Towing speed

[flybouy]

Anyone remember the 55 mph National Speed limit in 1974. That was painful. Drove about 300 miles down to Siler City, NC. Thought we'd never get there.

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by flybouy

Anyone remember the 55 mph National Speed limit in 1974. That was painful. Drove about 300 miles down to Siler City, NC. Thought we'd never get there.

Oh boy do I. I can't drive 55 on long straight highways (non towing)....guess it's a defect. I bought a little sporty car in 1985 and had my plates changed to read 55S2SLO. Well, it was cute I thought but didn't think about the consequences. I got stopped for any time I was barely over the speed limit and never got another break. LEO looked at the plate, took my license and insurance then handed them back with a ticket....every time. I only kept that plate 2 years because I figured I was going to go broke.

[Campermike]

Originally Posted by flybouy

Anyone remember the 55 mph National Speed limit in 1974. That was painful. Drove about 300 miles down to Siler City, NC. Thought we'd never get there.

that lasted into the 80s... I remember family trips that took forever. It was 65 by the time I could drive.... maybe even higher in other states.

[flybouy]

Originally Posted by Campermike

that lasted into the 80s... I remember family trips that took forever. It was 65 by the time I could drive.... maybe even higher in other states.

In 1974 I was 20 yrs old. I typically shifted out of 2 nd gear around 55 mph.! I spent a lot more time on my jet boat when I could afford the Sunoco 260 fot the Olds 455 big block. Just had to get that pent up need for speed out!

[Camp CA]

Slow down and turn on some Blues music.

[chuckster57]

Originally Posted by flybouy

Anyone remember the 55 mph National Speed limit in 1974. That was painful. Drove about 300 miles down to Siler City, NC. Thought we'd never get there.

Yup!! It was torture. I had a Suzuki T500 that rarely saw 2 digits on the Speedo except in town. No helmet law, and in 1979 I graduated to a KZ1000 MKII. Tracy,Ca to Oakland intl airport in 25 minutes.

[Camp CA]

Ok....drove a Honda 750 motorcycle from central New Jersey to San Jose, California in 3 days back in the early 70's at 85 - 100 mph. Would never try that again. But back then I did not have money for motels, food, etc. and had to get there to get a job to pay for rent, food, etc.

[army1rob]

In the west most speed limits are 70-80 on the open freeways so I usually go between 65-72. That’s pulling an 18k 5th wheel. No worries about stopping or flow of traffic since these new trucks and trailers almost stop themselves. My buddy likes to go 75-80 pulling his trailer but it is about 5k lighter than mine so I always just leave before him when we camp together and we get there around the same time.

[Jonahex2099]

I try to keep it right at 60. 97% of the time we glamp within a 300 mile radius of our house and are generally in no hurry to get where we're going. Our longest trip in the five years we've owned our first rig has been 350 miles...

That will change with the new rig but not this season.

[Badbart56]

Originally Posted by flybouy

Anyone remember the 55 mph National Speed limit in 1974. That was painful. Drove about 300 miles down to Siler City, NC. Thought we'd never get there.

Yes, I painfully remember those days. On a side note, if FMCSA gets their way, the plan is to lower the commercial truck (26001 GVW and higher) speed limit across the nation. They have not as yet determined what that speed should be but they have given three numbers. 68. 65 or 62. While many noncommercial drivers may shrug this off, understand that this will have a major effect on ALL interstate traffic. If you think the big trucks are holding you up now, just wait.

https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/regulations/speed-limiters

As in everything in life, there are pro's and con"s. I am not asking you to give input to the FMCSA, but letting you know that you can. Everyone can form their own opinion. Just want you to know what's coming unless it receives enough negative reaction from trucking firms AND the public.

One thing I do know is that I will not be able to complete my dedicated route if I have to drive under the current speed limit (70 mph) so my route will take an extra day. Thus adding more to the supply chain issues. It's simple math, you can't drive as many miles in 11 hours at 62 as you can at 70.

And you will see the right lane looking like a railroad track instead of a road. That is until one truck decides his truck is a quarter of a mile per hour faster than the one in front of him. And yes, you know that's gonna happen!

[bsmith0404]

Originally Posted by Badbart56

Yes, I painfully remember those days. On a side note, if FMCSA gets their way, the plan is to lower the commercial truck (26001 GVW and higher) speed limit across the nation. They have not as yet determined what that speed should be but they have given three numbers. 68. 65 or 62. While many noncommercial drivers may shrug this off, understand that this will have a major effect on ALL interstate traffic. If you think the big trucks are holding you up now, just wait.

https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/regulations/speed-limiters

As in everything in life, there are pro's and con"s. I am not asking you to give input to the FMCSA, but letting you know that you can. Everyone can form their own opinion. Just want you to know what's coming unless it receives enough negative reaction from trucking firms AND the public.

One thing I do know is that I will not be able to complete my dedicated route if I have to drive under the current speed limit (70 mph) so my route will take an extra day. Thus adding more to the supply chain issues. It's simple math, you can't drive as many miles in 11 hours at 62 as you can at 70.

And you will see the right lane looking like a railroad track instead of a road. That is until one truck decides his truck is a quarter of a mile per hour faster than the one in front of him. And yes, you know that's gonna happen!

If I remember correctly from talking to a few guys, several companies already govern their trucks at 65.

Personally, I tow at 65 with the rv, get better fuel mileage if I can keep it between 60-65. We just came 1100 miles from southern NM to SD, averaged 11.8 with the dmax. If I can stay between 11.5-12 for our entire trip it’ll add up to a lot of savings compared to 10.

[Badbart56]

Originally Posted by bsmith0404

If I remember correctly from talking to a few guys, several companies already govern their trucks at 65.

Personally, I tow at 65 with the rv, get better fuel mileage if I can keep it between 60-65. We just came 1100 miles from southern NM to SD, averaged 11.8 with the dmax. If I can stay between 11.5-12 for our entire trip it’ll add up to a lot of savings compared to 10.

This is true and I really have no problem with that. Until I get behind two of them with one trying to pass the other one. Sometimes it takes 5 miles for one to complete their pass. And during that time the 4 wheelers are going crazy doing stupid stuff, tailgating and passing in the emergency lane to try and get around them.

Now, picture ALL trucks limited to 65. Or 62, or whatever. A handful you can deal with if you're patient. But there's not a lot of patience to be found on the interstate when someone is prevented from speeding due to a slow truck blocking their lane for miles. If/when this is implemented you will see some serious road rage from both trucks and cars. And the 80,000 pound trucks will always win, regardless of whose fault it is.

Quite a few of the owner operators and older drivers will quit. The fuel prices already have many of them on the bubble and a lot of the older ones are fed up with all the DOT rules and regulations. It's just more money out of their pockets. Then you got MORE supply chain woes.

What needs to be done is the state patrol(s) need to enforce the speed limits that are already in place and ticket these drivers that don't adhere to the slower traffic keep right laws. But these days there are less and less officers on the roads.

[meaz93*]

I'm old school when it comes to sharing the highways with big rigs.
I was taught to respect them first and foremost.
When I'm towing and or not I always pull to the right of the right lane to give them adequate room coming the other direction everytime a rig approaches. That also goes for anyone towing towards me .
When I tow to California from Phoenix I'm sure I suprise those truckers in a good way.
I will also slow down traffic behind me as they look to pass a slower fellow trucker ahead of them.
And yes I've pissed off speed racers in doing so.
Their pulling a heck of a lot longer and heavier loads than me.
It never seems to amaze me in the ignorant drivers that tailgate and cut in front of OP towing trailers period.
I like to tow in the 65-70 max range when the wifes not giving me " the slow down look or you can just took this truck & trailer around"-lol
If she had her way we would be going 50mph max?>I know....perfect way to save fuel ( shes right too[emoji21][emoji16] ).
PS....I see the diesel guys towing large 5th wheel loads at speeds in excess of 70-80mph?>scary.
I'm a diesel guy now, but you wont see me doing that..

[sourdough]

Trying to slow truck traffic down as opposed to mainstream traffic on single/two lane highways is going to complicate lots of things including delivery time and availability of products. Used to be truck traffic was limited to 55mph while cars could go 70...that didn't work out too well. On the flip side I see countless semis ripping it up at 80+ mph, and in heavy traffic at that. IMO that's a license forfeiture deal. You cannot control 80klbs. at that speed and certainly the ability to perform any sort of evasive maneuver has long passed.

I've driven a zillion miles (not a trucker) and observed all kinds of things. I tell my wife (she's apprehensive around semis) to look at the truck; the pros are going to be in the trucks with JB Hunt, England, FedEx, Old Dominion etc. - the big national carriers and you can generally trust them. When you see that 30 year old, dogged out truck with an old trailer barreling at you at 80mph with hand painted "Jimmy's Trucking Co." painted on the door. with dangling foo fahs in the windshield...move out of the way.

Although I hated the speed limit being raised for trucks because I worried, it hasn't been that bad. I fully understand the need to transport stuff as quickly as possible (within reason) and the need (demand) the public has for those commodities. If they decide to lower speed limits IMO it will just complicate matters for everyone. No matter what they do it won't eliminate the driver that is driving 65 1/4mph from trying to pass the next truck driver doing 65mph....on the downhill. Then it's simply a back and forth of the 2 trucks tying up 2 lanes as they pull back and forth beside each other, up and down the hills....for 20 miles and cars backed up just as far. Guess we'll se how it goes and hope for the best. Might have to go back to sporty cars vs trucks/SUVs so I can get through it all. The new Corvette C8 Z06 should be available soon....now if I can get DW to sit on the pavement and try to "scoot" in.

[Badbart56]

Originally Posted by sourdough

Trying to slow truck traffic down as opposed to mainstream traffic on single/two lane highways is going to complicate lots of things including delivery time and availability of products. Used to be truck traffic was limited to 55mph while cars could go 70...that didn't work out too well. On the flip side I see countless semis ripping it up at 80+ mph, and in heavy traffic at that. IMO that's a license forfeiture deal. You cannot control 80klbs. at that speed and certainly the ability to perform any sort of evasive maneuver has long passed.

I've driven a zillion miles (not a trucker) and observed all kinds of things. I tell my wife (she's apprehensive around semis) to look at the truck; the pros are going to be in the trucks with JB Hunt, England, FedEx, Old Dominion etc. - the big national carriers and you can generally trust them. When you see that 30 year old, dogged out truck with an old trailer barreling at you at 80mph with hand painted "Jimmy's Trucking Co." painted on the door. with dangling foo fahs in the windshield...move out of the way.

Although I hated the speed limit being raised for trucks because I worried, it hasn't been that bad. I fully understand the need to transport stuff as quickly as possible (within reason) and the need (demand) the public has for those commodities. If they decide to lower speed limits IMO it will just complicate matters for everyone. No matter what they do it won't eliminate the driver that is driving 65 1/4mph from trying to pass the next truck driver doing 65mph....on the downhill. Then it's simply a back and forth of the 2 trucks tying up 2 lanes as they pull back and forth beside each other, up and down the hills....for 20 miles and cars backed up just as far. Guess we'll se how it goes and hope for the best. Might have to go back to sporty cars vs trucks/SUVs so I can get through it all. The new Corvette C8 Z06 should be available soon....now if I can get DW to sit on the pavement and try to "scoot" in.

Danny, I agree with you, especially about the impact this will have on ALL traffic. But the companies you listed are actually a large part of the problem today. These bigger companies are hiring anybody and everybody just to keep their trucks on the road. These (and others) are the ones that have already limited their speed to 65 mph for fuel mileage but also for insurance purposes. Part of that is because they hire students right out of driving schools who have no experience in a truck.

We work for a small but elite company that has strict standards in reference to years of experience and driving and DOT violations, but also background checks. They simply want the best and are willing to pay for it. They pay us about $5000 just for referring a new team but not all applicants make the cut.

There is a class action lawsuit against several of the big companies, including one that my wife and I worked for. These companies conspired to keep drivers wages low and turnover down by agreeing not to recruit from each other since back around 2013. Some of these companies have already admitted to the charges and agreed to a tentative payment for those affected, myself included. Final disposition is slated for later this month.

It being a class action, I expect to get at least $5.00 out of it, maybe $10.00. I know, it's not right to brag but sometimes I can't help myself.....

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by Badbart56

Danny, I agree with you, especially about the impact this will have on ALL traffic. But the companies you listed are actually a large part of the problem today. These bigger companies are hiring anybody and everybody just to keep their trucks on the road. These (and others) are the ones that have already limited their speed to 65 mph for fuel mileage but also for insurance purposes. Part of that is because they hire students right out of driving schools who have no experience in a truck.

We work for a small but elite company that has strict standards in reference to years of experience and driving and DOT violations, but also background checks. They simply want the best and are willing to pay for it. They pay us about $5000 just for referring a new team but not all applicants make the cut.

There is a class action lawsuit against several of the big companies, including one that my wife and I worked for. These companies conspired to keep drivers wages low and turnover down by agreeing not to recruit from each other since back around 2013. Some of these companies have already admitted to the charges and agreed to a tentative payment for those affected, myself included. Final disposition is slated for later this month.

It being a class action, I expect to get at least $5.00 out of it, maybe $10.00. I know, it's not right to brag but sometimes I can't help myself.....

I don't know the ins and outs of the trucking business, and it may be the mandated governors with some carriers, but there is a huge difference in the driving expertise/antics from some carriers to the others and it doesn't deviate much as I travel across the country. I watched one the other day in my small berg stall himself at a 4 way trying to "get going" and of course about 2 weeks ago when the driver decided to make a "U turn" in the pre dawn hours on a 2 lane road, got stuck across the entire highway on a hill and a family of 4 were slaughtered into the side of his trailer.

Semi trucks and truck drivers carry a much higher level of responsibility simply due to who/what they are and the damage they can inflict.

[Badbart56]

Originally Posted by sourdough

I don't know the ins and outs of the trucking business, and it may be the mandated governors with some carriers, but there is a huge difference in the driving expertise/antics from some carriers to the others and it doesn't deviate much as I travel across the country. I watched one the other day in my small berg stall himself at a 4 way trying to "get going" and of course about 2 weeks ago when the driver decided to make a "U turn" in the pre dawn hours on a 2 lane road, got stuck across the entire highway on a hill and a family of 4 were slaughtered into the side of his trailer.

Semi trucks and truck drivers carry a much higher level of responsibility simply due to who/what they are and the damage they can inflict.

The need for more drivers due in part to years of low pay and substandard working conditions has created a high turnover rate. The company I used to work for got in 90 trainees every week. They had about 3000 trucks on the road.