If you want help from the forum, we will have to know a few things. What is your trailer, your tow vehicle, your hitch, and your sway control, if any?
Even without sway control, a properly hitched tow-vehicle/trailer combination with adequate tongue weight should not be that unstable. By properly hitched, I mean having sufficient hitch weight, the ball at the proper height so that the trailer is level, and the tow vehicle not nose up due to excessive hitch weight.
Thanks for the response.my trailer is a 31 footer on 16" tires........I'm used a ford f250 with a 351 windsor motor and it had plenty of power.
This was my first time towing a trailer and the guy I bought it from told me my set up was fine,how ever after doing some research I found out he was wrong and I will be taking the truck to a pro to install a better hitch and sway control before I ever tow it again .
I got VERY LUCKY last night to get home safely and won't make the same mistake again
A few questions that would be helpful in addressing your tow issues.
1. What age & length Airstream are you towing?
2. Tow Vehicle?
3. Are you using any weight distribution or sway control hitch?
4. Have you checked for trailer contents for weight loading?
5. Trailer tires (are they trailer tires or passenger tires)?
6. Condition of shock absorbers on Trailer and Tow Vehicle?
The trailer is a streamline and I don't know the exact age I'm thinking its a 1970 model . it is a 31 footer......my hitch is NOT good enough for a trailer this large but I took someone elses word for it and that is what got me in trouble last night .
Thanks for the reply and I will be posting more on here .......well if its ok that I own a streamline instead of a airstream
The trailer is a streamline and I don't know the exact age I'm thinking its a 1970 model . it is a 31 footer......my hitch is NOT good enough for a trailer this large but I took someone elses word for it and that is what got me in trouble last night .
Thanks for the reply and I will be posting more on here .......well if its ok that I own a streamline instead of a airstream
WD and sway control are needed no matter what brand large trailer you own. Most of us will be happy to put our $.02 in.
All ST tires are sped rated for 65 mph, not just Marathons. I have stated elsewhere on the forums, if you really, reallly, really, just have to go faster than 65, go with LT tires which are speed rated at 75. They have their own problems, first of which is they are for light trucks, not trailers, and you will need to replace them more often than trailer tires, as they are not designed to hold up to long periods of sitting in the sun. Sidewalls are also softer, so they may tend to move around more while you are driving/towing.
Now, I'll stir the pot a bit more. Why are all you speed demons in such a hurry? I bought my trailer to relax, and that getting there was half the fun, not stress myself out by how fast I can tow my trailer. Slow down, enjoy the trip, get there safely, an hour later.
Between 60 and 65 depending on hills and wind and weather. We have been up to 70 on occasion but that's just a waste of fuel. If we wanted to get somewhere fast we'd fly. As for hitches ,we've towed her for 12 years with nothing but the ball in the socket and a saftey chain. No sway bars...nothing. We avoided a herd of sheep on I-40 in NM once with evasive action at 65mph and my old girl stayed right with us. never new she was back there. She acutally helped stabilize our TOW vehical and kept us straight. It was amazing. It may matter that ours is a steel frame (low center of gravity) 1965 Overlander, 26'. Fully loaded as we are full-timers.Very heavy and stable. The tow vehicle was a 1976 Ford F100 with a Thunderbird 302. Yes you read that right. we towed with that truck for 5 years and it was better than anything we've ever had including a 1986 Suburban with a 350 engine that was a dog with mushy suspension even with the factory tow package. Did I spell suspension right.
Took SilverToy to SW NM over New Years so I have recently relavent input.
Speed limits are 75mph on the non-urban InterStates out here in NM - lotsa room! Actaully, the SL is more of a "guide" since no one seems to really adhere to it. There were more than a LOT of cars/ SUV's that passed me in the 90+ range - What a pressure surge!!!
As to my towing speeds, I try to keep it about 65-68mph depending on the road. Someone else posted a while back about speeding up on the downhills and using that momentum on the upside, and I do confess to doing that. Just seems like unneeded abuse on the drive train if I don't do that. And with a LOT of the down/up cycles out here, the downs are DOWN and the ups are UUUPPPPSSS...and at 45 or 50 I feel like a rolling roadblock. I don't like that feeling!
I spend a LOT of time in my mirrors because I think the more room I can leave the speed crazy's the better - you CAN see them coming a LONG way off on the somewhat less crowded SW roads. Not that I don't drive a bit over the limit when not towing - about 80mph, but it has more to do with the sweet spot for the trucks motor/tranny than anything else. Really. I used to HOT foot it everywhere, but I have other priorities now.... really.
While towing I get (just figured this one out 2 nights ago) about 11.5mpg at the above noted speeds. It does drop to about 9.5mpg if I have to stab at the throttle a lot. When not towing the mileage is about 15.5mpg and that is WAY less speed dependent - has more to do with keeping the throttle open consistantly over time and distance.
I selected 65 mph in the poll, truth is we tow at about 62-63 mph. This seems to be about as fast as I am comfortable towing, leaves enough time to respond to any surprises, and does not seem to tax the fuel consumption too bad. I feel more relaxed at this pace also, and relaxing, is what the AS, and camping are all about to me.
I have plenty of chances to hurry around during the rest of my "oblibations" in life...
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Life is Good-Camping all around New England
Good people drink good beer-Hunter S Thompson
I am not going to post the speed I normally tow at because I don't want to become the poster boy for "Speed Demons Anonymous". I will say this much, the maximum I will drive without the Airstream in tow is 75 MPH on the interstate and not more than 5 MPH over the posted limit on non-interstate roads. I don't intentionally tow any faster than I drive without the Airstream...enough about how fast I might drive.
However, I think there are two types of drivers: those who enjoy "getting there" and those who enjoy the destination. I fall into the destination group. So far our limited Airstream trips have mostly been to places that are best reached via interstate and there isn't much to see along I-75 from Atlanta to central Florida and only marginal more on the stretch headed north of Atlanta. I don't like to drive. My wife won't even consider towing and quite frankly I have ridden with her without a tow and all I can say is, "No thank you" to her towing. Our kids are impatient so they watch DVDs since they have seen all of the same scenery before. If there is anything to see along the interstate, I will slow down and tell the kids to take there head phones off and we will discuss what there is to see. My wife usually sleeps most of the trip. That leaves me pretty much driving all to myself. Now don't get me wrong, the quite is relaxing. But, adding 5 MPH on a six hour drive cuts 30 minutes off the trip. That's an extra 30 minutes to enjoy the destination; that's 30 minutes less of a boring chore for me (driving); that's 30 minutes less butt time (and quite frankly my '95 F-150 had more comfortable seats than my leather captain's chairs in my F-250); and in some cases that's 30 minutes more of daylight to set up camp and in other cases that's an extra 30 minutes of sleep after getting camp set up after arriving late at night.
Why all of the explanation? I have a new trailer, new tires, one of the top recommended trailer hitch systems, a truck that is more than capable of towing my trailer at 85 MPH if I wanted to go that fast (and once or twice I got that fast when I wasn't using the cruise control and it was going uphill on both occasions! ) and I have one of the best brake control systems available, IMHO. I keep the air pressure checked in the tires on both trailer and tow vehicle, check the torque on the lug nuts before hitching every time, check the tire temperature every time I stop for fuel or a potty break. Trust me, I would travel slower if I thought it would be significantly safer--I have my family with me after all.
Why not fly or just drive without a trailer? Because we enjoy camping! It's the getting there we don't enjoy. Whoever said getting there is half the fun must have really bad vacations!
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2006 30' Safari - "Changes in Latitudes"
2008 F-250 Lariat Power Stroke Diesel Crew Cab SWB
Family of Disney Fanatics
WBCCI# 4821
Between 55 & 65 seems best for me. For multi-lane freeways, I tned to the high side so I can stay out of the extreme outside lane, thus avoiding unplanned exits and frequent ingresses from new traffic. The old binder's about 40 this year and she get too thirsty if she's pushed, although she go if you ask. I do find that out west I'm about the slowest thing on the road, but, it's OK–I hate to hear the affirmative when I ask "Are we there yet?"
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"Not all who are lost are wondering" say Bill & Heidi
'78 Excella 500,"The Silver Pullit". vacuum over hydraulic disc brakes, center bath, rear twin. '67 Travelall 1200 B 4X4 WBCCI 3737
Over 65? Unless your tires are rated higher than 65. You are now a test pilot.
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Michelle
I'm not afraid I learned to drive in Washington, DC
Sarah
Ruby, (05 BMW R1200RT) serviced and put to bed for the winter
Daisy, (06 Diesel F-250 w/Tow Command)
Butter Cup, (06 Classic 31 w/dinette, solar) http://Michelles-Adventures.US
We're pretty slow, I guess, towing somewhere between 50 and 65, depending on conditions. But we also avoid the interstates ("the best way not to see the country"), so for us, driving in the right lane just means that we don't pass anybody. Guess maybe that's why it took us several days to get from here to Zion National Park and even more than that to get back home.
Lynn
Background,,, 15 years professional driver for trucking company, 25 years management for trucking company's, during that time 15 years accident investigations (usually fatal ones)...
Professioanl truckers drive up to 3,000 miles a week, more per week than many AS users do in a YEAR.
Has anyone ever noticed that on our 40,000+ mile Interstate System that you cannot drive a mile without seeing evidence of a truck going into the median or off the shouder of the road.. These are professional drivers and almost all the truck accidents are 'DRIVER ERROR'.
My point is if you are driving over 65 you are overdriving your equipment and very possibly you skill level!!
Don't read the beyond here if you DO NOT LIKE REALITY.
Has anyone of you ever seen a sneaker laying on the hiway?
With a person foot still in it?
Or the front of a truck with someones hair, skull and brain matter in the grill? Or a car that is only 20" high that once had 6 people in it?
All these and many, many, many more with the same results.
We AS users have the best trailers and the best TV's, but please don't be in a hurry to your own accident!
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. There were more than a LOT of cars/ SUV's that passed me in the 90+ range - What a pressure surge!!!
(and quite frankly my '95 F-150 had more comfortable seats than my leather captain's chairs in my F-250); and in some cases that's 30 minutes more of daylight to set up camp and in other cases that's an extra 30 minutes of sleep after getting camp set up after arriving late at night.
) and I have one of the best brake control systems available, IMHO. I keep the air pressure checked in the tires on both trailer and tow vehicle, check the torque on the lug nuts before hitching every time, check the tire temperature every time I stop for fuel or a potty break. Trust me, I would travel slower if I thought it would be significantly safer--I have my family with me after all.
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