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?

[missourijan]

Our 5'r weighs 19,400 and we don't feel safe towing over 60, maybe 65 downhill.

[Bionic_Man]

My sweet spot is 65 - 70. Out West, anything below 65 feels too slow with the 75 MPH speed limits.

[Islandman]

I feel best at 60-65 mph, and in California there's a 55 mph limit for towing if I remember correctly. The guy towing at 70 mph or more is a danger to themselves and others if a sudden stopping is required, trailer will probably fishtail or maybe flip the tow vehicle. And who knows if this may cause more serious problems to other vehicles on the road.

[Sandia_Man]

I tow the speed limit +-5mph. Never a blowout or even a flat tire in over 60K miles. I've seen 350/3500 duallys pulling small TTs experiencing enormous amounts of sway even though they have a WD/SC hitch and 1/2 tons pulling 30+ foot rigs that are riding level and exhibit minimal sway. All I worry about is my set-up and it is rock solid when towing in high winds or passing commercial diesel trucks with little or no sway to speak of. Going a few miles above the speed rating of a tire will rarely cause catastrophic failure, under-inflation and overloading are the real culprits. As for mpg, I wouldn't be RVing if I was concerned about the cost of fuel, you have to pay if you want to play.

[carpetguy2]

I always stay at 75.
Never had a issue and I tow a lot

[skipnchar]

I regularly tow at the speed limit until it gets over 70 mph so I USUALLY cap it at 70 MPH. I did drive from the south entrance of Yellowstone back to Topeka over night and kept the speed around 80 to 85 to do it. Had to get home for emergency surgery of my oldest daughter. I felt safe from all but getting an expensive ticket from local LEO but that didn't happen either. That was when towing with my 2004 F 150 HD and my current trailer. I don't recommend towing that fast but I felt it was necessary.

[Javi1]

Generally I set the cruise control at 62 mph if the law allows, slower if mandated. I have no problem maintaining that speed up, down or sideways with the F-250 and 6.7 motor and the fuel mileage is pretty constant at 13.5 while pulling my 2890RL Passport.

[ata3001]

55-60. No need to be in a hurry to do nothing.

[Cloud_Dancer]

Whether I tow my bassboat or my 4x4 GMC Envoy (with my motorhome) I set the cruise at 65 mph.

[Desert_Captain]

The sweet spot for our rig (06 F-150 SCab & 22' 5k# TT), is 59 mph. From flat to about a 3% grade that keeps me in O/D and the 5.4L turning 1600 - 1700 rpm. Once and while but not often I will find myself at 60 to 63 and I will never exceed 65 as I, like most folks have ST tires and that is their maximum speed rating. :C

[wilber1]

Max, 60 mph in US, 62 mph (100 kph)in Canada. Speed limit permitting. Sometimes less.

[lawnspecialties]

When towing the Cyclone, I try to set the cruise at 65-66 mph. That's only because of the tires.

I've towed at 72 mph and felt totally secure on the interstates.

[bikendan]

60-64mph.

[4huskers]

55 mph is what I try to stay at. I lose a couple mpg if I go much over 55. Another reason is ths ST's on our 5th wheel are rated 65 mpg max.

[rk911]

et2 wrote:
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?

we usually cruise at 3-mph over the posted limit with a max of 68-mph...towing or not.