Safe towing speed

[Stefrobrts]

Having picked up a $200 ticket last week, I have been thinking about speed limits more than usual. The next day while driving through the same area - at the speed limit - I infuriated a porsche behind me who obviously wanted me to go much faster, until he could finally get around me. It's a tough call, you either have idiots driving stupid around you if you go to slow - ie the posted speed limit - or you risk taking home a $200 ticket. I have a feeling the $200 ticket wouldn't have been nearly as inconvenient for Mr Porsche as it was for me!

[ScottW]

As I always tell my wife...do not let the idiot behind you dictate how you drive your car.

[safari57]

One of our buddies, formerly an Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer, surprised us when we started to travel with them and since then we know what to expect. He seldom goes more than a few mph over the speed limit. Knowing he's had a lot of driving training in all situations, and that he's also put a LOT of miles on, we asked him one evening if he exceeds the posted limit.

His response basically was that he'd spent too much time dealing with the results of people over extending their own abilities, their vehicles, or the road conditions, to push the envelope himself. It's as often the passengers and third parties who are dealt significant issues to deal with and he just won't go there.

Frankly, that slowed me down. Yep, I have cars that can easily exceed double the speed limit and easily just seem to come alive at 75 to 90, but it doesn't mean I'm about to do it myself. It took me a long time to realize I don't really need to. Since I've learned to slow down, so has life. I'm not feeling as much that life is going so quickly that I have to do everything in a hurry. The journey is far more pleasant, less stressful, I notice things on roads now that I'd missed in my "hurrying past" days, and I get to where I'm going a lot calmer and less frustrated. 55 to 65 works, it keeps the rigs within the comfort zone of almost everyone's driving ability as well as the TV and Trailers comfort zones, and a holiday stays that way.

I hadn't intended this to sound like a sermon. (I'll give myself a self disciplining smack on the back of the head in a moment). I just hate seeing the remains of a car/trailer after one gets away from someone. You just know that many hearts are going to hurt for a long time.

Barry

[silverback]

These days I put the cruise control at ~64 MPH. The trailer stays straight when the 18 wheelers pass and the truck gets better MPG (average in 13 MPG range towing). I am also obsessive about truck and trailer tire maintenance.

[Minnie's Mate]

In the RV world there seems to be two discussions that merit as much controversy as religion and politics and currently they are both topics of discussion on this forum...again. They are 1) towing with the fridge on vs. off; and 2) towing speed.

I find it hard to justify excessive speed on the public highways and interstate systems whether towing or not. That doesn't mean I don't occasionally exceed the posted speed limit. When I do, it is never by more than 5 MPH and I never exceed 75 MPH on the interstate, especially when my kids are in the vehicle with me. Is it a good idea to drive 75 MPH on the interstate while towing? no. Is it acceptable? I think it depends on the conditions. I think it is safer to go with the flow when the interstate isn't crowded than it is to become a road hazard. When the interstate is crowded, I think slower is better.

My philosophy is that there are two types of RV'ers: there are the "getting there is half the fun" types; and there are the "I like to camp but I hate to drive" types. I fall into the latter. (BTW, my wife has always been prone to car sickness so as a child she developed the habit of sleeping in the car so having her drive is out of the question, she falls asleep at the wheel.) I get way more stressed about how long it is taking to get there and we should have been there a half an hour ago than driving an extra 5 MPH stresses me out. I also prefer to leave early in the morning when I'm fresh and avoid as much traffic as possible and get there as early as possible.

Consider this, 5 MPH on a 400 mile trip will save you more than half an hour of drive time. That last half hour is the most fatiguing. You avoid that last half hour of driving fatigued and you arrive much less irritable and you spend half an hour less behind the wheel driving in an irritable mood. So is it better to take roughly 6-1/4 hours to travel 400 miles at 65 MPH or add 5 MPH and get there in roughly 5-3/4 hours at 70 MPH.

In the end, you will have to decide what speed you are comfortable towing at. Just make sure you do as Silverback says he does and make tire maintenance a major priority no mater what speed you decide on.

[Glenn G]

Two parts to this conversation and a third possable thing to help your tires.
First when I was a young man they put you in the most dangerous place in the milatary cause your young !and in a hurry. But as one gets more mature the need for speed and its traveling companion danger fades away.
The second is how comfortable we are driving at high speeds because of safty glass airbags etc. . There a joke if you get into somthing serious, a real crap shoot.
The help our tires thing is the big "N" yep nitrogen. you can fill your tires with it at some tire sales places and it dosen't expand or shrink so it dosn't matter if you take a psi reading after driving on a hwy.. It dosn't seep through tires so you will have to correct tire psi much much less often. Ive had it in my truch for quite a while. I haven't put it in the Safari yet cause I haven't been where I could change it out. If anyone has comment on nitrogen I'm very interested.
GG

[thecatsandi]

Nitrogen is the primary component in air. It does expand and shrink in volume with heat, just as any gas will do. The big advantage to nitrogen is lack of oxidation inside the tire. outside it still occurs. The other Nitrogen does not support combustion.

[Kevbo10]

Originally Posted by altamont

I have heard that 65 mph is the highest speed safe for towing our baby. However, the tires are rated for much higher speed and the TV is very capable. Can 70-75 mph on level interstate pushing our limits? I seem to be passed by just about everything being towed.

i'm sure to raise eyebrows with this one...

in california i drive 64.

in arizona i drive 80.

in new mexico, i'm not even going to tell you...

(weather, road and traffic conditions permitting)

i however do leave massive room ahead of me to go faster.

it's a Hemi Dude...

Bob (friend of K.)

[RoadKingMoe]

1600 rpm on the flats, 2400 rpm up hills.

[ZoominC6]

Originally Posted by silverback

These days I put the cruise control at ~64 MPH. The trailer stays straight when the 18 wheelers pass and the truck gets better MPG (average in 13 MPG range towing). I am also obsessive about truck and trailer tire maintenance.

I'm with you SILVERBACK.

[Cracker]

I drive 55 while towing on the Interstate when the traffic is light and the lanes are open (---a common condition in Northern Maine.) Once it gets crowded I'll push it up to 60 - but seldom any higher. I prefer the country roads, where I can cruise along at 45 to 55, pulling over to let the locals go pass when I can do it safely. Although this produces good gas mileage, notwithstanding mountainous terrain, that fact really has little to do with it. It's simply my nature to travel slower than most - towing or not. As such, I've been rewarded with 54 years of accident-free, white-knuckle-free, and moving-violation-free driving, while enjoying about 1,000,000 miles behind the wheel.

[silverback]

Glenn G,
I would love to try nitrogen but the only source around here is Costco and they won't do it unless you bought your tires there.

The next best thing would be to catch the draft behind the hemispherically inclined señor Kevbo...

-KL

[safari57]

Originally Posted by Cracker

I drive 55 while towing on the Interstate when the traffic is light and the lanes are open (---a common condition in Northern Maine.) Once it gets crowded I'll push it up to 60 - but seldom any higher. I prefer the country roads, where I can cruise along at 45 to 55, pulling over to let the locals go pass when I can do it safely. Although this produces good gas mileage, notwithstanding mountainous terrain, that fact really has little to do with it. It's simply my nature to travel slower than most - towing or not. As such, I've been rewarded with 54 years of accident-free, white-knuckle-free, and moving-violation-free driving, while enjoying about 1,000,000 miles behind the wheel.

Wow, good for you Cracker. I have put on a lot of mileage and one look at my greatly abused face and body will confirm that, but in my youth I was what most parents fear - I had to do EVERYTHING in a hurry. My motorcycle days in particular were very hard on my body and my drivers license . Hitting a city bus broadside while racing a car with my motorcyle was just one of my episodes that gave my parents a lot of grief I'm sure they were amazed that I survived my teens.

Barry

[tetstream]

I drive 65-70 without a trailer, even when it's 75 posted. It's just easier, and getting there 20-30 minutes earlier by going 5 MPH faster has never netted out for me. I must stop more often.

No one has mentioned passing yet in this thread, which is certainly a component of rate of travel. Passing is probably the most dangerous few moments you have while towing, except for evasive manuevers. If you're going a tad slower, chances are that you are passing less, therefore less chance for trouble.

A Calif CHP officer told me the following also, regarding towing and passing:

2 lanes of travel in your direction, you must stay in the right lane, except to pass when safe.
3 lanes of travel, same as above
4 or more lanes of travel, you may travel in the right two lanes ONLY, and passing can only be done in the lane to the left of the slow lane.

I see this rule violated every day, all the time.

[ticki2]

Originally Posted by tetstream

No one has mentioned passing yet in this thread, which is certainly a component of rate of travel. Passing is probably the most dangerous few moments you have while towing, except for evasive manuevers. If you're going a tad slower, chances are that you are passing less, therefore less chance for trouble.

A Calif CHP officer told me the following also, regarding towing and passing:

2 lanes of travel in your direction, you must stay in the right lane, except to pass when safe.
3 lanes of travel, same as above
4 or more lanes of travel, you may travel in the right two lanes ONLY, and passing can only be done in the lane to the left of the slow lane.

I see this rule violated every day, all the time.

You make a good point about passing , it is dangerous for the passer and the passee . That is why I question the safety of traveling 55mph on an interstate that is posted 65mph , or in some states more . Just about everyone on the road with you will be passing . To be honest I'm not sure what a safe speed is , I tend to feel uncomfortable above 70 , so thats my limit . I once hit a deer while doing 55 , was that too fast ? A blowout at 50 is no fun , at 60 it's worse , should we travel at 40 ? I mostly drive and tow according to the conditions rather than a particular speed. Keep the shinny side up.

[nymphfishin]

Originally Posted by altamont

I have heard that 65 mph is the highest speed safe for towing our baby. However, the tires are rated for much higher speed and the TV is very capable. Can 70-75 mph on level interstate pushing our limits? I seem to be passed by just about everything being towed.

Try driving your first 500 hours at 55 mph,

Then drive 500 hours at 60 mph,

Then graduate to 65 mph,

Your hours towing will be the best teacher for what is the best and safest speed,
FWIW

Don

[Cracker]

Originally Posted by safari57

Wow, good for you Cracker. I have put on a lot of mileage and one look at my greatly abused face and body will confirm that, but in my youth I was what most parents fear - I had to do EVERYTHING in a hurry. My motorcycle days in particular were very hard on my body and my drivers license . Hitting a city bus broadside while racing a car with my motorcyle was just one of my episodes that gave my parents a lot of grief I'm sure they were amazed that I survived my teens.

Barry

You're not alone! I started my life on the highway by getting broadsided on my motorbike by a driver who raced through a light. That crushed my leg and put me on crutches for most of the summer when I was fourteen. That same year, three classmates were killed in separate motorcycle/motorscooter accidents. The school annual was dedicated to their memory. Later, when I was sixteen, my Olds coupe threw a rod enroute to the swimming hole. I parked it alongside the road, and eight of us piled into my buddy's 41 Chevy sedan. On the way home after swimming, he lost control, we flipped end over end and then rolled three times before coming to rest on our side in a water filled ditch. I got 23 stitches across the side of my head, my girlfriend fractured her neck, and the rest got off with bruises and minor cuts. No alchohol was involved and we were just plain lucky. Later on, during my High School years, I attended our Key Club formal, and upon arriving home, the ambulance driver from the funeral home next door (---funeral homes ran the ambulance service in Florida back in the 50's) came running over to ask me if I would go with him to a serious accident where a train had collided with a car. Still in my tuxedo I helped him put one of my classmates, who had been at the dance, in a rubber bag. Those experiences may have helped shaped my driving habits - but, without a doubt, they gave my mother a lot of gray hair!

[doorgunner]

and it bothers me not. a few weeks ago I was travelling Hwy-80 in No.Cal. It's a real piece of dung road, rutted,pot holes, craters etc. The descent from Donner Pass around 7900 feet MSL. to Sacramento around 52 feet MSL has a handfull of 5, 6, and 7 percent downhill grades.As luck would have it because I'm the luckiest guy alive my trailer brakes decidied not to work. 32 foot excella- 93 454 burb. I thought about it for a minute then thought - what a perfect time for a real time test. Ease off the go pedal and drop the tranny into D not OD. Well the old 454 was able to slow the whole enchilata to 45-50 mph. even on the 7 % grade I only had to use the left pedal sparingly. How about them apples. Hey I'm keeping up with the big rigs and their smokin brakes anf jake brakes just a screaming.So what's a safe speed to tow at? Whatever you're comfortable with, I've run off cliffs while motorcycling , been in a head on collision, done an emergency ascent from 200 feet down, survived a few women, dodged a few bullets, mortars and rockets, drank a few bad bottles of wine and I'm still kickin. Just keep the greasy side down and don't let the nimrod behind you push you along. FWIW

[Minnie's Mate]

Doorgunner I agree with you. My father was a regional HR manager for a major east cost trucking company for over 29 years. Safety training was a major part of his job. I remember him saying many times that people assume that because semi's have air brakes they can stop on a dime and that causes them to do stupid things around semi's like pulling out in front of them and cutting them off, etc. But they don't realize that the mass in the trailer causes the rig to require much greater distances to stop than passenger cars and they needed more of a gap between them and the vehicle in front of them.

Now we all know that tractor/trailers fly down the interstate and most of them are going well over 75 MPH but we don't give that a second thought. When you compare the weight to brake surface area you get a pretty high ratio. When you compare our Airstreams and tow vehicle combo weights to brake surface area you get a much lower ratio. The braking of our rigs is much better than the braking of a semi rig but as soon as someone says they tow at 70 MPH or 75 MPH, everybody thinks they are the most dangerous thing on the road to themselves and to other motorist. Bear in mind also that most of us are towing for fewer hours per day than truck drivers and most of us got a good night sleep the night before and may or may not have been towing the day before. My point here is that we are usually less fatigued than the truckers, driving a rig that can stop quicker and is much more maneuverable than a 60-65 foot tractor/trailer rig (especially the dual trailer rigs) so I am comfortable towing at 70 MPH or even 75 MPH. I keep my trailer maintained and it is a relatively new trailer with less than 10,000 miles on it. Before starting this season I had the bearings packed, the brakes inspected, the tires inspected and the tire pressures topped off.

You really have to decide what you are comfortable with and not worry what others are comfortable with. You also have to realize that you are no more right in your decision about towing speed than they are.

[romap]

So, with all this about what is a safe speed, is there a cut and dry chart to look at that states what the safe speed vs weight is for the common Goodyear Marathons (which seem to have blowout issues if improperly inflated/loaded)?

I tend to keep it between 60 and 65, but must sometimes go faster for short spurts. Inquiring minds need to know.

I feel comfortable towing at 70 if the conditions exist, but I am concerned about the tires.