Having a bit of trouble with licensing in Southern Illinois

[cadillackid]

Originally Posted by TheHubbardBus

So your suggestion is for the OP is to tell the state police & DMV to piss off?

Do you personally refuse to comply with your state's vehicle licensing / registration / insurance requirements? If the former, how has that worked out for you? Around here that would get your bus impounded and you saddled with citations / fines.

Note I'm not arguing the right or wrong of it all. Just the practicality. Seems like this is the sort of strategy that only really works if everyone else is doing it.

yeah!! in a way... drive the bus to the road test early... go get coffee someplace and Walk into the office... (sorry officer my driver went home after he drove my bus here before his work shift...he isnt here but lets go)

[Stu & Filo. T]

When did they start all this?? 2013 walked into DMV in Freeport said to reg as a rv and they did, no testing no verify what license, about 15 min and $200 later everything was done

[Dbacks2k4]

Originally Posted by Stu & Filo. T

When did they start all this?? 2013 walked into DMV in Freeport said to reg as a rv and they did, no testing no verify what license, about 15 min and $200 later everything was done

It's an Illinois thing. Not sure how long they've had it. Iowa has no such rule, if the vehicle isn't registered and/or used for commerical purposes then no CDL is required. However, they crack down on pickups with trailers in commerical use and require a Class A or B as applicable if the gross or gross combination weight is over the CDL limits.

I'm torn on it... the libertarian in me thinks its just more government overreach. On the other hand, I've seen way too many people who have no business driving a bus for personal or other use behind the wheel of them. Saw another YouTube video today of a guy who bought an air brake bus for conversion that "took half an hour to figure out how to release the parking brakes" - you know darn straight he has no idea the perils of low air pressure or brakes that are too worn to be safe. Same for some aging seniors behind large class a motorhomes towing a full size Silverado....

[Scott56082]

Originally Posted by Justinb.jackson903

Yeah from last I called around to every CDL school in the area class a only.....also again I have a limited budget

So I got my CDL by signing up with the local School bus company as a driver, bus drivers are in short supply. Our company is paying a $1000.00 signing bonus for new drivers.... Some of the areas around us pay up to $3000.00.
The company I work for needs subs, and activity drivers for weekends as well as routes... If you tell them you want to work for them they pay you to learn, they teach you all you need to know, they give you over the road instruction as well as making sure you are prepped for the driving test.... All day their expense, and they pay for the physical, and they provide the vehicle to test in while paying you to do it.... Here in Minnesota that is 5 written tests (CDL classB, Passanger endorsement, School bus, air brake endorsement, and drivers license written) then you need a physical, and a background check all paid for by them.....You really can't go wrong going that route, and maybe you work a Saturday here and there driving a football team to a game or two and you get paid for that. If ask around with your local school districts I am sure you can find a deal way better than paying for a school.
You might even enjoy the kids if you decide to do some trips after you get your license.... I know I do!
It might be worth looking into.

I wish you the best in your journey.

[prankster]

I used to work part time at an RV Dealership driving RVs to shows and then back to the yard. I don’t have a CDL but a lot of the guys did. Most were retired long haul and just wanted something to do part time. Maybe one of them can be of service ?? They might have options for you. I guess it wouldn’t hurt to stop by and chat up the drivers. If they can’t personally help they might offer some ideas. Good luck

[Mekanic]

If you are thinking of moving your home address, think Ohio. Simple to swap title description (from bus/truck to RV) with a simple 1 page form to fill out. Then just a regular operators lic to drive it sine it is a RV and you are an Ohio resident.

[Justinb.jackson903]

I don't know when they started doing it this way but I guess I'm just a victim of the times with this one lol

[Justinb.jackson903]

Yeah I understand those sentiments. I know the laws are there for a reason and obviously making sure people are licensed is a way for government to get more money but it does have an affect on the odds of an accident in one due to negligence. One thing I would wish they would improve though is the driver handbook for Illinois it's not really detailed as to how or what to do in terms of pretrip inspections or handling the situation should something go wrong as compared to the Texas driver handbook that even gives you pictures of the parts what they're called etc etc

[Justinb.jackson903]

Thank you....that is a solid idea....I will look into it as a potential path....I already have the learners permit for the non-CDL class b I just have to pass the road test for the license....I've been practicing in the storage yard where my bus is parked and using soccer cones to set up for the exercises they would want me to do like straight line backing, offset left offset right backing, driver side and conventional parallel parking, and side alley parking and generally getting used to howy bus handles in confined spaces and once I get my plates tomorrow then work on some actual road driving starting probably at night because of less traffic just the basics and ng taking it to a gas station for gas then some day driving around town a bit then some highway and interstate....we have to crawl before we can walk before we can run right

[Justinb.jackson903]

That is definitely a new idea I hadn't even considered. I will check it out

[Justinb.jackson903]

That means ght not be that hard for me.....I do have two uncles in Ohio that I could always ask if I could use their address

[Mercuric Mind]

This is from our Land of Lincoln.

https://www.ilsos.gov/publications/p...s/dsd_x142.pdf

You are exempt from the CDL requirements for a personal use RV. Page 1

Your problem is getting the bus registered as a RV. Try going to a currency exchange. Most have the ability to issue vehicle license and often they are less critical of the vehicle. They may not even need to see the bus or do an inspection. It has been known to happen!

Best of luck.

[Justinb.jackson903]

When they say that they mean the requirements for a full CDL such as a physical and medical certification as well as the entry level driver course as well as all the test you have to take to get the license with the full CDL there is a whole list of written tests you have to take where as with the non CDL it's just one written test and a road test and the license for the class b NON CDL which means you can drive a class b what is considered a class b vehicle as long as your not using it for business purposes and and with that also it actually depends on the size and weight of your skoolie like the van life and short bus skoolies you don't have to get the class b non CDL but the full size ones it's because of the size and weight that they consider it the same as if you had a what is called a class a RV or fullsize drivable rvs that they say you have to have a class b non CDL....yeah no currency exchanges around here in southern illinois Im suspecting that it's a northern Illinois thing lol...I have all the paperwork done now and going to tge dmv today tonget it done and over with when i wrote this post originally i was mostly venting my frustration at the end of a long bad day and once I got the ball rolling on getting the paperwork done it wasnt that bad lol

[Banjo Joe]

So, how'd it go? I am in SoIL, too.