I am just beginning the search for a vehicle I can tow 4 down. I have just purchased my first a class and would like to get a vwhicle to tow. In reading the list of available vehicles on the motorhome magazines website i see that many vehicles have speed limits that are considerably below legal limits. Has anyone had experience with these vehicles. Isi it safe to tow at 70 mph as is the limit on most highways. Any input into this will be appreciated.
towing dinghy speed limits
- Thread starter katjoe7
- Start date
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rhmahoney
Well-known member
- Joined
- Feb 9, 2005
- Posts
- 1,405
I tow a 2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4WD that has NO lawyer weasely restrictions.
I rarely travel at over 63 mph because fuel consumption starts to rise steeply above 65 mph.
I rarely travel at over 63 mph because fuel consumption starts to rise steeply above 65 mph.
Ron
Moderator Emeritus
We have towed 4WD Jeep GC/s around 100K miles. No speed or distance restrictions or stopping and running the engine every 200 or so miles. Towing instructions are in the owners manual.
Tom
Administrator
- Joined
- Jan 13, 2005
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- 51,906
California restricts the speed of vehicles towing something to 55 mph.
Gary RV_Wizard
Site Team
Safe? Safe for you, certainly. Safe for the life of the vehicle may be another question, but even that is iffy.
The tow speed limits are intended to reduce the heat in the transmission caused by towing. Without the engine running to circulate fluids and cool the tranny, some vehicles may experience greater than normal wear and tear. Enough to be harmful? Probably not - the engineers who comne up wioth these things are pretty conservative and are trying to keep their warranty costs to a minimum. Until recently we towed Chevy Trackers all over North America (two different ones) for a total of over 50,000 miles. We always ignored the 55 mph tow speed limit and towed at whatever speed the highway safely handled, but we did run the engine every 200 miles to circulate fluids, as recommended.
There are plenty of vehicles with no limit, if you would rather avoid the issue. The entire Jeep line, the Honda CRV, and most of the GMC and Chevy SUVs and pick-ups. The new crossover SUVs from GM and Ford share a new 6 speed automatic transmission that is towable 4-down - check out the GMC Acadia, Saturn Outlook, Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX
The tow speed limits are intended to reduce the heat in the transmission caused by towing. Without the engine running to circulate fluids and cool the tranny, some vehicles may experience greater than normal wear and tear. Enough to be harmful? Probably not - the engineers who comne up wioth these things are pretty conservative and are trying to keep their warranty costs to a minimum. Until recently we towed Chevy Trackers all over North America (two different ones) for a total of over 50,000 miles. We always ignored the 55 mph tow speed limit and towed at whatever speed the highway safely handled, but we did run the engine every 200 miles to circulate fluids, as recommended.
There are plenty of vehicles with no limit, if you would rather avoid the issue. The entire Jeep line, the Honda CRV, and most of the GMC and Chevy SUVs and pick-ups. The new crossover SUVs from GM and Ford share a new 6 speed automatic transmission that is towable 4-down - check out the GMC Acadia, Saturn Outlook, Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX
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