I have a question for you experienced long haul campers.

Dr1ft3r · June 12, 2023

3 hours ago, Jettech1 said:

Ok, interesting comments here of late. LOL..... I already know what my limit is towing and that is 65. I think it's a safe speed, I've never had a problem impeding traffic. I stay to the right away from everyone. No problems at all. If I don't set my cruise, I look down and I'm going 80. To me towing, that's too fast when factoring in all the weight of what I'm towing. But hey, to each their own. I'm sure I can get away with 75mph. I just don't want to. If I have to brake hard, I want to scrub off as much speed as possible in a very short time. To me, that's called safety.

Edit: If I was told and guarantied a clear run from Atlanta to Maine, no traffic, no animals, nothing to avoid...no tire blow outs....hey I'm in for 80 plus while towing. But I haven't been guarantied anything as none of us will ever be.

65-70 mph is decent. I was referring to traveling on the interstate at 55 mph when the limit is 80+ mph. I have personally almost ran into people going that slow when the speed limit was 80 mph. I was coming up on them, I looked in my blind spot, when I looked back ahead of me I was almost on top of them. If I would have had someone in my blind spot I would have had to slam on the brakes and still might have hit them.

The minimum lawful speed on a highway is not necessarily a safe speed to travel.

Edit: especially these days since almost everyone does 5-10 mph over the limit. That's 90+ mph in some places, which would be 35 mph more than 55 mph.

Edited June 12, 2023 by Dr1ft3r

Jettech1 · June 13, 2023

15 minutes ago, Dr1ft3r said:

65-70 mph is decent. I was referring to traveling on the interstate at 55 mph when the limit is 80+ mph. I have personally almost ran into people going that slow when the speed limit was 80 mph. I was coming up on them, I looked in my blind spot, when I looked back ahead of me I was almost on top of them. If I would have had someone in my blind spot I would have had to slam on the brakes and still might have hit them.

The minimum lawful speed on a highway is not necessarily a safe speed to travel.

Edit: especially these days since almost everyone does 5-10 mph over the limit. That's 90+ mph in some places, which would be 35 mph more than 55 mph.

And I might try setting the cruise on 70 if I'm all alone, no one around me....That's a cool speed when towing as well. But damn, there are tire caps all over, people driving while looking at their phone, just so much stupidness out there when driving. I hate the interstates but have to use them if I want to get anywhere in a reasonable time.

Dr1ft3r · June 13, 2023

21 hours ago, Jettech1 said:

And I might try setting the cruise on 70 if I'm all alone, no one around me....That's a cool speed when towing as well. But damn, there are tire caps all over, people driving while looking at their phone, just so much stupidness out there when driving. I hate the interstates but have to use them if I want to get anywhere in a reasonable time.

With my old camper I did the speed limit or more, but only up to a maximum speed of 80 mph. It came with stock Q rated Goodyear Wrangler tires good for speeds up to 99 mph though.

My new camper has Goodyear G614 tires which are rated for speeds up to 75 mph (when at maximum load). I will keep my top speed with these tires at around 70 mph most of the time. Besides, with this new camper my MPG drops exponentially at speeds over 65 mph since it has such a large frontal area.

I prefer driving at night. If I have to go through any major cities I always try to go through at night. I really dislike heavy traffic. When I was traveling from Naples, FL I never went through Tampa during the daytime and I would go around Atlanta if my fastest route took me trough there.

nards444 · June 16, 2023

On 6/9/2023 at 6:38 PM, Major Tom said:

Your opinion is just that, an opinion.

Traveling slower not only yields better fuel mileage, but you put less wear and tear on the equipment and the driver.

Number one cause of tire blowout is heat in the tire, usually caused by under inflation and/or overloading, but the faster you go the hotter the tire gets.

Maximum speed while towing is 55 MPH in the following states:

Alaska, California, Delaware, District of Columbia, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia.

Just facts, not an opinion.

Michigan is now 65mph as of like 10 years ago I lived there. Many states the 55mph is referring to semis, in cities or on rural high ways not expressways/interstates, and weight comes into play. So your facts are not correct. Speed Limits and Towing - RV Nerds or RV Speed Limits For All 50 States | Outdoorsy.com

I don't advocate for people doing 80 while hauling. But if you are going much under 65 you dont belong on the road or have the wrong set up. Speed limits are anywhere from 65-80, and others are doing 5-10 over and if you are going 60 or below your detriment to others and yourself. And going 65 vs 60 is not going change the longevity of any of your equipment.

nards444 · June 16, 2023

On 6/9/2023 at 10:19 PM, Jettech1 said:

That is excellent information that I had no idea about. Especially seeing that we will be traveling through a lot of those states on our trip to Maine this August. Thank you very much!!

His information is incorrect. I posted the facts.