Amateur or Professional tugger ?

[Dustydog]

Four very easy hours on the A30 ,M5 and M4 yesterday.
CC set at 59 , gentle and most of the time sticks with the HGVs.
Three units overtook at a much faster speed, 65/70. Caravans were swaying a bit.

Is this behaviour born out of ignorance, stupidity, or couldn’t care less until the crunch.
Sadly it gives the rest of us a bad name 🙉

 

[otherclive]

When we came south from the Lakes there was a van in the M6 middle lane for miles. They then turned on to the M6 Toll and continued in the middle lane for the whole length. They were doing 70-75 mph the whole way. Part way along an unmarked police car came along lights flashing. Great I thought, he's going to pull them in. But no that didn’t happen. Nor did they even slow down or move to lane 1. The two lassies carried on regardless.

 

[RogerL]

Strange how we accept as normal that other cars pass us at 5-10 mph faster when we're doing the motorway limit solo but are upset when other caravanners pass at 5-10 mph faster.

Many cars drivers, solo and towing, avoid lane 1 on motorways to stay out of the HGV tramlines - not saying that's right but it's just human nature.

 

[otherclive]

Strange how we accept as normal that other cars pass us at 5-10 mph faster when we're doing the motorway limit solo but are upset when other caravanners pass at 5-10 mph faster.

Many cars drivers, solo and towing, avoid lane 1 on motorways to stay out of the HGV tramlines - not saying that's right but it's just human nature.

No tramlines on M6 Toll, and few HGVs and relatively light traffic. But by my reckoning the ladies were mostly up to 15 mph above the caravan speed limit. I wasn’t upset, why should I be? I was just well back waiting for a snake to kick in, but the Discovery 4 coped admirably with its Lunar TA.

 

[borderbilly]

Common sense is a flower that doesn't grow in everyone's garden, that's why the country is full of idiots.

 

[woodsieboy]

A few years ago we were on our way to Cornwall and were overtaken by a Discovery towing a twin axle caravan, travelling at speed, 5 miles down the road on a downhill stretch with gentle bend we overtook them.
The cravan was on it's side and the rear of the Discovery was off the ground, there were items from the caravan spread across the road, the image has never left me.
My choice is to stick to the speed allowed for the road type and conditions, if people choose to overtake me so be it, often find I pull in to the services and they are parked there too

 

[Sam Vimes]

Conversely and probably more relevant to me in the Highlands is slow moving caravans and motorhomes and indeed some cars and other vehicles.

We have many single lane roads which have limits of 60mph and are capable of supporting this speed. Yet numerous drivers will toddle along at 40mph oblivious to the miles of traffic behind them that cannot overtake. They pass plenty of laybys where they could pull in and let the faster traffic through....but no.

This leads to frustration and in turn accidents.

 

[JTQ]

Always recall what a caravanner who was also an HGV driver and who I respected greatly re towing told me many decades ago, never tow down a hill faster than you could go up it.
Followed it and its proved sound advice.

 

[birdman101]

A few years ago we were on our way to Cornwall and were overtaken by a Discovery towing a twin axle caravan, travelling at speed, 5 miles down the road on a downhill stretch with gentle bend we overtook them.
The cravan was on it's side and the rear of the Discovery was off the ground, there were items from the caravan spread across the road, the image has never left me.
My choice is to stick to the speed allowed for the road type and conditions, if people choose to overtake me so be it, often find I pull in to the services and they are parked there too

Having done Cornwall once a year for 45 years less Covid year we have seen many as you describe on a downhill stretch. One year there was a Range Rover on its side still attached to the Caravan,and the Caravan actually balanced on top of the central barrier partially blocking the fast lane in the opposite direction. This had only just happed just after midday and when in Cornwall still having road reports of traffic problem there 7 o’clock in the evening. We were lucky being there to slowly get past before miles of traffic build up.

 

[Gafferbill]

......99% of other caravan outfits overtake me on motorways and dual carriageways because I'm doing 53-55 mph in lane 1

 

[Sam Vimes]

Always recall what a caravanner who was also an HGV driver and who I respected greatly re towing told me many decades ago, never tow down a hill faster than you could go up it.
Followed it and its proved sound advice.

Sorry but I find that advice so full of holes as to be not worth anything.

You should drive to the road conditions but that takes experience unfortunately and can't really be taught

 

[JTQ]

I tend to keep in with the HGVs, overtaking if they die on hills or I simply bore with reading their rear, or I can't live with the tram railing in that lane.
At best I suspect I could exceed them by something under 5 mph, not enough to add to the hassle.

 

[JTQ]

Sorry but I find that advice so full of holes as to be not worth anything.

You should drive to the road conditions but that takes experience unfortunately and can't really be taught

Of course you should drive, towing or solo to suit the road conditions, but where are these many "holes" that endanger you with towing downhill with the care implicit in the advice?

 

[otherclive]

Always recall what a caravanner who was also an HGV driver and who I respected greatly re towing told me many decades ago, never tow down a hill faster than you could go up it.
Followed it and its proved sound advice.

Some of my cars could easily tow uphill above any posted speed limit even on the long slopes of the Causse. So I’d think the advice was relevant to the days when cars were noticeably less capable. Like when my father was fuming over queues on the A361 when heading south on holiday only to find a caravan at the front.

However I do agree with advice wrt overtaking downhill being potentially hazardous. So I tended to await until the slope unraveled. In France some roads require the caravans to stay in lane 1 downhill and to stay within a posted reduce speed limit.

 

[Sam Vimes]

If you have call to drive through the Highlands you'll understand why this ' advice' is just not practical.

I've just gone through Glen Coe with the caravan. Going East to West there's a hill climb that slows me to about 35. At the top it's a gentle gradient down for many miles. If I stick to this advice it would frustrate me and those behind as the road is perfectly good for 50.

Going West to East on the same stretch I could climb the gentle gradient at 50 and then theoretically go down the steep bit at 50 when in reality I need to constantly brake to keep to about 30.

Hills are not symmetrical, nor have the same layout each side, nor is each side adjacent. Different cars can climb at different rates but the descent should be the same for all.

 

[JTQ]

As with most advice it's better to consider it in context and apply some realistic amendments, however , important IMO is to consider it.
Like Clive I tow with a vehicle that could well climbing exceed towing speed limits, but that neither invites me to do so climbing or coming down. However as I said I remember the advice and know coming down needs me to be specifically attentive to towing instability issues.

 

[JTQ]

If you have call to drive through the Highlands you'll understand why this ' advice' is just not practical.

It is not as if haven't.

The examples are taken completely out of context as the downhills quoted are not even the same inclines.

The advice was "never tow down a hill faster than you could go up it."
"It", not some other incline be that the back side of "it", or any other hill.

If "it" is so steep or torturous that you crawl , then don't speed down it, good towing advice as downhill can often be where things go wrong.

 

[Dustydog]

The A30 around the Bodmin Moor Area has a number of sensible advisories “ towing vehicles reduce speed”.

Obvious you may say but for some , I am afraid they do not understand the concept of the tail wagging the dog, the train pushing the engine and why these advisories are always placed where a significant number of towing disasters have happened.

The M5 southbound north of Worcester is another black spot example. It doesn’t look like a steep hill , but many sadly have come a cropper😥