Kaid wrote:

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Got held up on the way to Townsville today by a caravan doing 80kph.
Had a long , long line behind him.
On the other hand, when we have been doing 100,
we have been overtaken by cars towing vans.
Reckon they have to be doing bout 120 to pass us

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 The situation has been the same since cars were invented....anyone traveling slower than us is a 'road hog'...anyone going faster than us is a 'damn fool maniac heading for his own funeral"! 

 

Towing limit in WA is 100kph

This is the speed I usually tow our 18'6" tandem van as that is the most economical speed.  This is flat ground, of which there is plenty in WA and little wind of course.

The important thing is to drive to your capabilities and to road conditions.

 

CommaWikipedia: The comma is a punctuation mark, and it appears in several variants in various languages.

I always try to keep the speed down to 90km/hr.  It tends to drift up towards 100 but I correct as soon as possible.  No cruise control on the Old manual Patrol .. does have hand throttle though but haven't used that for obvious reasons.  I suppose that I float between 85 & 95, except on long hills of course.

I keep the speed down for fuel economy, reduced wear & tear on vehicle & driver, and reduced risk of & in accidents.

It is my habit to use pullover areas & passing lanes et. al. to let any build up pass where it's safe to do so but I don't get unduly worried about them.   I found out early on that what ever reckless speed you choose to do there will soon be a queue up of idiots wanting to pass at well over the speed limit, often with vans attached.  Where I can see trucks approaching & the conditions are good, I often gradually increase to 100.

As for ch40- ... forget it in the city areas ... I can't imagine anyone with ladies or children in the vehicle tuning to it.  The language is disgusting.  If the city truckies really wanted to talk to caravanners on that channel I'm sure that they would moderate their language.  I must say that out of city areas that channel is quite good.   On rare occasions I have spoken to truckies on ch40 & their response has been good.  They usually advise me to hold my line & speed & they will determine when it is safe & possible for their rig to pass.

I carry a fixed UHF & two HandHelds.  One HH roaming, the fixed one on ch40 & one HH on ch18.  The ch40 one is turned off if we encounter any of  foul mouthed variety.

ps.  Where there is a center line the RH edge of the bull bar is visually aligned with it.  This keeps me around center lane.  The LH magnifying mirror shows me the position of the wheels in relation to the road edge or marked lane if any.  After a while you do this automatically without even concentrating.

GaryKelly wrote:

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Breaker, breaker, Shuttlebug. Copy that. Thanks. Over.

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Frankly, we prefer to travel at 90km/hr when towing our van. We will at times get up to 100km/hr but rarely. We keep an eye out for truckies as they are out there earning a living and so we tend to let them know that we will not hinder them when they want to pass. As a result most give us a call and we ensure they can get back in. The scariest time was when we did this in NSW on the Newell Highway and tucked in behind the truck was a large old 4WD with an oblivious driver. He didn't worry about the fact that we were on the road, just kept going along on our bit of road. It was like he didn't even see us and so we had to head for the hills; not easy with a van on the back.

Later we saw him stopped along with another vehicle that he had obviously sideswiped. The police were in attendance and we weren't too surprised after what we had seen.

It also needs to be remembered that there are certain sections of roads where pulling over to let others through is not possible and we also need to ensure that we can do so safely.

100 or 100 is the maximum xpeed limit, unless in NT, and it does not mean that we all have to aspire to that.

Courtesy should be the catch phrase along with safety.

Di

Olley46 I have to agree with Lance. As a woman I hate the swearing on TV and will turn it off or over. Les hates having the UHF on channel 40 with the swearing when I am sitting with him. I appreciate the fact he turns it down or off. It is very respectful.

Watch your mirrors! Watch your mirrors! Watch your mirrors!
It's vital you are always aware of what is going on behind your. Small cars, motor bikes, big trucks or bigger oversize trucks.
Even oversize convoys will pull over when it's safe, to let the traffic build up go through. It's a courtesy.
Now to the CB. It's a vital tool for the traveller to keep in touch with fellow road-users, and to communicate when and if possible.
To call up a truck behind you, just call, "Truck, or Kenworth behind Coramel caravan, do you have a copy?"
The truck driver or pilot may respond, "Copy."
Then just advise of your average travelling speed and your intentions in regards to allowing the traffic to pass or turning off the highway.
eg. "Eastbound Coramel travelling at 85 to 90 kph, and will pull over when it's safe to do so."
On most occasions the truck driver will be relieved to be acknowledged, that you've even seen them in the mirrors, and will be happy to wait to overtake when it's safe.
Oversize is a similar situation. Just be patient if you are behind, and they will be patient if they are behind you, IF you are travelling as close as possible to the fog line, NOT the centre white line.
Get off the centre white line. Never ride the white line, ever, please! It makes every motorist's life difficult.
As for the language on the CB, the truck drivers travelling in opposite directions only have a 2 minute window in which to "shoot the breeze" and say "g'day", or to advise of weighbridge or Police activity.
The cities are where the "CB Pests" hog the airwaves in the most offensive manner for many hours. It's best to shut down.
So I wish you many happy kms on our highways, wherever you go.
See you out there somewhere.

brickies wrote:

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I took a radio with us on one trip and never used it to direct anybody , I travel at 90 t0 95 kph on major Highways but increase to 100kph when I see trucks approaching from the rear , When I see some where to pull over I use the blinkers to pull over and let them pass , I would never take the responsible to instruct someone to overtake I feel that the overtakers choice not mine

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I'm with you brickies, any truck behind me will have much better long range vision as he sits much higher so it's his decision. I do the same re increasing to speed limit if a truck seen approaching from rear and then pull over.  Just commen sense/courtesy.

 

Denis

I remember a few years ago I had just turned off the highway towards a country town, I was still 5km out of town, my car just died and I coasted to the side of the toad. I was on my own and I had forgotten my mobile. The only thing I had was my UHF...I asked on channel 40 if any trucker out there could help me by ringing the RAA. I gave my position, and a truck driver answered me telling me he had rung them, he asked if I was the lady standing by her silver wagon I said yes I was, I saw this truck driver pass by on the highway. I thanked him for all his help.

The RAA said I had major problems with my car, after he checked everything. He towed me into town and when I managed to call my husband to come get me, he found the battery terminal cable had come loose. He tightened it and I never had a problem since....

I have heaps of respect for truckers, and for that particular truckie that helped me out of a problem. To him thank you.

hako wrote:

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brickies wrote:

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I took a radio with us on one trip and never used it to direct anybody , I travel at 90 t0 95 kph on major Highways but increase to 100kph when I see trucks approaching from the rear , When I see some where to pull over I use the blinkers to pull over and let them pass , I would never take the responsible to instruct someone to overtake I feel that the overtakers choice not mine

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I'm with you brickies, any truck behind me will have much better long range vision as he sits much higher so it's his decision. I do the same re increasing to speed limit if a truck seen approaching from rear and then pull over.  Just commen sense/courtesy.

 

Denis

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 You have the wrong slant guys, the radio is not used to direct, simply to inform.

Oxley wrote:

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I can't say I've noticed this behavior in motorhome and caravan drivers etc, defiantly in 4WD owners on back roads, the more of the ARB catalog they have bolted to their "rig" the more they seem to expect others to give way to them. 

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 Perhaps if you haven't noticed it your one of them.

Seriously, anyone who does not notice this driving behavior needs to brush up on their powers of observation, it's a very real safety issue.

Santa wrote:

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hako wrote:

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brickies wrote:

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I took a radio with us on one trip and never used it to direct anybody , I travel at 90 t0 95 kph on major Highways but increase to 100kph when I see trucks approaching from the rear , When I see some where to pull over I use the blinkers to pull over and let them pass , I would never take the responsible to instruct someone to overtake I feel that the overtakers choice not mine

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I'm with you brickies, any truck behind me will have much better long range vision as he sits much higher so it's his decision. I do the same re increasing to speed limit if a truck seen approaching from rear and then pull over.  Just commen sense/courtesy.

 

Denis

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 You have the wrong slant guys, the radio is not used to direct, simply to inform.

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With due respect Santa, no one said the radio was used to direct - that was why I agreed with brickies post.

In WA the law on towing states.

Legal speed limit outside of builtup area ,unless other wise sign posted for a towing vehicle is 100 kilometers per hr.

So if a speed sign reads 110klm per hr it is stll 100klms for towing.But may be signed at 80klms on a 100klm road . Also a good idea to check your speed rating on your vans tires.

 

Best advice is to drive to conditions.

-- Edited by herbie on Friday 17th of May 2013 09:16:21 PM