Put Your Big Old Diesel Truck on a Diet, or Avoid California from Now On!

[AbleGuy]

This bears looking into further for you big, heavy diesel rig owners. I’m not entirely sure how this restriction applies to campers (still looking for clarification) but the articles below seem to indicate it does!

Own a 2010 or Older Big Rig or Bus In California? It's Now Banned

California is the first state banning all semi-trucks and buses made before 2010 starting January 1, 2023.

www.motorbiscuit.com

The new “stay the heck out of Cali or get fined” law seems to also pertain to big, heavy diesel powered campers too:

New Laws in California Could Be Trouble for Diesel RV Owners

California is trying to be a leader in the shift to alternative fuels. This means that diesel RV owners could face issues when they try to visit the state.

www.motorbiscuit.com

(From the article referenced just above, which discussed the new law before it was fully implemented)

“A recently approved law should be of specific interest to diesel RV owners. Senate Bill 210 directs CARB to develop a “Heavy-Duty Vehicle Maintenance and Inspection Program” applicable to all vehicles greater than 14,000 pounds operating in California.”

Senate Bill 210 directs CARB to establish this program starting with a pilot, followed by a full inspection program. The inspection program will be coordinated with the California Department of Motor Vehicles and include procedures for both visual and functional inspections and necessary emissions testing. Those who do not comply would be assessed fees, and penalties CARB establishes.

This proposal is one of many CARB measures intended to curb diesel emissions from trucks, both operating in-state and out-of-state. But it also has implications for diesel RV motorhomes owners residing in California, along with owners traveling to and from the Golden State…. it also has implications for diesel RV motorhomes owners residing in California, along with owners traveling to and from the Golden State.”

There may be a way out of this problem for some of you. The rules not applying to your rig if you drive it less than 1,000 miles driven is an exemption that might apply to and help you out of staters. It’s not clear to me from reading these articles, but it seems that exemption might refer to rigs driven “less than 1,000 miles in California,“ vs, just “less than 1,000 miles driven in total anywhere.”

 

[Mike W.]

It doesn't effect RVs or Non Commercial licensed rigs.. But that's probably short lived since California has a future ban on gasoline car sales.

 

[AbleGuy]

I’ve been advised by other knowledgeable members here that The above sided articles, which seem to scarily threaten us with the idea that RVs are included in the enforcement of the new carb laws, might not be completely accurate.

So I dug into the issue further and I finally found some articles about exemptions that seem to relate to RVs. These are older articles that were written before the law went into affect this month but still provide some help. Essentially if you have a commercially produced RV that’s older and heavy enough to otherwise be subject to these new rules, it looks like you’re OK for now.

However with home builds, things like Schoolies and ambulances and LMTV trucks etc., The important difference seems to be whether the registration of your vehicle shows it as a recreational vehicle or not. It seems to indicate from what I’ve read that if your home brew is registered in California or any other state as a heavy duty vehicle and not an RV, you still might have a problem with the new California prohibitions aimed against older heavy duty diesel powered vehicles. This seems to be a gray area still. I can find nothing definitive on that.

One successful argument might simply be that, even if you’re not registered as an RV, you are not considered a commercial vehicle. If you don’t have a commercial operators license and don’t need one to pilot your big rig, that might be the deciding factor. Again I could not find anything specific on this even after a couple hours of Internet research.

And lastly, here is a pretty helpful YouTube video that talks about how these new rules might apply if you have a homebrew. It is also mentioned, you should note if you are a California resident, that there is pending legislation that hasn’t been yet adopted by carb that will require in the near future vehicles over 14,000 pounds to have smog tests, something that it implies is not the current situation for private vehicles. This bill specifically does apply to RVs!