Towing trailer - max speed?

hessy12

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The thought of towing a trailer with a horse at 60 makes my mouth go dry with fear.

This too. I wouldn't dream of going over 50, despite having brand new trailer and excellent towing 4 by 4. I used to know a chap who belted along in his trailer, his horse hated it so much that he refused to load, and the man didn;t get why!
 

scarymare

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Be careful, going too slow on a motorway is actually far more dangerous. You cause traffic to build up behind you, lorries can sit behind you. vehicles just do not see how slow you are going and are likely to ram you from behind. if you want to do less than 50 ( in good conditions) then really you should not go on a motorway. It is perfectly safe to tow a horse trailer at 60 provided that your towing vehicle is a decent 4x4 and is capable of towing the trailer ( loaded) with ease. As a driving instructor we always teach the learners to move towards the speed limit so as not to be a hazard to other road users. That is of course providing the conditions allow. I.e not down hill, not horrifically windy or with limited visibility. If you are struggling to drive towards the speed limit then you are actually far safer using the A roads and not the motorways.

I agree with this. I was stopped in a trailer doing 35 - 40 - horse really wouldn't stand up and police said that absolute lower limit should be 45.
 

ester

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I don't think the horses feel any different going 50 or 60 on a straight flat bit of motorway road. I don't think going 60 on a motorway is irresponsible horse towing.

What they struggle with is speed changes and turns if neither of these are smooth = unhappy horse.

Pretty sure I do 60 with one on board.
 

lannerch

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If 60 is a problem in good tow coditions on a flat road then you need a new tow car or there is something wrong with your trailer!

For safty reasons I don't speed but I have to watch my spedo!

IMO going too slow on a motorway is far more dangerous you need to keep up with the majority of lorries. Lorries continuously overtaking will make you feel far more unstable than sticking to the speed limit.
 

stencilface

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I won't go above 55pmh in my 7.5T with a horse in, and I definitely wouldn't go above 50 intentionally if I ever drove a trailer (not likely!)

Never accelerate out of snaking in a trailer, you do not have the power to be accelerate at such a rate that it makes it anything more than dangerous. As someone who has been in the car when a trailer snaked and flipped (flipping the discovery also) I would really advise that you don't want this happening.
 

scarymare

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If 60 is a problem in good tow coditions on a flat road then you need a new tow car or there is something wrong with your trailer!

For safty reasons I don't speed but I have to watch my spedo!

IMO going too slow on a motorway is far more dangerous you need to keep up with the majority of lorries. Lorries continuously overtaking will make you feel far more unstable than sticking to the speed limit.


Going 60 is fine until the car in front of you has a blow out and you have to react quickly. Its the unexpected which catch people out - trailers rarely turn over at lower speeds.
 

ester

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is 50 so much lower with regards to trailers turning over though?

In my head (which might be wrong ;)) that would have as much to do with the distance left between you and the car in front as the initial speed being travelled.
 

scarymare

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is 50 so much lower with regards to trailers turning over though?

In my head (which might be wrong ;)) that would have as much to do with the distance left between you and the car in front as the initial speed being travelled.

I suppose so. I remember when I used to tow 30 years ago with a fourtrack turbo going at 60 on motorways. I was very confident and only ever had one really bad snaking despite the SWB. However when I hired one the other day then no way would I tow at that speed - guess its the difference between 18 and 45 (years old). Nowadays I never use the motorway and stick to the back roads but am lucky as we are inundated with show centres here in Aberdeenshire.
 

Theresa_F

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On a motorway in dry conditions, no wind and little traffic, I will tow at 60. I have a 110 new Defender and a Bateson Deuville trailer. The outfit is very stable. I personally prefer to use motorways in good conditions as there is less strain on the horse with change of direction, accelerating and slowing down and changing gear. I tend to get on and stay at a steady 60.

On other roads, I keep the speed down to what I can stop in safely and without having to slam the brakes on.

I drive according to the road conditions and traffic and as said above, if you have a correct set up, then it should be stable at that speed.

I did used to tow a small trailer with my car and this I did keep to a maximum of 50 as I was at the higher end of the weight limit.
 

Naryafluffy

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If 60 is a problem in good tow coditions on a flat road then you need a new tow car or there is something wrong with your trailer!

For safty reasons I don't speed but I have to watch my spedo!

IMO going too slow on a motorway is far more dangerous you need to keep up with the majority of lorries. Lorries continuously overtaking will make you feel far more unstable than sticking to the speed limit.

As someone who had a trailer jack-knife fortunately didn't over-turn) when travelling at on a straight road at 50mph I would have to disagree. Car was suitable with tyre pressure checked, trailer tyres had been checked the previous day, nothing was over-taking us, all we can assume happended was the horse moved suddenly for whatever reason (had always loaded and travelled fine in the past) causing the trailer to start fish-tailing (no we didn't speed up to try and pull it out of the spin), by the time it starts fish-tailing it has become the tail that wags the dog. Trailer and car ended up at 90 degree angles to each other, was very scary when it happenned, I would not go above 50mph in a car and trailer regardless of the type of car pulling the trailer, by the time you take the weight of the trailer and then put a horse in it plus any tack etc that is going it makes it very heavy.
 

tallyho!

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Never been in that sitatuation but was told a long time ago to accelerate a bit when a very large lorry goes past. I won't question it cos knowing my luck I will ignore that and something WILL happen.

Glad you haven't been in that situation, neither have I but happened to witness a caravan jack-knifing on M5/M49 Jct doing exactly this. I've also seen a sheep-crate end up side on in the fast lane still attached to it's Nissan which was perched, back end first, on the central reservation - M4 a month ago. Poor sheep.

The wind created by that lorry you talk of will sway the caravan/trailer so it is unstable, then when you accelerate, this simply makes the sway faster therefore the fishtailing. The more you accelerate, the faster the sway...

You must slow down if a lorry overtakes and you notice some sway, it's much safer.
 

biccie1

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As someone who had a trailer jack-knife (...) when travelling at on a straight road at 50mph I would have to disagree.

But if this happened at 50mph anyway (not 60mph which is the main debate here it seems) how slowly do you feel you should go with a trailer to 'stop' it happening?
 

stencilface

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But if this happened at 50mph anyway (not 60mph which is the main debate here it seems) how slowly do you feel you should go with a trailer to 'stop' it happening?

I think the idea is that things can go wrong at any speed really, and why would you want to have an accident at 60pmh, when you could have on at 50 - which would likely end up with less damage done :)
 

ILuvCowparsely

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Speaking from experience . ( We had an accident with trailer on the way back from buying my 15 month old filly from wales . )

I would never ever go above 50 with a horse trailer ( not that i would ever tow again )

I was doing 55 on the way back from wales got to near reading and wind gust caught the trailer and it started to snake. We ended up facing the wrong way up motorway roof of the trailer gone trailer on its side.


I tow a caravan and even with my 5 lt 3 and 1/2 tone car wind catches it and wobbles even with a stabilizer and i find towing it at 45- 55 the best and most secure speed.


I have seen a trailer past my horsebox and i was doing 60 he must have been doing 70.

I think its stupid going over 55 with a horse / horses. You only have to have a sudden gust as i did or some **** having a blow out in middle lane and swerving to have a fatality.
IMO.

And a useful tip is when towing if you see a truck coming up your outside the best thing you can do to avoid the sucking experience they give you when passing is drift over the rumble strips to give you more room and less wind gust.
 
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perfect11s

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As modern 7.5s are speed limited to 56 then that will make no difference
Yes first reg after oct 2001 which if you are following in a car is indicated 60MPH due to car speedos reading low so if you think you are towing at 50 its realy about 45!!! I had a bateson ascot and borrowed a brand new back then ifor 510 which I wouldent thank you for!!! what a differnence the bateson was smooth and quiet the ifor rattled and bumped along and you could realy feel it was there and that was towing it with a big ford pick up so what it would have been like with a smaller 4x4 !! needless to say I stuck with the bateson until I got myself a lorry , if I went back to a trailer would buy other bateson or better still a gooseneck if someone starts making or importing them here....
 

ILuvCowparsely

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CAUTION HORSES is a much better sign as it informs other road users that you may have to drive differently to accomodate the horses

This will assist other road users for all situations especially roundabouts where you do not want the horse to be slung from one side to another in a short space of time.


I also have on my Horsebox


a sign saying * Caution slow braking horses don't wear seatbelts *
and one saying
* if you cant see my mirrors I cant see you *
 
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