid-sized haulers and some dump trucks. A Class B license also allows you to drive passenger sized buses. In addition, vehicles weighing 26,001 lbs. towing cargo weighing 10,000 lbs. or less are also subject Class B requirements. Your standard two-horse trailers, slide in campers and even quad cab pick up trucks all meet the 10,000 lbs. weight limit.

Requirements

• To obtain a Texas Class B drivers license you must be at least 21 years old (18 years old if all of your driving is within the state boundaries). You'll also need to pass a skills test that includes a controls skills test, an on-road driving test and a vehicle inspection test.

Exemptions

• Active military personnel, firefighters, farmers driving certain types of tractors and individuals driving motor homes or moving trucks for non-business related reasons are all exempt from needing a Class B drivers license.

I read that to mean, " individuals driving motor homes for non-business related reasons are all exempt from needing a Class B drivers license". .... but I might be wrong since I'm not a lawyer........
(I doubt that even the employees of the motor vehicle department can agree on the exact meaning).

Laws are written by LAWYERS for the BENEFIT of other lawyers....(if laws where written so there was no doubt of their meaning, most lawyers would be out of business).

BTW, thus far there have been different 11-12 replies to the OP ......AND 4 or 5 different interpretations of different sections of that Texas statute.

[RustyJC]

Remember, you're quoting from the CDL handbook. It's saying that the driver of a private motorhome doesn't need a Class B CDL. It's paraphrasing Chapter 522 of the Texas Transportation Code which deals with CDLs. Standard (non-CDL) licenses are covered in Chapter 521 of the Texas Transportation Code. Here's what it says (emphasis mine):

Sec. 521.081. CLASS A LICENSE. A Class A driver's license authorizes the holder of the license to operate:
(1) a vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating of 26,001 pounds or more; or
(2) a combination of vehicles that has a gross combination weight rating of 26,001 pounds or more, if the gross vehicle weight rating of any vehicle or vehicles in tow is more than 10,000 pounds.
Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.

Sec. 521.082. CLASS B LICENSE. (a) A Class B driver's license authorizes the holder of the license to operate:
(1) a vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating that is more than 26,000 pounds;
(2) a vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating of 26,000 pounds or more towing:
(A) a vehicle, other than a farm trailer, with a gross vehicle weight rating that is not more than 10,000 pounds; or
(B) a farm trailer with a gross vehicle weight rating that is not more than 20,000 pounds; and
(3) a bus with a seating capacity of 24 passengers or more.
(b) For the purposes of Subsection (a)(3), seating capacity is computed in accordance with Section 502.162, except that the operator's seat is included in the computation.
Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.

Sec. 521.083. CLASS C LICENSE. A Class C driver's license authorizes the holder of the license to operate:
(1) a vehicle or combination of vehicles not described by Section 521.081 or 521.082; and
(2) a vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating of less than 26,001 pounds towing a farm trailer with a gross vehicle weight rating that is not more than 20,000 pounds.
Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.

Rusty

[Tim McK]

It's confusing and that's why even many DPS staffers don't know the law. From what I see, there are two sections that pertain to our situation. The first section describes the class of license needed to operate various size vehicles, and the second section relates to the requirement for a CDL. The first section, Texas Transportation Code Section 521.082(a)(2)(A) tells me that for my motor home and tow, I need a class B license. The second section, TTC Section 522.004(a)(4) tells me that I am exempt from the need for a CDL since I drive a recreation vehicle. The way I interpret this it doesn't exempt me from the requirement for a NON-CDL class B license. By the way, the tests both written and driving, were very different for the NON-CDL class B license vs. the CDL version.

When we moved from Florida (where at the time and maybe still, we didn't need a different class license for the RV) to Texas, we researched this. I know some folks who don't worry about this requirement, and will only deal with it if they ever get a ticket. However, I was concerned about the what ifs - what if I'm in an accident and I don't have the correct license? Is there an automatic assumption of negligence as a result? Could my insurance company decline coverage? I don't know, and frankly doubt these worst case scenarios would ever happen. But I do know for a fact that I now don't worry about these issues since I have done what I think I need to do to be "legal."

Keep in mind that I'm not an attorney, so don't take this as gospel, especially my what if scenarios. But I do know that when I finally got to a DPS person that knew the law they understood what we were trying to do and we finally got the NON-CDL class B.

As to an earlier posters comments, the DPS sergeant told me that he wouldn't question how we got our >26,000 lb. RV to the DPS testing station. But if we flunked the driving test, then we would have trouble with him when it came time to leave after the test.