BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 64
Author: Donnelly (R)
Amended: 8/27/13 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE : 10-0, 7/9/13
AYES: DeSaulnier, Gaines, Beall, Cannella, Galgiani, Hueso,
Liu, Pavley, Roth, Wyland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Lara
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 70-0, 5/16/13 (Consent) - See last page for
vote
SUBJECT : Fifth-wheel travel trailers
SOURCE : Recreational Vehicle Industry Association
DIGEST : This bill permits a fifth-wheel travel trailer to be
up to 48 feet in length, as specified.
ANALYSIS : Existing law defines a fifth-wheel travel trailer"
as a vehicle designed for recreational purposes to carry persons
or property on its own structure and to be drawn by a motor
vehicle by means of a kingpin connecting device. A kingpin is
the main pin used to connect a semitrailer or fifth-wheel
trailer to a truck, which in the case of a fifth-wheel travel
trailer is usually a pickup.
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AB 64
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The distance from the kingpin to the rear axle (KP-RA length)
determines the width of the turning radius of a truck-trailer
combination. Generally, any increase in the wheelbase of any
vehicle in a combination of vehicles will result in the vehicle
combination using more of a road to complete a turn.
State law limits the length of any vehicle to 40 feet, with
specified exceptions, including semitrailers being towed by a
truck. Semitrailers may be of any length, provided that the
KP-RA length does not exceed 40 feet. Because fifth-wheel
travel trailers are defined as vehicles and not as semitrailers,
state law limits them to no more the 40 feet in length.
This bill:
1. Makes an exception to the vehicle length limits for
fifth-wheel travel trailers, allowing them to be up to 48
feet in length provided the KP-RA length is no more than 40
feet for a fifth-wheel with two or more axels, or 38 feet for
a fifth-wheel with a single axel.
2. Requires a fifth-wheel manufacturer include in the delivery
documents the information necessary to register the
fifth-wheel, including its overall length and declaration
that its KP-RA length is in compliance with the limitations
above.
3. Provides if the manufacturer fails to do so, the dealer may
reject acceptance of the trailer.
Comments
Persons who buy fifth-wheel travel trailers of greater than 40
feet in length cannot register them with the Department of Motor
Vehicles (DMV), and therefore, not use them legally in
California. DMV directs these customers to contact the dealers
from whom they bought the fifth-wheel travel trailers. In turn,
the Recreational Vehicle Industry Association, which represents
fifth-wheel manufacturers, sought this bill to make those longer
travel trailers legal.
Semitrailers vs. fifth-wheel travel trailers . Because a
fifth-wheel is simply a semitrailer that serves a recreational
purpose, it is unclear why existing law treats them differently
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than other semitrailers. In fact, the California Highway Patrol
reports that for enforcement purposes, it does not cite
fifth-wheel travel trailers of greater than 40 feet for length
limit violations, unless they exceed the 40-foot KP-RA length.
This bill clearly conforms state law to that practice and will
also enable DMV to register these trailers.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/27/13)
Recreational Vehicle Industry Association (source)
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 70-0, 5/16/13
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Ammiano, Atkins, Bigelow, Bloom,
Blumenfield, Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Ian
Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley,
Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Fong, Fox, Frazier, Garcia,
Gatto, Gomez, Gordon, Gorell, Gray, Hagman, Hall, Harkey,
Roger Hernández, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue,
Lowenthal, Maienschein, Mansoor, Medina, Mitchell, Mullin,
Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea,
V. Manuel Pérez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Salas, Skinner,
Ting, Torres, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk,
Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Allen, Buchanan, Eggman, Beth Gaines, Grove,
Holden, Melendez, Morrell, Stone, Vacancy
JJA:d 8/27/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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