The U.S. Department of Transportation enforces regulations for RVs above 10,000 pounds under the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations. These regulations specify how the tires and rims must be labeled, and whether the products are compliant with the Department of Transportation's requirements for the tires and rims. The labels must note the date of manufacture, the country in which the tires and rims were made, the maximum load rating, and the amount of air pressure the tires need when they are cold. The labels also must bear the manufacturer's name, trademark, or symbol.
Besides being labeled for the load limits on its tires, the RV must have a permanent label that is impervious to moisture that notes the vehicle's total weight load limit, the number of safety belts it has, and the maximum water weight it can carry. If a dealer changes the weight load of the RV by more than 100 pounds, the label must be changed to reflect the new weight.
The Federal Department of Transportation lets states decide if they will require RV drivers to have commercial driver's licenses (CDLs) to operate an RV, depending on whether it is towing another vehicle. The criteria are whether the RV is towing a vehicle over 10,000 pounds (Class A) or under 10,000 pounds (Class B). To fall under the criteria, the RV must weigh more than 26,001 pounds.
As of July 2010, three states or jurisdictions require CDLs. They are Washington, DC, Wisconsin, and Hawaii. In Washington, DC, anyone driving an RV over 26,000 pounds has to take the written test for a CDL, but is not required to take the road test. In Wisconsin, anyone driving an RV more than 45 feet long needs a CDL; in Hawaii, anyone towing anything above 15,000 pounds needs a Class 4 license, while anyone driving an RV weighing more than 26,000 pounds must have a CDL.
While just three states require CDLs for specific sizes of RVs, a number of states require special permits to drive RVs over a specified weight or length. They are California, Connecticut, Illinois, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina, New Mexico, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas and Wyoming.
