How fast do you honestly tow?

[et2]

And if over 70 mph do you really feel safe? I was traveling in my car on the freeway today. I trailed a rver who seemed to be moving pretty fast. I matched his speed at 77 mph. He was pulling about a 32' aluminum travel trailer which had the axles flipped, so it road pretty high off the ground with the nose angled down to the knuckle. The pickup was a short bed F150.

Just my perspective, but man that was way to fast, especially for the setup he had. I'd wager he had his foot buried in the pedal.I started thinking about all the things that could go wrong. Why do so many push he envelope? If I had to be in that much of a hurry I'd give up camping. I tow at 65 - 68, maybe that's too fast?

So what say you is really a safe speed?

[I_am_still_wayn]

Special trailer tires are speed rated to a 65 mph max

[et2]

rk911 wrote:

john&bet wrote:
Never been run off an interstate yet in any state at 55-65.

you ought to give that a try on any of the Illinois tollways especially I-355 or I-88 (otherwise known as the Illinois Autobahn) at any time other than rush hour. 😉

It's all about mass.Somehow I'd think the smaller or lighter vehicle is in a no win situation by doing something stupid.Really sounds like a great opportunity to increase a states revenues.

[rk911]

john&bet wrote:
Never been run off an interstate yet in any state at 55-65.

you ought to give that a try on any of the Illinois tollways especially I-355 or I-88 (otherwise known as the Illinois Autobahn) at any time other than rush hour. 😉

[Eurocamper]

My experience here in Utah: The higher the lift on the tow vehicle and the bigger the tires the faster it will be towing. Add an extra 5 mph if the trailer has its axle flipped.

[Learjet]

65 mph on interstate when able, speed limit when on hwys, or max 65

[Dyngbld]

rk911 wrote:

Dyngbld wrote:
My Exploder tows the pop up or utility trailer well at around 62mph....

would this be the spelling version of a Freudian slip?! 😉

🙂 No it was intentional. That is what I usually call it. Honestly it has been a great truck, it has a ton of hard miles and has lots of miles left.


Keeping it at a good speed and maintaining it well, I have been able to keep it on the road a long time.

[fla-gypsy]

60-65 mph is my towing speed. Fuel economy goes up about 2 mpg if I limit it to 60 mph

[rk911]

Dyngbld wrote:
My Exploder tows the pop up or utility trailer well at around 62mph....

would this be the spelling version of a Freudian slip?! 😉

[Dyngbld]

My Exploder tows the pop up or utility trailer well at around 62mph, so I like to keep it around that. I have been known to step it up a bit if road conditions are favorable.

I rarely drive above the posted speed limit when not towing, so it would be extremely rare to do it while towing. Like other have said sense I have retired I am really not in that big of a hurry. I have no problem slowing down or pulling over to let the lead foots pass me.

[Tvov]

Most of our towing is in New England and I keep the cruise control at 64mph when possible. Too much traffic and hills to go much faster. If you aren't in traffic you are going uphill or downhill. Not mountains, but it is rarely ever actually flat.

If I try to cruise at 65mph, I inevitably end up behind that person on the cell phone (doesn't matter if it is "hands free") who is slowing down and then speeding up -- WHY don't people use their cruise control?? For some reason at 64mph I just have easier driving.

I specify where I tow as I keep mostly to New England, so I have rarely been on a road that isn't either going up or down. When we towed down to Florida a couple times I didn't seem to be holding up traffic cruising at my usual 64mph.

[doxiemom11]

55-62mph for us. Usually at 60

[silvercorvette]

Sandia Man wrote:
I tow the speed limit +-5mph. Never a blowout or even a flat tire in over 60K miles..

I have had 3 blow outs in the past 8 months so I am very conservative. The blowouts were cause by tire that had dry rot. I have 4 new tires on my RV and am not worried about a blow out, I just made up my mind that driving at 55 instead of 70 is not going to make a big difference in how long it takes to get where I am going, slow down and enjoy the view

[atreis]

I go 60 mph 99% of the time. It's what's recommended by Toyota and only 5mph below the tire rating.

I have gone faster for brief periods while passing in order to free up the passing lane for other traffic, but that's rarely needed.

If I feel the slightest twinge of being unsafe (very high winds, heavy rain, come to mind - I never go fast enough for this to happen in good weather), I slow down. Others can wait. All in all, my towing experience is very smooth and pleasant. I don't like white knuckles, so don't do things to cause them.

[ChooChooMan74]

55 to 60 is good for me, whether I am on flat, pulling it up the hill, or pulling it down the hill.

[time2roll]

generally about 60. If out of state with higher speed limit I have been known to run flat out at 70 all day :e Yes I know my ST tires are only rated 65.