Towing speed?

The higher the price of diesel gets, the slower I go. And vice versa. :)

There is a substantial difference from those who tow for but a few days all year and those of us that tow 10 to 15,000 miles a year. I use the interstates to get to the areas we want then set up camp and just use the TV to see anything within 100 miles.
As I've stated, I tow at 67 MPH and on the interstate at 4 a.m and tow till I get to my next park. My last 3 tows were for over 520 miles each. There isn't a lot out west but me and the semis. I am well under the posted limit of 75mph. I sit back maybe listen to an audio book for a few hours and then listen to Willy's "on the road again' and his other hits.

We are over 3000 miles from home and still going west.
Happy trails and remember this is easy stuff when you are with the one you love!

NY & PA have a maximum towing speed of 55 mph. Few will actually do that speed, but that is what it is. I'm usually at 60.

At 65mph you will cover 300 feet of road before your foot hits the brake when you see thing going to heck in front of you.

65 mph is 95 feet per second. If it takes you 3 seconds to get to the brake pedal, perhaps your wife should drive... average reaction time is less than half that.

On another subject, anyone pulling a TT at 90 mph is a hazard to everyone else sharing the road with them, and they deserve a ticket for reckless driving. At the very least.

Bumpyroad wrote:
you forgot to factor in the fact that us old geezers are much smarter than you young whippersnappers.
bumpy

That's a very good point, as older drivers are more likely to keep more distance between them. The overall intent of my post was that speed is just one of many variables involved in a safe traveling experience. People like to pretend that its the end-all, be-all of safety... but it isn't.

Some people can drive a heavy vehicle at 75 mph safer than other people can drive a light vehicle at 55 mph. Driving slow and stupid doesn't mean that its safer.

Is it camping season again yet?

ST tires are speed rated 65 mph (most) so 65 it is for me. Towing above 65 (unless tires are rated more than 65) is playing with fire and asking for a blowout, esp. the more you do it and the faster you travel. I use our GPS as a speedometer and run at 64-65 mph and max out at 65.0 mph. Sometimes it's so easy tho. to drift above 65 if not watching speed closely, like when cresting a hill and I brake and if needed, downshift on steeper grades. Even if a person could go faster, 65 seems to be a good max. considering all the potential factors, including a driver's age.

It always surprises me how many figure they can rely on their made in Ch*na brakes to save them some day if in an emergency/panic situation but will gladly condemn Ch*nese tires as being garbage. Some don't even ever check their brakes at all. Factory wiring and splices can be substandard too.

Ditto 63 mph. I found out the hard way with my Duramax that at 63 and below I get 16 to 17 mpg. At 70 I get 13. This was the outcome on my last trip toBC.Towing my TT. Just takes more time , but all I have now is time.

Like donn01208 said, MOST ST are rated 65MPH. Take it from me I been there done the unthinkable. Over speeding with my T.T. And had to replace all 4 tires at the end..;)

spoon059 wrote:

proxim2020 wrote:
X2. In the real world it takes us humans some time to process what's happening in front of us on the highway and actually start the process of slowing down. Typically about 1.5 seconds for unexpected situations and it slowly gets worse with age. Doing simple math, at 60 mph you'll travel 132 ft before you even start slowing down. At 70 mph it's 154 ft. Your typical car needs a football field to come to a complete stop from 70 mph. Something to think about.

As you said, it gets worse with age and it also gets worse with more weight. I find it ironic that we have 70 year old drivers (slower reaction time) driving 40K lbs class A's, towing an additional 5K lbs car are giving grief to 35 year old drivers (faster reaction time) driving 14K lbs of truck and trailer for driving too fast.

The reality is that the older driver in a heavier rig will take substantially longer to stop at 60 mph than the younger driver in a lighter rig at 70 mph. Heaven forbid we use logic and common sense here, its so much more satisfying to just denigrate someone who has opposing views... logic be damned!

you forgot to factor in the fact that us old geezers are much smarter than you young whippersnappers.
bumpy

proxim2020 wrote:
X2. In the real world it takes us humans some time to process what's happening in front of us on the highway and actually start the process of slowing down. Typically about 1.5 seconds for unexpected situations and it slowly gets worse with age. Doing simple math, at 60 mph you'll travel 132 ft before you even start slowing down. At 70 mph it's 154 ft. Your typical car needs a football field to come to a complete stop from 70 mph. Something to think about.

As you said, it gets worse with age and it also gets worse with more weight. I find it ironic that we have 70 year old drivers (slower reaction time) driving 40K lbs class A's, towing an additional 5K lbs car are giving grief to 35 year old drivers (faster reaction time) driving 14K lbs of truck and trailer for driving too fast.

The reality is that the older driver in a heavier rig will take substantially longer to stop at 60 mph than the younger driver in a lighter rig at 70 mph. Heaven forbid we use logic and common sense here, its so much more satisfying to just denigrate someone who has opposing views... logic be damned!