Class A non-commercial license

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an RV or an interest in RVing!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
Was an f350 towing a 5th wheel. When i bought the f350 i registered it at a higher weight class than i needed for normal use thinking i would be covered. No one could tell me how it worked and the info wasnt as easy to find as it is today. I talked to the dmv, car dealer, rv dealer, and friends that towed large rvs and no one knew.

The state police saw the weight sticker on the truck windshield, size of the rv, and guessed i had the wrong weight sticker. No weights were exceeded but it cost me a lot of money because of the wrong number on the weight sticker. I had to reregister the truck and get a new title cause they listed the registered weight on the title

Nothing changed except the number on the windshield sticker and the amount i paid to the dmv every year
Thanks for explaining. I sort of expected it was a pickup. I've known several people who have bought rvs far too large for their pickups. Including two of my brothers. LOL And I've worked construction all my life and pickups (and other trucks) are commonly overloaded, sometimes severely to the point of smoking brakes. I even did it in my younger, stupider, days. Never smoking brakes but some handling issues. So the cops would be be more vigilant about them.

But I figure the class a and c are not overloaded as much. Yes, they can be but I doubt it's any near as common.
 
Thanks for explaining. I sort of expected it was a pickup. I've known several people who have bought rvs far too large for their pickups. Including two of my brothers. LOL And I've worked construction all my life and pickups (and other trucks) are commonly overloaded, sometimes severely to the point of smoking brakes. I even did it in my younger, stupider, days. Never smoking brakes but some handling issues. So the cops would be be more vigilant about them.

But I figure the class a and c are not overloaded as much. Yes, they can be but I doubt it's any near as common.
In my case i was not overloaded and within all towing and weight specs. The only thing i was not in compliance with was how much the dmv thought i should be paying every year. The fine was expensive but the worst part was they treated me like i did it intentionally after i tried to do the right thing
 
In my case i was not overloaded and within all towing and weight specs. The only thing i was not in compliance with was how much the dmv thought i should be paying every year. The fine was expensive but the worst part was they treated me like i did it intentionally after i tried to do the right thing
Yep, the letter of the law instead of the spirit of it.

I did a lot of construction work in an older neighborhood that was 'up and coming' quite a few decades ago. I noticed that the building inspector pretty much ignored us. A lot of inspectors around here are bribery hungry. But he wasn't. I asked him one time why he pretty much gave us a free pass. He'd see us doing work without a permit and just drive on by. He said he saw his job as making sure the work was done properly, not collecting fees. He said he knew he didn't have to babysit us. He knew we were doing good work. And that gave him more time to check up on the people who were less than skilled.

Sorry you got screwed over...
 
I was cited for not having the right license and because the weight sticker on my windshield had the wrong number on it. The state police pulled me over and weighed me. I was not overweight on anything including gcwr, axle weights, and tongue weight.

The fine was $2500.
How much of the fine was for not having the right license and how much was for being wrong on the weight? Did they let you drive off after giving you a ticket for not having the right license?
 
Couldn't you do what I did years ago when getting my motorcycle endorsement? I borrowed a friend's bike, drove it to the DMV, walked inside and told them I was there for the test. They went into the parking lot with me and made me go through a bunch of motorcycle moves around the lot. I passed and they gave me my license endorsement. No one cared how the bike got there. My only job was getting it there without breaking a law and getting pulled over.
Most states you get a learners permit for the motorcycle this allows you to ride the bike but you can not carry passengers.
So you can ride the motorcycle to the test with no passengers and take the practical/driving test.
 
Most states you get a learners permit for the motorcycle this allows you to ride the bike but you can not carry passengers.
So you can ride the motorcycle to the test with no passengers and take the practical/driving test.
True, but I didn't have a learner's permit and just went for my permanent license directly. I was about 26 years old at the time.
 
Ok, thought I'd try to stay between the lines and get my non commercial class B license. It's required in Pennsylvania for anything over 26k lbs. Not strictly enforced but I figure, why not, I have the time. On one of the other forums, there were horror stories of how they never got the same story from two employees of Penndot in a row. Well, I can vouch for those stories! Tomorrow, I'll be making my 5th trip to a licensing center to make sure I have everything ready for the test when the weather breaks.

First seemed to go smoothly. Some paperwork and $6 and I was done. I had told the guy that I needed air brake endorsement and assumed that he put it on. He didn't. But, that site doesn't do the actual drivers test.

So, I stopped in one that does the actual testing to verify the facts and make sure my paperwork was in order. They said no, you need an air brakes endorsement. Which, as it turned out, wasn't on my permit. Didn't have the time to wait in line so I left.

I went there today. Waited 90 minutes in line. For the endorsement, they wanted a passport or birth certificate! Didn't need that to get the first permit. Had to bring in the supervisor to verify. No permit with air brakes without the extra id.

So, I came home to get those and went to the dmv closer as the the line for the other testing site was out the door by the time I left. Had to go to supervisor level there, too. He showed me that it's impossible to get an air brake endorsement on a non-commercial license. He said that, for the test, if you have air brakes on your rig, they just make you do all the pre trip testing. He also said that the other testing site is one of the worst to go to. He suggested another one that's a bit closer. He swears that they do the larger rig tests. Very few centers here do anything but regular drivers license testing.

And another fun fact. If you know someone with a non-commercial class b license, the same as what you're applying for, they can't be your licensed driver! You have to have someone with a commercial license. At least that's what the last supervisor told me. Not that it matters as it's much easier to find someone with a commercial license than a non commercial one.

Tomorrow, the morning temp here is going to be -13. Hopefully, that will keep the lines short...
 
Update. Went to DMV #3. They said I'm fine. Actually talked to an examiner and he said the people at #2 were idiots. He used to work there and got out because they were 'incompetent'. The air brake test is just showing you know how to do a pre trip test. Supposedly that, a 100 ft backup, a pre trip walk around and a short road test will complete the testing. So, once the weather breaks, I'll know if he was telling the truth. Keeping my fingers crossed! Now I just have to find a suitably licensed driver to accompany me on the test. Got a couple of leads on that. Used to have some friends with CDLs but, sadly, they are no longer with us.
 

Latest posts

Forum statistics

Threads
134,578
Posts
1,431,858
Members
140,154
Latest member
AsenathBarzani
Back
Top Bottom