What kind of vehicles does a Class B CDL cover?

Class B is the class for single-unit heavy vehicles — box trucks, dump trucks, cement mixers, garbage trucks, city transit buses, school buses, RVs over 26,001 lbs, and similar vehicles. You can also tow a light trailer (under 10,000 lbs) with a Class B. What you can't tow on Class B alone is a trailer over 10,000 lbs — that requires Class A. A Class B license also permits you to drive Class C vehicles.

Most Class B jobs are local or regional: short routes, multiple stops, home most nights. That profile is a good fit for drivers who want commercial work without the long-haul lifestyle. The lifestyle difference is meaningful for drivers with families, drivers who don't want to be away from home for extended periods, and drivers who prefer predictable schedules over the variability of long-haul. Many drivers spend their entire careers in Class B specifically because the work fits their preferred lifestyle better than Class A would.

The vehicle scope under Class B also includes specialized configurations that can be career foundations on their own. Refuse trucks, fire apparatus, utility trucks with crane attachments, and specialized industrial equipment all operate under Class B with various endorsement combinations as needed. The endorsement structure layered on top of Class B creates the same kind of specialization that Class A offers, just with single-unit vehicles instead of combinations. Drivers who pick Class B as a permanent career rather than a stepping stone often add P (passenger), S (school bus), or N (tanker) endorsements to expand their job options within the Class B category.