New owner of a 24 ft Surveyor

[Edward1957]

Getting ready to take my first long trip with my new RV. I have not taken this on the highway yet. My question is how fast I should go hauling a trailer. I know I can’t drive the speed I go in my car, but should I at least be going the speed limit which is normally 70 on the highway. Or hauling a RV do I need to go slower? Pulling with a Chevy 1500 truck with V8.

[mannagills]

I never intentionally drive over 65. There will be a speed rating for your trailer tires. You should not exceed that.

[KKonyha]

What is the speed rating on your tires of the camper? I would go less than 70 especially if you don't have experience pulling at all. Do you have a good weight distribution hitch with sway control? Passing semis can reak havoc on you.

[Edward1957]

I do have sway bars and the dealer set up the hitch on the truck to match the RV. I did a little research and I found out that each state has a different speed limit for RV, headed to Michigan form South Carolina, so going through a few states. Michigan is only 60. I will take it slow and get a feel for it.

Thanks for the feedback, it helps.

[Chuck_S]

Air resistance is the primary fuel user and that's exponential with speed. Meaning that if you double the speed the resistance increases by a factor of 4. Air resistance is twice at 70mph than it was at 50. But no one wants to (nor should) drive 50 on the interstates.

Gonna depend on your truck. I find 65 pretty comfortable with my Ford 3.5 EcoBoost engine. Cruise control in the "slow lane." Good therapy to drive this slow for my Type-A personality too.

New camper (maybe your Surveyor is an RV, my Roo is a merely camper ) needs the lug nuts torqued several times until they stop turning. They're probably loose now -- really. Mine are 90 lb-ft on steel wheels. Find out what yours should be and tighten them today. I'll bet half of them are loose (under spec). Check them every rest area on the interstate until they stop turning. Then every other rest area. Finally just check the torque every morning when you check cold tire pressure (which is the Max cold pressure as listed on the sidewall -- no less).

-- Chuck

[Jeffjeeptj]

Congratulations on your new Surveyor. We bought ours in Wilmington, NC and towed it back home to Virginia Beach.
We normally tow in the 55 to 62 MPH range. We do get passed a lot.

Take it easy until you get “the feel” of it.

How much experience do you have towing and camping? Learning can be part of the fun, but as someone told me:
Good judgement comes from experience; experience comes from bad judgement.

Good luck with your trip and be safe. The wheel torque statements above are very true and valuable. Our dealer checked the lug nut torque prior to us departing his store.

Remember, you’ve got about 4500 to 5500 pounds behind you. That changes your vehicle dynamics a bunch.