45 MPH maximum towing speed?

[48Rob]

so i called local dealership claimed i had bought my car used from them few years back (i hadnt) and askied if i pulled it to the repair bay if they would fill em with grease heh. they did that was my nice little con job

And you're proud of this?


Rob

[iOpine]

I used to own a Ford Festiva. It had 12" tires and could top out at about 90mph. No problem with the tires driving all day at 70 mph (and getting 45mpg). Older Honda Civic CVCC cars also had 12" tires and a top speed of 115 mph.

[2bits]

The reason is the smaller wheels as people have mentioned. It recommends not going over 45mph, not that you can't do 115. Simple math says smaller wheel rotates more, therefore wears out moving parts more quickly. You should be fine as long as you increase your maintenance schedule or at least HAVE a maintenance schedule. and probably NOT do 115mph, but I certainly wouldn't do 45mph either. I think there are alot of people who never pack their wheel bearings, especially Uhaul. That might be another reason for it.

[scarysharkface]

Or maybe just slow down and take the scenic route..

[iOpine]

OK, here's the math. A tiny Yokohama 145SR12 spins 977 times per mile, and is speed rated "S" (112 mph). Compare that to a more typical 185/70R14, which spins 850 times per mile. The difference in diameter is less than one might think -- only 13%.

Assuming we're talking about a speed-rated tire, both the 14" and 12" tires are perfectly safe at 80 mph if properly inflated. An under-inflated or poorly constructed tire of inferior materials would not be safe in either size.

Same is true for the bearings. If they are of sufficient quality and properly lubricated both would be safe beyond the speed rating of the tires. If they are of inferior quality and/or poorly lubricated neither would be safe. A 13% difference in RPMs isn't enough to matter.

If 45 mph is the recommended top speed it must be due to something other than the SIZE of the wheel and tire, so simply replacing the wheel and tire combination with a larger size of similar quality wouldn't address the issue.

So why go larger than 12"? The taller, wider tires support more weight (1235 lbs vs. 780 lbs), have better cornering traction, and may wear longer.

Smaller, narrower tires weigh less (only 10 lbs) and have less wind and rolling resistance, which is part of the reason I once got 49 mpg on a long road-trip in my 1993 Festiva.

[jamwius]

Hey Graybeard:

I pull one of HF small trailers with 8 inch wheels and as long as you keep the bearings well packed I have no problem pulling it behind my motorcycle at hiway speeds up 85mph and have been towing it with all my camping gear for several years with no problems am working on a forward wedge design now to turn it into a camper so that I can get these old bones out of a tent which is a pain to have to set up and take down every evening and morning

Good to know...I saw the warning on the HF motorcycle trailer and did not get it because of that. I will have to rethink my position. I am hoping to go camping with the motorcycle and either pack extremely light or get a trailer.

Thanks,
John

[bobhenry]

The reason is the smaller wheels as people have mentioned. It recommends not going over 45mph, not that you can't do 115. Simple math says smaller wheel rotates more, therefore wears out moving parts more quickly. You should be fine as long as you increase your maintenance schedule or at least HAVE a maintenance schedule. and probably NOT do 115mph, but I certainly wouldn't do 45mph either. I think there are alot of people who never pack their wheel bearings, especially Uhaul. That might be another reason for it.

There is no love loss between myself as an ex manager and u haul but the statement above is absolutely ludacris.

A 65 year old company that is too stupid to provide a 20 minute $8.00 service on their own eguipment in order to prevent serious damage to their rolling stock and possible wrongful death lawsuits. How stupid does that sound !

To further add the parent company Amerco is a conglomerate of 2 major insurance giants Republicwestern and oxford life insurance companies. You know they are not going to turn their heads and will be deeply concerned that the rolling stock is properly cared for and maintained.

Each piece of U haul equipment has a pm 30 -60-90-120 from a lowely handcart to their biggest 26' moving truck. These are triggered by months or miles. During a PM 120 on a truck just about every maintainable part is removed inspected and or replaced. Brakes u joints clutches in manual models ( almost nonexistant any more) They are used hard and abused by renter after renter and yet they serve day after day.

The 45 MPH thing is psycological. For the 1st hour or so you as a total novice with a trailer will stare at it with one eye and nervously glance at the speedometer. In the next hour or so you are a bit braver by now you have a bit of a feel of how the extra load is effecting the tow vehicle. Somewhere in here you realize that the speed really does need to be a bit less than your normal crusing pace.

I will go set in my corner now

[jss06]

I've never had my Little Guy 6-wide going faster than around 85 or thereabouts. I think it would scare too many people if I passed them at a higher speed.

Yeah, the look on the guys face in the Mustang was pretty good. It was an emergency situation and I blew by him at 95MPH pulling 6K lbs of Jeep and trailer behind my 3500 CTD.

[madjack]

...DO NOT LISTEN TO ANY OF THE PRECEDING........
...if you tow faster than 45mph, the world will go off it's axis and head towards the sun, causing the glaciers to melt and the seas to rise...oh wait, that is if tow AL Gore faster than 45mph...my bad
madjack

[vomadude]

I just put 4800 miles on the trailer in the last two weeks. The GPS said we topped out at 91.2 mph. The trailer followed like a little puppy. I did clean the bearings when I built the trailer and filled the hubs with marine grease. The hubs never even felt warm to the touch.

[Frog]

I've put about 12,000 miles on a utility trailer with 8" wheels including two cross country trips. I usually stay at or under around 60 because of the California 55 towing limit. I did get stopped in Ohio doing 65 in a 55 zone. I've never had a problem with tires or bearings. I do check them for heat periodically.

In my humble opinion, towing at 85+ is not really smart simply because things happen way to fast and trailer reaction to bumps, etc are exagerated at higher speed. Towing at 135 mph is just plain nuts. Towing a rental trailer you've never seen before, let alone towed, at that speed is insane. Regardless of how well U-haul maintained their equipment, its only as good as the amount of abuse it received from the last cowboy that rented it. U-haul trailers are built like tanks and consequently are kept in service a long time. Age, wear and tear, metal fatigue, unseen nails in tires, etc. all add up to at least staying within the speed limit or close to it.

Besides all the safety issues, have an accident at 85+ towing a trailer will guarantee a major financial liability. Cause a fatality and it could be jail time for reckless driving and manslaughter.

I know I sound like an old fuddy duddy, but 27 years in law enforcement and a few accidents I've been involved in and the officers that reported to me were in have driven home the physics of high speed driving.

[suckerpunched]

This post pretty much answered my questions about the hf,1800# trailer. With proper maintaince and sensible towing speeds,,I think I'll be ok....Thanks///TC

[kennyrayandersen]

...DO NOT LISTEN TO ANY OF THE PRECEDING........
...if you tow faster than 45mph, the world will go off it's axis and head towards the sun, causing the glaciers to melt and the seas to rise...oh wait, that is if tow AL Gore faster than 45mph...my bad
madjack

We can always count on MJ for a proper prospective!

[Facemeltingly Epic]

I had one of these trailers, with the 8" wheels, for about six years. I used it to carry my race tires behind my Miata back when I ran in classes that allowed R-compound tires. I would regularly tow at 75-80mph when I could get away with it, and my trailer even survived sustained 90mph cruising through Nebraska on the way to the SCCA Solo National Championships in Topeka, KS. All I did was change to high-temperature bearing grease; I never once had problems with the wheel bearings on that trailer. In fact it still had its original wheel bearings when I sold it.

[emiller]

I think the worst part of having small tires is those darn pot holes are big enough to swallow a small car. I have notice that are road tax doesn't seam to fix the roads and every where you go now a days there is construction. What the hell are they fixing. Back to the subject, larger tires roll easier and go over bumps easier.