How fast do you tow?

[houtrz]

Today while driving home from work a truck towing about a 36 foot fifth wheel blew by me. I was already going 75 so I sped up and followed him for about three miles. I was pacing him at between 87-93 depending on him slowing down for cars of which he basically pushed out of the way.

Obviously that was excessive but even at a fast speed what is considered ok and
what would you have done if this guy blew by you on the freeway

[fj12ryder]

Speeding is rarely the root cause of the problem though. Mostly it is inattention and plain poor driving.

Giving someone a driver's license just because they can see to make it through the door to the DMV and have enough money for insurance and the license is not necessarily a good idea.

[NC_Hauler]

fj12ryder wrote:

NC Hauler wrote:

RinconVTR wrote:
We all drive different speeds and methods with or without a trailer.

Drive at the speed you feel comfortable. That's all that matters.

So if I feel comfortable driving at 90-100 mph, it shouldn't matter:h

As long as you don't cause accidents, or become an accident, doesn't matter to me. I drive faster than the limit all the time when I'm on the bike.

.


I use to, but not any more...I've seen several fatal car wrecks and at 65, it got me to driving posted speed limits or even slightly under...guess you have to help remove some dead,badly battered bodies from a car wreck due to speeding to realize that it could happen to you......I slowed down....It would matter to me if someone caused the death of someone in my family due to their speeding..

[fj12ryder]

NC Hauler wrote:

RinconVTR wrote:
We all drive different speeds and methods with or without a trailer.

Drive at the speed you feel comfortable. That's all that matters.

So if I feel comfortable driving at 90-100 mph, it shouldn't matter:h

As long as you don't cause accidents, or become an accident, doesn't matter to me. I drive faster than the limit all the time when I'm on the bike.

[NC_Hauler]

RinconVTR wrote:
We all drive different speeds and methods with or without a trailer.

Drive at the speed you feel comfortable. That's all that matters.

So if I feel comfortable driving at 90-100 mph, it shouldn't matter:h

[houtrz]

I don't think this was a delivery company. It was a used RV, no markings on the truck and had stuff in the bed, like camping. I live in the county south of Houston and we have so much work people can't get housing easy so countless RV parks have popped up for the contractors to live in. I assume he was an out of town contractor.

In the past I have called dispatch for people driving erratic, either drunk or just crazy driving but its rare they are ever caught considering where we are, which dispatch you get routed to and so on.

A few years ago my wife was on the entrance ramp to the highway (I was on the phone with her) and a motorcycle blew by her at a speed that was like nothing she had ever seen. This was a one lane ramp and he almost clipped her mirror, I heard the noise on the phone which sounded like she crashed. She hung up with me and called 911 however because of mobile phones, she was dispatched to the closest center which was the wrong way. In six minutes he would have been in the next town so while they were trying to forward the call, my wife said never mind, he lost control and splattered all over the road, dying right in front of my wife.

[aguablanco]

Oaklevel wrote:
60-65 Max for us no tire dealer here will install LT tires period......... but regardless for how fast you can safely go is not nearly important as how fast can you stop.......... what to do when someone pulls out in front of you........ it will happen....... :).

I am curious. What do you mean no dealer will install LT tires? What could possibly be the reason for that?
RichH

[RustyJC]

Back when I first began towing 5th wheels in the mid-1990s, I would run 75 MPH without a second thought. During the time since then, I've heard 3 of the big BANGS of a trailer tire tread separation. Now setting the cruise control on 65 MPH is fine for me.

Experience may or may not be the best teacher, but it's certainly an expensive one.

Rusty

[laknox]

IdaD wrote:

laknox wrote:

IdaD wrote:
I haven't read all 7 pages, but I do have a couple of thoughts.

- ST tires have different speed ratings, but a lot of the radials I've seen are rated for 80+ mph.

- Speed differential is a factor in a lot of accidents. If you're on a freeway out west with an 80 or 85 mph speed limit, I'd bet you're safer towing at 70 than you would be at 55 provided your tires are rated for it and you don't have a marginal tow vehicle.

The only ST tires that I know are > 65 mph speed rating are the Carlisle RH (75 mph) and the Maxxis M8008 (106 mph). Never seen any other ST, bias or radial, with > 65 mph rating.

FWIW, it seems that Carlisle has backed off on its speed rating since it first came out, unless Discount Tire had/has bad info. I thought it was R, same as Maxxis, 3 years ago, then was N (87) a year later, but is now listed as L (75).

Lyle

M speed rating, 81 mph.

Never heard of 'em. Maybe, just =maybe=, someone in China is seeing what Carlisle is doing and trying to imitate them. 🙂

Lyle

[IdaD]

laknox wrote:

IdaD wrote:
I haven't read all 7 pages, but I do have a couple of thoughts.

- ST tires have different speed ratings, but a lot of the radials I've seen are rated for 80+ mph.

- Speed differential is a factor in a lot of accidents. If you're on a freeway out west with an 80 or 85 mph speed limit, I'd bet you're safer towing at 70 than you would be at 55 provided your tires are rated for it and you don't have a marginal tow vehicle.

The only ST tires that I know are > 65 mph speed rating are the Carlisle RH (75 mph) and the Maxxis M8008 (106 mph). Never seen any other ST, bias or radial, with > 65 mph rating.

FWIW, it seems that Carlisle has backed off on its speed rating since it first came out, unless Discount Tire had/has bad info. I thought it was R, same as Maxxis, 3 years ago, then was N (87) a year later, but is now listed as L (75).

Lyle

M speed rating, 81 mph.

[laknox]

IdaD wrote:
I haven't read all 7 pages, but I do have a couple of thoughts.

- ST tires have different speed ratings, but a lot of the radials I've seen are rated for 80+ mph.

- Speed differential is a factor in a lot of accidents. If you're on a freeway out west with an 80 or 85 mph speed limit, I'd bet you're safer towing at 70 than you would be at 55 provided your tires are rated for it and you don't have a marginal tow vehicle.

The only ST tires that I know are > 65 mph speed rating are the Carlisle RH (75 mph) and the Maxxis M8008 (106 mph). Never seen any other ST, bias or radial, with > 65 mph rating.

FWIW, it seems that Carlisle has backed off on its speed rating since it first came out, unless Discount Tire had/has bad info. I thought it was R, same as Maxxis, 3 years ago, then was N (87) a year later, but is now listed as L (75).

Lyle

[RinconVTR]

We all drive different speeds and methods with or without a trailer.

Drive at the speed you feel comfortable. That's all that matters.

[fj12ryder]

To me it isn't "How fast do you drive", it's "Can you quickly and safely avoid an obstacle or some debris in the road", or "Can you get stopped in time to avoid ramming that idiot who jammed on his brakes to avoid hitting that squirrel". Speed is only one factor of the equation.

[IdaD]

I haven't read all 7 pages, but I do have a couple of thoughts.

- ST tires have different speed ratings, but a lot of the radials I've seen are rated for 80+ mph.

- Speed differential is a factor in a lot of accidents. If you're on a freeway out west with an 80 or 85 mph speed limit, I'd bet you're safer towing at 70 than you would be at 55 provided your tires are rated for it and you don't have a marginal tow vehicle.

[laknox]

Golden_HVAC wrote:
Maybe they where having a medical emergency?

Or delivering a new trailer. You get paid by the mile, and say you are getting $1 per mile, less fuel costs, this guy was trying to break a record and make $70 an hour profit?

Who knows. Let the speeder blow by you. . . You are not law enforcement, and they are probably going to be fine anyway.

Good luck,

Fred.

IF this was a delivery or hot shot driver, what do they say if they show up with the side of the FW they're towing ripped to shreds when a tire fails? Always wondered this...

Lyle

[laknox]

Ltrip wrote:
For those running ST tires (as opposed to LT tires)...they are rated at 60 mph max. That's what I do!

Strange, my first 2 sets of STs clearly had 65 mph molded on the sidewall. :h

Lyle