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Old 08-07-2018, 07:56 AM   #1
Retire 2022
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Texas Non-Commercial Class A License

Hello everyone. If you live or domicile in Texas and have the Class A Non-commercial driving license; where did you go to take the exam and driving test? During the driving portion of the skills test what skills were tested? Were the answers to the written exam mostly "common sense" answers? Thanks for your help.

Rig: GVWR's
TV = 14000 lbs.
5'er = 16705 lbs.
TOTAL = 30,705 lbs.


From what I've been reading I need to take the Class A Non-Commercial exam and driving test in order to be correctly licensed in the state of Texas?
 
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Old 08-07-2018, 08:41 AM   #2
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Thanks for the reminder - gotta move this up on my list to get done - Will do my test in Livingston Texas at the local license branch. Found some on-line practice tests - pretty basic. Can take the test 3 times to pass. Driving testing is done twice a month. Sounded pretty basic.

Livingston is a small town so it's not crowded and has a large Escapee settlement south of town so they do several tests
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Old 08-07-2018, 11:19 AM   #3
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You are correct. GVWR over 26,000 lbs puts you into the Class A non-commercial license bracket. Fortunately, I am less than 26,000, so a Class C works for me. More info in the links below.

https://www.dps.texas.gov/administra...hTestSites.htm

http://www.rvnetwork.com/topic/12534...-upgrade-faqs/
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Old 08-21-2018, 11:04 AM   #4
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As I had mentioned on another thread Wy was one of 10 states that also required a class A non commercial so I went to DMV to obtain this and was told feds told them can’t do that on Rvs used for pleasure anymore unless it exceeded 39001lbs so they stopped it. Just don’t understand how one state can be told to stop it and another still do it. Guess I shouldn’t complain unless I move to one of those other 9 but it should be the same for everyone not just a select few. Just my opinion
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Old 08-21-2018, 01:25 PM   #5
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Because Texas is notoriously independent. It’s a revenue stream and I would suspect they will do all they can to hold on to it.
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Old 08-21-2018, 01:36 PM   #6
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I live one mile inside of California, and usually travel thru Nevada on my way to all of our trips, so I did not bother getting the California non-commercial class A license, because it was impassable in my setup of rig and 5ver. I passed the written and medical at the DMV, and then had to go to a Truck school to take my physical driving exam, and I passed the inspection and driving skills, until we got to the last skill, and that was the "Alley Dock" test. It was two lines 13 feet apart, and 38 feet deep, with two lines at the back, that the rear of your 5th wheel had to end up between. The problem was that no portion of your 5ver can cross the imaginary wall that extends up from the lines at any time, or he signals fail, and you have 4 attempts at passing this. Problem is we have 14 feet behind our rear wheels, and we are 58 total feet long, and they have lines you can not pass over to get prepped to back in the spot, so you have to jack it too much, and then there is no room to go far enough to straighten it out, so you are screwed. You have to show up to the driving test with a certified Class A driver driving your rig, or they will fail you before you even take the test, because you are driving like you have a permit before you get your real license. Anyway, after i failed 4 times trying to back my rig in this tight spot, the instructor walked away, and my Class A truck driver, said give me your keys, and i will do it. He tried 2 times and failed, and on the third attempt, they came screaming out of the office like we were committing a felony or something like that, and told us we had to leave. So the test was designed many years ago, when people had smaller trailers. Plus for truckers, their back wheels are at the very back of their trailers, so it is much easier to get it into position. Some people say you should borrow someone else's shorter trailer to take the test, but then if they are smart, they know your combined GVWR is not over the 26k pounds, and will know something is up, since you are supposed to test in the RV you are going to use. Good luck, I choose to drive like a criminal, because most people don't even know they have to have this license, including the highway patrol officers!
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Old 08-21-2018, 03:04 PM   #7
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Old 08-21-2018, 03:05 PM   #8
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Thankfully Texas is not quite that stringent. No need to have a class A drive you to the test according to Livingston office. Don’t know about the skills test ...yet.
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Old 08-21-2018, 03:43 PM   #9
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we had a Class A CDL which was not good for a RV.We are in Ohio which does not require a special license for a RV. The States that require a RV Non Commercial are just finding a way to get some revenue from RV'ers .
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Old 08-21-2018, 04:06 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by richfaa View Post
<snip>
...The States that require a RV Non Commercial are just finding a way to get some revenue from RV'ers...
</snip>
The CA DMV gets no additional revenue from a non-commercial Class A, non-commercial Class B (MH over 40') license, a restriction 41 endorsement (license to tow a 5th wheel under 15K), or a M1 license endorsement (motorcycle license) than a standard Class C (drive anything including a 40' MH) license. Same price but testing requirements are different.
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Old 08-21-2018, 04:39 PM   #11
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Originally Posted by carl n susan View Post
The CA DMV gets no additional revenue from a non-commercial Class A, non-commercial Class B (MH over 40') license, a restriction 41 endorsement (license to tow a 5th wheel under 15K), or a M1 license endorsement (motorcycle license) than a standard Class C (drive anything including a 40' MH) license. Same price but testing requirements are different.
Find it hard to believe that a state would make more work for themselves and not get anything in return. My point is why 41 one others don’t do it and my current state was told to stop it. I will keep going up the chain and find out. There is a answer for everything.
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Old 08-21-2018, 04:44 PM   #12
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That was the same test for my CDL Class B in a school bus hard enough that way.
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Old 08-21-2018, 06:38 PM   #13
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That was the same test for my CDL Class B in a school bus hard enough that way.
Same here but that was an actual Commercial drivers License. I found the hardest was the serpentine back up. I was thinking why would you do that in real life. The transportation company We drove for gave us 12 hours of CDL training before we took the actual CDL test.
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Old 08-21-2018, 06:39 PM   #14
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Find it hard to believe that a state would make more work for themselves and not get anything in return. My point is why 41 one others don’t do it and my current state was told to stop it. I will keep going up the chain and find out. There is a answer for everything.
I also do not get it.
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Old 08-21-2018, 07:59 PM   #15
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Originally Posted by vipermanden View Post
I live one mile inside of California, and usually travel thru Nevada on my way to all of our trips, so I did not bother getting the California non-commercial class A license, because it was impassable in my setup of rig and 5ver. I passed the written and medical at the DMV, and then had to go to a Truck school to take my physical driving exam, and I passed the inspection and driving skills, until we got to the last skill, and that was the "Alley Dock" test. It was two lines 13 feet apart, and 38 feet deep, with two lines at the back, that the rear of your 5th wheel had to end up between. The problem was that no portion of your 5ver can cross the imaginary wall that extends up from the lines at any time, or he signals fail, and you have 4 attempts at passing this. Problem is we have 14 feet behind our rear wheels, and we are 58 total feet long, and they have lines you can not pass over to get prepped to back in the spot, so you have to jack it too much, and then there is no room to go far enough to straighten it out, so you are screwed. You have to show up to the driving test with a certified Class A driver driving your rig, or they will fail you before you even take the test, because you are driving like you have a permit before you get your real license. Anyway, after i failed 4 times trying to back my rig in this tight spot, the instructor walked away, and my Class A truck driver, said give me your keys, and i will do it. He tried 2 times and failed, and on the third attempt, they came screaming out of the office like we were committing a felony or something like that, and told us we had to leave. So the test was designed many years ago, when people had smaller trailers. Plus for truckers, their back wheels are at the very back of their trailers, so it is much easier to get it into position. Some people say you should borrow someone else's shorter trailer to take the test, but then if they are smart, they know your combined GVWR is not over the 26k pounds, and will know something is up, since you are supposed to test in the RV you are going to use. Good luck, I choose to drive like a criminal, because most people don't even know they have to have this license, including the highway patrol officers!
Quick couple of questions. Was this from a 45 degree angle? Were you aloud to do a pull up? When I took my comercial test I was able to do a pull up ( point deduction) if needed and told to make it worth my while if I did. Even professional drivers can’t hit a dock perfectly every time.
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Old 08-21-2018, 08:08 PM   #16
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Nope, it had to be from a 90 degree angle, with no breathing room to maneuver.
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