appropriate expressway speed?
What is an appropriate speed to drive on the expressway while towing?
Forum Discussion
Nothing you say will change people's minds about towing speeds. Experience will be the only teacher. After logging well over a million miles and counting in a big truck (18 yrs) I can say that, personally, I make better time and arrive more relaxed driving around 60-65mph. Ran coast to coast with the "Billy Big Riggers" and their "triple digit trucks" and we would get there about the same time, actually beat a few to the customer. Tortoise and the Hair. They'd pass me several times over the course of a day. They would race truck stop to truck stop and always be yelling on the radio for bear report. Ran 156,000 paid miles in my best year and I took a couple of weeks off. When I was running hard I'd run 3,800 miles one week and 4,200 the next. Most I could log under HOS at the time.
Key to making good time: 1- keep the door shut so you keep rolling. A 5 minute stop is never 5 minutes. By the time you get off the highway, fuel, get a cup of coffee, whatever and back up to highway speed you're at 1/2 an hour or more. While trip planning I always figured a 50 mph average (45 mph on US roads) and 30 min rest breaks. Accidents, hills, jerks, it all adds up. 2- stress/fatigue is generated by trying to buck the system and move faster than the natural flow. 3- Know your limits. If people would acknowledge their limits we would not have so many stupid laws (HOS rules for an example). Every time I got in a hurry is when I made a mistake.
Safety bulletins state "lane changes" are the #1 cause of an accident while towing. Faster you go, the more lane changes you will have to make. Many accidents are caused by people trying to do too much in too little time and not paying attention to the road.
Many a time I've been passed, mentally thinking "I'll see you later", too find them later down the road with a blown tire (overloaded vehicle), flipped up side down, slide off into the median or receiving a driving award (ticket) from the nice officer.
Be safe....
Key to making good time: 1- keep the door shut so you keep rolling. A 5 minute stop is never 5 minutes. By the time you get off the highway, fuel, get a cup of coffee, whatever and back up to highway speed you're at 1/2 an hour or more. While trip planning I always figured a 50 mph average (45 mph on US roads) and 30 min rest breaks. Accidents, hills, jerks, it all adds up. 2- stress/fatigue is generated by trying to buck the system and move faster than the natural flow. 3- Know your limits. If people would acknowledge their limits we would not have so many stupid laws (HOS rules for an example). Every time I got in a hurry is when I made a mistake.
Safety bulletins state "lane changes" are the #1 cause of an accident while towing. Faster you go, the more lane changes you will have to make. Many accidents are caused by people trying to do too much in too little time and not paying attention to the road.
Many a time I've been passed, mentally thinking "I'll see you later", too find them later down the road with a blown tire (overloaded vehicle), flipped up side down, slide off into the median or receiving a driving award (ticket) from the nice officer.
Be safe....
