Sharing the road with big rigs

[SquiggyFreud]

Not to get off on too much of a tangent, I just read through a towing laws list on Facebook and every state in the US max speed towing a camper is 65 or less. Most are 65MPH but many states are 55MPH. Just an FYI.

[NMWildcat]

Originally Posted by SquiggyFreud

Not to get off on too much of a tangent, I just read through a towing laws list on Facebook and every state in the US max speed towing a camper is 65 or less. Most are 65MPH but many states are 55MPH. Just an FYI.

Must be a fake news site. It sure isn't the law here.....

[BehindBars]

Originally Posted by SquiggyFreud

Not to get off on too much of a tangent, I just read through a towing laws list on Facebook and every state in the US max speed towing a camper is 65 or less. Most are 65MPH but many states are 55MPH. Just an FYI.

That list is inaccurate and false. In my state, trucks, RVs, campers, and vehicles towing trailers can legally run 70 MPH on Interstate highways where a 70 MPH limit is posted. There is no special speed limit for towing a camper.

Moving on . . .

[samTummo]

Originally Posted by dalford

Merging traffic (merging onto interstate) puts the onus on the person merging. Obviously, I will move over a lane if I can but if I can’t I maintain speed and the vehicle merging either speeds up or slows down to merge into traffic, that is their decision. If I start trying to help them and slow down and they start to slow down at the same time then they get hung in the merge lane.

When I merge it upsets me when the vehicle in the right lane tries to help me by slowing down or speeding up. Maintain your speed and I will decide what is best for me to do...

My feelings are similar, nothing worse than drivers using the on ramp, aka acceleration ramp, improperly. My favs are drivers that force their way in going below current lane speed, then speed up after slowing me down. As well as when I move left to accommodate their merge and being held there as they decide to finally speed up. You should be matching speed of existing traffic to merge AND that merge sign is not just there for the incoming traffic.
However, now that I’ve said that, slowing down a bit is much better than our rigs touching at highway speeds. With my F250 6.7 diesel pulling 8000 lbs I have the ability to get away from the irritating trucks or inconsiderate mergers. On a mountain climb near Alaska, I got caught behind a slow climbing semi, down to 30 mph. Left lane traffic held me there. When the opportunity presented itself, by the time I was at par with the semi tractor I was going 80. Then I considered the wear and tear I “personally” was inflicting on my truck. Felt good but, not entirely good habit.

In all cases, keep your cool and let everyone survive, we all have or have had mothers, kids and partners. You never know what someone’s current state of mind is. Everyone surviving is the important part to remember!

Sam

[samTummo]

Google “towing a camper speed limit by state”

See excerpt below;

Fortunately, the number of states still clinging to split speed limits continues to fall. Every state has a basic speed law that requires you to drive at a safe speed–which for an RV often means less than the limit, especially in the many states with 75 and 80 mph limits in effect. The limits of the road, weather, traffic, your vehicle, and your skills as a driver all enter into the determination of what speed is safe, and it’s hardly constant. When the Ohio Turnpike commission experimented with eliminating the 55 mph restriction on vehicles over 8,000 lbs, the results were sufficiently compelling that the legislature eliminated them on the interstate system statewide.

For the most part, there are now only 5 states where an RVer is subject to a general speed restriction different from the rest of traffic: California (55), Idaho (70), Indiana (65), Montana (70), and Washington (60). Of those, California is the worst offender, requiring you to drive 15 mph slower than the generally applicable speed limit for cars. But remember: your duty is first to drive at a speed that is reasonable and prudent under the conditions existing while you’re behind the wheel. Even if the law doesn’t specifically prohibit driving 85 mph for your vehicle, the basic speed law may require you to drive at a different speed. The same is true for slow speeds as well.

The charts below summarize the basics, but continue reading for more detail. The table at the end of the page includes a 50-state list, with links to state statutes. Remember that just because your vehicle is defined or registered as an RV in one state doesn’t mean that you’re not a truck in another state’s speed laws.




Of course, they don’t apply to the same vehicles. Since there are only 5 of them, we’ll go through the regulations one-by-one.

California

Section 22406 of the California Vehicle Code establishes a 55 mph limit for certain types of vehicles, as defined in Division 1.

Any motorhome not towing: 70.

A motorhome as we normally think of one is called a housecar in California, and even if it has 3 axles, is a passenger vehicle not a motortruck or truck tractor. So a motorhome not towing doesn’t fall under either 22406(a) or (b). When it’s towing, it’s clearly a passenger vehicle drawing another vehicle, and subject to the 55 mph limit as a result of 22406(b).

With any trailer in tow: 55

Whether pickup and fifth-wheel or travel trailer, or motorhome and toad or other trailer, 22406 applies.

Idaho

Idaho has a strange way of wording their restriction. They have a special restriction for vehicles with 5 or more axles and operating at a gross weight of more than 26,000 lbs that requires the speed limit to not exceed a limit 10 mph lower than the limit for vehicles with fewer than 5 axles and weighing less than 26,000 lbs. Practically, this means that the highest speed limit for restricted vehicles is 70 mph, but should Idaho modify the maximum speed limit, the large vehicle limit follows by default. However, they don’t include vehicle combinations in that definition, so it may not apply to typical RV combinations.

To be on the safe side, let’s assume it does apply to combinations, however ambiguous that might be:

Motorhome and toad/trailer/semitrailer weighing less than 26,000 lbs: 80
Motorhome with 2 axles and toad/trailer/semitrailer with 1 or 2 axles exceeding 26,000 lbs total weight: 80
Motorhome with 3 axles and single-axle trailer exceeding 26,000 lbs total weight: 80
Motorhome with 2 axles towing a 3-or-more axle trailer, exceeding 26.000 lbs total weight: 70
Motorhome with 3 axles towing a 2-or-more axle trailer, exceeding 26,000 lbs total weight: 70
Two-axle truck pulling 2-axle trailer, any weight: 80
Two-axle truck pulling 3-axle (or more) trailer, exceeding 26,000 lbs total weight: 70
Those limits are based on the normal 80 mph limit, and the requirement that vehicles listed above have a speed limit no higher than 10 mph below the general limit posted, and no higher than 65 in urban areas.

Indiana

After Idaho, Indiana is comparatively easy. In IC 9-21-5-2, a maximum of 65 mph is established for any motor vehicle having a declared gross weightover 26,000 lbs. Simple enough, except that declared gross weight has its own definition.

In that definition, you won’t find any category that includes a motorhome. You will find a definition for a truck, which must include the weight of a truck camper, but not a vehicle towed by the truck. It would appear that if you have a declared gross weight of more than 26,000 lbs (again, that would be weights on a truck and/or trailer, not a motorhome or towed car), you would potentially be subject to the reduced speed limit.

Motorhomes generally: 70
Trucks over 26,000 lbs declared gross weight: 65
Given typical enforcement tolerances, and that it’s only a 5 mph difference, this is a largely irrelevant reduction unlike the previous states discussed.

Montana

If you’re driving a motorhome into Montana, the standard 80 mph speed limit applies. Its 65 70 mph speed limit for trucks with a manufacturer’s rated capacity of more than 1 ton does not include motorhomes, which are a vehicle type defined separately.

If you have a truck with more than 1 ton manufacturer’s rated capacity, towing or not, you’ll have to slow down to a maximum speed of 65 70 mph when you enter the state, whether from one of the Dakotas, Wyoming, or Idaho. North Dakota looks poised to follow the lead of its southern and western neighbors in increasing its maximum speed limit to 80, after which there will be either 3 or 4 states where you’ll be required to drive a speed 10 mph slower than what you were allowed to drive on your way to Big Sky country. Ouch.

As a slight consolation prize, Montana does have the ability to post speed limits greater than the statutory limits, so if you see the 80 mph sign without any additional placard, that’s what applies.

UPDATE (5/20/19): Montana has increased its truck speed limits. You’ll now be able to legally drive at 70 mph, instead of 65 mph.

Washington

Let’s suppose you’ve traveled west to get to Washington. You entered South Dakota on I-90, and continued west briefly passing through Wyoming, across Montana and Idaho. If you’ve been driving a 2-axle motorhome, towing a car, almost all of that has been under an 80-mph speed limit. Now here comes Washington, begging you to slow down by an absurd 20 mph, while only slowing the rest of traffic down by 5 mph (the legislatively set maximum is 75, though all of Washington’s Interstate highways currently have signs indicating 70 or lower). Yes, like Montana and California that can set up a 15-mph differential between your legal speed and the rest of traffic.

Even worse, while most of the other states make some effort to post what vehicles are subject to reduced limits, Washington posts signs for “trucks”, and includes this language in WA Rev Code § 46.61.410 (2017):

The word “trucks” used by the department on signs giving notice of maximum speed limits means vehicles over ten thousand pounds gross weight and all vehicles in combination except auto stages.
WA REV. CODE § 46.61.410
So even though you were likely able to ignore the signs that said “Trucks 70”, here in Washington, they essentially apply to every RV. If you weigh more than 10,000 lbs or are towing, 60 mph it is.

see ya on the road, samTummo

[MOODMAN]

I have been nervous about taking my 15K fifth wheel up mountain roads. I do fine on level ground, but slow down to about 50 on moderate grades. I am afraid I will be TOO slow on a real mountain grade.
So what are your experiences with your own rigs as far as actual speeds you get going up hill? Highs and lows....
Thanks.

[jeffnick]

I pull 12,000 lbs with a meager 300hp gasser. Going uphill on I70 I was was occasionally only able to do 15mph...but some of the big rigs were in the same boat. There were never any anxious moments - just stay right and do the best you can. In Oregon on some of the single lane roads there are turnouts where I could regularly let others get around me.

[DavidJ]

I started this thread and want to report that I took the advice of a trucker who said, if a semi is failing in trying to pass you going up an incline, and is beside you with his turn signal in, do not slow down to let him in. Stay you pace. He is indicating to the cars behind me that he needs to get over in the right lane.
Yesterday I tried this on I17 North from Sedona to Flagstaff. I no longer felt frustrated feeling the need to slow my rig down just because a heavy semi cannot pass me going up hill.
Of course I can make exceptions by always sharing the road and be fare and realize I am on vacation and they. are working. So keeping my speed at 65mph is what I will do.

[jwfrede]

Originally Posted by MOODMAN

I have been nervous about taking my 15K fifth wheel up mountain roads. I do fine on level ground, but slow down to about 50 on moderate grades. I am afraid I will be TOO slow on a real mountain grade.
So what are your experiences with your own rigs as far as actual speeds you get going up hill? Highs and lows....
Thanks.

As long as you aren't under a minimum speed limit on an interstate, no big deal, its expected. Don't sweat it, use turnoffs for slower vehicles, etc, and no worries. One benefit is that rounding the top you are going slow and down hill braking is easier.

[MOODMAN]

Speaking of downhill braking, if I have a lot of weight behind me it might push me too fast going down the road. So I will keep my speed slow going downhill.

[jwfrede]

Originally Posted by MOODMAN

Speaking of downhill braking, if I have a lot of weight behind me it might push me too fast going down the road. So I will keep my speed slow going downhill.

Keeping your speed low also gives much more time for your brakes to cool.

[hotrod4448]

Exactly. They need to learn where the accelerator is or the brake pedal. Not my job to "fit" them in.