California Non-Commercial Class A License
I am not sure if this topic was covered in the past so forgive me if I'm asking again. I understand that to tow heavy for recreational vehicles up to combined weight of 26K lbs. in CA, you will nee...
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**** Oops. My bad ***** I misread the original post. I thought your 5th wheel had a GVWR of 13k lbs. My response below does NOT apply to 5th wheels over 15K. I'm leaving the response in for those confused (like I was) about CA license requirements for 5th wheels.
I don't believe you will need the Non-Commercial class A license. Here is an excerpt from the DMV website.
"A driver must have a fifth-wheel recreational trailer endorsement added to his/her Class C driver license to pull a fifth-wheel recreational trailer over 10,000 lbs., but not over 15,000 lbs. GVWR, which is not used for hire. This endorsement is not required if the driver has a commercial or noncommercial Class A driver license."
The endorsement for your class C license is actually called Restriction 41 which allows you to tow a 5th wheel trailer with GVWR between 10,000 and 15,000 lbs.
Your biggest challenge may be finding a DMV that understands the process to give you a Restriction 41 endorsement. I had to go through 2 clerks and finally a manager before they got it straight. For me it was a written test only. You may have to take the regular class C test again depending on when you last renewed your license.
I don't believe you will need the Non-Commercial class A license. Here is an excerpt from the DMV website.
"A driver must have a fifth-wheel recreational trailer endorsement added to his/her Class C driver license to pull a fifth-wheel recreational trailer over 10,000 lbs., but not over 15,000 lbs. GVWR, which is not used for hire. This endorsement is not required if the driver has a commercial or noncommercial Class A driver license."
The endorsement for your class C license is actually called Restriction 41 which allows you to tow a 5th wheel trailer with GVWR between 10,000 and 15,000 lbs.
Your biggest challenge may be finding a DMV that understands the process to give you a Restriction 41 endorsement. I had to go through 2 clerks and finally a manager before they got it straight. For me it was a written test only. You may have to take the regular class C test again depending on when you last renewed your license.
