Driving a motorhome: regulations

Before knowing in depth what the traffic regulations indicate and that you can drive a motorhome with everything in order, we must clarify something that most people tend to confuse. Caravan, motorhome and camper van are different vehicles and, therefore, their regulations and driving are not the same.

• Caravan: consists of a vehicle without an engine that you tow with another vehicle with an engine. So it is considered by the DGT, as a trailer.
• Motorhome: vehicle specially designed to be able to live inside. Of these, we can differentiate several types, the capuchinas, profiled, integral and camper vans, which, although they were not manufactured to live in them, they can be conditioned for that purpose.

What license and registration do you need to drive a motorhome?

If you are going to drive a motorhome, you should know that it does not require any specific license. If you have the permit B This will be enough, but bearing in mind that the vehicle cannot exceed the maximum authorized mass (MMA) of 3,500 kg. In case of exceeding them, it is required to have the type C license.

However, in the case of driving a caravan, there are two possibilities: if the caravan weighs 750 kilos, the DGT considers it as a light trailer. Therefore, it can be driven with a type B license.

But, if the caravan weighs more than 750 kilos it is considered as a non-light or heavy trailer. This means that you will need to extend your B license with the authorization 96. This allows you to carry a trailer with a gross vehicle weight (GVW) of more than 750 kg, with a vehicle of up to 3,500 kg. However, the total may not exceed 4,250 kg.

On the other hand, the class B+E license allows you to drive combinations of up to 7,000 kilos. This means that you can drive a car of up to 3,500 kg and a heavy trailer of up to 3,500 kg.

Finally, regarding registration and insurance, you need to know that to drive a motorhome you need both as in any passenger car.

And that in case of driving a caravan, and if it has a MMA less than or equal to 750 kilos, you will not need neither registration nor independent insurance. However, you will need the corresponding one for the towing vehicle.

If your case is that it exceeds 750 kilos, then you must go to the Jefatura de Tráfico to register the trailer.