So how fast do you tow?

[Al Weyman]

After a 5 hour journey back from Pembrey towing my (very) Heavy Chevy at the weekend and witnessing the aftermath of a terrible towing accident on the M4 west of the bridge, where a large twin outboard engined speed boat being towed by a late model LWB Land Rover Defender (ideal tow vehicle?), had completely overturned and crushed the roof of the Land Rover and wrecked it and the whole rig including the boat was upside down facing the wrong way on the motorway causing a massive tailback.

Well I don't know about you guys but I was towing with a powerful Vortex V6 Blazer but I set the cruise control to 60mph and will not go above this (and I think that is 5mph faster than I should) but I was still overtaken by a few competitors obviously doing a lot more than this and after witnessing the terrible scene of carnage. In the past I have had fellow competitors go blasting past me only to find them pulled over by the boys in blue a few miles down the road.

I would be interested to know what you people think is a 'safe' speed and what you tow at as I have witnessed quite a few similiar accidents, I even stuck Roger Nathan's Commer van and trailer backwards through a five bar gate back in the 60's when a young buck and fortunately got away with it.

Surely for the 10 or 20 minutes faster you get home is it really worth it, risking your car, your licence, your life and more importantly some innocent third parties life? I am a bit of a road safety campaigner these days (on the track it is different we all know what we are in for) and if any one knows me will understand why, but I do feel some people take a lot of chances when towing.

[Tony Crossley]

I tow an MGB on an enormous Brian James tilt bed trailer with a MG ZT260 (4.6 V8). And I tow at 60mph.

Mainly becuase I've been stopped for doing 73 (got let off but once bitten...)

The rig is very stable at that speed and I'd be quite happy towing at 70-75mph in fine weather. However, my brother has a homemade trailer for his Locost and I'm terrified once I get above 50mph!
Depends a lot on the trailer stabilty and car being towed I think.

[greenamex2]

2.5 ton motorhome. Old Brian James trailer. 900Kg car and associated junk. About 60 with 65MPH reserved for the run up to big hills. I plan to fit an intercooler and rear spring assisters to the motorhome sometime soon but won't be going any faster (just that speed sooner and more often).

A bloke here has a Volkswagen Toureg (2.5 turbo diesel) towing a 1400Kg 911 GT3 RS and regularly tops 80-85MPH. I have an order in for his 911's engine and gearbox he finally crashes. Must get it put on his will!

[goforit500]

I'm saying nuffink :-)

Seriously, we tow with a Grand Cherokee and big BJ trailer with the brakes in top notch condition all the time. Luckily we have a quiet motorway about 10 mins from home whichever track we're heading for and if the car isn't set quite right we can stop and get it right...

We have had (deleted for legal reasons) out of the combination on occasion(and it felt fine and pulled up well) but we usually trundle in the 65-70-75 sort of range...

Can't compare boat and car trailers as they have totally different characteristics and dynamics - Bet a boat/trailer combo has a CofG at about chest height doesn't it ??

[Tim Falce]

I always tow within the speed limit and conditions of the road.

[b1ackcr0w]

1998 VW Passat 1.9 Turbo Diesel with 156,000 miles on clock - Abbey GTS215 Caravan (around 1150 kg worth all told) - 60mph mostly, 65 to pass HGVs. Have been up to 70 on windless days but it felt like the accident would be unavoidable. Found that Alko hitch & Spring assisters on rear suspension help a lot.

[goforit500]

Not neccessarily the same thing Falce :-)

[COLIN STUBBS]

i try to stay in the 60/65 mph bit with my terrano and bj tiltbed. if daft daves driving i whack him with a stick if i see 70. its not just the fact that you will have a big accident but at that speed you bucket the fuel through. we always try to keep the tyres right and the bearings well set up and greased.amazing how many trailers you see with no bearing caps on and dry bearings ready to seize and send you into a tankslapper.oh ye., keeping awake helps too.my exes ex had the worst towing accident of all time.

[Tim Falce]

Originally Posted by goforit500

Not neccessarily the same thing Falce :-)

Exactly, maybe the question should have been, what's the maximum speed you will tow at.

[JohnMiller]

Vectra 2.2TDi c/w Brian James Tilt-Shuttle with Formula Ford in.

Having realised I was doing 95 mph approaching the first roundabout back to Thetford from Snet, I decided to sell it and drive with a team...

[MGDavid]

MG ZS180 towing a BJ Club & MG Midget (1050kg total), 65 to 70 if the conditions allow, often slower. Once saw over 80 indicated, I ended the distracting conversation a bit rapid ! Now I have an Iveco twin wheel ex-motocross camper which seems happiest at an indicated 65 but mostly this is on French / German / Dutch motorways. If the nose weight does not seem right I *always* stop and adjust it.

[silver bullet]

It all depends on the towing vehicle. I had a Land Rover 110 that developed a speed wobble at anything over 50. I now have a LDV 400 that is as solid as a rock, so now if I'm in fuel saving mode it's between 55 & 60, or if I'm running late it's between 70 &....(you don't really want to know!)

[Mackmot]

towing round Thruxton or up the Revitt straight at Snet gets you up to about 140mph

[dtype38]

3.5 ton motorhome, 1ton car on 3/4 ton trailer (inc wheels and fuel etc) - 50 mph on the flat, 60mph downhill - 30-40mph uphill, all figures reduce by 5mph with a headwind, increase by 5mph with a tailwind....

I really must get a bigger engine

[Peter Mallett]

Jeep Cherokee, B James A series 1500kg swl trailer, 1 tonne car.

In France we were legally pulling 130 km on way to Calais with no sign of a wobble. UK I'll go up to............................. but usually stick at around 60mph.

[midgetman]

Towcar elderly Peugeot 405 estate 1.8 petrol - trailer see MGDavid above. Car is a bit gutless so tend to keep up around 70 on continental m'ways to keep it rolling along - need to turn the aircon off to get up the hills. If we're in traffic average speed drops hugely as it just won't pull to get into gaps. Returns c. 27 mpg constant, only 5mpg less than unladen.

Well remember when MGD saw over 80 on the speedo, I was the distracting conversation. It did concentrate the mind a little ;-)

[DKGandBH]

1988 Ford Falcon (3.9L)
Pop open Tent thingy.
160Km/h in the NT (Legal...)

I had to slow down due to the trailer tyres delaminating...

DKGandBH

[Ali Rushforth]

LDV Convoy Converted to motorhome, BJ Club with Mini, 12 spare wheels, 2 jerry cans, ez-up, compressor etc etc etc, 2 - 4 adults aboard.

55 - 60, might occasionally creep to 70 if overtaking. Tows like a dream!!

Wouldn't wanna go any faster as van is wider than trailer and I can't see my pride and joy anyway while towing, plus nearly had a biggy when I used to tow 3.5T diggers for a living, and I was only doing 40!!!

[Woolley]

BMW 316i (10yrs old, 117k on the clock) + Lunar Clubman caravan weighing around 950kgs loaded.

I try to stick to 60, but the car wants to creep up to 65 where it feels happy. Certainly it feels solid. Once found myself just over 70 when I wasn't concentrating on the speedo enough, but quickly backed off when I realized. It's reassuring to know that it still felt safe at that speed, so I trust that I'm in the comfort zone at the lower speeds.

[carsreunited]

I tow with a 2.5 tonne LWB Nissan Patrol 4.2 and a Brenderup 2 Tonne capacity trailer with a 1 tonne car on board. I tow at 60-65mph and will go up to 75mph if needed. I did experiment once with a scrap dolly on board on a quiet dual carriageway and went up to 90mph with no stability issues (just wanted to know at what speed it would start to get unstable).

Someone mentioned that they had a 110 Landie that would weave at 50mph+. I had one briefly before the Nissan and had exactly the same problems. The track of the Landie is quite narrow IMO. It scared the crap out of me once when a lorry on the M1 overtook me (I was doing 50mph and was causing traffic flow problems as a result), the lorry came past, the wind shielding effect of the lorry passing unblanced the whole thing and I very nearly lost control.

It was one of the reasons I sold the thing.

[graeme]

Usually about 70 - maybe a little more. In "tests" the whole set-up is perfectly stable at three-figure speeds. But my car is much lighter than most of your tanks!

Once borrowed a caravan for a 24-hour race - that was terifying to tow at 50mph.

[Chris Y]

2.0 Fraud Mundano Towing a 14ft x 6.1ft BJ Clubman 1200 (the irritating one WITHOUT the fold-down mudflaps) and a car weighing approx 850kg, and probably another 100kg of spares and tools. 2 people on board.

60-65 on the motorway, rising to 70 if going downhill and driver not paying much attention - rock steady

The trailer has its wheels quite far back, so the car on the trailer has to be positioned quite far back too, but it allows a good amount of adjustment to the nose weight.

Occasionally tow with a normally aspirated 2 litre diesel camper van, but that's a little breathless up hills. Good fun to chug along in though!

[Larry J-Croft]

I've towed with loads of rigs and after two horrible 'swayfests' I invested in a tow bar damper - even good stable rigs can have a tyre blowout and then you're in trub. With it fitted and a good positive nose weight on the hitch, I've never had a problem. I currently tow a single seater in a box trailer with a Mondeo.

Just out of interest how many actually know the limit in this country ?? Not a patronising question, I have askeds several policemen and never got the same answer. Some have said 70, as it is twin axle and braked, others 60 (which is correct I believe). I have ben towing for 15 years and never been stopped (famous last words), I was even followed at 70mph by a jam sandwich for several miles then he just pulled past.

[Tony Crossley]

Definatley 60 (twin wheeled and braked) as I was stopped for exceeded that on the M6.

[graeme]

No difference between single-axle and twin-axle speed limits - despite lots of people having opinions to the contary...

60mph on dual carriageway/motorway
50mph on single carriage

Police don't seem too worried about towing speeds - in a similar way to not pulling drivers doing 75-80mph on motorways - but are really hot on towing vehicles using the outside lane of a 3+ lane road.