How fast do you drive

[Donedroolin]

Dam firefighter78 I have a powerstroke and 80 85 is crazy to tow at. Your not only risking you fmilys life's but others on the road. That's way to fast

[Caleb]

I try to stay around 60 +/- 2 or 3 mph. Seems to be the best gas mileage and the sweet spot for my transmission to keep from shifting a lot.

[Bassdogs]

I have tended to drive at or maybe a little over the speed limit. Speed is determined by traffic, road condition, and terrain. In recent years with a TT I've slowed down to maybe 5 under so maybe 65 on interstate and 50+ on regular highways Am planning on being a better driver with the new White Hawk / Duramax combo. My first desiel and am intrigued by the max power range at such a lower RPM. Also motivated everytime I see fuel at $.60 per gal more than gas.

I do like to stay at a reasonable pace so I'm not impeding traffic and creating unnecessary and often dangerous passing by vehicles in my rear. I am pretty good at pulling off on sidings to let traffic pass when ever I see more than 2 or 3 lined up behind me The other drivers really appreciate this and usually give me a full fingered wave.

[cekkk]

As a former firefighter attached to a rural department on a busy tourist highway, I have to question whether any real firefighter with an IQ in the positive realm who has pulled mangled bodies out of vehicles driven by morons would drive 85 mph even without a trailer in tow. Kilometers, sure. Benefit of the doubt: he's pulling chains.

[3firetrucks]

I've seen People going that fast...scary!

[pm1stnau]

I usually set the cruise control at 63mph on the freeway, stay in the right lane, and enjoy every second of the trip. Time saved by driving fast is minimal, and I just assume not cause a crash. Maybe I'm weird. Happy Camping!!

[Paulx213]

100 KPH works well for me. (62 mph ). There is no point in going faster when towing a trailer.

[ock91299]

I like to keep it between 55-65. MPG stink no matter which way you slice it, but I like to get there safe and let people pass if I'm not moving fast enough.

2005 Jay Flight 29FBS
2010 Ford F-250 XLT 5.4 V8

[msturtz]

I have been in a bind several years ago when we miscalculated our departure date to return home. My DW needed to return to work in the early AM (we left for work at about 5 am). We were about 1000 miles from home. On that trip I did the speed limit on the flat and straight parts of the freeway sometimes that was as fast as 85. We made it home by 11 pm that evening. I usually lock my cruse in at 63 - 64 because that is the best balance of speed and fuel economy.

[Donedroolin]

Well I'm glad to see most of us take our time. There is times we have all went a little to fast towing. It is not worth the problems driving to fast, also do you really think the travel trailer was built to go down the road that fast. You know what else is scary seeing an undersized tow vehicle towing a trailer to big for it.

[msturtz]

Originally Posted by Donedroolin

Well I'm glad to see most of us take our time. There is times we have all went a little to fast towing. It is not worth the problems driving to fast, also do you really think the travel trailer was built to go down the road that fast. You know what else is scary seeing an undersized tow vehicle towing a trailer to big for it.

In my case my TV wasn't undersized. I was pulling a 7500# trailer with a 1 ton long box crew cab truck. That truck was capable of pulling a trailer twice the weight of my old setup. The freeway was empty because it was a holiday.

[Redhorse 823]

Older thread
65, sometimes hit 70ish when passing.
I always check the tire pressure before every trip...
Buy a good quality pressure gauge.

[s1njin]

60mph for me. Even when my truck isn't towing I drive the speed limit of 65. If I'm towing, its 60; if I'm on a road I can get away w/ doing less on I will. I'm in no rush when I have a load hitched up behind me.

[milw156]

I would prefer 60. Coming North out of the Grapevine I stuck it at 65, not for vehicles but for the semis doing 70-75. I hated the feeling of a semi closing the distance that quickly so I sped up to counter. Tour buses by far were the worst - 80 mph at least.

[Scott]

I usually drive around 65 or the speed limit, whichever is less, when towing and the speed limit when solo. I will slow down if road, weather, or traffic conditions warrent it. I like to leave a long distance between me and anyone in front of me for extra stopping distance.

[Donedroolin]

So I was driving down a regular two lane road. Was driving 60 mph on the road. I noticed a truck towing a camper coming up behind me. Now its real cold and some snow on the roads. He blew by me in a non passing zone like I was standing still. The trailer was about a 24 footer. When he returned to his lane the trailer swayed back and forth. I thought he was gonna lose it, but he managed to take right back off. Anyway about 14 miles down that road, I saw him off the side of the road. He had a blowout on the driver side of the camper. I did pull over to see if I could help. I pulled my truck behind the camper and turned on my overhead light bar. Loaned him a jack and tools to change the tire. Then I noticed he had a toddler in the back seat. I had all to do not to say anything,or ask why he was driving so fast. The trailer was a fiberglass palimino and the tire did cause damage to the siding. The guy was more mad about that, instead of thinking what really could have happened. He did not even recognize that my truck was the one he passed. I took a look at rest of his tires, the trailer itself was in nice shape, but the tires were severely dry rotted and cracked. He had a spare when he installed it, it looked like a bald donut and was half flat. He said well that should get me home. Not sure
where home was for him, but he just gave me a quick hand shake and took right back off. Hope he made it home safe.

[DKRITTER]

Similar thing happened to us around Christmas with a different result.

We came over a hill and saw the trailer on the side of the road on it's side with debris strewn all over and a lot of skid marks.

[Camper_bob]

Those two anecdotes scare me more than enough to keep my speed down. Generally 65 is my max not only for safety's sake, but for fuel economy. And I'm typically only going that fast to build up a little momentum for a coming incline or while towing on nice, flat, straight road. I used to complain to no end when the limit would drop going through small towns in rural Texas, but when I'm towing I'm more than happy to comply with even the most ridiculously low speed limits. I just can't think of a situation when going faster would be anywhere close to worth the risk.

[DKRITTER]

I want to know who puts the sign on the back of my trailer every time we head out that says;

PLEASE CUT US OFF

WE ENJOY IT


because it happens every time we hook up

[djalbrec]

55 on two lane roads and about 65 on freeways and interstates unless speed limit is lower. Condition of roads also make a difference. Anything over 65 really begins to dig into the mileage