how fast do you tow?

We just flow with the traffic. Last year going west we found ourselves getting the thousand mile stare. The rods were long and straight and little traffic. Locked on cruise at 70-75 and what traffic there was passed us. We had to pull over numerous times and take a walk, eat a snack and or snooze.

Turtle n Peeps wrote:

john&bet wrote:

Turtle n Peeps wrote:
I'm not retired and only get so much VT. The limit or 75. I roll because I want to see a lot of things and do a lot of things when I'm on my vacation.
One can get several more days of vacation in when on the road less and one of the ways to do that is drive faster.

That only works if the traffic flow will allow it. The limit in my part on the country, I-65 is 70 between Indy and Louisville. I know for a fact you will not be able to average 70mph the whole 120 miles. You be lucky if you average 55-60. So your theory goes in the basket. JMO.

#1 That may be true on I-65 between Indy and Louisville but it isn't where I travel on 40 and 70. I won't speak for anything east of the Mississippi river because I've never been there. So if you have never been west of it please do the same.

#2 You can't average 60 either so it's apples and apples.

#3 I set the cruise on 70 or 75 and I bet I don't touch it for maybe 6 times a day. And that is only for about a minute or two. 70 and 40 are just not that crowded in the west and Midwest.

#4 And before anybody starts on the fuel stop deal I can travel 400 miles on a tank with my Dmax if choose. Even so, it only takes less than 15 minutes and that still puts me 45 minutes ahead of the game. Even if it does drop my mileage in my diesel 1 mpg that is only 1/2 tank of diesel for me in 3000 miles. Woop dee doo, a whole 75 bucks more in 3 weeks. :R


Sorry to burst your bubble but it's no theory. I live it on every vacation. My basket is in great shape.

The point is, if you maximize your speed on the road you will minimize your time on the road. Over time it really adds up. Yes, it really is that simple. :R

Sorry to bust your bubble, but I have been west of the Mississippi and the Missouri and the rockies. Please pass me all you want if you see me. I even spent almost 3 years in California(April '67 to Jan.'70). Enjoy your vacations. I do mine.

65 Mph

Turtle n Peeps wrote:

westend wrote:

Turtle n Peeps wrote:

westend wrote:

Turtle n Peeps wrote:
I'm not retired and only get so much VT. The limit or 75. I roll because I want to see a lot of things and do a lot of things when I'm on my vacation.
One can get several more days of vacation in when on the road less and one of the ways to do that is drive faster.

Really, have you done the math on that? You would have to cover a lot of ground to recover a day at a 15 MPH difference.

Here is the math and the thread if you are interested. Like I said in this thread, about 140 miles/day. And on a 3 week vacation I can cover almost 3,000 more miles if I traveled every day or 1,500 miles if I traveled every other day.
BTW this is no theory. I live in a 55 MPH tow state and I cover WAY more ground when I get out of my state and into one that has a 75 MPH tow limit.

The way I figured it is that you would save about an hour a day driving 300 miles. Wouldn't you have to do that 24 times to save a days driving?

Ok............one more time: :R

I save an hour each day over you, so a little over 4 day's I save a day's worth of travel over the way you travel.

Or to put it another way and to do the math for you:

It takes you 5 hours to travel 300 miles at 60 MPH. (60x5=300 miles)

If I spend 5 hours driving my truck at 75 MPH I can travel 375 miles. (75x5=375 miles)

I gain 75 miles/ day over you. At the end of 4 days (4x75=300) I'm one whole day's worth of traveling ahead of you. (the way you travel)

Or at the end of my 3 week vacation (20 days / 4 =5 days) I'm 5 days travel ahead of you! :E

Or to put it another way; while you are poking along on the road I can go and enjoy a relaxing day at a museum or the race track or go fishing or swimming or just hang out and resting at a pool every 4 days.

Apply the math anyway you want. The fact of the matter is, one can save a lot of time.

I guess you're free to travel any way you like, of course. I just don't see it but that's me. Also, you don't need to personalize the 300 mi./day to my style. I was using that figure from your previous post in another thread," I only like to drive about 300 to 350 miles per day anyway."

Sometimes to fast.

Well, that certainly could be a scary scenario on the highways and sure begs the question: I wonder how many towing RV'ers out there gotta go fast to stay awake??

pnichols wrote:
"How fast do you tow?" Hmmmmmmm...

We have a small motorhome that is under-loaded, handles like a dream, and we STILL travel only 55-57 MPH when cruising. I'm sure glad I live in a state with a 55 MPH towing speed limit ... . I just wish the CHP would enforce it so it meant something.

Yeah! There's nothing like a snooze behind the wheel from road hypnosis.
i hope your wheel are way out of balance and the radio is stuck on barney and friends so you will stay awake.

"How fast do you tow?" Hmmmmmmm...

We have a small motorhome that is under-loaded, handles like a dream, and we STILL travel only 55-57 MPH when cruising. I'm sure glad I live in a state with a 55 MPH towing speed limit ... . I just wish the CHP would enforce it so it meant something.

I tow at about 62 MPH (1800 RPM seems to be the "sweet spot" for my Cummins). If I'm approaching a mild grade I may accelerate somewhat until I reach the top and then I continue at my regular pace. I believe slower speeds also help keep tire temps from getting too high, especially during hot weather. I also assume there will be a safety factor should a blowout or some other mechanical emergency occur.

I've driven 950+ miles in a day at 75+ mph. If I limited time at my destination, I am going to do what I have to do to get there as quick as possible to maximize my time.