Licensing required to drive in North Carolina?? Still a bus.

[schpenxel]

Basically I'm trying to figure out what I have to get to be able to drive this bus. Right now it's still titled as a bus and I need to be able to drive it to the beach like tomorrow. The first person I talked to at the DMV told me I had to get an all out CDL as well as take a skills test (driving) for the passenger endorsement and a test for the air brake endorsement. Most things I've found online say I need to just take the CDL learners permit test, and a written test for the other two endorsements. The DMV office near me doesn't even OFFER the test for the passenger endorsement...

Obviously it'd be easier if I had this thing titled as an RV but I don't have time to get that done. Any ideas??

[the_experience03]

It sounds like you do need the CDL given the current registration. I don't think you'll be driving it [legally] tomorrow. You will need to take a written test for the Class B CDL. On top of that there will be a passenger endorsement written test, and air brake written test, and possibly a school bus written test. After this you will receive your permit. The permit allows you to practice, but it's just like a regular learner's permit in that you will need to have another licensed driver with you. When I say licensed I mean they will need to be legally licensed to drive that vehicle (CDL, air brakes, passenger) and you will not be allowed to have passengers.

After you have learned for a while you will need to get a medical certificate. It's not a big deal and your doctor should be able to that. With permit in hand and a medical certificate you can then take the driving portion of the test. There is a typical pretrip portion for any Class B, but then you will also have to do the air brakes pre-trip as well as possibly the passenger vehicle pretrip. Beware...if you take the driving test in a bus with hydraulic brakes or a dump truck with air brakes, but no seating for 16 (never seen one WITH room for 16) you will need to take the whole test over again to get those certifications.

It's not hard to do, but unless you can get RV plates before tomorrow I think you're boned.

[schpenxel]

Forgot I had posted here.. Turns out a friend of mine has a CDL with all the endorsements so we would have been fine if we let him drive but I didn't wanna deal with him at the beach and GMAC made me actually come to their office (luckily there was one within an hour drive) instead of letting me just mail the paperwork back in.. They said only on RV's and motorcycles do they require that to happen before they'll start the coverage. The good news is it was only $77 dollars for SIX MONTHS I couldn't believe that...

Anyways, I've been trying to get a hold of someone to come inspect this thing for the last two business days with no luck. The lines are either busy or nobody answers if it rings... I just hope I don't get a picky inspector because I'm gonna so be cutting it close