Tow Speed excess!

I have ST tires on our fifth wheel they are speed rated at 65mph. That is what I drive at unless the speed limit drops lower.

I tow at a speed that I feel is reasonable and prudent for existing conditions. Very seldom do I exceed 70 mph towing. I tried one long trip driving 55 mph when fuel was $4. bucks a gallon. 900 miles in a day is a long time driving 55.

The motor powering our RV isn't finicky ... it doesn't care what speed we cruise at and remains pretty laid back and easy going all the way up to 4000 RPM.

With our rig's 4:56 rear diff ratio and oversize tires, 2000 RPM works out to be about 57-58 MPH. This is a speed range that gets us the best fuel mileage considering the RV's frontal wind resistance, allows us to stay safe by moving along behind big rigs, and makes it possible to enjoy soothing music while traveling without white knuckles or high blood pressure.

The quiet side of life.

I dislike being on a highway where the normal flow of traffic is 20-25 mph faster than me so that is why I do as little of travel in CA as possible . At 55 it is insane. I don't like that speed my truck doesn't like that speed. My truck likes 2,000 rpm's just happens that is 68 mph

pnichols wrote:
Sooooo ... many of you hotrods are advocating that slow drivers speed up to match the (offtimes illegal) speeders for the safety of all ... instead of the speeders slowing down (and offtimes becoming legal in the process) so as to be a closer match to the slower drivers for the safety of all - even if it's a large RV that must do the speeding up to match whatever types of other vehicles that are traveling at the high(er) speeds?

(I must have written that wrong ... because it sounds so very wroNng and makes so little sense on several fronts.)

I'm not saying that at all. I never speed while towing.

I have towed many times at 80 MPH. It was the top speed limit and everybody was driving it so I was too. I tow the speed limit. If 75, guess what? I'm driving 75 if the conditions are ok.

I have towed 50 in a 75 zone. Big rain and 40 MPH head winds slowed me down to a crawl.

Conditions, conditions, conditions.

pnichols wrote:
Sooooo ... many of you hotrods are advocating that slow drivers speed up to match the (offtimes illegal) speeders for the safety of all ... instead of the speeders slowing down (and offtimes becoming legal in the process) so as to be a closer match to the slower drivers for the safety of all - even if it's a large RV that must do the speeding up to match whatever types of other vehicles that are traveling at the high(er) speeds?

(I must have written that wrong ... because it sounds so very wrong and makes so little sense on several fronts.)

Maybe I'm not one of the hotrods you're referring to, but I would merely advocate for not having differing speed limits for different vehicles on the same road and for, when safe and practical, trying to go with the flow rather than faster or slower than the flow. I would rather see a strictly-enforced 55 speed limit for all vehicles than 55 for some and 65 or more for others.

There have been plenty of times in my motorhome where I go well under the speed limit and the speed of many other drivers, whether due to physics (I can't go up the hill any faster), conditions (side winds make life interesting), or mechanical difficulties (a bird on the inside of a wheel makes it not balance very well).

PA12DRVR wrote:

Grit dog wrote:
I'm going to start a thread about people who drive so f&;!?$(ing slow that they impede traffic. Left lane loafers, those out for a Sunday morning drive at 6am on a Wednesday when the rest of the world is headed to work and the guy pulling his RV down the freeway at 59 mph because the tires are "rated" at 60 mph or whatever.
Sound ridiculous?
Kind of like the thread I posted in.
Fwiw, I'm probably the guy that gives some of you extreme heartburn when I blow past you doing 75-80 with my 32' trailer hooked up or camper on the back.......

Honestly not sure if this is sarcasm or not, but I happen to agree with the sentiment. It might not be the problem elsewhere, but after a lifetime of driving in AK, I'm convinced that more accidents are caused by people driving 30 mph on the 65 mph speed limit highway ("oh no, it's snowy") than are caused by the folks going the limit or faster.

Maybe it's just on the roads I drive up here, but folks who are slower than the majority of traffic (whatever the speed limit) are creating asymmetrical risk for everyone else.

pnichols wrote:
Sooooo ... many of you hotrods are advocating that slow drivers speed up to match the (offtimes illegal) speeders for the safety of all ... instead of the speeders slowing down (and offtimes becoming legal in the process) so as to be a closer match to the slower drivers for the safety of all - even if it's a large RV that must do the speeding up to match whatever types of other vehicles that are traveling at the high(er) speeds?

(I must have written that wrong ... because it sounds so very wrong and makes so little sense on several fronts.)

I won't speak for Grit Dog, I will assume that it was slightly tongue in cheek.
That said what he states if not viewed in the extreme makes sense. I don't drive 70 or 80 in a 55 zone, but if the traffic flow on a two lane in a 55 zone is 60, I will go with the flow. Do you feel that it is safer for an RV to putt along at 50 on that same two lane road when the flow is also 60??
Pat of my view is do you feel unsafe if you go faster than 50? If so why? If that 50 is on an interstate, where traffic speeds along at 65 to 75+ legally?

To PA12DRVR doing 30 on a snow covered road makes far more sense that doing 60, that is the reason we see these 30 to 50 vehicle pileups on the interstates. Too fast for the conditions too close together.

Sooooo ... many of you hotrods are advocating that slow drivers speed up to match the (offtimes illegal) speeders for the safety of all ... instead of the speeders slowing down (and offtimes becoming legal in the process) so as to be a closer match to the slower drivers for the safety of all - even if it's a large RV that must do the speeding up to match whatever types of other vehicles that are traveling at the high(er) speeds?

(I must have written that wrong ... because it sounds so very wrong and makes so little sense on several fronts.)

Grit dog wrote:
I'm going to start a thread about people who drive so f&;!?$(ing slow that they impede traffic. Left lane loafers, those out for a Sunday morning drive at 6am on a Wednesday when the rest of the world is headed to work and the guy pulling his RV down the freeway at 59 mph because the tires are "rated" at 60 mph or whatever.
Sound ridiculous?
Kind of like the thread I posted in.
Fwiw, I'm probably the guy that gives some of you extreme heartburn when I blow past you doing 75-80 with my 32' trailer hooked up or camper on the back.......

Honestly not sure if this is sarcasm or not, but I happen to agree with the sentiment. It might not be the problem elsewhere, but after a lifetime of driving in AK, I'm convinced that more accidents are caused by people driving 30 mph on the 65 mph speed limit highway ("oh no, it's snowy") than are caused by the folks going the limit or faster.

Maybe it's just on the roads I drive up here, but folks who are slower than the majority of traffic (whatever the speed limit) are creating asymmetrical risk for everyone else.

Stefonius wrote:

ramgunner wrote:
The thing is, you need to be prepared for your worst day, not your best day. The day when the guy in the Prius pulls in front of you and hits his brakes because of the squirrel that ran in front of him.

That Prius is going to be "road art" if he pulls in front of me without leaving adequate separation.

About 20 years ago, my uncle was driving a truck hauling dry concrete. A Mercedes passed him on the right shoulder of an off-ramp at a high rate of speed, pulling in front of his tractor with less than one car length of separation. He couldn't see the guy coming up the right side. Then the idiot slammed on his brakes for the sharpish right hand curve in the ramp. My uncle downshifted and braked to avoid flattening the Mercedes. He didn't hit the car, but the sudden change in velocity DID flip his truck over (ain't physics fun). He was ejected from the cab, which then rolled over him. He almost died. The Mercedes driver didn't stop to offer aid.

The moral of the story? Next time, hit the Mercedes.

I hope your uncle sued the company who made the seat belt that didn't work right.
bumpy