What Are Safe RV Towing Speeds?
There’s a lot to know when it comes to RV towing. Whether you’re towing a bumper-pull or fifth wheel with a truck, or you’re pulling a little tow car behind a motorhome, knowing the ropes before you hit the road is important. Weight limits, how to hitch up, and how to avoid low-clearance bridges are some of the things newbies need to know.
Another biggie? Safe RV towing speeds.
How fast you’re going can completely change how things go should a high wind catch you by surprise, or should somebody cut you off. Therefore, learning about safe RV towing speeds should be at the top of your list before your first trip.
Lucky for you, that’s exactly what we’re going to discuss below.
How fast can I go when towing or driving an RV?
Let’s jump right in by answering that burning question: How fast can you safely go while towing or driving an RV? Honestly, the answer to this depends on a lot of factors.
In ideal conditions and barring any local speed limits saying otherwise, the fastest you should find yourself towing a bumper-pull, fifth wheel, or car on a dolly or trailer is between 55 and 60 mph, and many choose to keep the speedometer around 50. Meanwhile, most experts recommend you never flat tow a car faster than 55 mph.
Driving a motorhome without a tow car? In that case, you can probably go a little faster, but 60 to 65 mph should still be your max speed.
Why do I need to drive my RV slowly?
Wondering why you need to drive slower in an RV? There are actually several reasons why slower RV towing speeds are safer.
Stopping a big vehicle takes more time
The bigger your rig is, the heavier it is, and the heavier your rig is, the longer it will take to stop. Driving faster makes it even more difficult to stop quickly, meaning a slow driver is going to be much better off should traffic come to a sudden halt.
Turning a big rig is more difficult
Turning an RV takes some getting used to. It requires that you swing wide and calculate things just right. This is much easier to do if you give yourself time to think and take your turns slowly. Not only will this help you ensure you get those turns right, it’ll also reduce the amount of damage you do if you get one wrong.
Going too fast can cause sway
When towing a bumper-pull or a car on a trailer, driving fast can lead to the trailer swaying back and forth. If this sway gets too rough, it can actually take control of your vehicle, swinging you back and forth, and potentially even causing your tow vehicle to spin.
Obviously, this is very dangerous and is something you want to prevent. Driving slowly is one of the best ways to prevent sway.
Driving uphill too fast can cause engine damage
Planning on driving through the mountains? Plan to go slow. Attempting to drive a big rig uphill fast can cause damage to the engine of your vehicle, leading to costly repairs and leaving you stranded on the side of the road.
When should you slow down in an RV?
Not only should you stick to the speeds mentioned above in ideal conditions, there are actually other factors that can require you to slow down even more. Pay attention when RV towing, and if one or more of these factors come into play, adjust your speed accordingly.
Lower legal speed limit
Obviously, you do have to mind the legal speed limits in any given area. Watch for truck-specific speed limits, as these apply to RVs as well. Additionally, know that some states have speed limits that apply specifically to those who are towing, so be sure to look up these limits before hitting the road.
Wind
Windy conditions can be extremely dangerous, especially for tall, top-heavy RVs. If you feel your trailer swaying in the wind, or if the wind feels like it’s causing your motorhome to be out of control, slow down. Still an issue? Stop and stay put until the windy weather passes.
Poor visibility
Another weather issue that can make driving an RV unsafe is rain or fog that causes poor visibility. If you’re finding it difficult to see while driving your RV, slow down and turn on your headlights. Depending on the situation, you might even consider pulling over until things clear up.
Mountains
As mentioned above, driving fast up an incline can cause damage to your vehicle. Not only that, many trucks and motorhomes simply won’t be able to pull all that weight uphill even if you tried to gun it.
Plan to slow down on inclines, and know that your travel day will likely be longer than your GPS predicts. (As longtime RVers well know, it usually is anyway).
Other RV towing tips
Now that you know how what you can expect in terms of RV towing speeds, let’s touch on a few other RV towing tips.
Know your weight limits
First, make sure you know how much weight your RV can hold, how much your truck can tow, and the other weight limits of your rig. Watch the weight of your setup and make sure you stay well within these limits.
Invest in towing mirrors
If you’re towing a fifth wheel or bumper-pull, you will likely want to invest in special towing mirrors for your truck. These will help ensure you can see beside and behind your rig while towing.
Ensure you have trailer brakes
Trailer brakes are incredibly important. If you don’t have them, get some. Make sure they are installed and calibrated correctly, and know how to use them in case of emergency.
Never ride in a trailer or towed vehicle
We’d also like to remind you that people and pets should never ride in a trailer or towed vehicle. Doing so is extremely dangerous and not worth the hazard it poses.
Use an RV-safe GPS
Driving or towing an RV is different. You can’t drive as far, as long, or as fast. Knowing where you need to stop at the end of the day is a challenge, unless you have RV LIFE Trip Wizard. The unique Driving Radius provided by RV LIFE Trip Wizard shows you exactly where to stop and find a campground or RV park, based on criteria you have set. Plan ahead, plan smart, and know exactly where to stop.
Perhaps the most visible and economically significant form of traffic regulation, most people think they have a grasp of what the sign means. While not generally addressing towing, one of the best resources for speed limit law has for decades been the page maintained by John Carr at MIT, who more recently contributes as a writer for the National Motorists Association. It isn’t always the most up-to-date, but for generally applicable limits, it’s the place to go. He also includes discussion of tolerances, absolute vs. prima facie limits, and speeds at which various state laws carry significant penalty or additional reckless driving charges.
But he doesn’t include truck or RV speed limits. Fortunately, the number of states still clinging to split speed limits continues to fall. Every state has a basic speed law that requires you to drive at a safe speed–which for an RV often means less than the limit, especially in the many states with 75 and 80 mph limits in effect. The limits of the road, weather, traffic, your vehicle, and your skills as a driver all enter into the determination of what speed is safe, and it’s hardly constant. When the Ohio Turnpike commission experimented with eliminating the 55 mph restriction on vehicles over 8,000 lbs, the results were sufficiently compelling that the legislature eliminated them on the interstate system statewide.
For the most part, there are now only 5 states where an RVer is subject to a general speed restriction different from the rest of traffic: California (55), Idaho (70), Indiana (65), Montana (70), and Washington (60). Of those, California is the worst offender, requiring you to drive 15 mph slower than the generally applicable speed limit for cars. But remember: your duty is first to drive at a speed that is reasonable and prudent under the conditions existing while you’re behind the wheel. Even if the law doesn’t specifically prohibit driving 85 mph for your vehicle, the basic speed law may require you to drive at a different speed. The same is true for slow speeds as well.
The charts below summarize the basics, but continue reading for more detail. The table at the end of the page includes a 50-state list, with links to state statutes. Remember that just because your vehicle is defined or registered as an RV in one state doesn’t mean that you’re not a truck in another state’s speed laws.
Of course, they don’t apply to the same vehicles. Since there are only 5 of them, we’ll go through the regulations one-by-one.
Section 22406 of the California Vehicle Code establishes a 55 mph limit for certain types of vehicles, as defined in Division 1.
A motorhome as we normally think of one is called a housecar in California, and even if it has 3 axles, is a passenger vehicle not a motortruck or truck tractor. So a motorhome not towing doesn’t fall under either 22406(a) or (b). When it’s towing, it’s clearly a passenger vehicle drawing another vehicle, and subject to the 55 mph limit as a result of 22406(b).
Whether pickup and fifth-wheel or travel trailer, or motorhome and toad or other trailer, 22406 applies.
Idaho has a strange way of wording their restriction. They have a special restriction for vehicles with 5 or more axles and operating at a gross weight of more than 26,000 lbs that requires the speed limit to not exceed a limit 10 mph lower than the limit for vehicles with fewer than 5 axles and weighing less than 26,000 lbs. Practically, this means that the highest speed limit for restricted vehicles is 70 mph, but should Idaho modify the maximum speed limit, the large vehicle limit follows by default. However, they don’t include vehicle combinations in that definition, so it may not apply to typical RV combinations.
To be on the safe side, let’s assume it does apply to combinations, however ambiguous that might be:
Those limits are based on the normal 80 mph limit, and the requirement that vehicles listed above have a speed limit no higher than 10 mph below the general limit posted, and no higher than 65 in urban areas.
After Idaho, Indiana is comparatively easy. In IC 9-21-5-2, a maximum of 65 mph is established for any motor vehicle having a declared gross weight over 26,000 lbs. Simple enough, except that declared gross weight has its own definition.
In that definition, you won’t find any category that includes a motorhome. You will find a definition for a truck, which must include the weight of a truck camper, but not a vehicle towed by the truck. It would appear that if you have a declared gross weight of more than 26,000 lbs (again, that would be weights on a truck and/or trailer, not a motorhome or towed car), you would potentially be subject to the reduced speed limit.
Given typical enforcement tolerances, and that it’s only a 5 mph difference, this is a largely irrelevant reduction unlike the previous states discussed.
If you’re driving a motorhome into Montana, the standard 80 mph speed limit applies. Its 65 70 mph speed limit for trucks with a manufacturer’s rated capacity of more than 1 ton does not include motorhomes, which are a vehicle type defined separately.
If you have a truck with more than 1 ton manufacturer’s rated capacity, towing or not, you’ll have to slow down to a maximum speed of 65 70 mph when you enter the state, whether from one of the Dakotas, Wyoming, or Idaho. North Dakota looks poised to follow the lead of its southern and western neighbors in increasing its maximum speed limit to 80, after which there will be either 3 or 4 states where you’ll be required to drive a speed 10 mph slower than what you were allowed to drive on your way to Big Sky country. Ouch.
As a slight consolation prize, Montana does have the ability to post speed limits greater than the statutory limits, so if you see the 80 mph sign without any additional placard, that’s what applies.
UPDATE (5/20/19): Montana has increased its truck speed limits. You’ll now be able to legally drive at 70 mph, instead of 65 mph.
Let’s suppose you’ve traveled west to get to Washington. You entered South Dakota on I-90, and continued west briefly passing through Wyoming, across Montana and Idaho. If you’ve been driving a 2-axle motorhome, towing a car, almost all of that has been under an 80-mph speed limit. Now here comes Washington, begging you to slow down by an absurd 20 mph, while only slowing the rest of traffic down by 5 mph (the legislatively set maximum is 75, though all of Washington’s Interstate highways currently have signs indicating 70 or lower). Yes, like Montana and California that can set up a 15-mph differential between your legal speed and the rest of traffic.
Even worse, while most of the other states make some effort to post what vehicles are subject to reduced limits, Washington posts signs for “trucks”, and includes this language in WA Rev Code § 46.61.410 (2017):
The word “trucks” used by the department on signs giving notice of maximum speed limits means vehicles over ten thousand pounds gross weight and all vehicles in combination except auto stages.
WA Rev. Code § 46.61.410
So even though you were likely able to ignore the signs that said “Trucks 70”, here in Washington, they essentially apply to every RV. If you weigh more than 10,000 lbs or are towing, 60 mph it is.
2019-12-10: Added clarification and link referencing difference between 75 mph maximum and 70 mph speed zones in Washington.