How fast do you tow?

I was just wondering what different setups are able to do. I have a 89 c2500 chevy 350 tbi, 700r4, 373 rear. I pull a 77 k10 lwb on a 20' flat bed. I was out on a flat interstate with a 70 mph speed limit. I could do 70 mph but the 350 was turning 3000 rpm doing it. I was'nt really comfortable pushing the rpm's any higher. I was only on the interstate for about 40 minutes.
I see people towing alot longer distance with about the same load and just wondering how hard you are working your tow rig.

 

I am never pulling any serious weight on my 20 footer so I just run the speed limit. Tow rig is '01 2500HD with 6.0L gas engine.

 

Depending on traffic, 70-75 towing up to 10k. If traffic is heavier I usually back it down 5-10mph.

 

65-70mph here in CA. I know the speed limit for trailers is 55mph but that is lame and my truck runs right in the sweetspot at that speed in OD.

 

3000RPM's is fine for a 350, you could run all day long at 4,500RPM's if you needed to. The only downside is fuel consumption.

Compared to other folks in the thread..... I drive slow. I cruised anywhere from 55-61 or so when I pulled my flatbed with my K5 Blazer on it, right around 8K worth of stuff.

I have no need to go too fast. It eats fuel and can be dangerous.

Your speed should be based on your rig and traffic. Remember, you probably can't stop any better than an OTR truck can and they stick around 60mph. Electric brakes do work good but they aren't air.

I've always been against driving fast pulling a heavy trailer and definantly OTR trucks. After seeing some of the responses here, I'll probably get a few respsonses that I'm full of it. Thats ok, my dad and I are in the trucking business and have seen too many wrecks that lead to deaths because trucks were traveling too fast.

Anyway, for myself, my little 7K trailer axles were right at max and so were my older tires that are on the trailer, 55-60 was plenty for me. Now with our gooseneck that will have Load E Michelins and is a stable trailer, I might do 65mph if traffic is very light and I'm not real heavy.

 

'05 CC LB Duramax\Alli towing a 6Klb Blazer on a 10K rated trailer @ 60mph - 2400rpm ; @65mph about 2550RPM. I did get up over 70 at times but that is too fast and I don't want to spin everything up that fast fer long periods so I just cruz waytogo No Hurries, No Worries imp:

 

With my 6k lb truck on a 10k trailer that's supposed to weigh 2500, I cruised at 62mph and it felt good. I dropped out of OD and kept it at 55 on the steep part of Pacheco pass just to take it easy.

 

With about 7k of trailer and load I run 70 on the open interstate. If traffic is heavy I just leave enough space to stop and let that tell me how fast to drive. With the gooseneck loaded right its hard to know its back there, so as long as I have room to stop I'm ok. I like to run the speed limit becouse I don't like other people holding up traffic, so I don't like to do it either. Anywere from 65-70 and the rpm's are just right. waytogo

 

In Kali I run 55/59. In states with a higher limit I tow at or under the limit. Of course I leave 4 to 8 second gap in front of me and look at least twice that far down the road. If I can see that far I slow down or back off some more.

 

Depends on traffic I will run about 65-70 loaded but have been known to open her up with no cars ect.. I stop about 80mph just to be safe I know there is a lot more power there to be used just tying to keep it safe. Going up the passes here in Colorado With trailer and rock Crawler in tow I run about 65 uphill 50-55 down hill.

 

In CA I generally run 65 which is basically just following a OTR truck. If I go 55 there passing me constantly. I towed about 70 to blazer fest this year because I was late. When I get out of CA, like on the 15 headed to vegas on the way to moab I'm going 80 or so just to keep from getting ran over. OTR trucks pass me going 90 and cars pass me going 100+ on that stretch of road. After that I go about 70 all the way to moab.

Thats an 03 3500 dually pulling 14-15k pounds at about 14mpg at that speed. Going 55 I can get 17 or so... 4.10's don't help with the fuel mileage but there nice when getting a load moving.

As far as brakes mine worked rather well with the service brakes and trailer breaks on level 3.5 of 9 when a car in front of me ran into the back of a semi at 70mph on the way back from BF Never seen a car change lanes to be behind a semi then proceed to floor it and ram into the back of it...

 

On the way back from Moab frm EJS we... well... a picture is worth a thousand words. There were 4 tow rigs trailering 4Xs, 2 pulling crusiers and one pulling an 04 crew cab ford on 38s and the other pulling an 01 cummins on 40s. Definately a factor.

 

Nice waytogo

Now lets just sit back and watch all of the "55 stay alive" :stir: guys start bashing you for being unsafe and psycho opcorn:

 

I tow at or around 55 in Kali cause I don't need the tickets. And 20 over 55 IE 75 mph is "reckless driving" and could affect my CDL. Plus anymore than 1 point on my licence, I lose my "good driver" Ca discount. 20% of $5k is a big chunck of change. Since I'm insuring 10 vehicles I save $7k a year with the different discounts I get plus I don't have the high rates I'd have if I had a bunch of tickets.

 

I'm not paying for the all the fuel being wasted and excess wear & tear for going that fast so I don't care a whole lot. People need to keep their tires in mind at higher speeds too. A hot day + tires that are near or at max weight could pop, where they wouldn't at 55-60mph. A lot of commercial tires are rated for 55mph.

 

WOW, 90mph @ 2300rpm!
Now that's a hwy gear

 

I'll pretty much keep up with lane-2 traffic if I'm towing a well-loaded (properly distributed) tag trailer, but won't go over 65-70 depending on traffic and road conditions. Also won't go so fast as to make myself a target - if I'm passing a bunch of people, I'll slow down. Blend in, that's my theory.

With the 5th wheel, I'm at or near GCVWR, so I will generally set the cruise at 62 mph or so. My truck is not happy at 55 with that load. 62 allows me to cruise OD on the flats and moderate grades, and give better mileage than 55 in 4th. Ironically, my milage gets better as I go faster, up to about 68 when loaded. ???

 

Most of our trip was actually the speed limit or 5 under to save fuel ($300 in fuel in my truck for the round trip of 1200 or so miles) but when we hit that interstate from utah to colorado we hammered down. Actually the lead guy was trying to chase some girls I think.