Safe speed to travel when towing?

circlek · Veteran Member

Safe speed to travel when towing?

Plendo · Guru

Hi Chris, you ask a question that no one can answer for you, it varies depending on your van, your tow vehicle, how well you have it set up, and how it is balanced on the day. Once you understand where your van starts to feel un settled, I would back of a bit, and find a speed that you feel comfortable with.

Another aspect to be aware of, is that your fuel consumption will increase significantly as your speed increases.

For us, we have put a lot of effort into setting our rig up, and making sure we have the best possible equipment, our van is stable up to the speed limit, but we tend to set the cruise control on 96k, which results in a real road speed (according to the GPS) of 92k.

I have no doubt you will get loads of different opinions.

Treecrest14 · Senior Member

Another aspect which influences your optimum speed is whether your van has a single axle or Tandem. I found Tandems are better for towing stability, but that may have been the brand of van, as I have only had one tandem and the rest have been single axle.....

We tend to drive between 85 to 90 kph - for stability and fuel consumption.

Glen

Friar Park · Senior Member

You know, one of the things that influences road safety but rarely gets listed is you own ability to handle the rig you have when things go wrong. So my answer would be 'The speed at which you feel comfortable enough to handle things when they go wrong" and we all believe our ability is about 2 levels above true reality.

Friar

-- Edited by Friar Park on Friday 12th of December 2014 03:34:41 PM

-- Edited by Friar Park on Friday 12th of December 2014 03:35:43 PM

Sheba · Guru

Don't know about other States, but in QLD., it used to be 90kph. Don't know if that's changed in recent years.

Cheers,

Sheba.

Fastcoach · Senior Member

In the NT on the Stuart H'way, about 130kph is about right. On the Hume and other decent H'ways about 110kph. On many roads in SA which have speed limits of 110kph, about 85 is borderline unsafe.

Driving well below the posted speed limits, just to safe a bit of fuel, is a danger to other drivers. If you feel incapable of maintaining the speed limit, don't tow. Simple.

Middo · Veteran Member

You need to consult the vehicle manual as to the recommended speed for the weight you are towing. The posted speed limit is not a target that has to be reached. By doing that you may be putting your life and others in danger. You also need to take into considerations the road conditions. After all of this, just drive to what you are comfortable with.

SnowT · Guru

Hey FastCoach.. I have to say I find your comment to be very offensive...

Driving well below the posted speed limits, just to safe a bit of fuel, is a danger to other drivers. If you feel incapable of maintaining the speed limit, don't tow. Simple.

Personally I don't care what the posted speed-- it all comes down to a number of factor..
-- How the Tow Vehicles handle at a SAFE Speed..
-- How the Caravan Tows at a SAFE speed..

At what speed you feel comfortable towing... Personally for my self.. I normally travel in the 80-90kmh range in my setup..
- I constantly look in the mirror's.. and if I get a bit of crowd behind me I move over WHERE it's safe to do and Wave them thru, letting them past....
In a dual lane setup I travel in the left hand side and stay there...
In a single lane situation.. where the overtaking lanes Are I slow down to allow all the cars/traucks the ability to get pasted... and only get back up to speed in the last 400m and have the indicator on to tell them I''m merging over..

It comes down to what ever speed you feel is SAFE to Travel at.... [It should be at least over 80km/h if the posted speed is 100+..]

Juergen

JackoFJR · Senior Member

Drive to conditions and don't be a mobile road block

briche · Guru

Just a short note in regards this topic. I noticed that someone post that they put their rig on cruise control for a speed of about 96 kph. I was sure that towing a caravan with the tow vechicle in cruise control is considered very dangerous and should not be employed. If I am wrong on then please advise but I am sure it's considered an unsafe practice.

briche

-- Edited by briche on Friday 12th of December 2014 09:14:47 PM

Baz421 · Guru

Friar Park wrote:
You know, one of the things that influences road safety but rarely gets listed is you own ability to handle the rig you have when things go wrong. So my answer would be 'The speed at which you feel comfortable enough to handle things when they go wrong" and we all believe our ability is about 2 levels above true reality.
Friar

-- Edited by Friar Park on Friday 12th of December 2014 03:34:41 PM

-- Edited by Friar Park on Friday 12th of December 2014 03:35:43 PM

Good post Friar Park.

It is a simple answer IMHO,,,, if xxx went wrong ie flat rear tyre on the tug could you control the rig. It is much easier to control at 80 than 100kph as you suddenly decelerate with a flat, especially a drive tyre, and if the drive tyre is shredded, you're on the rim only often.

I also ask the question(s) of myself,,, what would I do if xxx happened,,, and I do this often.

This how the 737 plane landed in the Hudson River AND ALL SURVIVED,,,, he knew what to do in what was a worst case scenario,,, double engine failure at low level.

WHY WOULD YOU DRIVE AT XXX SPEED IF YOU WERE UNSURE IF YOU COULD CONTROL THE RIG IF SOMETHING WENT WRONG???????

-- Edited by Baz421 on Friday 12th of December 2014 09:27:05 PM

Peter_n_Margaret · Guru

Fastcoach wrote:
In the NT on the Stuart H'way, about 130kph is about right. On the Hume and other decent H'ways about 110kph. On many roads in SA which have speed limits of 110kph, about 85 is borderline unsafe.

Driving well below the posted speed limits, just to safe a bit of fuel, is a danger to other drivers. If you feel incapable of maintaining the speed limit, don't tow. Simple.

What rubbish.

"It is a limit, not a challenge".

In Germany (renown for their high speed autobahns) general open road speed limits vary from 80kph, lots of 100kph (one lane in each direction) many autobahns at 130kph and many with unlimited speed.

If tow tow anything, the speed limit is almost always 80kph maximum and that applies irrespective of how many lanes there are.

Some "light reading" here under the heading "Vehicle Suspension"....... http://caravanandmotorhomebooks.com/articles-index/

Cheers,

Peter

Baz421 · Guru

Peter_n_Margaret wrote:
Fastcoach wrote:
In the NT on the Stuart H'way, about 130kph is about right. On the Hume and other decent H'ways about 110kph. On many roads in SA which have speed limits of 110kph, about 85 is borderline unsafe.

Driving well below the posted speed limits, just to safe a bit of fuel, is a danger to other drivers. If you feel incapable of maintaining the speed limit, don't tow. Simple.
What rubbish.
"It is a limit, not a challenge".

In Germany (renown for their high speed autobahns) general open road speed limits vary from 80kph, lots of 100kph (one lane in each direction) many autobahns at 130kph and many with unlimited speed.
If tow tow anything, the speed limit is almost always 80kph maximum and that applies irrespective of how many lanes there are.

Some "light reading" here under the heading "Vehicle Suspension"....... http://caravanandmotorhomebooks.com/articles-index/

Cheers,
Peter

Agree with Peter,,, what absolute rubbish Fastcoach

Aus-Kiwi · Guru

If things go wrong DONT panic...
Keep things in good nick.. Drive to the conditions..
Me .. Between 80 and 100 kph
Depending when where next fuel supply is ?

Explorer · Guru

briche wrote:
Just a short note in regards this topic. I noticed that someone post that they put their rig on cruise control for a speed of about 96 kph. I was sure that towing a caravan with the tow vechicle in cruise control is considered very dangerous and should not be employed. If I am wrong on then please advise but I am sure it's considered an unsafe practice.
briche

-- Edited by briche on Friday 12th of December 2014 09:14:47 PM

briche, Why would cruise be unsafe? Sure going to the kitchen of the MH to put the kettle on may be considered a bit risky or in heavy traffic etc.

Like all good things used correctly can be an extremely good tool. I regularly use "cruise" and any other bit of technology that helps with safety.

Regards Mike.

villatranquilla · Guru

generally 80-85 kph for us. I have had 2 blow outs on the van and one on the car and been able to stop safely with no damage to either vehicle. 95-99 really annoys truckies - it makes passing very difficult.

circlek · Veteran Member

Thank you everyone for your comments, most helpful. Reason I raised this topic is, we recently (in July) went on a trip with friends, we were comfortable traveling at around 90klms but friends were a lot faster and constantly complained about us being too slow. Were told we should keep to the speed limit so as not to upset the truckies. Whenever we could safely pull over we did, to let any traffic pass. We'd rather be a bit slower and be safe, we had a blowout on a drive tyre once and it was very frightening, we were lucky that no traffic was coming the other way as we ended up on the wrong side of the road, and that wasn't towing anything. cry

Dougwe · Chief one feather

Circlek, just travel as you feel comfortable mate, don't be a statistic just cos others tell you.

Phil C · Guru

I agree with Dougwe,

When we travel Im sitting on 80 - 90KMPH the speed I feel safe for the conditions, we recently did a trip on Eyre Peninsular. When we left Pt Augusta the wind was strong hard on the left side, I slowed down to 75. This may have pissed off a few drivers BUT the truckies had no issues, had one DH cut me off when he overtook, crazy sod.

Conclusion, just travel at a speed you feel comfortable, as far as not towing if you cant do the limit... nah thats dangerous.

Safe travels

Joga · Veteran Member

"If you feel incapable of maintaining the speed limit don't tow" What a load of BS.

My diesel Hilux won't get to the 130kph speed limit here in the NT without the van, let alone with it.

What speed am I supposed to do between Alice & Barrow Creek - where there's no speed limit?

As for truckies getting upset at vehicles below the speed limit, take it from me they are more upset with vehicles that slow down as soon as the truck gets behind them. If they can't pass immediately they have to slow down & it takes them a long time to get back to speed. We truckies are usually quite happy to sit behind a safe vehicle and overtake when the chance arrives.

By all means slow down when the truck is beside you, but not before.

Keep it safe out there, and don't drive beyond your own comfort limits.

Setting up camp has enough divorce actions without starting out in a frazzled state.

Phil C · Guru

Joga wrote:
"If you feel incapable of maintaining the speed limit don't tow" What a load of BS.

My diesel Hilux won't get to the 130kph speed limit here in the NT without the van, let alone with it.

What speed am I supposed to do between Alice & Barrow Creek - where there's no speed limit?

As for truckies getting upset at vehicles below the speed limit, take it from me they are more upset with vehicles that slow down as soon as the truck gets behind them. If they can't pass immediately they have to slow down & it takes them a long time to get back to speed. We truckies are usually quite happy to sit behind a safe vehicle and overtake when the chance arrives.

By all means slow down when the truck is beside you, but not before.

Keep it safe out there, and don't drive beyond your own comfort limits.

Setting up camp has enough divorce actions without starting out in a frazzled state.

You nailed that one Joga...

ST391GQ · Senior Member

2800 revs on the clock for my diesel Datto.....approx.. 87 kmh.

that's where she is in her sweet spot...best egt...not quite on maximum boost ...best fuel economy...and with enough oomph to get up most hills without too much stirring of the gearbox. Van is almost always loaded the same ..and not even close to its ATM...so that aint even a consideration on trips so far.

Works for me ...and has done so most of my working life.

All the fuss about weight distribution...variation in speed etc is well and good...but this should be second nature after a while. Road conditions....weather...time...traffic around you....state of mind etc are the more variables which need to be addressed on a daily basis IMO.

Cheers Keith

done dreaming · Senior Member

Just drove from Albany to Esperence over 2 days and due to strong winds at stages i was as low as 70. I usually sit on between 85 and 90 towing my 24' van because thats what i feel comfortable with.The speed limit is the maximum not the minimum.

Gundog · Guru

The single biggest issue when 3 or 4 GN's travel in a convoy with barely a 2 car lengths between each rig and travelling at 75 to 80k, please if you travel with another GN please leave 100 to 200 meters between yall.

I went to Darwin in June and the caravan convoy's up and back gave me the ****s

Fastcoach · Senior Member

Gundog, I'll bet if you were able to discuss your frustration with any of those convoy travellers they wouldn't have a clue what you were on about. Just as long as they were getting the best fuel economy out of their tow vehicles, it's all good. My bet is they have rarely if ever tried to pass another vehicle on the open road in their lives.

At least on the Stuart, there are many long stretches of dead straight road, but nobody wants to have to be out on the wrong side of the road a second longer than they have to be. Have a bit of consideration for your fellow motorists!!!

Peter_n_Margaret · Guru

Fastcoach wrote:
..... nobody wants to have to be out on the wrong side of the road a second longer than they have to be.

The bigger the speed difference between the 2 vehicles, the shorter that time will be.

Slower vehicles are easier to overtake than ones doing 5kph under the speed limit.

Cheers,

Peter

Fastcoach · Senior Member

Not when they form a convoy Peter.

billeeeeeee · Guru

Piffle,,,,,,, Its all about getting there alive,,,,,,A very excited Billeeeeeee

-- Edited by billeeeeeee on Sunday 14th of December 2014 01:28:03 PM

-- Edited by billeeeeeee on Sunday 14th of December 2014 01:28:30 PM

Joga · Veteran Member

Couldn't agree more, Gundog,

Most of them have CBs, so there is no need for them to be close to their mate. When they are close together it means the overtaking vehicle has to get past the whole convoy! That means a long time on the wrong side of the road.

People, 200 metre is equal to the distance between 2 white guide posts. Please try to keep at least that far behind the bloke in front, unless overtaking.

If overtaking a 200m start, to build up speed, is safer than accelerating from just behind the vehicle you are overtaking.

I have often backed off, in places where I didn't have to room to overtake, to let a faster vehicle overtake first.

Keep it safe out there

Murraman · Senior Member

We travel at about 85 to 90 in the Coaster, Just took it for a run yesterday after having new liners and pistons and new head put in the 3B diesel. It was more gutless till it wears in. It wasn't too bad with the wind up my clacker but when I turned for home into the stiff breeze going slightly uphill, I had problems getting over 60 in a 110 zone.

Took me a while to get it up to 80, Got passed by a few B-Doubles who had no problems getting around me as the road had plenty of straights.