Towing Speed - Page 3

(RIP) PLANK · 05-07-2011, 22:54

As many of you know, I do a fair bit of caravan towing, which as some have pointed out is very different to towing any other kind of trailer. I have yet to test this new electronic stability stuff Dave is experienced in - but it does sound good, as opposed to the ALKO stabiliser hitch which is - pants!

My advice, is drive at a speed to suit the combination of towing vehicle /caravan and the road / weather /traffic conditions. But don't sacrifice safety for speed.

loading the caravan correctly has to be the number 1 thing for safe towing, all weight low and toward the front. Use the max nose weight to the max!

I have also had a tyre blow out, quite literally, the side wall exploded, because it had the wrong load rating

It was on a very large twin axle caravan (2800k plus) and forget the old wives tales about carrying on with a flat tyre on a twin axle it's nonsense - the back corner hit the road with a bang!

I do think, as others have pointed out, that too many 'safety' gadgets can lead people into a false sense of security! And carrying too much gear around with you is asking for incorrect loading trouble!

Thomas-the-Terrano2 · 05-07-2011, 23:21

well have towed at an indicated 65 or what ever felt right, tend to judge this
by the rev counter and the feel of the outfit.

now i'm thinking that the caravan is the most precious thing after my family
and hey whats the rush, slowing to indicated mid 50s, might just save some
fuel and certainly wear n tear on the old tin tent. after all its not a race
and been proven that dropping few mile per hours, only lengthens journey
by a few minutes.

load propery , max out the nose weight, bin the stabilizer, learn to drive
and sense whats good for the rig. read road, try IAM / road craft advise.

observation is everything, try a running commentry as I did on my IAM car
test back in 1987 at 20 years old. does pay, still got clean licence...

solarman216 · 06-07-2011, 00:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thomas-the-Terrano2

well have towed at an indicated 65 or what ever felt right, tend to judge this
by the rev counter and the feel of the outfit.

now i'm thinking that the caravan is the most precious thing after my family
and hey whats the rush, slowing to indicated mid 50s, might just save some
fuel and certainly wear n tear on the old tin tent. after all its not a race
and been proven that dropping few mile per hours, only lengthens journey
by a few minutes.

load propery , max out the nose weight, bin the stabilizer, learn to drive
and sense whats good for the rig. read road, try IAM / road craft advise.

observation is everything, try a running commentry as I did on my IAM car
test back in 1987 at 20 years old. does pay, still got clean licence...

Totally agree, what the hell are we all rushing around for? cept when racing but that is off road and a different story altogether, and yes we do caravan demolition derbys, Rick

zippy656 · 06-07-2011, 07:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by solarman216

Totally agree, what the hell are we all rushing around for? cept when racing but that is off road and a different story altogether, and yes we do caravan demolition derbys, Rick

where are the pics!

Deleted account DD · 06-07-2011, 09:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by PLANK

I have also had a tyre blow out, quite literally, the side wall exploded, because it had the wrong load rating

It was on a very large twin axle caravan (2800k plus) and forget the old wives tales about carrying on with a flat tyre on a twin axle it's nonsense - the back corner hit the road with a bang!

I'd never actually heard the story of "carrying on" but as you say, i tend to think it is bollocks but what i will say (based on a twin axle car transporter getting a puncture and the tyre ripping off) i di mange to control it. Lots of wobble and a bit of a sweat on but having some rubber still on the road on one side has to be better than just a metal rim

Quote:

Originally Posted by solarman216

what the hell are we all rushing around for?

Because we all have occasions where circumstances take over our destiny.

When we headed to the IOW 2 weeks ago I planned the tow to the ferry with breaks calculated in, I knew where all the planned roadworks were and then i added on 2 1/2 hrs just in case.

Due the the handywork of a complete dick who fitted the tow electric socket to my new car we had failure of said tow electrics. First the ns indicator on the van failed then the right.

Cut a long story short we ended up at woodall services ,with no tools multimeter or wiring diagram, for just over two hours whilst an auto electrician came out and fixed it for us (he described the work done as a f###ing abortion and ended up rewiring it so even if id had full kit with me id have been there as long doing the job!) .

We then got caught up in extraordinarily heavy traffic.

So with no extra capacity on later ferries or probably none the next day we had to try and make ours original which we did with exactly 8 minutes to spare.

Car and van well capable of an indicated 65mph and managed to get a full week on the IOW instead of 5 days.

Thats why we rushed on that occasion

well worth every minute of uber concentration and cost of fuel.

rustic · 06-07-2011, 09:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by daved

I'd never actually heard the story of "carrying on"

If I had a blow out or puncture on my twin axle boat trailer, I would "Carry on" onto the hard shoulder or maybe the next junction at low speed if close enough.
I would then change the wheel.

My trailer can gross at well over 2800kg, so I only use 60% of it's capacity.
Yes the other wheel would be overloaded, but I would want to get off the motorway as soon as possible to protect the family...... the boat and the car.

How many of us actually carry a spare wheel, correctly inflated.....?

I don't mean these tin cans either, if you get a flat on a caravan, you have probably wrecked it anyway by the time you find a safe haven.

bazza · 06-07-2011, 10:35

me for one i dont check the car spare tyre/ or the caravan spare wheel but i do carry a tyre pump

getting back to this towing speed and this 70 mph ,, as we all know the speedo in the terrano is 6/7 mph out any way so 70 is 63/64 so do we all drive at 78 to do 70 think not ,, just because it says 70 your not doing 70

rustic · 06-07-2011, 10:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by bazza

me for one i dont check the car spare tyre/ or the caravan spare wheel but i do carry a tyre pump

getting back to this towing speed and this 70 mph ,, as we all know the speedo in the terrano is 6/7 mph out any way so 70 is 63/64 so do we all drive at 78 to do 70 think not ,, just because it says 70 your not doing 70

It's so easy to check your speed now with Sat Nav, then you can "Calibrate" your speedo easily.

When I say Calibrate, I don't mean adjust it.

You can have a Table
Indicated Speed ..... Actual Speed
30................................28
40................................37
50................................etc
60
70
80

This MUST be done if you change tyre size etc.

I up-graded my Mav to the later size tyres 235 75 R15 and now the Speedo is correct at 70 mph, and isn't more than 1-2 mph out elsewhere.

Simple enough to do.

However I do get frustrated when I am following cars through speed cameras, when they slow down to 35 when passing a speed camera set to 40mph.

bazza · 06-07-2011, 13:23

your lucky then cos mine is out by 6mph and thats with a sat nav and a speed sensor no matter who,s i use it 6 mph diffrents with the dash

but like i say i can do 76 with sat nav and dash reads 70

(RIP) PLANK · 06-07-2011, 14:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by rustic

If I had a blow out or puncture on my twin axle boat trailer, I would "Carry on" onto the hard shoulder or maybe the next junction at low speed if close enough.
I would then change the wheel.

My trailer can gross at well over 2800kg, so I only use 60% of it's capacity.
Yes the other wheel would be overloaded, but I would want to get off the motorway as soon as possible to protect the family...... the boat and the car.

How many of us actually carry a spare wheel, correctly inflated.....?

I don't mean these tin cans either, if you get a flat on a caravan, you have probably wrecked it anyway by the time you find a safe haven.

From my experience of twin axle punctures you might not be able to! don't ban on anything more than stopping safely!

4wheel · 06-07-2011, 18:21

My speedo is the other way around.When my speedo says 70 I am doing a Sat Nav speed of about 65.The faster I go the worse it gets?Confusing as standard tyres and wheels.

(RIP) PLANK · 06-07-2011, 18:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by 4wheel

My speedo is the other way around.When my speedo says 70 I am doing a Sat Nav speed of about 65.The faster I go the worse it gets?Confusing as standard tyres and wheels.

mine does that, I usually guess at about half way between the two

running on standard 235 70 16 tyres

Deleted account DD · 06-07-2011, 19:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by rustic

How many of us actually carry a spare wheel, correctly inflated.....?

A lot of caravan makers supply them as standard now. So we do .....................now

(RIP) PLANK · 06-07-2011, 19:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by rustic

How many of us actually carry a spare wheel, correctly inflated.....?

I don't mean these tin cans either, if you get a flat on a caravan, you have probably wrecked it anyway by the time you find a safe haven.

I'm a bit of a spare wheel anorak, I have quite a collection, when I move a caravan or tailer I haven't towed before I can usually guess the closest two and make sure I have them with me

dan · 06-07-2011, 21:31

Don't rely on sat navs, they are not accurate as you may feel they are. It is a calculation worked out from 3 satellites triangulating you position. You have no way of telling if you may lose or have a break in signal at any time with any one.

The slightest error, or disturbance can cause the tiniest miscalculation which will be manified immensely by the time it comes back to earth.

Only way you can really tell accurately is to travel a measured mile, and work it out with maths!

1mph = 1.46 ft/s
5280ft = 1 mile

At 30 mph, you will be eating 43.8ft every second.

You can culculate from there by multiplying the singular with the MPH. For example, at 60mph you will travel at the optimum...a mile a minute.

05-07-2011, 23:21	#32
Thomas-the-Terrano2 Moderator Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Hackenthorpe Sheffield Vehicle: Terrano2 R20 lwb 2.7TDi Posts: 5,233	well have towed at an indicated 65 or what ever felt right, tend to judge this by the rev counter and the feel of the outfit. now i'm thinking that the caravan is the most precious thing after my family and hey whats the rush, slowing to indicated mid 50s, might just save some fuel and certainly wear n tear on the old tin tent. after all its not a race and been proven that dropping few mile per hours, only lengthens journey by a few minutes. load propery , max out the nose weight, bin the stabilizer, learn to drive and sense whats good for the rig. read road, try IAM / road craft advise. observation is everything, try a running commentry as I did on my IAM car test back in 1987 at 20 years old. does pay, still got clean licence... __________________ M6YTB / 20YTB '60' 2010 Ford C Max Zetec 1.6i, black '56' 2006 Jeep Grand Cherokee 3.0TD, silver 2021 Bailey Pegasus Grade SE Turin caravan Smile, its more likely to confuse. One Life, Don't Just Live It, Drive a Nissan, or ...... a Jeep. Owner of Nissan 4x4s 2005 to 2019, and maybe in the future too!

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode

05-07-2011, 22:54	#31
(RIP) PLANK Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Central England, in the Heart of the Black Country Vehicle: T2 2004 TDI SE LWB Posts: 7,740	As many of you know, I do a fair bit of caravan towing, which as some have pointed out is very different to towing any other kind of trailer. I have yet to test this new electronic stability stuff Dave is experienced in - but it does sound good, as opposed to the ALKO stabiliser hitch which is - pants! My advice, is drive at a speed to suit the combination of towing vehicle /caravan and the road / weather /traffic conditions. But don't sacrifice safety for speed. loading the caravan correctly has to be the number 1 thing for safe towing, all weight low and toward the front. Use the max nose weight to the max! I have also had a tyre blow out, quite literally, the side wall exploded, because it had the wrong load rating It was on a very large twin axle caravan (2800k plus) and forget the old wives tales about carrying on with a flat tyre on a twin axle it's nonsense - the back corner hit the road with a bang! I do think, as others have pointed out, that too many 'safety' gadgets can lead people into a false sense of security! And carrying too much gear around with you is asking for incorrect loading trouble!

06-07-2011, 10:35	#37
bazza Member Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: north east Vehicle: terrrano 3.0 di Posts: 66	me for one i dont check the car spare tyre/ or the caravan spare wheel but i do carry a tyre pump getting back to this towing speed and this 70 mph ,, as we all know the speedo in the terrano is 6/7 mph out any way so 70 is 63/64 so do we all drive at 78 to do 70 think not ,, just because it says 70 your not doing 70

06-07-2011, 13:23	#39
bazza Member Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: north east Vehicle: terrrano 3.0 di Posts: 66	your lucky then cos mine is out by 6mph and thats with a sat nav and a speed sensor no matter who,s i use it 6 mph diffrents with the dash but like i say i can do 76 with sat nav and dash reads 70

06-07-2011, 18:21	#41
4wheel Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Wiltshire Vehicle: Terrano 11 2.7Tdi SWB Posts: 240	My speedo is the other way around.When my speedo says 70 I am doing a Sat Nav speed of about 65.The faster I go the worse it gets?Confusing as standard tyres and wheels.

06-07-2011, 21:31	#45
dan Member Join Date: May 2011 Location: cornwall Vehicle: Terrano Commercial Posts: 81	Don't rely on sat navs, they are not accurate as you may feel they are. It is a calculation worked out from 3 satellites triangulating you position. You have no way of telling if you may lose or have a break in signal at any time with any one. The slightest error, or disturbance can cause the tiniest miscalculation which will be manified immensely by the time it comes back to earth. Only way you can really tell accurately is to travel a measured mile, and work it out with maths! 1mph = 1.46 ft/s 5280ft = 1 mile At 30 mph, you will be eating 43.8ft every second. You can culculate from there by multiplying the singular with the MPH. For example, at 60mph you will travel at the optimum...a mile a minute.