getting paid to drive a motorhome

Edit: I made a mistake on the self employment tax as you can shield some of it. So it is close but no wiggle room in expenses to make his threshold.

If the assumption of fuel costs are $.50 per mile and self employment taxes at 7.5%. That is $333-$610 per 1,000 miles with no other expenses. So it fails the first pass for the gross revenue.

So....what have we learned here...do not use the words "all", "always", and "nationwide"... man sounds like i'm writing performance evaluations....lol

As Oldchief mentioned....it's a very complex and confusing thing....one size does not fit "all".

tatest wrote:

When I drove vehicles for the Federal government, I did not need a state-issued driver's license at all, and purposely left my DL at home in those circumstances. The DOD issued me an appropriate license for what I was required and qualified to drive.

that reminds me of many years ago with the govt. I know it was stressed that driving was just an incidental part of our job.
bumpy

wbwood wrote:
My father delivered mail...his route required him to drive an LLV...He could not "walk, rub, skate ride a bicycle, take the bus or subway"... Of course his vehicle did not meet the above requirements....

That can be about when and where, also. The CDL is fairly new, not yet 30 years. When I drove vehicles for the Federal government, I did not need a state-issued driver's license at all, and purposely left my DL at home in those circumstances. The DOD issued me an appropriate license for what I was required and qualified to drive.

But that may not be how the U.S. Post Office did it. Or later, the USPS, which is supposedly no longer an agency of the U.S. Government.

tatest wrote:

wbwood wrote:
USC Title 49, says that you need a CDL to operate a "commercial vehicle". Under the same title in definitions, a "Commercial Vehicle" is described as:

(4)“commercial motor vehicle” means a motor vehicle used in commerce to transport passengers or property that—
(A)has a gross vehicle weight rating or gross vehicle weight of at least 26,001 pounds, whichever is greater, or a lesser gross vehicle weight rating or gross vehicle weight the Secretary of Transportation prescribes by regulation, but not less than a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,001 pounds;

(B)is designed to transport at least 16 passengers including the driver; or

(C)is used to transport material found by the Secretary to be hazardous under section 5103 of this title, except that a vehicle shall not be included as a commercial motor vehicle under this subclause if—
(i)the vehicle does not satisfy the weight requirements of subclause (A) of this clause;

(ii)the vehicle is transporting material listed as hazardous under section 306(a) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9656(a)) and is not otherwise regulated by the Secretary or is transporting a consumer commodity or limited quantity of hazardous material as defined in section 171.8 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations; and

(iii)the Secretary does not deny the application of this exception to the vehicle (individually or as part of a class of motor vehicles) in the interest of safety.

Application can vary state to state, as states are permitted to be more strict. Paragraph (B) requirements might be as low as 9 passengers, even not driving for hire. A 11, 12, 14 or 15 passenger van in private use might require a CDL. This is one reason I permanently pulled the unused back seat out of my 12 passenger van, to stay out of trouble on licensing in states that are more strict on passenger count. People with huge families, actually needing to carry 12 or 15 people, have to be careful where they travel. Same for drivers for clubs and church groups.

Similarly, a state can change that 26,001 to something less, and it can also create a special class of non-commercial license to be require to operate a vehicle of a certain size.

You telling oldchief he is wrong? Because he said it was nationwide....lol (just giving you a hard time oldchief...i've been in Law Enforcment for 25 years myself)

My father delivered mail...his route required him to drive an LLV...He could not "walk, rub, skate ride a bicycle, take the bus or subway"... Of course his vehicle did not meet the above requirements....

wbwood wrote:
USC Title 49, says that you need a CDL to operate a "commercial vehicle". Under the same title in definitions, a "Commercial Vehicle" is described as:

(4)“commercial motor vehicle” means a motor vehicle used in commerce to transport passengers or property that—
(A)has a gross vehicle weight rating or gross vehicle weight of at least 26,001 pounds, whichever is greater, or a lesser gross vehicle weight rating or gross vehicle weight the Secretary of Transportation prescribes by regulation, but not less than a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,001 pounds;

(B)is designed to transport at least 16 passengers including the driver; or

(C)is used to transport material found by the Secretary to be hazardous under section 5103 of this title, except that a vehicle shall not be included as a commercial motor vehicle under this subclause if—
(i)the vehicle does not satisfy the weight requirements of subclause (A) of this clause;

(ii)the vehicle is transporting material listed as hazardous under section 306(a) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9656(a)) and is not otherwise regulated by the Secretary or is transporting a consumer commodity or limited quantity of hazardous material as defined in section 171.8 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations; and

(iii)the Secretary does not deny the application of this exception to the vehicle (individually or as part of a class of motor vehicles) in the interest of safety.

Application can vary state to state, as states are permitted to be more strict. Paragraph (B) requirements might be as low as 9 passengers, even not driving for hire. A 11, 12, 14 or 15 passenger van in private use might require a CDL. This is one reason I permanently pulled the unused back seat out of my 12 passenger van, to stay out of trouble on licensing in states that are more strict on passenger count. People with huge families, actually needing to carry 12 or 15 people, have to be careful where they travel. Same for drivers for clubs and church groups.

Similarly, a state can change that 26,001 to something less, and it can also create a special class of non-commercial license to be require to operate a vehicle of a certain size.

wbwood wrote:

tatest wrote:

ceandries wrote:

Bumpyroad wrote:
what type of commercial driver's license would be required?
bumpy

Not 100% sure on this but from what I've read it can be done without a cdl. I believe a cdl is required to drive larger class A coaches.

What needs a CDL is a gray area for lack of enforcement. In some states, if you are driving for hire, no matter what it is, the CDL is required. This includes delivery drivers, hotel shuttles, drivers shuttling vehicles for dealerships and repair shops. Different states draw different lines on "driving incidental to the job" like the plumber who has to drive to the job site.

I needed a commercial (chauffeur) license in Michigan to move cars between dealers and the family body shop. My uncle needed one for courtesy car runs between airport, hotel, Ford offices. This was long before the DOT and Federal efforts toward uniformity that led to the CDL as it is known today.

RV delivery sometimes slips through the cracks, though trips like these are clearly within the intent of statutes that put USDOT on top of regulating CDLs in interstate commerce, setting medical standards, logging, work and rest time.

Most of the transit companies, by making the drivers independent contractors, remove themselves a step from responsibility for CDL compliance. "I'm just a booking agent."

A pizza delivery guy requires a CDL?

Maybe in California, which is one of the toughest, maybe not. That's one of the "incidental" examples, because he is not required to drive, just to deliver pizzas. He can walk, run, skate, ride a bicycle, take the bus or subway, take a taxi. Driving would be his choice in some circumstances. Same for newspaper delivery.

But UPS or FedEx delivery driver, that's another step toward driving being the job. Some states are going to require a commercial license, even though the truck might be a 8000-9000 pound van or a six ton step van. Since 1986, if the state makes you get a commercial license, it has to be a CDL, for uniformity.

Well, I'll be darned. California Highway Patrol has been doing it wrong for decades.

I was just telling you from my years of experience, training and trying to help. Commercial enforcement and commercial drivers licensing and commercial registration is very complex AND confusing.

Take my last bit of advice for what it's worth should you decide to deliver RVs for hire should you get stopped. Smile, press hard, there are four copies.

many/most? states have the stiffer licensing requirement for units over 26,001 lbs. which most all DPs are. but is being paid to deliver a motor home any different from being paid to deliver a load in a semi?
bumpy