SAFE TOWING SPEED

[RLSharp]

I really miss the national 55 mph speed limit.  That should get a few rises

Trouble maker!

R? or L?  ;D

 

[Frizlefrak]

The problem is automakers have done such a good job controlling sound and vibration in the passenger cabin that 75-80 in a modern car feels about the same as 45-50 in a 1950s-1960s vehicle.

Does nothing for the physics involved, only the perception of speed.

Good point.  70 MPH in my 1970 Mach 1....well, let's just say it's a visceral experience.  In a new Taurus, you barely hear it.

 

[TonyDtorch]

Good point.  70 MPH in my 1970 Mach 1....well, let's just say it's a visceral experience.  In a new Taurus, you barely hear it.

WAIT , WHAT !!.......Mach 1 and  Taurus

aren't both of them made by Ford Motor Co. ?

I would have thought with all your "Global Economy" stuff you'd be driving a Toyota or Hyundai .....



(just teasing ya)

 

[Frizlefrak]

WAIT , WHAT !!.......Mach 1 and  Taurus

aren't both of them made by Ford Motor Co. ?

I would have thought with all your "Global Economy" stuff you'd be driving a Toyota or Hyundai .....



(just teasing ya)

Tony....you'd never let me hear the end of it if I drove an Asian brand..... LOL 

 

[99WinAdventurer37G]

I'd add another factor, road vibration.  Road vibration on the tow vehicle on today's highways are bad enough, but you can double that for the towed vehicle.  The faster you go, the worse the road abuse is on the trailer.  Now think about what that is doing to the trailer itself.  The faster you drive, the more of a beating your trailer is taking, which means you will have more opportunities to repair things in the future.

 

[jerryg@deb]

I was clipping along  at 77 mph yesterday on my Harley  55 degrees on I- 25 South bound. A young man pulling a big older 5 F W come bearing  up on me with a truck full of kids. I shook my head  and twisted my bike  I was  gone. The  driver did slow down .

 

[lumpy75]

Not sure I completely buy into the tire rating thing of 65 mph. With that said I am running lower speeds. It prevents the rig from getting beat up with the crap roads and is less stress on the driver. As far as 55 limits go we hit Atlanta yesterday and never went over 20 mph most the way. 3.5 hours to get past Atlanta. I would have gone taken 55 mph.

 

[Gizmo]

I was clipping along  at 77 mph yesterday on my Harley  55 degrees on I- 25 South bound. A young man pulling a big older 5 F W come bearing  up on me with a truck full of kids. I shook my head  and twisted my bike  I was  gone. The  driver did slow down .

I was riding my BMW motorcycle on an interstate at 80mph and a guy towing a 40 plus 5th wheel caught up to me and we rode side by side for a few miles until I had to exit.  Just boggles the mind.

 

[Glenn West]

All ST tires are speed rated at 65 max. Nothing to buy just fact. A few state if you add 10 extra pounds of air one can go 70. Fuel mileage really suffers above 60

 

[TonyDtorch]

here's the problem.....at least here in California.

most every one of the 5er's going 70+ down the road is all part of improper Drivers license and education.

if CHP ever started ticketing some of those drivers, they would finally know what the laws are, most of those guys are just the standard class C licensed pickup truck owners they have no idea of the Class B and Class A license towing laws.

to be issued a speeding ticket CHP would have to impound the trailer until a properly licensed driver can tow it away. But they don't have the resources to impound every non licensed driver,  and if they knowingly let a non licensed driver go on down the road the state of CA now is liable if you get into an accident.

most of those big ol' diesel pickup truck owners have no idea that if you are towing a trailer that weighs over 10k lbs you need a class B license, and if that beautiful new 5er weighs over 15k lbs you need a class A drivers license
so, now if you have an improperly licensed big rig driver that has no idea what lane or towing speed you're supposed to be driving.

it's the same thing with motorhomes, if the rig weighs more that 26k lbs, or is over 40' long you need a class B license. (and most diesel rigs are) and if that 40' diesel is towing a car you need a class A.

CHP won't pull Gram and Grampa over because the can't afford to tow the motorhome away.

so it ends up there is no traffic law enforcement being done on RV's ....and they end up going 75+ miles an hour down the roads....because
they can.

But.. in Ca and many other states if you are driving any vehicle or combo of vehicles that has more than 2 axles...

(legally)....the maximum speed limit is 55 mph.....no mater what the speed rating of the tires.

 

[RVoorhis318]

I'm a 55 to 62 mph driver no hurray no worry unless you grab a foreign object or have bad tires in general. Every once in a while someone that has to rush to work (poor them) flips us off for relaxing and taking our time or an occasional super trucker will pass us pulling on his air horn rope because he or she is probably behind deadline. Do I care, nope, no rush no fuss, no stress, go to work you haters ;-)

I tell you though. I have plenty of 5vr drivers blowing by me doing 75 to 80mph, coming up from Florida in November had a F450 dually pulling a Montana fly by and within 5 mile we casually passed him buy while he was fixing his blow out. On the way south to Florida we saw at least a half dozen 5vrs and travel trailers off to the side with blow outs.

We ran about 9000 miles on Chinese tires this season and though at a glance they look brand new I have discovered some indentations in the sidewalls, they'll be replaced before I head west this spring. Date codes also showed the tires were produced in 2012 on a 2014 coach.

 

[Mopar1973Man]

So there you have it....

Here's another consideration.....you're going down the highway, and a sudden 40 mph sidewind hits you (not terribly uncommon out here).  Trailer starts to do ugly things.  Do you stand a better chance of gathering it up at 55 or 70?

Same here too. Calm relaxed... (Wind Gust!) Then white knuckles gripping the steering wheel firmly. I've had a few gusts that woke me up. Yes you have a much better chance of gathering yourself again at 55 MPH vs. 70 MPH. Also at 55 MPH I can drop out of 5th Gear and hit 4th (1:1 Direct) and climb just about any grade without a issue. Frizie is running in the new diesel but I'm running a 12 year old Cummins that produces the same HP/TQ as his. 

 

[mdbass]

We to are proud members of the "'bout 60 mph club". I have a couple of things to add. Lately we seem to have experienced a frightening escalation in the level of anger projected by others that we have "held up". We were even "brake checked" the other day, which was disconcerting. As to the "tow haul" issue we are using a DiabloSport programmer on our F 250 with a 6.4 Powerstroke, which allows us to tow without it and get into overdrive at speed. The 2-3 additional miles per gallon increase is welcome; but having the engine run at almost a 1000 rpm lower in cruise is even better.

 

[donuts]

We to are proud members of the "'bout 60 mph club". I have a couple of things to add. Lately we seem to have experienced a frightening escalation in the level of anger projected by others that we have "held up". We were even "brake checked" the other day, which was disconcerting. As to the "tow haul" issue we are using a DiabloSport programmer on our F 250 with a 6.4 Powerstroke, which allows us to tow without it and get into overdrive at speed. The 2-3 additional miles per gallon increase is welcome; but having the engine run at almost a 1000 rpm lower in cruise is even better.

We are traveling the same way......between 55 and 60 mph. Just makes us feel safe and comfortable at the same time.
I use tow haul around town and in the mountains and switch off and put cruise control on when we are cruising on the highway. It's just too easy to not pay attention to speed while traveling on a flat highway and look down at the speedometer and ops, now going 65-70.
I have never been brake checked. That's a bold move considering the one that's in front of me could lose their life by doing something that stupid. My biggest issue is the car that is merging in to my lane and figures I have to adjust my speed............hello?? At times I want to continue at the same speed and see if the merging car will adjust. At times I have safely just kept the speed and made them adjust theirs (that's what a merging vehicle is supposed to do) only to find out that I am numero uno in their opinion.

 

[Jeff in Ferndale Wa]

I was riding my BMW motorcycle on an interstate at 80mph and a guy towing a 40 plus 5th wheel caught up to me and we rode side by side for a few miles until I had to exit.  Just boggles the mind.

I would not have ridden side by side with him. That big of a rig at that speed,it's not easy to see a motorcycle.
it would have taken a split second for him to not see you and take you out.

I would have backed off enough to let him pass,then wait for the opportunity to get by him.

 

[TonyDtorch]

if you ever got into a "protest brake check" accident,.....a dash cam would certainly be helpful .

Dash Cams are used throughout Europe and Asia......wake up America


I found this free app for your Iphone ..........http://carcamapp.com/

maybe someone knows of a better app?

 

[Lou Schneider]

A quick check of Google Play store shows several similar apps for Android phones.  Thanks for the tip - it sounds like a good way to re-purpose a retired smart phone.

 

[Frizlefrak]

Had a kid in a Honda try to pass me between Santa Fe and Chama last summer, and run out of passing lane.  We were funneling back into 2 laner, and I began to move back over about the time his hood was equal with my rear bumper of the trailer.  I had been watching him and thought he would wait until the next opportunity to pass.....he didn't.  I was out of lane and had no choice.  He got squeezed and had to go into the opposing lane at the last minute.  Fortunately nothing was coming.....I had nowhere to go.  I did slow down to aid him in getting around, but he was in full generation Z butt hurt mode.  He cut back into our lane with inches to spare....and expressed his displeasure with me by utilizing his middle digit.  I returned the favor.  He got a look at the expression on my face and decided discretion was the better part of valor, and that any further actions were ill advised.

Had he brake checked me or cut me off....well, 16,000 lbs vs 3000....the outcome was pretty much assured.  The speed limit on this stretch is 60-65 mph in most places, and I was running about 57.  The most I got stacked behind me was about 5 cars, and I moved to the right ASAP at every passing lane and let them around.   

Dash cam wouldn't be a bad idea at all....

 

[TonyDtorch]

we are definitely living in a "Video recording" age.

with business video surveillance cams everywhere, camera drones and everyone doing a quick draw with the cell phone cams.

I also believe Cop cams should be mandatory, and dash cams are just good insurance .

 

[Frizlefrak]

we are definitely living in a "Video recording" age.

with business video surveillance cams everywhere, camera drones and everyone doing a quick draw with the cell phone cams.

I also believe Cop cams should be mandatory, and dash cams are just good insurance .

Agreed.  Mostly for the protection of the police officer.