Towing speeds

ABNER · Veteran Member

Towing speeds

Cupie · Guru

Just googled towing speeds.

This is one of the many sight listed

http://www.withoutahitch.com.au/caravan/state-state-tow-vehicle-trailer-speed-limits/

brickies · Guru

To work out the speed of your rig ,When you are on the open road and no car about and traveling at 100 kph see what it like to pull up quickly , Then try 95 kph and so on , Then can workout what's an idle speed .

Aus-Kiwi · Guru

Drive to your and combination ability., Seen many on road that in some ways 20 kph is too fast . No experience till retired ! Sheesh ! 90 to 100 kph is the general Speed most travel with vans . Unless sign posted or terrain is limiting speed ?

The Belmont Bear · Guru

This came up a week ago the maximum towing speed in NSW for vehicles with a combined mass greater than 4500kg is 100kph.

macka17 · Guru

Everybody has their own ideas on what their cruising speed is good for them.
ALL different.

Most. With common sense. Travel with the flow.
with spacing to suit.

You not comfortable with that. "Flow of traffic road speeds".
NO MATTER WHAT YOU DRIVING.

YOU shouldn't be in the flow of traffic.

Get on the side roads NOT the main drags.
They'll still get you there. usually with better views too.

MORE people should check and maintain the van brakes\cable\links.
Hubs off. Electric actuator checked. Drums checked and serviced.
Out of round, etc.
I always change my cables for Stainless with S\S bulldogs.

THEN. Learn to use the electric brake lever in cab.

Practice how to reset. every time you start a trip. Plus.
Go for a drive round block with actuator lever on a bit
to remove AIR rust from drums firstly.
and recheck every morning.
Set actuator till it locks wheels loaded when braking heavy.
Then back off a tad.

Also get to know (intimately.) your finger lever on actuator.
for manual useage.

Touch without looking. every time.
Know roughly how far to slide to start activating.

THAT... Is Your first line of defence. When van starts swaying.
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Remember it. and READ UP on it too.

I often roll up to lights, or a stop, while in traffic.
ON THE ACTUATOR.

Just to keep in practice. and make sure it working.

Set properly. with good brakes.
YOUR VAN.. will pull you up. IF your car brakes ever fail.
PROVIDING they set properly. TRY IT SOMETIME.
My Tandem Roadstars x 3 always did.

If it don't. fix 'em.

SouthernComfort · Guru

Doesn't matter what max. towing speeds the state regs. allow, all tow vehicles have safe limits specified by the manufacturer. Mine shows a graduated scale of max. permitted speeds based on the ATM weight being towed, up to the car's max. tow rating. My car is rated for a GCM of 4750kg all up, but any state regs. allowing me to tow at 100kph are overridden by the vehicle OM specs. i.e. when towing my 'van at its current ATM, my vehicle handbook specifies a max. tow speed of 90kph. FWIW, my vehicle GVM, caravan ATM and combined GCM are always comfortably within the rated maximums. More important still, in the event of an accident I wouldn't want my insurance company ever to prove I was doing a higher towing speed than intended for the vehicle!

The bottom line is: Your max. allowed speed is either that specified by the vehicle manufacturer, or the state legal limit, whichever is the lesser. Yep, it will irritate some people...

The Belmont Bear · Guru

I agree Tony you should never exceed the manufacturers specifications for your vehicle but I understood the question was more related to what each states individual law was in terms of the max. allowable towing speed.

SouthernComfort · Guru

The Belmont Bear wrote:
I agree Tony you should never exceed the manufacturers specifications for your vehicle but I understood the question was more related to what each states individual law was in terms of the max. allowable towing speed.

Yes, I did understand that, but I honestly think there's room for confusion in a state authority quoting (as mentioned in your earlier post) "the maximum towing speed in NSW for vehicles with a combined mass greater than 4500kg is 100kph".

As I said, my car is allowed a max GCM rating of 4750kg (therefore the NSW govt. will let me do 100kph), but I can only tow at max. 90kph as specified by the vehicle manufacturer based on the ATM I'm pulling. It all comes back to how well people really know their weights, and more specifically which weights determine speed limits. Without this, the state towing limits are just academic.

-- Edited by SouthernComfort on Sunday 13th of August 2017 09:39:07 AM