Towing speed

[SUMRX4]

Just curious what speed folks run while towing. Where I travel I rarely spend any time on the interstate so my opportunity or need for 60+ MPH is rare. Next week I will be taking a 4 hour trip with most of that being interstate travel with a 70MPH speed limit. Which means folks will be running 80. I'm guessing most folks don't run that fast while traveling but I'm not too keen on running 65 and getting run over by everyone else on the rd. either.

[hotpepperkid]

BB_TX wrote:
I tow the 5er up to the posted limit but no more than 70.

X2

[KM_Rolling]

I tow at whatever is a safe speed for the road conditions and traffic conditions. (also taking into account the max speed rating of 75 MPH on the trailer tires)

Usually it ends up being between 65-68.

I do get significantly better MPG at 55-57, but over 7 days driving, that extra 10 mph slower would make it 8 days of driving instead of 7.

RE: the OP concerns of "getting run over"... never had anything like that happen/or come close to happening. Even when in SD or Montana where most everyone is running 85-95. They just go around me, never had anyone run me over. 🙂

If they're jammed up because of a slow moving semi, if it is safe I will speed up a bit to lower their blood pressure. But they couldn't "run me over" even if they decided to try.

When not towing the trailer I ride a motorcycle as my daily driver. I do what is safe for me...on the bike and in the truck. No small part of that is staying away from the herds/clumps of vehicles all traveling fast and too close to each other.

I ESPECIALLY put a lot of distance between me and a truck pulling a trailer at 75-85, wagging their tail down the road.

[Grit_dog]

Bobbo wrote:

mnaquaman wrote:
A good rule of thumb is that for every 10 mph increase in speed you will see a 10% decrease in fuel economy.

My experience is with two separate RVs. On each I got a 50% increase in gas mileage for a 14% decrease in speed.

1. Class C on an E450 chassis - 70mph and 6mpg vs 60mph and 9mpg

2. Airstream TT behind F-150 - 70mph and 8mpg vs 60mph and 12mpg

I drive Memphis to Colorado Springs (1,000+ miles) to visit my sister.

I believe this. I got about 14mpg to Bend OR and back with the camper on the truck driving slower 2 lanes. 65-70 tops for most of the trip, sometimes slower, little 75+ on the freeway.
Straight to Spokane and back at 80, I get 10-11. Less if there's a headwind on the way back.
Noone doubts that driving slower burns less dinosaurs....but

[Bobbo]

mnaquaman wrote:
A good rule of thumb is that for every 10 mph increase in speed you will see a 10% decrease in fuel economy.

My experience is with two separate RVs. On each I got a 50% increase in gas mileage for a 14% decrease in speed.

1. Class C on an E450 chassis - 70mph and 6mpg vs 60mph and 9mpg

2. Airstream TT behind F-150 - 70mph and 8mpg vs 60mph and 12mpg

I drive Memphis to Colorado Springs (1,000+ miles) to visit my sister.

[Turtle_n_Peeps]

I have and it's days. I can show the math again if you want.

[Lynnmor]

Turtle n Peeps wrote:


Pretty simple math. So many miles and only so many days. You need to talk to my boss so I can get more days.

Do the math on a rather long trip, You might be surprised to see that only hours can be saved, not days. Don't forget to factor in all those delays caused by slow pokes like me and others that commented.

[Turtle_n_Peeps]

mnaquaman wrote:
I am pretty much like everyone else out there.
I try to run at 65 and will switch in & out of Cruise Control based on the traffic flow and terrain!

A good rule of thumb is that for every 10 mph increase in speed you will see a 10% decrease in fuel economy.

I have only towed with my current set up around 4000 miles. So believe it or not I am still working on finding the sweet spot. I suspect that it is right around 63 - 66 mph! When you don't run the same route all the time it can be a bit tougher to dial it all in.

For those of you that tow at 80 - what the hell is your hurry? If you are in that much of a hurry take a plane! !

Happy Camping & Safe travels!

Pretty simple math. So many miles and only so many days. You need to talk to my boss so I can get more days.

[Grit_dog]

mnaquaman wrote:
I am pretty much like everyone else out there.
I try to run at 65 and will switch in & out of Cruise Control based on the traffic flow and terrain!

A good rule of thumb is that for every 10 mph increase in speed you will see a 10% decrease in fuel economy.

I have only towed with my current set up around 4000 miles. So believe it or not I am still working on finding the sweet spot. I suspect that it is right around 63 - 66 mph! When you don't run the same route all the time it can be a bit tougher to dial it all in.

For those of you that tow at 80 - what the hell is your hurry? If you are in that much of a hurry take a plane! !

Happy Camping & Safe travels!

Last time i tried to check a trailer at the baggage check they said no.....weird, I know

[mnaquaman]

I am pretty much like everyone else out there.
I try to run at 65 and will switch in & out of Cruise Control based on the traffic flow and terrain!

A good rule of thumb is that for every 10 mph increase in speed you will see a 10% decrease in fuel economy.

I have only towed with my current set up around 4000 miles. So believe it or not I am still working on finding the sweet spot. I suspect that it is right around 63 - 66 mph! When you don't run the same route all the time it can be a bit tougher to dial it all in.

For those of you that tow at 80 - what the hell is your hurry? If you are in that much of a hurry take a plane! !

Happy Camping & Safe travels!

[Rustycamperpant]

I set my cruise for 63

[TravelinDog]

With my '97 gasser with 4.10 gears I would stay at about 60mph because the truck was old and only got 7-8 mpg when towing. Engine turning at about 2,900 rpm.
Now that I have a 2500 CTD I still only tow at 65mph because I can keep it in 5th gear overdrive all day long and still get 14mpg with the same trailer. Only turning about 1900 rpm.
I could go MUCH faster, but why?
As someone else mentioned being able to stop and keep control of the truck and trailer in the event of a blow-out or some other situation is more important than getting somewhere faster and putting your life or your family or others on the road at risk. Saving a few minutes or an hour on longer trips is just not worth the risk.

[afidel]

68 is my normal cruise setting, that way I'm not playing leapfrog with the truckers that are governed to 65 but I'm not going too fast either. Over the last 28,200 miles I've averaged 11.02 mpg with a worst tank efficiency of 8.25 mpg when fighting a 30-40 mph headwind in Florida of all places.

[allen8106]

My max speed is 65 due to max speed rating of tires on the 5ver. However, even if I had higher rated tires I doubt I would drive any faster. The roads are just too rough for any faster speeds in my opinion.

[humblerb]

Our TT tires were rated at 65. I always tried to stay just below 65.
The 5th Wheel tires now are rated to 75 or 80, somewhere like that.
I really like the 65 pace, so I continue there with the FW.
The post on braking has as much to do with it as the travel time does.