When I tow my trailer (5K lb enclosed) I am usually keeping it as close to the speed limit as possible (60 MPH around here) or at a point that the truck pulls the load comfortably. When I am towing, most of the time is on winding mountain passes with sharp corners and steep hills... you can't take those too fast and the majority of drivers around here realize it. I would never tow a trailer in excess of 70 mph, that's just asking for trouble. 60-65 MPH is plenty fast, especially if something goes wrong.

The guy wanting to tow a 10K lb trailer 80MPH is out of his freaking mind

 

In better years (when diesel was less than $1) I have seen semis with 60,000 lb trailers doing 100 and even more. Have a picture somewhere to prove it.

 

German semitrucks routinely do 200kph.

 

The truck was ordered from the factory with the limiter - it is GM Sales Code 9B9. The dealers still know nothing about it and have no idea what to do about it.

Again I agree with the members of this forum and the general Ford attitude towards towing - getting it done well and safely regardless if doing it faster than anyone else. Apparently to the GM guys it is all about Chevy is faster! I guess it is a similar thing to when I asked what the radiator on my fuel tank was (found out it is a fuel cooler) and that I didn't have one on my past 7.3 PSD and the first response was "the 7.3 doesn't make enough power to heat the fuel."

 

Here are some responses over there:

"I get tailgated going 70 in the right lane with 10,000lbs behind me."
"I ran 85-95 on the last trip i went on that was on the freeway"
"70mph governor....Ha. My avg speed in my work truck exceeds that on my 500 mile round trip to and from work. I couldn't imagine being locked in at 70 mph. I'd add almost an hour of drivetime if i had to do 70!"
"I was only able to manage 94-95 ish governed from the factory. GPS confirmed."
"With the 2500HD/3500HD being in production now for over 10 years (GMT800/900), I can assure you that there are hundreds of thousands of them driving 80+ every single day... in most of the rest of the country, everybody drives 75-80+ on the highways. Sometimes being able to get up to 80-85 on the entrance ramp on a highway is the difference between safely merging in and driving on the shoulder hoping a spot clears out where you can get in........ or getting your *** run over by the semi drive who has an attitude and won't slow down to let you in."
"People in Europe go 200mph every damn day."

I'm over it, I just have a very different view of the road and I have never been "bullied" by other vehicles on the highways driving 65-70.

 

Speed kills - plain and simple.

It sounds corny and not very thrilling, but it's the truth. And there are numbers and facts to prove it over and over.
The real trick it to drive using common sense.

If you're towing at 65, and the speed limit is 70, and you feel the wind hitting your trailer hard, don't feel you have to speed up to keep up with other vehicles.

Usually if I have no vehicles around me, and the road conditions are good, I'll go over the limit a little, but I slow down accordingly as traffic or road conditions become worse. Many times to well below the speed limit.

There are guys running HUGE tires, tuners, and towing sizable loads, ripping down the highway at break neck speeds. I just try to get to the other edge of the highway, just in case.

 

Thats really great, there are cars here that can go that fast too, but hopefully most people are smart enough to realise that travelling at anywhere close to those speeds should only be done by a trained driver with every part of the vehicle designed to handle and stop at that speed as well.

Putting a tuner on a diesel that removes the limiter, does not mean it is safe to go as fast as the truck will let you. Some guys think it's fun to scare the crap out of their friends with dangerous driving and excessive speeds, pathetic. All I can say is that when the truck does and up crashing or rolling, hopefully it's in an empty field and not injuring some innocent person.

 

Nope. Speed can be one of the factors, but it is *&&^^%% idiot driving slowly on fast lane that will be main contributor.
German autobahns have much less traffic accidents per capita than US freeways. Bare in mind that with only few exceptions auotbahns are 2 lanes.

 

I have towed at about 95 with my 2000 F250 with the V10 (mind you, downhill in the prescott area), with a loaded 7k trailer. It just didn't feel right, even though a little exhilarating. Total weight was around 14K. Now, would I do that again, definitely not.

Why,

Equipment safety, I don't think it would be safe and if I got into trouble, I don't know that I could recover the vehicle and might harm someone else (if I harmed myself doing this, it would be my own stupid fault) and I would loss a lot of money that I cannot afford to lose.

It's all the driver, equipment, as well as road conditions and if the people around you aren't stupid. And we know we can't trust drivers here to not be stupid.

75-80 definitely, nothing higher while towing, plus the higher the speed while towing, the more fuel that you burn. I've noticed the difference in mileage in all situations.

 

Sounds like the Duramaxipad fellas just want to start a pissing contest. Newsflash, ******** - Fords can be fast, too.

 

you give those guys credit, if they had them to be numb. I was like that when I was a teen. I give chevy and dodge guys a hard time, but I also make fun of fords. Me, i like fords over any other truck. Not fond of the last 15 years of the cars, but the truck have been great. I've had 5 over the years, totalled 2, another got stolen and just ran one into the ground. My 2000 is nearing 200K miles.

The duramax is a decent engine, the auto transmission is one of the best. Now a 7.3 or a cummins with an allison in a Ford, that would be a great combo.

 

Thanks Kaj - was just about to make the same rebuttal

safe driving CAN be done with the right conditions and at speed...

Lack of skill, lack of attention, and ego are probably the biggest factors...

Heck, here in the dfw area, most of the blondes can't see their speedometers due to certain 'airbags' they had installed
and drive their M classes like you have no right being on 'their road'

 

Well if we want to get technical about it, I don't think speed has ever killed anyone; it's usually the abrupt stop ! lol.

 

I think the real trick is to not believe those numbers to death. The driver should be able to feel how the load is pulling, and drive accordingly.
Too many guys hook up whatever they want, and pin her at or above the speed limit, and never look back.

 

The allison is a nice transmission, but in durability, I don't think it has anything on ford.