California Non Commercial Class A Driving Test Skills?

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TheBigMo

TheBigMo

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Jan 7, 2019
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I have passed the California Non commercial Class A written exam and now need to do the driving portion of this most painful and exhausting process.

Does anybody know what sort of driving, pre-trip inspection etc. / skills I have to demonstrate? Do I have to back up, park in a 90 degree spot, if so what are the dimensions? Anything that will help me be prepared so as to pass the exam the first time?

Thank you,

TheBigMo
 
California... dang, I can not believe I missed that! Good question!!!  ;D
 
I had to do the practical driving test for my Class B non-comm and the only backing exercise I had to do was to back my RV between two cones (about 12 feet apart) and stop before crossing a threshold that was marked by a line. They would not allow the rear facing camera to be used. It had to be done with mirrors alone. No biggee. The rest was just driving on freeways and residential streets - basic stuff... you know... ramming others off the road, using the middle finger while serving between lanes... normal California driving stuff.

Kev
 
Kevin Means said:
The rest was just driving on freeways and residential streets - basic stuff... you know... ramming others off the road, using the middle finger while serving between lanes... normal California driving stuff.
Kev
Click to expand...

California has always been a progressive state ;D ??? :p :))
 
Mirrors only backing ! 

Wow....that may make it a lot harder for many motorhome people,  that's CDL stuff there.  but I completely understand it.

I am spoiled rotten with my cars backup camera and alarms....I hated having to use mirrors only in a rental car. 
 
Nonsense. Using mirrors is a basic skill that should be mastered before hitting the road in any large vehicle.

Unfortunately, it's not a universal requirement for people to be tested on this stuff.
 
Once you learn to actually USE your mirrors properly, mirror only backing, turning in reverse, whatever, won't be difficult that way. Except for the last foot or two I rarely check the camera view when backing, and that last bit just saves me getting out to double check my clearance. Knowing how to use those mirrors properly is a skill that can stand you in good stead, whether backing a bus/motorhome, a 5th wheel trailer, or a "bumper hitch" trailer, and will also give you more confidence when passing (rare as that is for some of us) or otherwise needing to judge how close something is behind you, even on the open road.

As a further note, it's not a difficult skill to learn, if you'll practice just a bit.
 
oh,  I agree about using your mirrors. 

I got my CDL-A in 1974 and have been driving large trucks ever since......

but my car has a back-up camera, proximity alerts, and lane change alerts...  sadly,  I'm so spoiled now I will never own another car without them.    :)
 
So you do these driving test with your trailer/5th wheel attached correct? What if you are wanting to pull doubles, like a boat behind the 5'er?

skeeter
 
Yes ,  I had to re-test in 1992 for a Federal DOT license and do the full 5th wheel dock parking skills test....but, that was the easy part compared to the CDL Pre-trip/Air-brake test.

over the years I have taken many young company CDL permit drivers down to the test station about 90% of them failed the Calif. DMV/DOT CDL commercial vehicle DOT Pre-trip inspection test....on the first try.

As for driving doubles.. if you pass a Doubles endorsement written test, which is actually called a triples endorsement.  There is no Skills test for doubles or triples...  then, you can legally pull a boat behind the 5th wheel...as long as the total combined length is less than 65 foot. 

As far as the Skills test required for 5th wheel owner to get a Non-com CDL-A license.. with a triples endorsement.  all I can say is DMV is so confused and overwhelmed by all these new laws they have no clue about a RV Skills test.



   

 
Wow, was not aware that California did testing for non-commercial medium/heavy truck classes. Here in Washington, if you can drive a Prius, they'll let you drive a diesel Class A coach with air brakes as long as it's not for commercial purposes.

For California, I have a hard time believing they don't point out exactly what you need to know for Pre-Trip in a handbook at the DMV or on their website...If it's anything like a commercial Pre-Trip...you'll need time to memorize and practice what you're looking at. And really no reason why a pre-trip on your personal coach should be any different.

I got my Class A CDL under the "new" state requirements in WA which required so many hours of instruction and practice, and it was certainly no joke. Pre-trip, you needed to be able to point to every component on the chassis and trailer and know what to look for. It was about a 15-minute "show-and-tell" -type speech in front of the instructor, once you got it down.
 
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