Slow caravans.

yobarr · Guru

Slow caravans.

Basher · Senior Member

I have been towing caravans for 30+ years, l don't have issues towing at higher speeds but tend to stay around the 90-95kph on major roads and lower on minor roads. Enjoying the scenery, when appropriate

I have given up worrying about who is behind me, except for heavy vehicles who l communicate via radio and work with them to overtake when possible. No doubt they appreciate the gesture .

As far as other drivers go, sitting on those speeds if you can't negotiate and pass safely , well you should'nt be on the road, time and time again over the years l have slowed down when safe expecting to be passed, but no, they sit there and pass when NOT safe, it has happened so many times l now only worry about heavy vehicles behind me.

There are so many, bad drivers who do not have any idea on passing l no longer bother.

I must admit, l have never spoken to any rv drivers , in over 30+ yrs of travelling, who claim to "not feel safe at speeds above 80kmh", if l had l would probably advise them to give up towing!
Basher

Hi to my good mate Yobarrr biggrin

Whenarewethere · Guru

Maybe people are driving within regulations but slower than some others can cope with, but:

https://www.news.com.au/national/nsw-act/fuel-tanker-speeding-before-crash-court/news-story/45959ba6c722f77828564488275fbe8a

(My grandparents ashes are in the cemetery at the bottom of this road (unrelated to any accident), prophetic from some view points!

& not to forget the numerous trucks coming down the steep Warringah Road into Brookvale/Dee Why - Sydney. In one incident another driver pulled a child from burning car. Child later died. The rescuer had major burns. If possible I avoid this road, but at the very least take note of heavy vehicles which will arrive up my "bum" within an intersection lights cycle change.

Some people have been incinerated slowly, plus the other quick fatalities (lucky ones so to speak).

Trucking companies as a result of these investigations have had a litany of cost cutting maintenance issues.

Basher · Senior Member

Actually, what are you saying ?
Basher

Eaglemax · Guru

Yobarr said " If you cant stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.(Or take a bus). Cheers" Sounds fair but isn't and I'll tell you why. I'll remind others of similar soap box - that travelling at 75kph you pay the same taxes as if you towed at 100kph. So you have the same rights except one has to obey all laws including pulling over where safe to allow built up traffic aside to pass. So let's assume on a Saturday morning old Merv in Mansfield Victoria goes to his shed and boards the drivers seat of his stock 1956 FJ Holden hooked up to a 1949 Don caravan. Owned by his grandad he's off to a show and shine in Yarra Glen. His wife of 55 years dressed in poker dots has prepared sandwiches and tea. The only route is via Yea, the Melba highway a two lane highway. Top speed towing the old bondwood van is 90kph touring he sits on 75. Living in the country he's aware of pulling over where he can but he's old and a UHF has never been on his radar. He knows he doesn't have to own one and the road demands all his focus. So for the next 2hrs 30 minutes he drives his rig but many cuttings and few rest areas prevent pulling over, he benefits from slow lanes added over the years on this highway stretch that's claimed the crown of the 3rd highest for fatalities. Vehicles are held up, many yell out obscenities from their Landcruisers like "if you can't handle the heat...." - eager to get to their next camp early enough to read forum replies before dark. Old Merv gets home that night. The roads were busy with long weekend city people rushing to get to their 2 acre patch, don their akubra and ride their Greenfield mower like a "real" farmer. Merv parks the rig in his shed joins his wife for a brew and tells her he's had an offer on the rig and the show. In effect Merv has indirectly lost his right to be on the road. Fast forward 2035, with advancement of safety the speed limit is now 140kph. That yelling Landcruiser guy towing his van still sits on 100kph but now he holds up traffic on the same road. Younger guy driving his RAM rotary assisted electric ute is held up through the Molesworth cutting, gets to Yea and yells out "hey old man...if you can't handle the heat... get out of the kitchen"! The irony

Basher · Senior Member

Sorry but l gave up reading the post at "poker dots and prepared sandwiches", tooooo long winded mate!
Basher

Eaglemax · Guru

That's ok. Paints a picture.

yobarr · Guru

Basher wrote:
Sorry but l gave up reading the post at "poker dots and prepared sandwiches", tooooo long winded mate!
Basher

And here I was, simply trying to determine what a "poker dot" was?

-- Edited by yobarr on Sunday 10th of September 2023 11:36:14 PM

Are We Lost · Guru

Eaglemax, I must say I agree with Basher (that must be the first).

If you break it into several paragraphs it would be much easier. Like the reformatting I did, or perhaps a couple more breaks ... and maybe a few less words. We are used to snippets, and most will just bypass something like that.

Check out 99% of other posts on here. Also, it's polka dots but it's obvious what you meant.

Eaglemax wrote:
Yobarr said " If you cant stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.(Or take a bus). Cheers" Sounds fair but isn't and I'll tell you why. I'll remind others of similar soap box - that travelling at 75kph you pay the same taxes as if you towed at 100kph. So you have the same rights except one has to obey all laws including pulling over where safe to allow built up traffic aside to pass.
So let's assume on a Saturday morning old Merv in Mansfield Victoria goes to his shed and boards the drivers seat of his stock 1956 FJ Holden hooked up to a 1949 Don caravan. Owned by his grandad he's off to a show and shine in Yarra Glen. His wife of 55 years dressed in poker dots has prepared sandwiches and tea. The only route is via Yea, the Melba highway a two lane highway. Top speed towing the old bondwood van is 90kph touring he sits on 75.
Living in the country he's aware of pulling over where he can but he's old and a UHF has never been on his radar. He knows he doesn't have to own one and the road demands all his focus. So for the next 2hrs 30 minutes he drives his rig but many cuttings and few rest areas prevent pulling over, he benefits from slow lanes added over the years on this highway stretch that's claimed the crown of the 3rd highest for fatalities.
Vehicles are held up, many yell out obscenities from their Landcruisers like "if you can't handle the heat...." - eager to get to their next camp early enough to read forum replies before dark. Old Merv gets home that night. The roads were busy with long weekend city people rushing to get to their 2 acre patch, don their akubra and ride their Greenfield mower like a "real" farmer. Merv parks the rig in his shed joins his wife for a brew and tells her he's had an offer on the rig and the show. In effect Merv has indirectly lost his right to be on the road.
Fast forward 2035, with advancement of safety the speed limit is now 140kph. That yelling Landcruiser guy towing his van still sits on 100kph but now he holds up traffic on the same road. Younger guy driving his RAM rotary assisted electric ute is held up through the Molesworth cutting, gets to Yea and yells out "hey old man...if you can't handle the heat... get out of the kitchen"! The irony

-- Edited by Are We Lost on Monday 11th of September 2023 12:41:07 AM

The Belmont Bear · Guru

We just completed a lap around Australia and last year we also did a lap around Qld. I tow at 95kph as in my car its the most efficient for fuel consumption.

In over 25000km I have only had one bad experience with a truckie which was at The Victoria River I had slowed down to turn into the Roadhouse driveway when I had some clown roar up behind me in his truck with his air horns blaring it was completely unexpected and scared the crap out of us. To make it worse there were no other vehicles on the road he could have just gone past us without even slowing down.

I am always watching my rear camera and mirrors for approaching trucks or what traffic is behind me. Trucks are limited to 100kph so it normally takes them awhile to catch us up which gives me time to find a place where I can back off and safely let them pass. If the road is not suitable for overtaking I may speed up to 100kph till it is so they dont have to slow down if its a bad road and not safe to do 100kph then I shouldnt be holding them up anyhow because its the same for them.. On outback roads its not that hard to work in with truckies and its not very often that we dont get the double flash of their indicators to say thanks after they get past.

I carry a set of UHF radios but have never found the need to use them with truckies the only time I did use them I gave one to another couple that we were travelling in Qld just in case we needed to communicate and didnt have any phone coverage..

BB

-- Edited by The Belmont Bear on Monday 11th of September 2023 07:55:56 AM

-- Edited by The Belmont Bear on Monday 11th of September 2023 07:56:50 AM

STRETCH ARMSTRONG · Senior Member

No matter where l'm travelling in Australia l find the same thing. If l sit on the speed limit by my GPS vehicles race up behind and overtake. If l slow to the speed my vehicle and l prefer, vehicles race up behind and overtake. I now drive to what suits me and the conditions.

Magnarc · Guru

STRETCH ARMSTRONG wrote:
No matter where l'm travelling in Australia l find the same thing. If l sit on the speed limit by my GPS vehicles race up behind and overtake. If l slow to the speed my vehicle and l prefer, vehicles race up behind and overtake. I now drive to what suits me and the conditions.

I'm with you Stretch.

Aussie1 · Guru

Magnarc wrote:
STRETCH ARMSTRONG wrote:
No matter where l'm travelling in Australia l find the same thing. If l sit on the speed limit by my GPS vehicles race up behind and overtake. If l slow to the speed my vehicle and l prefer, vehicles race up behind and overtake. I now drive to what suits me and the conditions.
I'm with you Stretch.

Me to.

deverall11 · Guru

Hogging the road and being inconsiderate to others is the recipe for an accident.
Haven't seen any nuns lately driving but when we did we use to say:
'Haven't had an accident in years, but caused quite a few.'

Eaglemax · Guru

I did put several paragraph spaces in but I'm on a holiday and the paragraph don't remain there once I post with my mobile. Regardless the theme of my long post was missed by all including, conveniently by the OP. One simply can't have an alternative viewpoint without a childish attempt at ridicule from school boy days, such is the nature. So what about the old couple in the FJ and Don caravan attending a show and shine at 75kph? Are the not entitled like the entitled?

yobarr · Guru

Eaglemax wrote:
I did put several paragraph spaces in but I'm on a holiday and the paragraph don't remain there once I post with my mobile. Regardless the theme of my long post was missed by all, conveniently by the OP. One simply can't have an alternative viewpoint without a childish attempt at ridicule from school boy days, such is the nature. So what about the old couple in the FJ and Don caravan attending a show and shine at 75kph? Are the not entitled like the entitled?

You can rest assured that your convoluted ramblings were not missed, but I simply couldn't be bothered pointing out the errors.

Perhaps, later today, I will get bored and devote a bit of time to posting a response. Perhaps not. Cheers.

yobarr · Guru

deverall11 wrote:
Hogging the road and being inconsiderate to others is the recipe for an accident.
Haven't seen any nuns lately driving but when we did we use to say:
'Haven't had an accident in years, but caused quite a few'.

This has been my response, for many years, to those who waffle-on about "Paid my taxes for many years" when I suggest to them that driving slowly and holding up traffic may be both illegal and unsafe.

Similar responses are often received from those who waffle-on that they've 'done a million ks mate, no worries' in their twin-cab ute with its 3500kg van in tow. 'Just gotta drive to the conditions, mate'. Yeah, right.

Such an 'achievement' is a not a result of 'driving to the conditions, mate' , but is simply a result of good luck. Nothing more. Cheers.

Eaglemax · Guru

Yobarr I actually don't care if you don't reply. As long as those that have their rights threatened read here that someone is flying their flag... I don't care. It's not all about you

yobarr · Guru

Eaglemax wrote:
Yobarr I actually don't care if you don't reply. As long as those that have their rights threatened read here that someone is flying their flag... I don't care. It's not all about you

Did you not see that I simply was saying that I actually had not 'missed the theme'.

Had you actually read my previous post you would have noticed that I simply was informing you that your convoluted ramblings had not, and were not, 'conveniently missed by the OP'. Back to sleep now.

Aussie1 · Guru

It is very obvious that the attitudes of some here in their responses are far more of a danger than "so called" slow drivers. In all probability, that attitude reflects in their own driving habits.

Eaglemax · Guru

Oh dear yobarr... You didn't "simply say", you added many comments that display enormous arrogance along with every attempt to intimidate. "Convoluted ramblings" must have been repeated 3 times and other words. Why? Because my hypothetical story I posted was accurate, real and valid against your original post. And you froth at such opposition, thrive on retaliation, pick up on a wrong spelling of one word and say you're going back to sleep when in fact you lose sleep at any opposing view.

Cupie · Guru

Aussie1 wrote:
Magnarc wrote:
STRETCH ARMSTRONG wrote:
No matter where l'm travelling in Australia l find the same thing. If l sit on the speed limit by my GPS vehicles race up behind and overtake. If l slow to the speed my vehicle and l prefer, vehicles race up behind and overtake. I now drive to what suits me and the conditions.
I'm with you Stretch.

Me to.

and Me too.

STRETCH ARMSTRONG · Senior Member

Recently, towing northbound on Hume out of Melb l set cruise to speed limit on GPS. Truck behind me caught up and passed. First hill, truck slowed to 18km under speed limit. I passed him. Not long after on downhill truck overtakes me again. Next hill same thing happens. Then comes the abuse over UHF. My speed never varied more than +/- 1km per hour on cruise control. Should the truck pull over and let me pass if he cannot maintain the speed limit, holding up traffic if we were on single a lane road?

Eaglemax · Guru

Stretch that is a very good question. I haven't looked up the Queensland laws placed on caravans that are required to pull over where safe, if it includes all slow vehicles. If not then slow caravanners are discriminated against.

Magnarc · Guru

STRETCH ARMSTRONG wrote:
Recently, towing northbound on Hume out of Melb l set cruise to speed limit on GPS. Truck behind me caught up and passed. First hill, truck slowed to 18km under speed limit. I passed him. Not long after on downhill truck overtakes me again. Next hill same thing happens. Then comes the abuse over UHF. My speed never varied more than +/- 1km per hour on cruise control. Should the truck pull over and let me pass if he cannot maintain the speed limit, holding up traffic if we were on single a lane road?

Lost count how many times this has happened to me but I can honestly say I cannot remember one instance where a truck driver has lost his rag over it.

Eaglemax · Guru

Stretch- Found this article in "which car" reviews- ADVICE Is it illegal to drive 'too slowly' in Australia? Is it against the law to drive notably below the speed limit? Well, that depends... 23 DEC 2022, 09:00 AM "For many motorists, there are few things more frustrating than being caught behind someone who, for reasons known only to them, has decided to travel even just 10km/h below the speed limit. The bad news is that In most parts of Australia, there isnt a specific law that forbids driving 'too slowly' nor are there any minimum speed thresholds at which youre allowed to travel. However, driving significantly below the speed limit can be deemed an offence under Australian Road Rule 125. The rule states: A driver must not unreasonably obstruct the path of another driver or a pedestrian with the following provisos: For this rule, a driver does not unreasonably obstruct the path of another driver or a pedestrian only because: The driver is stopped in traffic; or The driver is driving more slowly than other vehicles (unless the driver is driving abnormally slowly in the circumstances). It then gives the following example: A driver driving at a speed of 20 kilometres per hour on a length of road, to which a speed limit of 80 kilometres per hour applies, when there is no reason for the driver to drive at that speed on the length of road. That is indeed significantly below the speed limit, and certainly much rarer than the common-enough sight of a car travelling 10- or 15km/h below the posted limit. So, in most cases, it's not a very useful law." So Stretch (briefly because some don't like reading much) the key words are "NO REASON". An FJ +VAN has a reason as does a ladened truck to travel slowly. But yeh, that truckie was out of line

Eaglemax · Guru

BTW. Cyclists can ride at any speed and take up a whole lane. "Riding in a traffic lane A bike rider is allowed to take up a whole traffic lane. In low-speed environments, you may want to take the lane when it is narrow or when you are preparing to turn right or move through a roundabout. See also our Riding know-how section. Two bike riders may ride side by side on the road if they are no more than 1.5 metres apart. "

dogbox · Guru

STRETCH ARMSTRONG wrote:

Recently, towing northbound on Hume out of Melb l set cruise to speed limit on GPS. Truck behind me caught up and passed. First hill, truck slowed to 18km under speed limit. I passed him. Not long after on downhill truck overtakes me again. Next hill same thing happens. Then comes the abuse over UHF. My speed never varied more than +/- 1km per hour on cruise control. Should the truck pull over and let me pass if he cannot maintain the speed limit, holding up traffic if we were on single a lane road?

Hume out of Melb is all duel carriage with a few speed cameras and plenty of coppers that like to sit at the bottom of the long hills waiting for the trucks running out of gear if any are silly enough to try their luck ! if you keep to the left when not overtaking how would your actions effect some random truck driver enough to feel the need to abuse you?

yobarr · Guru

STRETCH ARMSTRONG wrote:
Recently, towing northbound on Hume out of Melb l set cruise to speed limit on GPS. Truck behind me caught up and passed. First hill, truck slowed to 18km under speed limit. I passed him. Not long after on downhill truck overtakes me again. Next hill same thing happens. Then comes the abuse over UHF. My speed never varied more than +/- 1km per hour on cruise control. Should the truck pull over and let me pass if he cannot maintain the speed limit, holding up traffic if we were on single a lane road?

It is not uncommon to have this happen when we're running at 130 ton, and I have no problem with it IF, and only IF, the caravanner is running at the speed limit.

The problem is with the Rsoles who are happy to toodle along at well under the speed limit, get overtaken, then insist on overtaking us when we're down to 50kmh, but within 100 metres of reaching the top of a long, steady climb.

Common sense, and a bit of courtesy, would see these clowns back off for a few seconds to let us safely clear the hill and get back up to our cruising speed, well above the speed that they wish to dawdle along at, perhaps in an effort to save a couple of miserable dollars on fuel every day.

As for "pull over and let me pass", this is not at all viable as it may take several minutes and several kilometres for a laden truck to get back up to road speed.

A bit of road-sense would go a long way with many caravanners. Cheers

yobarr · Guru

dogbox wrote:
STRETCH ARMSTRONG wrote:

Recently, towing northbound on Hume out of Melb l set cruise to speed limit on GPS. Truck behind me caught up and passed. First hill, truck slowed to 18km under speed limit. I passed him. Not long after on downhill truck overtakes me again. Next hill same thing happens. Then comes the abuse over UHF. My speed never varied more than +/- 1km per hour on cruise control. Should the truck pull over and let me pass if he cannot maintain the speed limit, holding up traffic if we were on single a lane road?

Hume out of Melb is all duel carriage with a few speed cameras and plenty of coppers that like to sit at the bottom of the long hills waiting for the trucks running out of gear if any are silly enough to try their luck ! if you keep to the left when not overtaking how would your actions effect some random truck driver enough to feel the need to abuse you?

Yeah, I didn't bother mentioning the obvious. Truckie would have had no reason to get upset if caravanner was in left lane, and that is one highway where you cannot afford to speed. Point to point cameras are the problem, but not too hard to work around with a loaded truck. Cheers