How fast do you tow?

[dave11]

Re: How fast do you tow?

Don't get in a hurry towing. I have a 16ft fishing boat and a 23 ft cruiser with a tandem axel trailer with disc brakes on both axels. I tow with a Ford F250 Super Duty with the V10. I tow both boats between 60 & 65. It is a comfortable relaxing speed-everybody is passing me.

Royal has it right. It is how fast you can stop.

 

[crackedglass]

Re: How fast do you tow?

I have to say that road conditions dictate my speed for the most part, then tire size, weight, and how far I have to go play a part too. To just run the boat down to the lake, with things just tossed in the boat, obviously I'm taking it easy and not going to fast, but on long trips, over the highway, if the road is smooth and the boat is secured and everything tied down, I'll run with traffic if it feels comfortable. I ran down to FL last summer and averaged just over 80mph the whole way down, but the truck, trailer and everything in the boat were well secured and handled it just fine. Any slower and I'd have gotten run over.

 

[nimmor]

Re: How fast do you tow?

I tow at 55 mph but do not travel the interstate. For years all I had were jon boats with 8" tires and NEVER went over 55 in fear of heating the bearings up. Now my Tracker has 12" tires and wouldn't be afraid of going 65 but all my fishing holes are local so haven't tried it.

 

[DonHof]

Re: How fast do you tow?

55-65 if I'm pulling my boat or not. No need to go any faster!

 

[oldjeep]

Re: How fast do you tow?

Depends on the speed of traffic. My boat doesn't get towed at more than 75 because of how it feels behind the truck. I run trailer tires that are good for more than double the load that is on them.

My car dolly gets pulled at up to 80 depending on what is on it.
16 foor car trailer gets pulled at whatever speed I like.

 

[JimKW]

Re: How fast do you tow?

I just towed about 900 miles roundtrip. I tow a 2000 Crownline 180 with a 98 GMC Envoy. Up in MI the speed limit is 70 mph most places. I found that when I went over 65 I didn't like the feel, so I kept my cruise control at about 63 most of the time. Averaged 47 mph and got 15 mpg for the whole trip.

 

[Bifflefan]

Re: How fast do you tow?

I tend to stay about 68 mph. Its comfortable and my truck gets about 12.5 mpg there. above 70 it drops like a stone.

 

[rrkyle]

Re: How fast do you tow?

I usually just keep the pedal down until the governor kicks in and then i keep it there..

No my rule of thumb is i drive as fast as the big rigs. Theyve got CBs and scanners they know where troopers are sitting. If the rigs are doing 80 im doin 80 if they are pegged at 65 so am i. I learned this pullin the trailer to rodeos.

I also almost always draft the rigs though, it actually makes a difference in my fuel economy.

 

[airdvr1227]

Re: How fast do you tow?

It's an hour south to my wet slip and 2 hours north to Lake Erie. That's all the towing I ever do. Because I am exceeding the manufacturers tow limits on my rig I am more concerned about the ability to stop. Light traffic I'm 65ish. If it's getting heavy and the chance I'll have to stop quickly is going up then it depends on the prevailing conditions.

I agree with those that say the ability to stop is paramount. Hope you're all having agreat 4th. I'm at work

 

[ScottinAZ]

Re: How fast do you tow?

I also tow with an '02 Dakota 4.7. Mine is manual tranny and 4wd. I tend to follow the flow of traffic around here. I dont do much on the highway, as I dont need to. When I do, its speed limit or maybe a few over. If the trailer starts wobblin, I slow down and find out why, but to this point, never had an issue at any speed. As for braking, I dont have any issues with panic stops, and the trailer does not have nor need brakes (by law anyways)

 

[Mark42]

Re: How fast do you tow?

It does not matter what the posted speed limit is. ST tires are speed rated to 65 mph. Anything over 65 mph and you have exceeded your tires performance standards. Probably the reason why some people report tire problems as a rarity while others seem to have one tire failure after another

Dingbat, that is an excellent post. I never stopped to think about the tire's speed rating or limits. And I would bet money you are correct about why some folks have more tire failures than others due to over-speed.

BTW, I did find this info about ST speeds from Goodyear:

How fast?
Industry standards dictate that ST tires are restricted to a speed of 65 mph unless a different speed restriction is indicated on the tire sidewall. If speeds from 66 to 75 mph are used, the tire cold inflation pressure can be increased by 10 psi without any increase in load. -Goodyear Tire Company

I did some checking on the web for speed ratings for smaller trailer tires, such as 5.30 x 12 or 4.80 x 12, but found none. Also checked the sidewall of the tire, and besides the usual load and PSI info, there is no speed rating other than "HIGH SPEED" molded into the side wall.

Are the 10" and 12" rim tires limited to 65 mph max speed too? Maybe less? I would really like to know so I can avoid unnecessary tire failure while on the road, which is usually when we are on vacation.

 

[df909]

Re: How fast do you tow?

I never thought of the speed rating of tires either, but I'm glad it was mentioned. I go slow to conserve fuel and I figure it's safer. I don't think speeding with a trailer is such a hot idea as it puts me & others in danger.

 

[Mark42]

Re: How fast do you tow?

I found this on etrailer.com regarding the speed rating of small trailer tires:

What is the Speed Rating for the 4.80-8 Trailer Tire and Wheel Combo

Question:
What is the usual speed rating for 8 tires and wheels?
asked by: Jim

Expert Reply:
The speed limit for the 4.80-8 Trailer Tire and Wheel, part # AM30020, is 62 MPH.
expert reply by: Patrick B

 

[cntryguy146]

Re: How fast do you tow?

alot is based on your vehical and trailer like mine is only a single axle trailer and i have a 22ft sea ray so anything over 60 i start swaying a tad bit

 

[dave11]

Re: How fast do you tow?

I usually just keep the pedal down until the governor kicks in and then i keep it there..

No my rule of thumb is i drive as fast as the big rigs. Theyve got CBs and scanners they know where troopers are sitting. If the rigs are doing 80 im doin 80 if they are pegged at 65 so am i. I learned this pullin the trailer to rodeos.

I also almost always draft the rigs though, it actually makes a difference in my fuel economy.

I've driven trucks well over 3 million miles. I WOULDN'T allow anyone to pull a stunt like that.

 

[starcraftkid]

Re: How fast do you tow?

I found this on etrailer.com regarding the speed rating of small trailer tires:

I've towed all over NJ with 8" tires, and even further a few times and never had a failure, but I rarely hammer down on the gas when towing a small tire trailer. A number of years ago I had a trailer on which one day I noticed tire marks on the inside of the fenders, which were at least 2" above the tires. The tires were new, Goodyear 4.80x8" tires, the fenders attached to the axle not the frame on this particular trailer, so it wasn't a matter of travel. What was happening was that at high speeds, the tires would 'grow' enough to hit the fenders. This happened at lower pressures, not so much at higher pressure too.
If I ran the tires at their max pressure, I got no tire marks or rubber on the inside of the fenders, but would get tire marks and burnt rubber at higher speeds if I ran the tires at what I thought was enough air for a light boat. I was running them at 45psi, and they would grow and hit the fender, but not if I put the full 80psi the sidewalls called for. Through it all, I never had a blow out. Even running up and down the parkway or turnpike here.
I still have a few trailers running 8" tires, I never worry about them blowing out, but do make sure their in good shape before any trips. I stay with the smaller tires since it keeps the boat lower and easier to launch.

I find that with a small aluminum boat in tow, and a light trailer, much over 65mph is too fast as the boat's shape gives the trailer some lift and makes it a bit unstable. I've pulled my larger boats faster with no issues though.
The more modern trailer tires do seem a lot better than the bias ply tires of the past, and all it takes to keep a tire together is some common sense. Keep the air pressure up, and when their dryrotted, replace them.
I get about 5 years out of a set of tires, regardless of miles, they seem to rot away long before they wear out. For those running smaller tires, 12" and under, keep in mind that their bias ply tires and even back when we all used bias ply tires on our cars, 10,000 miles was about all the miles you got from a tire, so I figure that if I get a couple of thousand miles and a few good years out of them, I'm happy.

 

[redone4x4]

Re: How fast do you tow?

I've driven trucks well over 3 million miles. I WOULDN'T allow anyone to pull a stunt like that.

and how would you stop it and still be professional about it?

 

[GatorMike]

Re: How fast do you tow?

I tow 55 and try to never go over 60 for 2 reasons. First for the obvious reason second and just as important, I found when I exceed 60 I lose things. Something about towing at +60 causes things like seat cushions, ice chest lids, empty buckets and light objects to leave the boat.

 

[Flyvet]

Re: How fast do you tow?

With my GMC Duramax truck pulling my 2500 lb. rig, I usually cruise at 70 if the Interstate is not crowded.

 

[foodfisher]

Re: How fast do you tow?

I've driven trucks well over 3 million miles. I WOULDN'T allow anyone to pull a stunt like that.

I've asked a few truckers if I could draft them. Each one said, it was no problem for them, but smoky don't like it. So, no drafting.