Your right, a camper shell or one of those top things but you can also go bare as long as nothing is showing above the top of the bed
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, but a bare pickup doesn’t require a CDL to drive. If you’re employed by the owner of the pickup, or it’s being used to provide income.
Its finely written, been tried, again by a few associates of mine.
Twice in the last 4 years. In California Court. Not arguing. Doesn’t mean they can’t get a DUI. But the .04 fell apart in court. Fortunately for my associates. Should have just wrote it as a normal .08 BAC.
Just have experience as a chauffeur. 
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Does anyone know if I can upgrade my CDL? I have been trying to find out online but it’s been difficult.
I just wanna add hazmat and passenger to it.
I have a general class b CDL and tank/air brakes
Unless it’s been changed AB 1888 allows trafffic school for minor violations for CDLs. Provided
• you have a valid California driver’s license
• you were driving a noncommercial vehicle at the time that you were ticketed (Key point!)
• your ticket is for a moving violation
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Go to DMV, take those two tests and pass you’re golden. If you want to move to a Class A, you’ll have to take a new driving test and probably school.
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You can take the needed added endorsements tests during your DL renewal period (one year) without having to retake any test. From personal experience
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and let us not forget home land security
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CalFire has just released a Temporary Directive concerning drivers licenses. Everyone should get familiar with the requirements before you get behind the wheel.
If anyone is worried about BAC levels while driving personally owned vehicles, then maybe you shouldn’t be a professional driver.
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HM requires some rigamarole for background checking or whatever, most likely.
P requires that you take the drive test in a bus to show equipment and how to operate it.
At least that is how it was 20 years ago.
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HAZ MAT now requires fingerprints and background checks as well as the required test for HM endorsement.
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Thanks appreciate the help!
So all I had to do is study and head over to the dmv? From there I just go to get my fingerprints done through one of those private backgrounds places?
Normally, they will tell you who they have approved to accept the printing.
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Having or not having a camper shell ('habitable structure) on the truck only affects teh type of license plate the vehicle required. A Honda Ridgeline with no camper shell: commercial license plates (weight fees due). A Dodge Dually one ton with a camper shell under 26,000 gvw can have passenger plates (no weight fees due). Neither requires a commercial driver license.
My F450 with DOT and CA numbers but a GVW under 26,000 has commercial plates but can be driven by a Class C driver until he connects a trailer over 10,001 gvw, then the whole thing requires a CDL.
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This was super comical to read through. Honestly if you don’t work for CAL FIRE currently or have tried to get a CDL within the last 2 years, your historically anecdotal expertise is no longer valid.
California law allows an employee of any fire department or forestry agency to drive everything registered to that agency with a FF endorsement. Dozer transport, Helitender, passenger vehicles, tiller trucks, type 1, type 3, type 6, ambulances, heavy rescues, and all pickup trucks, vans, and sedans. The only restriction is towing the torch trailers, both terra and helitorch. This is all spelled out on the DMV website.
As far as the one guy asking to add endorsements to his license, if you are within one year of your original permit date you can just take the tests. If you are outside that one year, you have to go through a federally recognized trucking school to add any commercial endorsements. Not cheap.
You can add the FF endorsement to any class of license so you can drive anything registered to the agency. To get a FF endorsement you need to attend and pass Driver/Operator 1A, then get the Fire Chief of an agency to sign the letter stating you work for a Fire Department, then go to the DMV and pass a 20 question written exam. For CAL FIRE employees the signature has to be a registered chief, typically the unit chief of the unit you work in.
You folks can argue all of it all you want, but these are the rules that the agency is enforcing and hiring off of, so either play the game and make the team or beat your chest and watch from the internet. I don’t agree with some of the rules, but I’ve been in engines with people that have CDL’s that scare me more than my wife driving our motorhome towing a trailer for the first time. Just like a college degree, a piece of paper or plastic card doesn’t certify common sense or intelligence, these days it just means you showed up and met a minimum for a moment in time.
As far as the arguments of BAC and licensure, if you are that irresponsible you have to figure out how to drive while still being able to drink, you probably aren’t responsible enough to be an engine operator anyways, or if you have a serious addiction CAL FIRE will throw exponential dollars at you to fix your addiction. I know, I’ve been through it.
And last, fire engines and everything registered to CAL FIRE is not a commercial vehicle. It’s registered EXEMPT. Doesn’t matter how we as peons view the laws or registration, the kings in office at the Sac level have said what these vehicles are and registered as, so we either learn and abide by the rules or once again stab at keyboards on the internet from the sidelines.
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And Who’s beating there chest?
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Maybe the name of the thread should be “Anyone can drive it”
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The phrase that will hang you out to dry is the sentence in the CDF orange book that states the operator is ultimately responsible for the safe operation of the vehicle. From what I know exempt is only from license fees.
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I believe the statement of ALL CAL FIRE equipment being exemp and non-commercial is inaccurate.
Just pure facts the CA number that is visible on the door panels of all crew transport vehicles and those are transports indicates that it is a commercial vehicle observed by the state of California which I also believe requires a BIT inspection by chp. I don’t recall there being those numbers on engines. And I believe the only exemption that is applicable is for commercial driving hours and that is while responding to or returning from an incident.
If my statements are inaccurate I’ll take the licks, yet these are my understandings over many years.
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You are correct. Transports and Crew buses are commercial vehicles. They require the proper license with endorsements to operate. I would think the heli tender would also require a hazmat endorsement.
Cal fire for years thought they were exempt from oversize load permits for the transports. Many old folks will recall when they took the angle blades off all the D6 dozers and put straight blades to bring them under 10 ft.
They also thought they didn’t have to stop at scales. One of my old HEFO friends found out otherwise one day.
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Crew carrying vehicles are considered commercial vehicles that do fall under driving regulations. CAL FIRE doesn’t operate CCV’s anymore. They now operate emergency crew transports (code 3 light bar) that exempted the driver from drivers hours while assigned to an incident.
And no, you are not required to have a commercial drivers license to operate any of the vehicles mentioned in my previous post. The California DOT laws changed last year or this year, which is why the directive came out that with the FF endorsement you can drive anything registered to the agency. It’s all listed on the dmv website. Go look it up.
I’m not making the rules, just forced to live by them. My opinion doesn’t matter because I’m already in the system, but for those wishing to be in the system I already spelled out what you need to drive anything you desire.
It’ll change in 10-15 years just like it did when California got rid of the non-commercial class b FF license some time around 2012
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