I can't drive 55

[PeterH-350LE]

Wow, times have changes. I used to make the trip Austin/Little Rock/Austin many times in many different Motorhomes (IH35-IH30). But that was 16-20 years ago
Now the speed limit is 75 in many stretches and the semi-truck traffic has increased 5-10 fold.
This time I took the trailer and was going an average of 65 mph, being passed by big rigs constantly.
I am really worried about taking the 310 on that route, since 60-62 is my comfort zone and max rpm level, putting me in a somewhat dangerous zone of flying road debris and tire fragments
How do you handle these new and "improvement" interstate driving conditions in your Motorhome that was built for 55 -60 mph?

[TG Twinkie]

I try to avoid the interstates as much as possible but when there is not much choice.
I drive 60, stay in the right lane and let them fly on buy.

[tevake]

Yep secondary highways, state roads are my preferred routes. But here in the open deserts of the southwest. Interstates are some times the only choice.
Doing night runs seem to thin out the traffic some. And ease the temps.
Even tho the trucks are going fast they mostly seem to be well driven.

Still not a comfortable mix, driving so slow in a stream of faster moving traffic.
I feel it better staying in the comfort range of the vehicle I'm driving, and stay to the right and let the faster drivers sort it out for themselves.

Did I mention how much different a trip can be had on the state roads?
I just grin and bear it when having to venture onto the interstates.
Having overdrive does help.
Cheers Richard.

[Caffeinated]

Just heading home from a three week 2800 mile trip. Lots of travel on I5. Lots of truck traffic, some bad congestion in spots, some road construction. It is what it is. So far, no real problems. The worst was a broken wine bottle on the floor of the trailer after getting bounced on a rough section of road. The alternative is to stay home. I drive in my zone, trucks can pass me. I try not to hog the fast lane, especially as I'm not driving at 80 mph. I flash my lights when the trucks can safely pull back in front of me. Most truckers seem to appreciate that.

Mike

[carlc]

Originally Posted by TG Twinkie

I try to avoid the interstates as much as possible but when there is not much choice.
I drive 60, stay in the right lane and let them fly on buy.

That's what i do, but sometimes you have to stay to the left for your bear off or exit and have to somewhat keep up or you won't get in and miss your turn. that's what i hate. carl

[Wingeezer]

For us, interstate travel is an unavoidable thing when making the long trek south each winter.

I would be happy rolling along at 60 or so, but have tried it and found it not to work very well. Mainly because of problems caused by people merging on, many of who don't seem to have the right idea about how to do it!

I don't know what goes on in their minds! I do try to leave quite a gap between myself and the vehicle in front, yet so many people merging on seem to get up to a speed equal to mine when they are on the ramp and then just stay at that speed until the inevitable crisis happens.

Traffic is usually so heavy that I don't have the option of sliding left to the next lane to make space.

So these days I favour the centre lane unless I know I am coming up to my exit.

I will of course slide over to the right lane if an 18 wheeler is on my tail and the rule of the road precludes his using the left passing lane.

This means that to be reasonable to my fellow travellers I have to be prepared to run at the prevailing speed and within reason that is what I do.

I do try to leave a good gap to the vehicle ahead of me to make this as safe as possible, but admittedly not easy as folks seem to always want to filter into the buffer gap causing me to have to drop back to re-establish it!

I think that having LT tires on the trailer as well as a Hensley hitch help from a safety standpoint.

I'm sure it is arguable and many may have different views, but I feel that all things considered, this is probably my safest approach.

I too prefer secondary roads for sure, but statistically I think have read that major interstates are safer due to not having intersections, driveways etc.

Brian.

[Troutboy]

We just purchased first AS, and first travel trailer. What is the rated speed for these. Ours is a FC23D. TV is 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee Summit

Thx

[MelGoddard]

Originally Posted by Caffeinated

Just heading home from a three week 2800 mile trip. Lots of travel on I5. Lots of truck traffic, some bad congestion in spots, some road construction. It is what it is. So far, no real problems. The worst was a broken wine bottle on the floor of the trailer after getting bounced on a rough section of road. The alternative is to stay home. I drive in my zone, trucks can pass me. I try not to hog the fast lane, especially as I'm not driving at 80 mph. I flash my lights when the trucks can safely pull back in front of me. Most truckers seem to appreciate that.

Mike

DITTO in ONtario

[gecko]

Originally Posted by Troutboy

We just purchased first AS, and first travel trailer. What is the rated speed for these. Ours is a FC23D. TV is 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee Summit

Thx

If you have the stock Good Year Marathon tires, they are rated at 65 mph, although the tire rep did say that you can over inflate from 65psi to 70psi and do 70, max, safely on those tires.

But towing a trailer is different than driving your vehicle by itself, obviously. And towing for the first time, you are not used to the potential effect on the trailer. I would therefore suggest 55-60 as your limit, when posted speed limits allow. As many others have written, on the interstates that can be an issue as other drivers, and especially large semis, may zoom past you at speeds up to 80mph legally in some states. The bow wave that the larger vehicles create may push your trailer away from an approaching vehicle, just as it would do to your tow vehicle with now trailer. You may feel this as a pull on the back of your tow vehicle, even with a good sway control. The most important thing to remember is to overcome your initial reaction to correct quickly, and instead to just gently correct if necessary. Once the large air envelope has passed your trailer, it will push your tow vehicle in the opposite direction. So if you have made a small or no correction at all, this will correct everything back into line.

The same thing happens in reverse if you are passing a large vehicle. It seems to be the difference in speed between the passer and the "passee" that aggravates this effect.

When off highways, I'm sure you know the "rule" that the trailer will always turn inside the radius of the turn of the tow vehicle. So always start any turn as far away from an inside curb or other object as possible (remember the signs on the back of many semi trailers--"this vehicle makes wide turns?") Practicing in an empty parking lot with an orange safety cone is a great way to get a feel for this.

Whethere on or off interstates or highways, double your normal following distance (you weigh twice as much.) Don't get impatient with others who roar around you and slide into your safety buffer--just fall back again.

Airstreams are WAY superior in handling to "box" trailers. Their weight is low to the ground, and if pressed, they can roar through a slalom course. if you do get into a tricky situation, your new trailer will try to help you out. But the laws of physics still apply and you are twice as heavy, and stopping and maneuvering is just not the same, so err on the side of caution.

There are many other tips, such as proper trailer brake settings and using engine braking whenever possible, that are covered elsewhere in the forums.

[jcole]

Originally Posted by Wingeezer

For us, interstate travel is an unavoidable thing when making the long trek south each winter.

I would be happy rolling along at 60 or so, but have tried it and found it not to work very well. Mainly because of problems caused by people merging on, many of who don't seem to have the right idea about how to do it!

I don't know what goes on in their minds! I do try to leave quite a gap between myself and the vehicle in front, yet so many people merging on seem to get up to a speed equal to mine when they are on the ramp and then just stay at that speed until the inevitable crisis happens.

Traffic is usually so heavy that I don't have the option of sliding left to the next lane to make space.

So these days I favour the centre lane unless I know I am coming up to my exit.

I will of course slide over to the right lane if an 18 wheeler is on my tail and the rule of the road precludes his using the left passing lane.

This means that to be reasonable to my fellow travellers I have to be prepared to run at the prevailing speed and within reason that is what I do.

I do try to leave a good gap to the vehicle ahead of me to make this as safe as possible, but admittedly not easy as folks seem to always want to filter into the buffer gap causing me to have to drop back to re-establish it!

I think that having LT tires on the trailer as well as a Hensley hitch help from a safety standpoint.

I'm sure it is arguable and many may have different views, but I feel that all things considered, this is probably my safest approach.

I too prefer secondary roads for sure, but statistically I think have read that major interstates are safer due to not having intersections, driveways etc.

Brian.

When pulling my trailer I drive between 55-60. Stay in the right lane, farthest over to the right. When traffic merges on my right side , if I am there I only yield in an emergency or to emergency vehicles if it is safe to do so. I drove a large school bus for ten years after I retired. Having to stay under 55 MPH (state law) at all times and have had my share of dealing with other drivers improperly merging into traffic. There will always be a yahoo who does not know the traffic law regarding how to merge properly or would rather not yield and try to push you over . I would blast my horn and when they soon realized they would run out of road they fall in line pretty quick. Yes, sometimes you have to put up with some unpleasant gestures. When you are in the correct lane, driving legally/properly do not let some yahoo take that control away from you. If you feel a unsafe emergency situation is about to happen, one must always be ready to take what ever evasive action is necessary to keep safe/avoid an accident.

[MelGoddard]

Originally Posted by Troutboy

We just purchased first AS, and first travel trailer. What is the rated speed for these. Ours is a FC23D. TV is 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee Summit

Thx

My advise?
On your Interstates (or our 400 series) highways, 60-65 MPH, (100-110 KPH.)
is a decent speed. Stay in the right lane, let the faster traffic scoot by. (It's law in Ontario).

On the secondary roads, 50-55 MPH, (80-90 KPH) where allowed is decent.
(Look in the rear view mirror to see the 'bow wave' of the AS kicking up dust from the gravel shoulders.)

Many SP tires are rated for MAX speed of 65 MPH/110 kph, going faster with any tires can be an adventure at times.

[eubank]

We avoid the interstates as much as we can, too. Have discovered byways around most of Albuquerque, our currently nearest city, though none of them are marked as such. Just stare at a good paper map for a while and figure it out.

Lynn

[USAtraveler]

The law in many states when towing a trailer is 55ph, regardless of whether its a state or interstate highway. I try not to exceed 60 mph and to stay on the inside lane unless I feel the need to pass an even slower moving vehicle. Being passed by most other vehicles, including tractor/trailer rigs, is par for the trip and not really a problem. Turn on your hi beam lights AFTER a big truck has passed you and can return safely to your lane (flashing your lights means DON"T pull over). Airhead car drivers trying to merge from onramps are a problem. Safe strategy is to let them in, even if they don't abide by the MERGE/YIELD road rule.

[bwoodtx]

When going that way for work I usually take US 79 to Texarkana then I30 into Little Rock

[labtopia]

i traveled to Michigan and back, chicago and back, and all the way from Atalanta to California and back at 55. safe and fine trips. i did have words with some truckers being unsafe on the way though...

[comprose]

Peter, I sympathize with you on this. We drive a '99 30' Land Yacht MH. This past summer we did 7,000 miles over 70 days, and since we had a schedule (don't like doing that) we were pretty limited to Interstates from Seattle - San Diego - Sedona - Nashville - Lincoln NE - Salt Lake City - Portland - Seattle. My sweet speed was 50-55 MPH running at the high 20 RPM; sweet because of dzriving comfort plus fuel economy. The right hand lane was our home, seldom passing anyone. Actually the professional truck drivers, while they would swish by, were good. Flashing them to move back right usually resulted with their flashing "Thanks". Issues, if any, were cars, especially entering the freeways, either not getting up to speed, or at the last minute simply cutting in - - no idea that it takes time and space to brake. Yet, on the whole, being slow was never an issue.

[rucos]

I drive 60-65 on the interstates and stay to the right . I find that when I come into a city I will usually take the middle or second lane to avoid the "mergers" and it usually works well. My Tundra can do the speed no problem but a truck and trailer is a lot of vehicle if things start going wrong. We drove up I-15 in May doing 65 and everyone passed me... that is a fast highway!! The one nice thing is you can use your cruise control and don't kick it off that much.
It amazed me the speed people were pulling trailers at. I saw one trailer with 2 blowouts (I-15) at the side of the road and was amazed there wasn't more, trailer tires are made to do 80+mph. !!

[rucos]

correction....trailer tires AREN,T made to do 80+ !!

[eggman]

texas has speed limits???!!😂I always see patrolmen , but apparently nobody else does!

[grjanny]

Yep, 60 mph was good for us on our 5,200 mile Road Trip 2016. No one finger waves!