Just did a 1000Km round trip with the family and just need to know... why does a near new 200 series Landy towing a near new caravan need to travel at sub 80km/hour on a good condition high way????

Fuel consumption?
Driving comfort?
Is it a safety thing?

Passed an old falcon ute towing a van that looked like it was from the 80's and he was doing close to 100!

Irrispective of what the laws are the vast majority of nomads farting around the countryside with their moron friends, they really piss me off, I run a business and every two weeks cover around 1800k between towns in rural SA. I have a tight schedule and constantly find these ......... farting along at 80k enjoying the view, completely unaware of what traffic they are holding up and totally illegally in bloody nose to tail groups.
I have literally forced myself in between these idiots with much horn blasting, light flashing, arm guestering etc

Sorry mate I am over it and then there are the farmers grain trucks and road trains trying to do their job and lo and behold . IF YOU WANT TO ENJOY THE VIEW .....STOP and enjoy but dont ****in block workers

I have a legal speed limit, yes granted I could travel below it if I felt like it but give me a break at least I wouldnt be blocking traffic.

10 years ago I had to bring father in laws Fairlane and massive van back down here from northern Q after a heart attack ****ed their trip, first thing was etra big mirrors on either side so I could always be aware of other traffic. Stopped around Dubbo around 3AM and had a truckie come up and thank me for great driving and signalling when it was safe for him to pass etc etc.

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Tonz said...
Irrispective of what the laws are the vast majority of nomads farting around the countryside with their moron friends, they really piss me off, I run a business and every two weeks cover around 1800k between towns in rural SA. I have a tight schedule and constantly find these ......... farting along at 80k enjoying the view, completely unaware of what traffic they are holding up and totally illegally in bloody nose to tail groups.
I have literally forced myself in between these idiots with much horn blasting, light flashing, arm guestering etc

Sorry mate I am over it and then there are the farmers grain trucks and road trains trying to do their job and lo and behold . IF YOU WANT TO ENJOY THE VIEW .....STOP and enjoy but dont ****in block workers

I have a legal speed limit, yes granted I could travel below it if I felt like it but give me a break at least I wouldnt be blocking traffic.

10 years ago I had to bring father in laws Fairlane and massive van back down here from northern Q after a heart attack ****ed their trip, first thing was etra big mirrors on either side so I could always be aware of other traffic. Stopped around Dubbo around 3AM and had a truckie come up and thank me for great driving and signalling when it was safe for him to pass etc etc.

I'm with ya man,

There was 20+ cars stuck behind some of these pr1cks and they either didn't realise or didn't care. Unbelievable

Fossil

When I was about 17 a copper came to give a bunch of us apprentices a bit of a talk about driving. He said "being courteous" was best way to interact with other drivers. A lot of those Kockheads with caravans missed that class.

Yeah I'd hate to see a law come in saying if x number of cars were behind you then pull over when safe to let them pass otherwise there will be a fine. However some people driving on single carriage way roads below the speed limit are very selfish and have no understanding a primary function of roads is to allow business to operate.

I think some drivers think they are doing the people following them a safety favour by driving at 80 km/h in a hundred zone with half a dozen cars following. Get over it you self appointed road safety officers. Let people who have the competency and need to drive faster to get past you safely and quickly.

Fuel consumption? Yes
Driving comfort? Possibly
Is it a safety thing? Probably; Interesting European "speed limits".

www.caravanclub.co.uk/overseas-holidays/planning-your-route/european-speed-limits/

Driver awareness of their tow vehicle mass and breaking ability as well as awareness of other road users is paramount. That said; sub-80 km/h is a bit rich.

Fuel consumption is the main one. Dropping from 100 down to sub-80 in any vehicle could easily drop fuel consumption 20-30%. These are people that re-use teabags to save money, don't you think they'd do anything to save money on fuel?

But there's also...

Enjoying the scenery.

Not having anywhere in particular to be.

Caravan overloaded with cheap tinned food bought at Aldi.

Car overloaded with 8 jerry cans full of fuel bought with a 4 cents discount voucher.

Caravan full of rocks kept as souvenirs from every where they stopped (true story)

Caravan overloaded with 15 x cartons of XXXX Gold bought on sale at $2 off a carton.

Towing a 40 foot van with a Triton, actually, towing anything with a Triton.

I got into my aunty a few years ago when they bought a van, told them not to overload it with tinned food, clothes, jerry cans of fuel etc just to save a few dollars at the other end of the journey. There's nothing quite like the sight of an overloaded caravan that's rolled, disintegrated and disgorged it's entire contents down 200 meters of highway.

And a Camry is not a suitable tow vehicle if you're trying to get a 4 x 4 dual cab back to Perth of a car trailer on the highway. Somehow some dude managed to roll the neighbours' Camry but the trailer with his 4x4 stayed upright and still connected. Good luck explaining that one

I know exactly how you feel fellas,

I used to drive "hotshot" cargo all over the country - and wobblies driving well under the limit who refused to pull over used to create havoc to our expected arrival times.

"Hotshot" driving is usually reserved for extremely urgent freight - spare parts to get mine machinery going, explosives for a minesite that has a dodgy batch or an unanticipated change in the type of explosives needed, even aircraft parts etc.

A 6 tonner truck can drive at the speed limit, company issue fatigue log books are kept - but federal interstate logbooks do not apply - so interference from Transport Department and Police is rare.
Trucks any bigger than 6 tonners, state and federal logbooks apply as does a 100 klick limit - frequent stops from Transport and Police are expected.

Due to this - it was common to split an 8 tonne load between two 6 tonners and 4 drivers for urgent longer distance deliveries, as we could get there within our 50something hour deadline - where an 8 tonner would take another 24+ hours.

When you are driving from Perth to way past Innamincka, Emerald, Katherine or similar, every minute counts - after 52[??] hours it is mandatory that the truck be parked up and the drivers have a minimum of 10 hours rest in a motel/hotel/donga.[must be out of the truck]

You can probably understand how getting stuck behind a convoy of wobblies [with radios turned off] would raise blood pressure.
=====================

The 80 klicks is widely regarded as the best cruising speed for economical driving - any higher and aerodynamic drag dictates that they start chewing through juice at exponentially higher rates.

Mind you - I reckon a high percentage of these vehicles and caravans are also well over their allowable weight limits.


stephen

Look at lcool website and read silly old farts boasting about fuel saved driving at really slow speeds long distance. Wish the gendarmes would enforce the 20k below law and book the silly old farts. Most should not be on the road.

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Tonz said..
Irrispective of what the laws are the vast majority of nomads farting around the countryside with their moron friends, they really piss me off, I run a business and every two weeks cover around 1800k between towns in rural SA. I have a tight schedule and constantly find these ......... farting along at 80k enjoying the view, completely unaware of what traffic they are holding up and totally illegally in bloody nose to tail groups.
I have literally forced myself in between these idiots with much horn blasting, light flashing, arm guestering etc

Sorry mate I am over it and then there are the farmers grain trucks and road trains trying to do their job and lo and behold . IF YOU WANT TO ENJOY THE VIEW .....STOP and enjoy but dont ****in block workers

I have a legal speed limit, yes granted I could travel below it if I felt like it but give me a break at least I wouldnt be blocking traffic.

10 years ago I had to bring father in laws Fairlane and massive van back down here from northern Q after a heart attack ****ed their trip, first thing was etra big mirrors on either side so I could always be aware of other traffic. Stopped around Dubbo around 3AM and had a truckie come up and thank me for great driving and signalling when it was safe for him to pass etc etc.

You must be driving a **box if you can't pass a caravan doing less than 80

Jokes aside, as others have said lots of vans too long and heavy towed by vehicles too light, accidents waiting to happen. I worry about those who have only ever driven a Camry, wait till they're 65 and retired, then go buy a white twin cab and the biggest caravan they can find and hit the road at 100kph in la la land.

But here's the rub kids, I tow a caravan and sit on 80, been doing it full time over two years so far. But I like to think I do the right thing, passing me doing 80 is much easier than if I'm doing 90, I'm always checking what's going on behind me and will pull over where safe. I also stay in contact with truckies via UHF and have never ever had a cranky one, always happy thankful ones. I honestly believe the vans winding up you guys are in the minority

My BF Falcon ute has a custom fiberglass box on the chassis, classed as 3/4 tonner but often close to 1 ton fully loaded on the road, cruise control clicked at 114 keeps my average speed around 110 and I can accelerate from 70 - 140 like a scalded cat.

Although I get stroppy I realise we are all on the highway/country roads and courtesy is important.

Rock collecting... hells bells that was my grandmother, filled a 6x4 with her collection 4 days after she went, at pops urgent request.

No a drama here as roads are much quieter
It's when 3 or 4 travel in groups and leave unsafe distances between themselves to allow others to overtake and then comfortably pull in,
It's like trying to pass 2 road trains when 4 are banked up
I gave a group a heads up on this travelling back from Perth, one was a knob but the rest were in agreeable
Bit of envy some of these posts, carnt wait till I pack work in and cruise around

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firiebob said...
But here's the rub kids, I tow a caravan and sit on 80, been doing it full time over two years so far. But I like to think I do the right thing

I appreciate you think it's the right thing to do but it's 20km an hour under the 100kmh towing legal speed limit. You're crazy if you don't think it's rude to other drivers or holds up traffic.

Road trains, blokes towing boats or camper trailers loaded with gear never seem to have problems doing the speed limit and don't hold traffic up so i don't see why people towing caravans think it's acceptable.

If you can't tow safely at 100km/h or can't afford the fuel then you can't afford the caravan

I tow a large van, always do the speed limit (up to 110) as I don't care about economy, I just want to get there.
Due to the 80km people, there is a common perception among drivers that all caravans must be moving slowly, and I therefore I must pass them all without checking my speedo first.
After risking everyone's life by passing me in stupid spots, they then proceed to do the same speed as me or less but brake for every tiny corner and show they cant drive properly.
Don't get me started on the drivers who do 90kmh in a hundred zone and as soon as you hit a town, they proceed straight on through the 60kmh zone at 90kmh. Good for Govt income
.

Get a UHF radio. They all helpfully put their channels on the back of the 'van so you can yell at them to speed up (don't they Rowie )


Loved Chris' post - you met my parents haven't you

So basically money then.

So save over a 500km trip maybe $40-50 bucks at best(I'm really guessing here)?

After spending $150K or more on a cruiser and van?
Insurance on both
Depreciation on both
Rego for both
Servicing

Dosnt make any sense.

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MDSXR6T said...

firiebob said...
But here's the rub kids, I tow a caravan and sit on 80, been doing it full time over two years so far. But I like to think I do the right thing

I appreciate you think it's the right thing to do but it's 20km an hour under the 100kmh towing legal speed limit. You're crazy if you don't think it's rude to other drivers or holds up traffic.

Road trains, blokes towing boats or camper trailers loaded with gear never seem to have problems doing the speed limit and don't hold traffic up so i don't see why people towing caravans think it's acceptable.

If you can't tow safely at 100km/h or can't afford the fuel then you can't afford the caravan

Last line is bang on I reckon!

And it was 30 km under the speed limit of the roars I was originally speaking of. I might go and do 50 in a 80 and see what Kind of reception I get from other drivers

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Spark said..

MDSXR6T said...

firiebob said...
But here's the rub kids, I tow a caravan and sit on 80, been doing it full time over two years so far. But I like to think I do the right thing

I appreciate you think it's the right thing to do but it's 20km an hour under the 100kmh towing legal speed limit. You're crazy if you don't think it's rude to other drivers or holds up traffic.

Road trains, blokes towing boats or camper trailers loaded with gear never seem to have problems doing the speed limit and don't hold traffic up so i don't see why people towing caravans think it's acceptable.

If you can't tow safely at 100km/h or can't afford the fuel then you can't afford the caravan

Last line is bang on I reckon!

And it was 30 km under the speed limit of the roars I was originally speaking of. I might go and do 50 in a 80 and see what Kind of reception I get from other drivers

Check your life insurance first...things might get heated

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firiebob said...

Tonz said..
Irrispective of what the laws are the vast majority of nomads farting around the countryside with their moron friends, they really piss me off, I run a business and every two weeks cover around 1800k between towns in rural SA. I have a tight schedule and constantly find these ......... farting along at 80k enjoying the view, completely unaware of what traffic they are holding up and totally illegally in bloody nose to tail groups.
I have literally forced myself in between these idiots with much horn blasting, light flashing, arm guestering etc

Sorry mate I am over it and then there are the farmers grain trucks and road trains trying to do their job and lo and behold . IF YOU WANT TO ENJOY THE VIEW .....STOP and enjoy but dont ****in block workers

I have a legal speed limit, yes granted I could travel below it if I felt like it but give me a break at least I wouldnt be blocking traffic.

10 years ago I had to bring father in laws Fairlane and massive van back down here from northern Q after a heart attack ****ed their trip, first thing was etra big mirrors on either side so I could always be aware of other traffic. Stopped around Dubbo around 3AM and had a truckie come up and thank me for great driving and signalling when it was safe for him to pass etc etc.

You must be driving a **box if you can't pass a caravan doing less than 80

Jokes aside, as others have said lots of vans too long and heavy towed by vehicles too light, accidents waiting to happen. I worry about those who have only ever driven a Camry, wait till they're 65 and retired, then go buy a white twin cab and the biggest caravan they can find and hit the road at 100kph in la la land.

But here's the rub kids, I tow a caravan and sit on 80, been doing it full time over two years so far. But I like to think I do the right thing, passing me doing 80 is much easier than if I'm doing 90, I'm always checking what's going on behind me and will pull over where safe. I also stay in contact with truckies via UHF and have never ever had a cranky one, always happy thankful ones. I honestly believe the vans winding up you guys are in the minority

It's a bit hard to over take the dude towing the van when there's another 23 cars in between the 2 of you

And I have NEVER seen a caravan pull over to let the convoy behind the pass. Not once.

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cauncy said..
No a drama here as roads are much quieter
It's when 3 or 4 travel in groups and leave unsafe distances between themselves to allow others to overtake and then comfortably pull in,
It's like trying to pass 2 road trains when 4 are banked up
I gave a group a heads up on this travelling back from Perth, one was a knob but the rest were in agreeable
Bit of envy some of these posts, carnt wait till I pack work in and cruise around

Yep, leaving gaps between the caravans is the thing they get wrong. People sit up behind them and create a long long rolling roadblock. I don't understand why these people can't think 'hey, I'm doing the same speed as those people, so I will leave a 200m gap'.

I made the mistake of trying to overtake one of these up near Cairns years ago. A numptie in front of me decided that even though they had been happy to sit behind this mess for 20 minutes with no attempt to overtake that they would pull out just before I reached them on the wrong side of the road doing well over the speed limit.

ABS does work at high speed.

I think it goes against human nature. People don't think they are getting anywhere unless they are sitting up right behind the car in front. Which gives you no room to accelerate before overtaking, and no safety margin if something goes wrong. That other people will try and fit into that safety space is irritating but you need to get over it and just leave that space.

I don't mind having to overtake the horrible things. The thing that grinds my goat is when they travel so close to each other they need to be all overtaken at once. Or when a car that has caught them up sits very close but doesn't overtake them.
A nice gap between them to slide into and overtake one at a time is nice

When there's two grey nomads in convoy pulling vans up each others date with no attempt to overtake themselves or leave room for people to overtake safely and they've been doing it for some distance, I've a nasty habit of overtaking the back one and gently squeezing in between the two. Then slowing a little to force the rear one to create a gap of 30- 40 metres. I sit there in that gap for a bit, once I think I've made my point I then head off and overtake the front one and go on my merry way.

Fck 'em. I spend a significant amount of time on the highways, I understand the bigger set-ups aren't comfortable towing at 100 but some just take the piss when they get down below 80.

The Wicked vans and 30 year old clapped out Tarago's with the backpackers in are usually the slowest 50-60 is common enough but at least they're small and easy to overtake, and usually have a cute Swedish girl in the passenger seat.

When there's two grey nomads in convoy pulling vans up each others date with no attempt to overtake themselves or leave room for people to overtake safely and they've been doing it for some distance, I've a nasty habit of overtaking the back one and gently squeezing in between the two. Then slowing a little to force the rear one to create a gap of 30- 40 metres. I sit there in that gap for a bit, once I think I've made my point I then head off and overtake the front one and go on my merry way.

my man, I like your way of doing things. Me, i'am not subtle about it I force me way with lights and BIG illegal air horns. You see these LED signs on buildings Id like to find one I could hang off the ute telling the idiot what I thought of him and where he can travel.

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Chris6791 said..
When there's two grey nomads in convoy pulling vans up each others date with no attempt to overtake themselves or leave room for people to overtake safely and they've been doing it for some distance,

^This

Either piss or get off the pot!

If you're not getting in position to overtake, and actually going to make an attempt, you shouldn't be anywhere close behind the car in front.

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cauncy said..

Bit of envy some of these posts, carnt wait till I pack work in and cruise around

Don't wish ya life away as it goes all too fast as it is, but then don't leave it too late either

Come on guys, so much hate here, it's not good for you Funny I've just done two trips Cairns to Perth, first in son's car then in my second car, 110 most of the way with no caravan hold ups anywhere just the occasional mining wide load.
As for cost, I don't care how much fuel I use, as Spark said it's just a drop in the money pit. I have a very good set up, tows like a dream, I also have a heavy vehicle licence but feel what I'm doing is a better bet if things go to s**t. Just my opinion I guess and as I said I've never had any agro, just like not every kite boarder is gay not all caravansers are the enemy on the roads. I will say if I could afford one, I'd get a new Dodge Ram, then I'd be passing all you haters with my finger in the air

As for rocks, I do have a mate who's wife collects rocks, what I do is pick up any crappy looking rocks and put them into the back of his F250, always starts a good argument

And Spark, I'm looking for a house in Falcon (true), I'll make sure I don't leave my van in the street Also if you kite where that happy screaming Indo guy does, you'll see me there occasionally, I'm the old guy with the old cruiser with Qld plates. Say hi and share a beer, I've always got a couple in the fridge, even for caravan hating kiters

If everyone just drove baked
There wouldn't be a problem
80 kays feels like warp speed
And there's none of this
'Are we there yet...?'
It's more like
'Wow, we here already.? '

^^^ But then you've got to mix it up with the meth heads who are pinging along at 100 mile an hour, both their car and their fried brain.

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firiebob said...

cauncy said..

Bit of envy some of these posts, carnt wait till I pack work in and cruise around

Don't wish ya life away as it goes all too fast as it is, but then don't leave it too late either

Come on guys, so much hate here, it's not good for you Funny I've just done two trips Cairns to Perth, first in son's car then in my second car, 110 most of the way with no caravan hold ups anywhere just the occasional mining wide load.
As for cost, I don't care how much fuel I use, as Spark said it's just a drop in the money pit. I have a very good set up, tows like a dream, I also have a heavy vehicle licence but feel what I'm doing is a better bet if things go to s**t. Just my opinion I guess and as I said I've never had any agro, just like not every kite boarder is gay not all caravansers are the enemy on the roads. I will say if I could afford one, I'd get a new Dodge Ram, then I'd be passing all you haters with my finger in the air

As for rocks, I do have a mate who's wife collects rocks, what I do is pick up any crappy looking rocks and put them into the back of his F250, always starts a good argument

And Spark, I'm looking for a house in Falcon (true), I'll make sure I don't leave my van in the street Also if you kite where that happy screaming Indo guy does, you'll see me there occasionally, I'm the old guy with the old cruiser with Qld plates. Say hi and share a beer, I've always got a couple in the fridge, even for caravan hating kiters

Aww come on hates a strong word

Honestly I started this thread because I actually wasn't 100% on why they all travel at 80 clicks.

And I do think it's a lil silly/pointless to travel at 80 purely to save a couple of bucks but like a lot of things in life, it is what it is and buggy all you can do to change it.

Yeah I kite over there every now and then I'll come say hi if I see ya

Head over to caravaners forum to check the mentality of some of these tards. One old bloke states that he will not drive anyhere unless he has a tail wind...........ffs its not a sailing boat.

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Cord said..
Head over to caravaners forum to check the mentality of some of these tards. One old bloke states that he will not drive anyhere unless he has a tail wind...........ffs its not a sailing boat.

Like reading this forum sometimes But yeh I know where you're coming from, I get a giggle there same as here

Spark that was a genuine offer so I'll see you soon enough

Sorry guys I got to get back to the Caravaners forum, there's a debate going on about the best toilet chemicals to use