How fast do you tow?

[Hoopy Frood]

"Averaged 81 mph"!! Wow, remind me to be behind you, waaaay behind you. Which is very likely at those speeds.

[COGrandDes]

Wow, So your that guy. Bad thing can happen reel fast at 85 mph. If you want to endanger yourself that your business but at 85 mph you could be endangering other on the road also.

Sure---we can talk all day about road hazards, driving styles and such....and I get it. But there's something to be said for nearly 40 years of driving experience pulling huge and heavy trailers, over a million miles of driving without accidents, and being a car guy who builds and understands how vehicles work inside and out. Many don't have an in-depth understanding and a good car-sense for driving. You have to understand your rig, the driving conditions, distances to other obstacles, visibility, stopping distances, and a host of other things to be a very capable driver in my opinion. The speed limits in the West are 75+ or higher. I have witnessed many accidents by people driving too slow in the passing lanes and then others being impatient and trying to pass in unsafe conditions. If the speed limit is 75 mph and people are pulling at 55 MPH.....it often causes accidents and issues as well. Each person has to drive where they feel comfortable based on road conditions and their abilities. Declaring that a well-seasoned driver is automatically putting others at risk by following the speeds limits is a stretch to say the least. Every MPH from a dead stop causes things to happen faster and it's up to the driver to determine their comfort levels based on reaction times, skill levels, and etc.

[Insist on live music]

My rig feels best at 63MPH and often get 9 to 11 MPG. I believe its YouTubers "Mike & Jen" who use traveling rule of 3/300 meaning 300 miles and arrive at destination by 3:00pm. Allows time to set-up and actually enjoy some daylight before retiring for night. Sort of an analogy to "MoonShadow" comment.

[JKellerJr]

Sure---we can talk all day about road hazards, driving styles and such....and I get it. But there's something to be said for nearly 40 years of driving experience pulling huge and heavy trailers, over a million miles of driving without accidents, and being a car guy who builds and understands how vehicles work inside and out. Many don't have an in-depth understanding and a good car-sense for driving. You have to understand your rig, the driving conditions, distances to other obstacles, visibility, stopping distances, and a host of other things to be a very capable driver in my opinion. The speed limits in the West are 75+ or higher. I have witnessed many accidents by people driving too slow in the passing lanes and then others being impatient and trying to pass in unsafe conditions. If the speed limit is 75 mph and people are pulling at 55 MPH.....it often causes accidents and issues as well. Each person has to drive where they feel comfortable based on road conditions and their abilities. Declaring that a well-seasoned driver is automatically putting others at risk by following the speeds limits is a stretch to say the least. Every MPH from a dead stop causes things to happen faster and it's up to the driver to determine their comfort levels based on reaction times, skill levels, and etc.

Expanding on my earlier post in the thread


In the immortal words of George Carlin:

"Anyone driving slower than you is an idiot, anyone driving faster than you is a maniac!"


A blanket answer to "how fast do you tow" is impossible to answer, at least for me. It all depends on conditions.

If its a slow traffic day on the road then it depends on my situation. If I got nowhere to be I'll probably slow it down a bit to save on fuel. If I'm in the middle of a long travel day then I may push it as conditions allow.

If the speed limit is 75+ ,its moderate or heavy traffic, and basically everyone on the road is doing 75+ except you (you in the general sense, no one in particular) and your doing 60 then "you" are the hazard. Being a rolling chicane isn't safe for anyone.

If the traffic is light then it doesn't matter, plenty of time and space for everyone to move around.

All things being equal, light traffic, speed limits allow, I run 65-75. I won't be significantly faster than other traffic and I don't want to be significantly slower either. I usually position myself just a tic slower then the average so I'm not constantly needing to pull out and around others.

[Gronk1]

I drove truck for over 45 years most of it in the west, +23 years pulling 5th wheel travel trailers & feel comfortable with my driving ability. But I don't care how good your driving ability is, the inability to react to an emergency situation diminishes with speed. A deer crossing in front of you, blow a steer tire, a sudden wind gust, the dumba$$ in front of you doing a brake check I'd rather have more time to react.
At 65mph, with a reaction/brake time I should be able to stop in about 450 feet. At 80mph stopping distance in about 600 feet. These calcs are for a car/truck without towing.
Driving 200 miles with your hair on fire at 80mph, & me going 65, I'll get there 30 minutes later.
I'll wave at you when you go by

[Skilletface]

I drove truck for over 45 years most of it in the west, +23 years pulling 5th wheel travel trailers & feel comfortable with my driving ability. But I don't care how good your driving ability is, the inability to react to an emergency situation diminishes with speed. A deer crossing in front of you, blow a steer tire, a sudden wind gust, the dumba$$ in front of you doing a brake check I'd rather have more time to react.
At 65mph, with a reaction/brake time I should be able to stop in about 450 feet. At 80mph stopping distance in about 600 feet. These calcs are for a car/truck without towing.
Driving 200 miles with your hair on fire at 80mph, & me going 65, I'll get there 30 minutes later.
I'll wave at you when you go by

Not to mention the extra fuel stop driving at 80+ and the reaction time means you’ll most likely run over the hazard before the braking system begins to function fully.

[jjbbrewer]

I don't care how good your driving ability is, the inability to react to an emergency situation diminishes with speed.

That's great to hear. I definitely want my inabilities to diminish.

Crank 'er up!

[DougW9876]

I had a friend once who calculated the driving times with different speeds and he determined he could get from NY to WY with a trailer quicker if he drove 65 instead of 75 because of the time spent at the extra fuel stops he would need to make. This guy was meticulous enough that I firmly believe his calculations. I know I use a lot more fuel at 70 than I do at 65 so there is no doubt extra time spent at fuel stops. My rig has a sweet spot for fuel mileage at 65. It runs in 9th gear tow haul mode. If I increase speed or decrease speed by 2 or 3 mph it will downshift and run in 8th gear and use more fuel.

[ajg617]

Many don't have an in-depth understanding and a good car-sense for driving. You have to understand your rig, the driving conditions, distances to other obstacles, visibility, stopping distances, and a host of other things to be a very capable driver in my opinion.

Unfortunately, I think this describes the majority of drivers on the roads today that simply don't understand fundamental dynamics of objects in motion and apply any knowledge to a safe driving method. It scares me to see a wagging RV pass me 20mph over the truck speed limit. Big difference in stopping distance between 31,000lbs of TV/RV and 4,500lb commuting car and those that jump from the latter to the former without comprehension of the relationship between speed, weight, and braking distance do pose a risk.

[COGrandDes]

Unfortunately, I think this describes the majority of drivers on the roads today that simply don't understand fundamental dynamics of objects in motion and apply any knowledge to a safe driving method. It scares me to see a wagging RV pass me 20mph over the truck speed limit. Big difference in stopping distance between 31,000lbs of TV/RV and 4,500lb commuting car and those that jump from the latter to the former without comprehension of the relationship between speed, weight, and braking distance do pose a risk.

I couldn’t agree more with your thoughts and post. We are too caught up on a specific MPH number when the real problems are more with lack of understanding of driving principles to include distracted driving. I’ve seen people going 20 MPH under the speed limits while they are weaving all over the road texting and playing with their phone. Driving to me is still a privilege and I take it seriously and focus on the road while I’m behind the wheel. I do my best to quickly pass and get away from those wagging vehicles and distracted drivers. More and more people just don’t care and do whatever they want. I am not one of those people!

I was going to post responses to the other responders quoting data about going slower and getting somewhere 20 mins after I do but they obviously don’t understand it’s a multi-hour trip that most are talking about. So it might be 20 mins later for the first hour….but five hours later---that’s a 100 miles. Then for a 5-7 day trip---that’s huge!

Others want to quote fuel mileage and stopping to get fuel…..I wanted to get into the math since I’m a math and science geek but I decided----why bother! Of course it costs more money to go fast! The faster you want to go---the more it always costs and always has. Period! I know that from racing, building engines, pulling my camper and etc. Here’s my latest use case….If I go on a 500 mile trip and stop once to get fuel along the way…and that stop takes me 15 mins to fuel, use the restroom, and even grab some food for the road…..how does the math work? So, the two hours earlier that I’m going to get there over someone driving 55-60 MPH is not worth the fuel stop time (15 mins) and the $20 more of fuel? Everyone knows that data can be manipulated to show whatever forgone conclusion we’re supporting. I guess at this point in my life---my time is worth something. I am not retired so I’m not willing to burn 30% more time on the road just because when I can get to my destination, drop the camper, and begin enjoying my easy chair and some R&R or the local attractions. If I was a full-timer, then I would think differently because I may not have a pressing schedule.

I go back to what I’ve said several times----pull at the speed you’re comfortable with and that your schedule allows. Not everyone that’s pulling at the speed limits or 5 MPH over is a dangerous threat to other drivers. If 1-2 MPG is worth the accelerated schedule to get to the destination and a person wants to spend the $$$...so be it! It’s kind of like the diesel vs gas truck argument. Some of the supporting data in those posts is quite comical!