Air Brakes

[Mark Sedenquist]

My experience with class A's is that as rule -- the longer ones are better engineered than most SUV and pick-ups. Some of the 34-foot class A's I have driven have better (tighter) turning radius than every SUV or pickup I have ever driven.

Rather than an endorsement for a RV, I would rather see that good, competent drivers of any class vehicle get a special endorsement that would provide evidence of being a "better" driver and get a break on insurance costs or DMV fees.

Every larger vehicle driver knows, or should know, the limits of turning radii and I bet that driver that turned left from the right lane did it intentionally -- are you sure there was not a turn signal from the vehicle? I have had to execute some "odd" looking lane changes myself a time or two.

The biggest pet peeve I have with passenger vehicle drivers is their lack of awareness of the required stopping distance of a 10-ton vehicle -- smaller cars frequently cut in front of RVs because they believe that a 10-ton vehicle can stop as quickly as their 1-2 ton vehicle. A couple of kids tried to slip in front of the Phoenix One (7.5 tons) one time at highway speeds and then immediately braked to turn right on a side road -- even with my brakes locked up I had no choice but to give them a glancing blow -- something I doubt they will ever forget -- the winch on the Phoenix One cleared the trunk before (nearly) making contact with the rear window of the sedan... The woman siting in the back seat of the sedan was a little concerned....

Mark

[Quebec Gen]

Just like in the US, driving rules and regulations is a Province-to-Province matter. I don't know about the other Provinces, but in Quebec only professional truck drivers are required to have a "F" (stands for "freins" in French = brakes in English) mention on their driver's license. I doubt there is any requirement of that sort for RV drivers since they are not part of the same class (class 1 = CDL) and I know some folks with RV's who do not have a CDL at all.

[Mark Sedenquist]

Gen,

Nice to see you online here today -- thanks for the info about the air brakes issue.

Mark

[PNW Judy]

Every larger vehicle driver knows, or should know, the limits of turning radii and I bet that driver that turned left from the right lane did it intentionally -- are you sure there was not a turn signal from the vehicle? I have had to execute some "odd" looking lane changes myself a time or two.

Yes, he had on a turn signal. I expected him to change lanes into my lane. I slowed down to give him even more room than he already had. I did not expect him to be turning into a parking lot and coming to virtually a complete stop right in front of me. I say virtually as he entered the parking lot at probably about 5mph with the back end of his rig in the right-hand lane, and the rest of his rig in my lane as he slowly pulled into the parking lot. Nobody could have expected that. If I hadn't been aware and slowed down, I would have run into him.

And, this is probably due to a lesson learned. About 25 years ago I had a truck/5th wheel due to exact same thing to me but I don't think that car braked as well, or I might have been a tad closer, as all I could do was slam on my brakes and watch my car plow right into the back corner of the trailer putting a perfect V-shape into the front of my car. And then the guy in back of me rammed my back-end. I think we were in slo-mo as we were all trying to stop to give the guy room so I wasn't injured but my car was totaled.

So, ever since, I have given as wide of berth as possible to any big rigs, whether RVs or commercial trucks.

[Jaimie Bruzenak]

I checked with Lorrin Walsh, author of Drive Your Motorhhome Like a Pro, and his information was similar to Mark's. Here's what he said:

"At this time the only state that I know of that requires an air brake endorsement is California, but that is only for motorhomes 40' and you also need a 'Non commercial Class B license.' There are also some restrictions as to where you can drive. I have heard that some other states may follow suit. In most states a 'Personal Drivers License' is all you need to drive any size motorhome. I will throw in a twist though, it is my understanding that some states are requiring CDL's and log books for the people who deliver motorhomes, because they are getting paid to drive them and they then fall under the DOT rules."

In my other research I did see strong recommendations to get training if you plan to drive a vehicle with airbrakes.

Good luck! Enjoy your trip.

Jaimie Hall Bruzenak

{Jaimie is a RTA expert RV Lifestyle columnist and some of her columns can be found here}

[Mark Sedenquist]

Very interesting about the California requirements and the log-book issues for those "delivering" RVs.

Thanks,

Mark

[Jaimie Bruzenak]

I stumbled upon another Web site that lists the states where CDLs or special licensing for RVs is required. Each state has a link to their driver's licensing department so you can read more about it. There are several states that do require a special license if you are licensed in their state and drive an RV with a gvwr of more than 26,000 lbs or over a certain length.

Jaimie Hall Bruzenak

[Mark Sedenquist]

I looked at some of the state entries, the site hosts have been very diligent about fact-checking the status of current regulations. Excellent job finding that link!