New York State license R endorsement

Who has a R endorsement on their NYS Class D drivers license?
We bought a Motorhome in California and re-registered it in our home state of NY.
I was later told by a retired law enforcement officer that I needed a R endorsement on my drivers license because the new motorhome was over 26000 lbs and has air brakes. No one at DMV even mentioned this when we registered it. He said don?t worry all you would get is a ticket for driving out of class. Any comments?
Will the ticketing officer allow me to keep driving the vehicle, we are full timers?
Does. The Insurance company care about the R endorsement?
Will this matter when we leave the state for 6 months.
I?ve driven all size fire equipment for 45 years without a CDL license so it never occurred to me I might need a different license for this motorhome.

Technically you need to have it to be legal in NY, an all the other states will accept your NY license as long as it is legal in NY.  A NY LEO might notice the lack of the R, but odds are slim another state LEO would even know to ask about it.  A LEO in a poor mood might make you leave the rig "in a safe place" and get a legal driver.  Whether that would actually happen is anybody's guess. I've seen reports where it happened, but whether it was done in retaliation for something the driver did or "just because" is again a matter of conjecture. Make your own call.

Does your insurer care? Not really. You and the vehicle are insured even if you don't have a license, so no worries there. However, if they knew, they might decline to renew your policy until you [or one of the designated drivers] were properly licensed.

The DMV doesn't care [officially] when you register because you don't have to have a driver license at all to own (title) and register.  You just need a properly licensed chauffeur to drive it.    A helpful clerk might have at least mentioned it, though.

Re your fire truck driving experience, most states enact special rules for fire equipment drivers and often require special training, but do not always require the states CDL class of license.  You would have to research NY laws back at that time to determine if you were legal or not.  I see references to changes in the NY licensing law in the last decade that may have changed things since you were involved.

You're full timers! Why not register your RV and get your driver license in a full timer friendly state?

Gary RV_Wizard said:

Re your fire truck driving experience, most states enact special rules for fire equipment drivers and often require special training, but do not always require the states CDL class of license.  You would have to research NY laws back at that time to determine if you were legal or not.  I see references to changes in the NY licensing law in the last decade that may have changed things since you were involved.

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My father was a professional firefighter for the city of Rome, NY for 20+ years, retiring in the mid-80's. I know for sure he only had a standard-issue class D license and actually remember him telling me that a license was not even required to drive the trucks.

The requirements for an 'R' endorsement in NY are really pretty simple. Fill out the application, pay a testing fee (was $10, not sure now), schedule the 15 minute driving test in the RV of choice, pay the fee for the modified license. You do need an appropriately licensed driver with you at test time. The test itself is just the usual turns, stops, and parallel park stuff, about the same as your first drivers license test. There is no written test.

My father was a professional firefighter for the city of Rome, NY for 20+ years, retiring in the mid-80's

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Forgive my off topic post....
joezeppy:  Coincidence: both my wife and I were born and raised in Rome NY and still have family there. Several years ago an old neighbor and high school pal, Brian Short, retired as a fire captain there. 

I know the name, Gary. I'm sure I met him as a kid and dad has mentioned his name many times over the years. Dad is Geno Gizzi if you happen to talk to Brian.

The OP asked if anyone had the NY 'R' endorsement, and I failed to mention that I do have it despite our current coach not requiring one. I've also never taken the test or even applied for the endorsement. When I was dropping my fully endorsed Class A CDL, the NY DMV replaced it with a standard Class D license with an 'R' endorsement on request. I did submit the additional documentation and fee needed to upgrade it to an enhanced drivers license, but that's unrelated to RV use of course...

NY_Dutch said:

"The test itself is just the usual turns, stops, and parallel park stuff, about the same as your first drivers license test. There is no written test."

Do they actually make you parallel park a 40 foot motorhome?

I?m in NY and looking at Super C so I?ve been researching this topic a bit. 
Yes, they can ask you to parallel park.  Some ask you to run thru a full air brake check too, like CDL.
I?m not a lawyer, but here is what I found.  You do not need an R license in NY, but its ?available?. It is not needed for a private coach.  The regulations are convoluted as it is in multiple sections and you might still get a ticket from someone who doesn?t understand them, but it is not required.
As near as I can tell, an issue could arise if you ever towed anything (trailer or toad) outside of NY, then that state might be looking for the R endorsement for pulling a trailer in their state.  You would definitely be legal with the R endorsement.  I plan to pursue it.  Hopefully so more folks weigh in.

I can't speak to NY, but it is quite common for states to have various exemptions for private use recreational vehicles. Such exemptions are often tucked in other motor vehicle regulations, so there may be a blanket regulation requiring something and a tiny footnote elsewhere that says "not if it's a private RV.
That said, I've never seen or heard any report that agrees with what ClassyC found in his research on the NY "R" endorsement.

I took the test in Texas (class B) and had to do both the air brake demonstration and parallel parking. The examiner assured me that I would be flunked if I failed to get within one foot of the curb or jumped the curve.

Ernie

Arch Hoagland said:

NY_Dutch said:

"The test itself is just the usual turns, stops, and parallel park stuff, about the same as your first drivers license test. There is no written test."

Do they actually make you parallel park a 40 foot motorhome?

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While I've never taken the test myself, I have ridden along as the properly licensed driver on a number of them. In every case, yes, parallel parking was part of the test. I can also say that I've had to parallel park our coach on several occasions, usually when visiting friends at their homes.

ClassyC said:

I?m in NY and looking at Super C so I?ve been researching this topic a bit. 
Yes, they can ask you to parallel park.  Some ask you to run thru a full air brake check too, like CDL.
I?m not a lawyer, but here is what I found.  You do not need an R license in NY, but its ?available?. It is not needed for a private coach.  The regulations are convoluted as it is in multiple sections and you might still get a ticket from someone who doesn?t understand them, but it is not required.
As near as I can tell, an issue could arise if you ever towed anything (trailer or toad) outside of NY, then that state might be looking for the R endorsement for pulling a trailer in their state.  You would definitely be legal with the R endorsement.  I plan to pursue it.  Hopefully so more folks weigh in.

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From the NYS DMV Driver's Manual:

"Personal Use Vehicle (Rental, Recreational Vehicle) or ?R? endorsement - The Personal Use Vehicle ?R? endorsement is required for operation of recreational and/or rental vehicles used to transport personal household goods when the vehicle is over 26,000 pounds (11,794 kg.) GVWR and/or forty (40) feet in length. This endorsement is available to Class D and E license drivers." (emphasis added)

I see no ambiguity there about whether the endorsement is needed or not.

I have to parallel park our 38 footer at the storage facility we use. It's no big deal.

I have my NY R endorsement. Coach over 26,000 lbs it is required. $20 for permit no written test. need a licensed driver with equivalent license to accompany you for road test. I had to back up in a straight line along curb as a parallel park . I don't think there was an increase in license fee

Dutch,
Thanks for that snippet from the Driver?s manual.  I had seen language previously that you ?may? apply for an R endorsement, but that language is much clearer...Oh yeah, when I went into the local DMV to ask about it, they had to pull out a book and look it up.

I expect the DMV offices in areas with higher RV populations would likely be the most familiar with the 'R' endorsement. I know of at least one area RV dealer that was pretty good about advising buyers of the need for it. They would even provide the required licensee for the test  if needed.

I just took mine. It wasn't easy finding someone in DMV that knew what I was talking about. I had to contact Albany to clarify and showed those results to the agents at my local DMV office. Test was pretty straight forward. I had to take my rig out on the road for the usual turns and such. I also took it on an empty street where the test giver went outside to watch me back up and then do a parallel park. They did not ask for an air brake check or anything technical questions about my rig. The license with the R showed about two weeks later. I figured I was better safe than sorry.

If you are getting a cdl in NY you need to parallel park whatever you bring. My school had 53' trailers and we had to parallel park them and the drivers who were not within a measured foot of the curb failed. Lots easier with a single vehicle.