Just curious how fast you drive on an interstate pulling a 10.0. I usually drive 65 and I feel comfortable but would like to kick it up some. Not worried about TV as it is a V8 Mercury Marquis and pulls it easy. Any opinions?
Ron
Honestly I tow at a comfortable speed for the conditions. I havent worried about what speed I should be going due to the trailer alone. 99% of the time the only thing keeping me at or under the posted speed limit (besides the law :) ) is my desire for the most MPG. Other times the driving conditions dictate the speed, such as going down a mountain, or heavy traffic.
65 is a good round number but I wouldnt hesitate to do the speed limit at least. I think in most places in the US the highest speed limit is about 70 (maybe the midwest has some exceptions). In any case the trailer is not going to be my primary speed limitation.
-Sean
Texas has many highways that are 75 and there is a stretch on the way to Austin that is posted at 85! I have to go at least 70 as the big rigs blow right by me. That is why I have the Andersen hitch. I really helps for those like me in the "slow" lane.
Although I did not have my TT attached, My wife said that I had a big smile on my face going 85 legally!
It depends on the tires you have on your 10.0, if you have bias ply tires I think they are rated for 65MPH maximum, I had some on my old popup camper and it was saying not to exceed 65 MPH
For me, the gas comsumption is something importent since we want to do long trips. We usually drive between 60 & 62 mph. Also it's safer for the braking distance. Usualy with no trailer I drive pretty fast, so pulling the 10.0 is a good way to avoid speeding ticket ;)
For me, it depends on the length of the trip. For a short haul of only an hour or so, I'm in no hurry and under 60 gives much better gas mileage. For a long haul, I want to get there sooner, so I push 75. At least for my QS10, it tows just as well at 75 as it does at 55mph. But my mileage drops from 23 mpg to 17mpg when I'm towing at 75mph. For me it comes down to costs - which costs more, time or fuel.
Remember that modern tire speed ratings are for three hour sustained speeds. Even if the tire is rated for 65 MPH, that's 65 MPH sustained for three hours.
I've had three different campers in the last 15 years, with the 6.0 being the largest of the three. I have always run bias ply tires on my trailers because they don't tend to wander as much as radials. I tow at the speed limit. I generally won't go much over 70 MPH, but that's more about MPG. I have never had a trailer tire problem.
For us it depends on what is more important. When we picked up our camper and had 1900 miles to run in 2 day we sacrificed the mileage and ran at 75 MPH+ to make time with no issues but got 9-10 MPG. This past weekend we stayed at 60 MPH max but we're only driving a hour and a half way with plenty of time and averaged 13-14 MPG. It's generally always comes down to time or money as long as conditions (tires, traffic, terain and weather) make it safe.