Tires , the heavier you tow , the more heat is created in the tires ,
too heavy and too fast => they will blow.
heavy TT , more ply tires needed .
how old trailer tires are , is a big factor too.
..
I don't travel often , 3 trips a year of a week long
and maybe 10 trips of overnight stays , I choose hotels , more economical choice .

 

Let's not forget driver experience and skill. I would say those two limiting factors are of utmost importance.

 

Speed is the biggest reason folks with a lack of common knowledge flip their Travel Trailers , When towing if something goes wrong aka blown tire a sudden turn can start a trailer to swerve side to side , slower speeds make it much easier to regain control of the situation..

I pull heavy never having a issue , (Hopefully never will) but I also never tow over 65mph unless passing and I keep a good eye on the other drivers habitats and weather is another factor which should dictate your speed choice as well ..

I prefer sleeping in my own bed ,bathroom,kitchen Ect I don’t need to bring bags in and out of hotels , Here’s one of my main reasons,for me it’s much cheaper, I’ll stop at rest areas at night,sleep for free. When on vacations I usually pay 40-50 per night when I get to my location...

And another main reason is bed bugs , The guy on TFL truck just had a run in with these pests, Not sure if this works, but I have to take environmental classes every 4 years to get my CEU’s for hazardous waste clean up , now the person who teaches these classes is a former EPA engineer, He mentioned that he leaves all his luggage in the trunk of his car for several days after a trip, he stated that bed bugs can’t survive the heating in the trunk of a car in Florida, I can’t verify what he said , but I’ve known him for about 16years now , never suspected any BS from him ....

 

Speed is the biggest reason folks with a lack of common knowledge flip their Travel Trailers , When towing if something goes wrong aka blown tire a sudden turn can start a trailer to swerve side to side , slower speeds make it much easier to regain control of the situation..

I pull heavy never having a issue , (Hopefully never will) but I also never tow over 65mph unless passing and I keep a good eye on the other drivers habitats and weather is another factor which should dictate your speed choice as well

^^^^ this

The number one safety factor for towing anything is the person behind the wheel. If you have to ask how fast is too fast, chances are your driving faster than the skills you have. Better to get there late than not at all.

 

Drive on any major interstate and look at all the trailers with blown tires along the highway. It's laughable when I drive and see the mess. Now think about what and when you see that. Hot and fast areas, especially downhill areas where you speed up. Boats, travel trailers, toy haulers, horse trailers, big-rig trailers - trailer tires are junk and they come apart at speed and in heat. You literally never see that kind of tire carnage along slower rural and urban roads. Simple conclusion, slow down and never run above say 65 mph.

Now I know you will not do that. I don't do that. I also have my fourth set ( that is four tires in a set) on my current toy hauler in just 8 years. I try to stay under 70 mph. TRY is the important world as I dislike running below traffic speed. EVERY tire blow-out I have experienced is while running an interstate road at speed. Even blow tires on my little trailers and again, all on the interstate at speed. Slow down and never tow a trailer without the tools, jack and the ability to pull off, jack up and change your own tires. Actually I think that all drivers should demonstrate the ability to deal with tire failure or not be licensed to drive. That's another story.

One time my wife and I stopped off I 95 in a major motel for the night. Rejected the first room as I lifted the bed and roaches ran out. Went to the office, got all the right apologies from that Indian guy there. Then was given a second room. Roaches under that bed also, though not as many. Third room was right next to the office and the last they had. I did not look.

Motels and hotels have some gross sleeping areas. Floors filthy, sheets rough, bed covers horribly stained and shower areas often broken and disgusting. Yet today, you pay $60 - $80 a night for the cheaper ones. Don't know where others find cheaper rooms but those $35 a night places seem to be a thing of history or are ghetto-like with the damaged wooden doors and vagrants drinking in the parking lots. I would rather sleep on the hard floor of my toy hauler with a clean shower, kitchen and BR instead of even the normal finds along the highway, if you can find one. I keep a generator on the tongue of my toy hauler for "dry camping" nights when I do not find RV parks with hook-ups. It works too. Always keep guns inside the trailer with me also. but most RV places seem safer than most motel parking lots. If not, I feel better dealing with issues when in my own trailer.

Only thing is if you ride late in the day it's often tough to find an RV park and then find one you can get into. There's lots of motels if you don't mind buying the room instead of renting one.

 

Unless passing, the max speed I tow is 110km/h. While heavy, my steel 5 horse gooseneck is sleek and pulls like a dream. Will not do this again but... was humming in 5th gear, 105-110km/h fluctuating, unloaded 5 horse behind a slower truck, was waiting to pass and when I got my chance I put her down. I passed the guy and looked down. 155km/h. While my truck can stop in a hurry, the slower the speed, the more reaction time I have. Plus with a live load, I don't want it swaying or bumping around too much. This of course is on the flat prairies. In the hills or mountains, just take your time. Not a race.

Get out on the highway and see what speeds the truck/trailer like. Depends on what sort of trailer you have and its wind resistance and sway.

 

The speed rating of nearly all trailer tires is 65mph max. Some makers stretch this to 75mph if you increase inflation pressure by 10 psi. Pay serious attention to the age of your tires, they age out long before they wear out. Fuel mileage suffers dramatically as speed increases because you're towing a big square box down the road, The weight of the trailer has limited effect unless you're towing in serious mountains. I used to travel the Adirondacks at 55 mph on secondary roads towing 6,500 pound 26 foot travel trailer. Fuel mileage averaged between 13 and 15 mpg (I have 3:92 gears). If I decided to travel the NYS Thruway at 65-70mph the mileage dropped to maybe 10 mpg. Like others have said, I enjoyed having all my "stuff" with me when I traveled. Very easy to set-up & tear down - certainly no worse than schlepping all your stuff in/out of a motel room. I know who slept on my sheets last night, traveling with pets was easy and most campgrounds a filled with nice people that enjoy a cold beverage around a campfire.

 

Hi: wbdavey... Just put on a set of Goodyear Endurance ST trailer tires made in the USA. Speed rated for 87mph. Who in their right mind tows that fast?
Dieseldragon North shore of Lake Erie.

 

Always tow the posted speed limit (plus or minus 5 mph) which around here is 70 mph but only if traffic and weather allows. I've never had a trailer tire blowout but I throughly inspect mine often and replace them i sets of four if I see any weather checking or issues. Oh I also step up the load range from factory and all of my trailer tires are rated to 81 mph minimum.

 

Who needs tires anyway ????????????????????
..

 

Clearly paid for the rental insurance...why stop and take a chance on spilling your 'Jack & Coke'?

 

8k Toy Hauler here. Frontal area is a big issue, as much as weight. I keep it to 65mph unless I need to break a stalemate with an idiot in the next lane lol.

I'll always choose camping over hotels. Nature, outside, friendly folks, my own bed, campfires. The list goes on and on.

 

Hi: Bounty Hunter... Remember too... If you have bed bugs their yours also!!!
Dieseldragon North shore of Lake Erie.

 

I wouldn't pull over 75mph even if the tires are rated for 80 and speed limit is as well.... it's a maximum speed limit not a minimum. 65-75 is plenty fast.

anyone with the right $ might have slep on the bed in the hotel you're about to sleep on. not anyone can sleep on the bed you pull behind you.

 

Depends for me. I have towed our empty flatbed 80 when in a hurry to get home, it is lite and low drag and the ties are not trailer tires so are fine for the speed, loaded pretty much stick to 65 or less because I care about fuel mileage.

Towing the boat or TT I do 60-70. If I know a hill is coming up I will pick up a little more speed to 70 and then I can maintain my 65 without having to give as much gas.

 

The math of trailer stability has a speed variable. The faster you drive, the more of the trailer's weight needs to be on the tongue in order for the rig to be stable. Euro standards for acceptable towing weights are much higher than ours because they require that you tow slow, therefore less trailer's weight needed on the tongue. US tow standards are more conservative because US standards assume a higher towing speed.

This gives you variable to play with. The more of the trailer's weight is on the tongue, the faster you can drive and the trailer will be stable, assuming it's mechanically ok. But if it's a pretty heavy trailer, lets say 10,000lbs, now you've got a problem. You can't put 15% of that weight on the tongue because our truck's rear end isn't designed for it. So you adjust the weight in the trailer such that you have 8-10% of the weight on the tongue, and you keep your speed down a bit, say 60mph.

If the trailer is only 5000lbs, then you could move it's weight forward, put 20% of the tongue and you could prob tow at 90mph. Of course, blowing a tire at that speed would be a bummer.

Towing and tire temp. I watch tire pressures and temps pretty obsessively. I'd have to say that I've never noticed much connection between towing speed at temp. 40-80mph, tire temps seem to be a product of ambient temp, not how fast I'm going. I know that it's commonly stated that there's a connection between tow speed and tire temps, but if it's not enough to even notice on my TPMS system, I'm not going to worry about it, nor repeat the cautions.

 

Driving 40 and 80 the tire flexes 2x as often with more area covered for friction on the road. I cant by that driving faster doesn't heat them more.

 

I understand the idea. But if my TPMS isn't showing a temp gain with speed, then I'm not going to worry about it. Something being true is not the same as it being significant.

 

Ive blown enough trailer tires to know something is happening. Im sure the pressure will only go up so much within acceptable temp limits.

 

Ok, but that still doesn't mean that temp increase in tires is enough of a problem that it deserves attention.

Race car tire temps go up a lot. >100deg of temp increase is absolutely routine. The heat of braking is huge so the wheel gets too hot to touch and the tire is sliding thru every turn. Not enough for the camera to pick it up usually, but max traction is at 3-5deg of "slip" so the difference between good drivers and great drivers is how much time is spent in that magic 3-5deg of slip that is max traction. The rule of thumb for the temp of the tire carcass is 180-220deg.

In contrast, if it's 90deg out, my TPMS system might show a temp climb my trailer tires of 5-10deg. Depends on if there's direct sunlight and how hot the road surface is. So sure, the trailer tire does increase in temp. But does it matter? Of course, if a tire is underinflated, now the sidewalls are going to work a lot harder and generate more heat. But does the tire then fail because of too much sidewall flex, or because of the additional heat? Given that there isn't much additional heat, compared to red hot brake rotors and constant sliding thru turns, I'm thinking it's the flex.

 

Minimum of 10-ply trailer tire on any rig over 2,500lbs. Proper pressure and reinspect pressure once hot...one should want 'too much' tire on a trailer. The extra $10 per tire is well spent.

 

the rear door ( hatchback ) is all dented up , they must know something is wrong back there .

 

Thanks everybody for your responses. I particularly find it interesting to read what people say their reasoning behind purchasing the TT is to begin with.

I tend to side with the 65 mph max speed crowd. I’ve towed a bit in my former career in the landscape industry. Slow and steady is better. Thanks again y’all!

Jed

 

I'll bet that the vast majority of drivers towing a trailer of any description would have Mario brake marks in their shorts if they had to execute any evasive or recovery maneuvers at speeds higher than 60-65 mph without a couple extra lengths of open space between them and the vehicle ahead. Beyond that speed, "stuff" happens at lightning speed and the driver perception and reaction time is usually too slow to have a good outcome.

 

My point is the temp and pressure do not correlate at some point... probably at that point of failure. There are different ratings materials and constructions of tires. Of course nascar tires are different in every way other than round than trailer tires.

How do your TPMS Tire Pressure Monitors show a temp increase? They aren't TTM Tire Temperature Monitors.

 

Ranger , talking about a trailer here , when weight is added , do the test ,
the difference in temperature is a lot different then driving around or even racing on tires designed
for the car and its weight . overload that trailer , you will see temps jump way up.
..
in the 70's a friend added a 1000 pound fuel tank in his pick up to fuel his excavation tools , big outfit ,
many contracts in different places , installer told him he would need
better tires or not exceed 40MPH , he didn't listen , first fuel up of the extra tank ==> blew a rear tire ,
weakest of the 2 rears , got 4 X 12 ply tires .

 

65 mph. Occasionally 70 but like every one else has started there's a trade-off...you begin loosing fuel mileage. I just did a 3500 mile run up to SD from TX with a bunch of side trips in the Rockies. I tow a Forest River Wolf Pup 17RP Toyhauler. Empty weight is 3000 lbs. I haul Ultra @870lbs. So I'm about 4200 on the road. I avg about 15-17 running 65 regardless of interstate or back roads. I also use a Weight Distribution Hitch that levels trailer and vehicle.

 

Electric Brakes, know how to set them,

Gentlemen, I can also share that I have the ability empathize with a number of you on this thread... yep, I too have been one of those guys on the side of the road with not one, but two blown tires at the same point of break down... a couple of years ago, I had a 16' with a 2' dove tail trailer built to haul my 5000 lb 62 thunderbird... 14600 gvwr, dry weight about 2400 lbs... electric brakes on both axles... my trailer was over built... but, no matter how strong, or tough your trailer might be, there will always be, "the weakest link". and that link was the tires... the firm that built it, put cheapo 6ply tires on it... dummy here, took off loaded for a 180 mile trip to car show... Oklahoma, it can get hot... 97 degree day, the concrete was probably an easy 125... speed, approx. 70 mph... tires were maybe a year old... 80 psi when cold was what the rubber checked out when she was loaded... the front left tire blew up and shredded to nothing, the right rear trailer tire, rolled off of it's bead and destroyed... so, after much contemplation, as to what caused this breakdown, 1st, the 6 ply tires, cheap tires, 2nd, heat, not only the ambient temp and temp of the concrete roadway, but I finally realized that one factor added into failure, my electric brakes... heat transfer from the brakes and wheel hub was going straight to the tire, thus adding to their destruction... the 62 Bird was parked and evenly placed directly over the two axles, keeping added weight off the tongue and trucks rear axle and suspension... So, in short to summarize, I now pull that trailer with nothing less than a 10 ply tire... Temperature, be aware of it... get a heapo cheapo lazer thermostat to check your hub and wheel temps... don't set your trailer brakes with too much positive... and in finality, when airing up your tires, if it calls for 80 psi, fill it up to 75psi, that heat from the concrete and brakes will build tire pressure over 95 total psi..... oh, one thing I forgot, the monetary hit for this screw up, one new wheel, 4 new 10 ply tires out in the middle of nowhere, a roll back to haul car on trailer about 40 miles, 6 hours of inconvenience, VISA, getting a $600 hit... my humility tested... my girl friend didn't get roses for over a week... I hope my tail of misfortune will help some of you to be aware. especially the monetary hit on the wallet...the only fortunate thing that happened, after all of the destruction caused from the blow out, the 62 Bird, came out of the ordeal unscathed...

 

Tire rating is the determining factor.. the tires on my TT are speed-rated for 65 mph. Even though the speed limits out west are 75 mph (more in some states), you blow a tire on your trailer at that speed, and its going to get ugly faster than you can spill your coffee. Most commercial big trucks are governed to 65 mph for fleet fuel economy, so you are traveling with those guys anyway. Your ED will do well at that speed. Safety rules the reasons when towing.

Why get the TT? We camp in it - often throughout the year, not just when making road trips. You have your own rig, your own stuff, your own bed.

 

I like towing our 21 foot total length at about 58-60 mph. RV weight is about 4,7500 lbs dry, total weight of truck and trailer wet with fresh meat is 13,200 lbs. I get the best mileage at that speed, around 15 mpg. And at a slower speed I feel safer.

But sometimes you have to "go with the flow" of the traffic requiring brief periods of 65 plus. Anything faster is not only using more fuel, it just don't feel safe.

As for hot brakes, having the tune with engine braking I find I don't have to use my brakes much going down a steep grade while towing. Maybe a light tap now and then, my RV brakes never get hot. The RV brakes are in brand new shape and work well.

My current set of RV tires are Carlisle 8 ply D rated tires. I run 60 psi (65 max), so far they are wearing very well with over 15,000 miles on them. They are a bit taller causing a slight tilt forward on the RV level. A the time I thought no big deal, but when I re leveled things, I could notice less drag and better mpg.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LWRU8D8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I had two tire failures last year, same tire. When it went flat, I don't think I drove far on it with smooth pavement. I had it repaired in Dawson City, Yukon. It was a weekend and nothing was open for buying tires. It looked OK, but after 500 miles it blew out and shredded. Lesson learned, once they go flat, even if it looks OK, it's not a reliable tire anymore. I agree age is a big factor for RV tires.

Nothing beats having your own little home wherever you go. Your own bed, shower, toilet, your mug full of fresh coffee, if hungry just pull over at a rest/truck stop, have some chow and relax.

Motels can be a messy affair....

 

RV weight is about 4,7500 lbs dry

Shewwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!

 

LOL , grammar Police on numbers too ...