appropriate expressway speed?
What is an appropriate speed to drive on the expressway while towing?
Forum Discussion
I tow my boat long distances to a couple of favorite waterways at least once a year ( or twice ) .
I often leave home ( 2 lane US Hiways ) at 5 pm to 12 pm on Thursday night .
I often tow through the night arriving at my destination waterway Friday morning at first light .
Because I start on 2 lane highways I am not obstructed as much by the tourists from the land of freeways who block our 2 lane US Highways by going 54 mph .
A percentage of 4 lane freeway drivers do not understand that they are blocking our main travel routes .
Without these folks blocking my US Hiway route I can set my cruise control on my hd2500 diesel pickup at 62 mph while towing my boat .
I estimate that I save about 1 mpg and I gain an extra 3 mph on average versus driving in the daytime in the summer months .
I stay on the water all day Sunday and tow back home through the night and arrive home sometime Monday morning . I do stop and nap when I get drowsy .
To make for great towing I moved my boat trailer axle to the rear of the trailer about a foot . My boat tracks really well without any hint of sway even in the curves that occur on our 2 lane hiways.
I also upgraded my boat trailer wheels / tires by an inch in diameter and 20 cm in width and one Load Range . This gives me so much excess tire capacity that catastropic tire failure has not been a concern for more than a decade .
Further , I actually lowered by about 2 inches my hd 2500 (4WD) pickup , installed 8 inch wide wheels ( instead of 6.5 " ) and installed 265 LRE Michelin highway tires instead of the factory 245 width factory tires .
These modifications have made an immediately noticeable difference in handling when towing ( and not towing ).
With my TT and $4 diesel , I have just plain resigned myself to going about 61-62 maximum now than the 65-67 or so that I would go a decade ago .
With 2 lane roads the strategies are different than the 4 lane freeway , of course . Same speed but right hand lane .
I often leave home ( 2 lane US Hiways ) at 5 pm to 12 pm on Thursday night .
I often tow through the night arriving at my destination waterway Friday morning at first light .
Because I start on 2 lane highways I am not obstructed as much by the tourists from the land of freeways who block our 2 lane US Highways by going 54 mph .
A percentage of 4 lane freeway drivers do not understand that they are blocking our main travel routes .
Without these folks blocking my US Hiway route I can set my cruise control on my hd2500 diesel pickup at 62 mph while towing my boat .
I estimate that I save about 1 mpg and I gain an extra 3 mph on average versus driving in the daytime in the summer months .
I stay on the water all day Sunday and tow back home through the night and arrive home sometime Monday morning . I do stop and nap when I get drowsy .
To make for great towing I moved my boat trailer axle to the rear of the trailer about a foot . My boat tracks really well without any hint of sway even in the curves that occur on our 2 lane hiways.
I also upgraded my boat trailer wheels / tires by an inch in diameter and 20 cm in width and one Load Range . This gives me so much excess tire capacity that catastropic tire failure has not been a concern for more than a decade .
Further , I actually lowered by about 2 inches my hd 2500 (4WD) pickup , installed 8 inch wide wheels ( instead of 6.5 " ) and installed 265 LRE Michelin highway tires instead of the factory 245 width factory tires .
These modifications have made an immediately noticeable difference in handling when towing ( and not towing ).
With my TT and $4 diesel , I have just plain resigned myself to going about 61-62 maximum now than the 65-67 or so that I would go a decade ago .
With 2 lane roads the strategies are different than the 4 lane freeway , of course . Same speed but right hand lane .
