What’s your MPH sweet spot when towing your Tug?

B

Boatdreamer

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 15, 2012
Messages
266
Fluid Motion Model
C-28
Non-Fluid Motion Model
17 Keywest
Vessel Name
Gratitude
I’m trying to get an idea of how fast the community goes when towing your Ranger Tug/Cutwater. I’m moving Gratitude to north Georgia in a couple of weeks and I’m just curious. Even though we’ve owned our tug and trailer for nine years we’ve never done any long distance traveling. I have about 650 miles to go but I’m not going to do it in one shot, so an easy two day trip. I’m towing our R27 with my F-250 diesel so no issues there. I also pretty much rebuilt our Float-on trailer with new wheel bearing, seals, and new brake lines along with one new caliper, the piston in the old one was pitted and not releasing. Feel free to let me know if I’ve forgotten anything. Thanks!

Tim and Donna
Gratitude R27
 
60 MPH on 4,000-mile haul Okla to Alaska
 
You did not mention trailer tires. Strongly suggest they be replaced if over or near 5 years old, including spare. Also suggest you carry a set of bearings and seal(s) and a mounted spare that is also newer or new. Even if you have road service, parts can be a problem. With your rig, you should not have a problem. Something to remember is that many trailer tires sold in the U.S. (I think almost none except Goodyear Endurance are made in the U.S.) are not rated for speeds above 65 mph. Most people look at weight ratings on tires, few look at speed ratings. Sweet spot on our R25 Classic is 62. Safe trip.
 
About 55 mph for about 30,000 miles, Florida to Alaska, down through the Rockies to Big Bend, TX, north to Canada twice, Kentucky Lakes and the Tennessee River. I like to see the country at a slower speed, it's better to have the big trucks pass me than me trying to pass them. I feel I have better control of my rig and I realize my reaction times are not what they use to be. That slower speed gives me a better edge in sizing up a potential situation and avoid sudden reflexes. In construction zones or narrow areas, I slow down even more. I have had Float On rebuilt various parts of my Trailer three different times, refining areas of concern. I have changed tires on the trailer to 14 plies (some say H rated) twice and have Tire Minder valves on each trailer tire to let me know if there is a pending problem. I have also placed a wired camera on the aft rail to let me know what's back there, with a large monitor in the cab of the truck. Electric over Hydraulic brakes helps in slowing the weight and takes some of the load off the truck brakes. Of course, an exhaust brake (aka Jake brake) helps a lot on steep downhills, depends on your travels. I have placed markers of yellow tape on my winder deflector on my hood so from my normal driving position I line up the marker and I know exactly where my trailer tires are in relation to a curb or edge of the road or the white lines. R 27 2011 acquired in 2014. Winters in the palms, summer in the pines.
 
We have about 12,000 miles towing our R25 Classic. We regularly tow up and down 4-5% grades in Southern Oregon on I-5.
We always have great tires that are properly inflated. I have electric over hydraulic trailer. brakes and would not consider towing without them.
On the interstate, on flat ground with little to no traffic I will get up to 65 mph.
In downtown Seattle, Tacoma or Portland I’m typically 10 mph under the surrounding traffic. I adjust my speed to leave as much space in front of me in as possible in heavy traffic.
In the mountains or on wet pavement 55 is the absolute max. Sometimes it’s much slower than that depending on road conditions. On two lane state highways it’s also 55 mph max.
On our 2,000 mile round trip to Lake Powell in September, I had to modify our route to ensure we had a gas stop at least every 130 miles. There’s a lot of empty road in central Nevada! I don’t plan on getting more than 7 mpg when towing. We usually get better than 7 mpg but I don’t want to count on that.
 
Hi Tim;

Trilogy is a 2012 Ranger 27 that sits nicely on its Float-On trailer. We pull her with a 2015 Dodge 2500 with a Cumins diesel. In three years we have taken it about 10,000 miles from Florida to the Great Lakes and back, Georgia to the Chesapeake, and last year moved it from Georgia to Seattle where it is now our main boat. Yes, we are selling the Kadey Krogen 39 Pilothouse trawler.

Our sweet spot is between 60 and 65. I use the tow/haul function on the truck and the exhaust brake. We get about 10 miles per gallon. Towing our Escape 21 fiberglass trailer, we get 15 MPG. Without towing, we get about 20 MPG and the truck easily cruises at 75 MPH.
 
You’re getting very good advice from your fellow Tugnutters who trailer a great deal. The only thing I’ll add is suggest that you take any cockpit canvas off, secure the Bimini hardware with zip ties, extra bow strap from boat bow to trailer and a transom strap. You should also tie off your anchor to a bow cleat, for safety.

Jim F
 
Lots of good pointers here. Slow down and add following distance in congestion or with increased highway access points. Stop regularly to walk around and check tie downs and trailer bearings etc. Remember if someone cuts you off that stopping and maneuvering are challenged with a rig of this weight and length. Err on the side of leisurely. On an open road with good shoulders I tend to tow around 60 mph with my 7.3 litre Ford diesel and target 2200 rpm. On steep downhill grades I slow and shift down to second gear (4 speed auto) at the top, and when speed creeps up to 50 I bring it back to 40 with careful braking rather than braking constantly. On uphill grades I target 2200 - 2500 rpm once again in second gear, once the rig slows to 50. No exhaust brake so this seems to keep everything calm, cool, and collected through even steep mountain country, while easing the stress on the truck, and avoiding trailer brake heating. It's all about avoiding being forced to the edge of control.
 
Thank you for the great advice, I will follow it. I forgot to mention the trailer has Goodyear Endurance tires that are less than three years old from the date code on the tires and a new Goodyear Endurance spare. I also have a TST TPMS to help keep an eye on the tire pressure and temperature. Sounds like 55-65 is a good safe speed to travel at except in traffic or work zones. We’ve towed our Airstream probably 8000 miles in the last year and a half and I’ve found 65 is it’s sweet spot while towing it. At that speed I get passed by the guys towing their 40+ foot 5th wheel toy haulers but try and stop one of those from 80 MPH and see what happens! John I can’t believe you’re selling the KK39, what a beautiful boat! Thanks again.

Tim and Donna
Gratitude R27 Classic
 
Tim and Donna,
You probably know this from towing the Airstream but I try to limit my windshield time when towing to 10 hours per day. That seems to be my personal limit. That usually gets me 550 to 600 miles per day. On long trips we overnight in the boat.
If you’re a young whipper snapper maybe you could go longer but 10 hours is more than enough for me.
 
Most states have different speed limits for trucks than cars! If your towing you will fall under the slower speed limit for trucks. Also a good rule of thumb is to never go down hill any faster than you can go up it. Just my two cents worth. Bob
 
I agree with the others. My towing is generally between 55 and 62 MPH depending on the road conditions. Another thing I do is a walk around at most every stop with an infrared thermometer to look at the trailer wheel bearing temps while the truck's turbo charger is cooling down. (I check all tire temps on the trailer and the truck at the same time but it sounds like you already have the trailer tire temps monitored.) The side the sun is hitting is typically five degrees higher but it can be explained by the sun - so not an issue.
 
..."never go down hill any faster than you can go up it. Just my two cents worth. Bob"
Bob, I have to remember that one. Great advice!
 
Another thing to consider regarding trailer tires: the age of the tire. I have had two trailer tire blow-outs in the last 8 years, one on a boat trailer, the other on a 5th wheel RV. In both cases, we had road service come out to put on the spare. In each case, the road service guy told me that they suggested to replace trailer tires every 4 years, regardless of the tread... "I've never had to pull a trailer tire that had worn out tread - they come apart from the inside."

Most trailer tires have a max speed rating of 65 mph. We use an IR thermometer gun to check hubs and tires... only takes a few extra seconds while doing a walk-around at each stop.
 
Boatdreamer":32rlcbyw said:
I’m trying to get an idea of how fast the community goes when towing your Ranger Tug/Cutwater. I’m moving Gratitude to north Georgia in a couple of weeks and I’m just curious. Even though we’ve owned our tug and trailer for nine years we’ve never done any long distance traveling. I have about 650 miles to go but I’m not going to do it in one shot, so an easy two day trip. I’m towing our R27 with my F-250 diesel so no issues there. I also pretty much rebuilt our Float-on trailer with new wheel bearing, seals, and new brake lines along with one new caliper, the piston in the old one was pitted and not releasing. Feel free to let me know if I’ve forgotten anything. Thanks!

Tim and Donna
Gratitude R27
Click to expand...
Any chance you are coming to Lake Lanier? My home port is Flowery Branch.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I pull our R-23 on the factory trailer with a Ran 2500, and go about 2mph over the posted speed limit on the interstate. The temperature checks at your stops is a requirement in my book.


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Just wanted to say thanks to everyone for the all the towing suggestions. This past weekend I had an uneventful trip from south Florida to north Georgia and that included going straight through Atlanta on I-75 Saturday morning without any problems. We’ve owned Gratitude for about nine years and I’ve never done any long trips outside of Florida so this was a first for me. Keeping the speed between 60-65 and a good TPMS made the trip fairly relaxed. I averaged 10 MPG with a F-250 6.7 diesel at those speeds. We’re looking forward to new adventures on the Tennessee river this year.

Tim and Donna
Gratitude
 
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