How fast do you drive with camper on? .

I’m not sure where you are where their aren’t speed limits.

I have a F450 which is a crew cab DRW with a 9 1/2 TC which is under my GVWR and way under axle ratings with fantastic brakes. Obviously, it matters if you SRW or not and it matters how heavy and what type of TC you have.

I usually drive 65-70 in 75-80s, but slower when windy or when weather conditions aren’t good. But, I drive the speed limit in areas where the speed limit are less. Obviously, a little faster and slower at times. I can’t think of any case where water came in my TC over the past 15 years or in any other RV for the 15 previous.

jimh425 wrote:
I’m not sure where you are where their aren’t speed limits.
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I was just removing that from the equation because it obviously sets an upper limit, but it varies.

Barring head winds or nasty side winds, just open country straight highways, generally around 75, but places like eastern Montana, North Dakota and similar tend to get ticked up to 80+ if I’m tired of driving and I can stomach the abysmal fuel mileage.
Caveat, my TC hauler was pretty low geared so 82mph was like 2600rpms on a Cummins.
However, whenever the combined ground speed and head wind topped about 100mph, the turbulence would try to suck the front windows out of the truck! So that was my practical limit.
Rain? Never worried about water intrusion or the durability of the camper at all.
Think about it this way. Say you’re doing 60 mph, reasonable speed, with a stiff headwind. Rain or shine, the camper feels 80-90 mph. If it doesn’t blow apart then or leak it’s not going to.

I am known to ignore speed limits and my F350 was reaching the governor 90 mph limit on 4th gear, still having 2 more gears to go.
But driving with big camper I kept wondering at what speed the aerodynamic lift will become bigger than camper weight.
So with several steps in progress, I tested it to 75 mph on long run and I reached 80 mph couple of times when passing.
Did not observe any strange camper movements at those speeds, but that was enough for my comfort.

I like to cruise 70-72 on a nice day on a 2 lane HWY and freeways where the speed limit is 80 mph.

I've pushed 90 multiple times passing other vehicles and it "feels" OK but I know its pushing the limit of being safe.

I don't think speed affects the longevity of the camper as much as the road conditions do. As far as water intrusion goes don't forget to caulk around the bottom of your front marker lights and window if your camper has one.

…. About 58 level & uphill; might go a little faster on the downhill; retired & in the slow lane or back roads preferably; after you have seen a few demolished RV’s it slows one down….We also enjoy the better MPG & scenery by driving slow….

#1Flyboy wrote:
…. About 58 level & uphill; might go a little faster on the downhill; retired & in the slow lane or back roads preferably; after you have seen a few demolished RV’s it slows one down….We also enjoy the better MPG & scenery by driving slow….

That’s all good in a 60-70 and/or backroads that generally are never more than that.

Please don’t do it in an 80 unless you want to be one of the demolished RVs. It’s clear that many will drive at 5 over or slightly more, so that’s almost 30 mph difference which is far too much for any reaction time.

65 or so. Fuel mileage drops off exponentially above that.

55-65mph is my typical speed whether I tow something or not behind the camper.

I was curious as we just came home from a 11 day, 2500 mile jaunt with our new to us Lance camper. Many of the freeways had 80mph speed limits. The truck runs fine at that speed and the fuel mileage drops a lot. It feels very stable and safe at that speed.

On the way home today, we had heavy rain as well. I was curious if it is asking too much of a truck camper, specifically the area with a window, to repel that kind of wind and rain.

I'm willing to give up the fuel mileage. What I don't want to do is cause the camper to leak more as a result of doing 80mph on a freeway.