Caravans....what a joke!

[Creampuff]

I just drove 5000 klms in 10 days, every caravan on the road could not do 80 k's...is it the caravans or can't those people drive!!!

A lot of caravan drivers are older people who have retired. Also a lot are ignorant to the fact trailers are no longer limited to 80kmh.

[Kryton]

its a new style of people. the kind that retire, sell their house and travel the country towing caravans. their philosphy is "theres no rush, enjoy the journey".
thats all fine, but DO THE SPEED LIMIT PLEASE!!

[Dazza XLT]

Thats right. Most of them here do 90klm. Makes it very dangerous for everyone.
You should see the truckies. They sit right on the back of the van... And then overtake... Can't be good for the road toll.
I always get on the UHF and ask why they cannot seem to do the limit.
If i ever tow a van, I will guarantee that I will be doing 100! Nothing less.

[Full Noise]

Originally Posted by Darran

You should see the truckies. They sit right on the back of the van... And then overtake... Can't be good for the road toll.

What sort of dickwit comment is this, how else are you supposed to overtake them Einstein?

Thanks to speed limiters, the days of sitting back and winding a truck up to 120 and getting past quickly and safely are long gone.

[Dazza XLT]

Originally Posted by Full Noise

What sort of dickwit comment is this, how else are you supposed to overtake them Einstein?

Thanks to speed limiters, the days of sitting back and winding a truck up to 120 and getting past quickly and safely are long gone.

OK, you must think I am having a go at truckies. Which I am not.
Trucks overtaking, with their speed limiters at 100, take a lot longer to overtake. That is all I am saying!
And no. I am not a Dickwit, but thanks anyway.

[MO]

Originally Posted by Full Noise

What sort of dickwit comment is this, how else are you supposed to overtake them Einstein?

Thanks to speed limiters, the days of sitting back and winding a truck up to 120 and getting past quickly and safely are long gone.

I'm surprised...haven't you disconnected/bypassed your limiter like the rest?

[Dazza XLT]

Originally Posted by MO

I'm surprised...haven't you disconnected/bypassed your limiter like the rest?

I am not starting anything here.
A truckie was pulled up south of Bowen in a local blitz of all trucks on the bruce hwy.
They logged onto the trucks computer, and found he was maxing out at 125kph :
A month ago, a truck from the very same company rolled taking a turn on the Bruce Hwy!

[05MkIIFutura]

Originally Posted by Darran

If i ever tow a van, I will guarantee that I will be doing 100! Nothing less.

With up to 2 and a half tonnes attached to your car, I would like to see you do that.

[weenie]

i dont know why this thread is even going any where : in all my driving on long trips , the idiots that are doing 20 under the speed limit in their normal cars far outweigh the grey nomads. try driving on a double demerit points weekend. every one turns into a blithering idiot who wont go near the speed limit. get some patience peoples or get some grunt & dissapear & leave the road rage to all the ricers(4cyl) & cardigan wearers that are to busy worrying if they go over the speed limit by 1km/hr they will die.

[Dazza XLT]

Originally Posted by 05MkIIFutura

With up to 2 and a half tonnes attached to your car, I would like to see you do that.

It's not a van... But...
I tow our 10x6 Tandem Axle Trailer equipped with Electric Brakes around the district every week loaded with 1.5 Tonne of feed. I tow this with a Toyota Hilux 4x4 Dual Cab which is rated to tow 2.25 Braked Tonnes.
I don't have a problem travelling at the posted speed limit.

Cheers

Darran

[jaydee]

Originally Posted by Darran

It's not a van... But...
I tow our 10x6 Tandem Axle Trailer equipped with Electric Brakes around the district every week loaded with 1.5 Tonne of feed. I tow this with a Toyota Hilux 4x4 Dual Cab which is rated to tow 2.25 Braked Tonnes.
I don't have a problem travelling at the posted speed limit.

Cheers

Darran

Maybe, thankfully, these people who go a bit slower are driving to their abilities and their cars abilities.
It's one thing to be doing 100kays but if you have to brake or swerve, especially with a caravan, and yes I've towed a few vans from time to time.
And like most others here I hate getting held up too but you just have to wait unfortunately. I know there's nothing worse than been last in the line of about 10 cars held up behind a van but thats life, wait for the overtaking lane.

[Keepleft]

More evidence "speed-limit conditioning" is seen in this thread.

Future: You enter a remote highway bearing a (//) sign.

Question: What will be your travelling speed, since an absolute speed limit will no longer apply.

The answer of course will be 'variable', the way it should be.

[LUXO_8]

repost.....http://www.fordforums.com.au/showthread.php?t=46332&

perhaps get some patience....

[Dazza XLT]

Apologies for wanting to travel at the posted speed limit on a highway.
I must be a hoon... _

[mowog]

Originally Posted by Darran

Apologies for wanting to travel at the posted speed limit on a highway.
I must be a hoon... _

The posted speed limit on a road is the maxium allowed. I do tow a camper but I tow it the posted speed limit of the road I am on "If the conditions allow"

The gotta be in front w@nkers are bigger risk on the road than those taking their time.

[Dazza XLT]

Originally Posted by mowog

The posted speed limit on a road is the maxium allowed. I do tow a camper but I tow it the posted speed limit of the road I am on "If the conditions allow"

I realise this. I too travel at the posted speed limit when conditions permit.
But what gets me is its a fine day, no breeze, 2 nice wide lanes, no traffic, and here they are, poking along at 80 and 90.

Thats my opinion on the subject.

Cheers.

[PH47]

Originally Posted by mowog

The posted speed limit on a road is the maxium allowed. I do tow a camper but I tow it the posted speed limit of the road I am on "If the conditions allow"

The gotta be in front w@nkers are bigger risk on the road than those taking their time.

Agreed. And noone is flaming your opinion they're just replying with their own opinions.. if you can't handle someone else replying with a different opinion i'd say that these (or ANY) forums are the wrong place for you.

[mowog]

Originally Posted by PH47

Agreed. And noone is flaming your opinion they're just replying with their own opinions.. if you can't handle someone else replying with a different opinion i'd say that these (or ANY) forums are the wrong place for you.

I wasnt flaming anyone just stating my opinion like you and every one else who has made comment on this thread. I dont always travel below the speed limit on the open road but when I do come across a slow (Car, Truck, Car and Van, Car and boat.... anything slower) I wait for my chance to overtake safely. Life is way to short to get frustrated just because someone is going a bit slower than you are. Frustration leads to making mistakes and overtaking mistakes on the open road are often fatal.

[Disco1986]

wots the big deal? just over take when safe and get over it! I might start a thread about trucks doing 100km in the 110 zone!

[Bluefreak]

Originally Posted by Disco1986

wots the big deal? just over take when safe and get over it! I might start a thread about trucks doing 100km in the 110 zone!

You do of course realise they are bound by the law NOT to exceed 100kph...???

I don't so much mind the vanners doing 80, I mind when there are ample turn-out opportunities and yet they refuse to allow others through and continue to hold up traffic. There is no excuse for that.

[Dazza XLT]

Apologies for having my own opinion. :
I will keep it to myself in the future!

[Scott]

Darran please refrain from having an opinion in future.

[Dazza XLT]

Originally Posted by GMH8TR

Darran please refrain from having an opinion in future.

No Problemo :

[gthofan]

if you have ever towed a van u would understand why u drive slow. i have towed a 1.5 tonne van on many highways, when a car drives past you, from the opposite direction, the van gets thrown everywhere. the faster u travel, the worse it is. in fact if a big truck drives past from oncoming way, the van DOES get swept over to the wrong side of the road. its even worse when you get overtaken.
all i can say is just have patience, and give some respect to people towing a van, its bloody hard work in busy roads, i can assure u

[fangq]

Originally Posted by gthofan

if you have ever towed a van u would understand why u drive slow. i have towed a 1.5 tonne van on many highways, when a car drives past you, from the opposite direction, the van gets thrown everywhere. the faster u travel, the worse it is. in fact if a big truck drives past from oncoming way, the van DOES get swept over to the wrong side of the road. its even worse when you get overtaken.
all i can say is just have patience, and give some respect to people towing a van, its bloody hard work in busy roads, i can assure u

If a vehicle or vehicle/combination can't be driven at posted speeds because of safety issues, should it be allowed on those roads ? I live in Queensland, and the grey nomads are legion up this way, so we get to see lots of examples of what NOT to do when crusing off into the sunset as it were. If you want to see the dearth of driving skills as it relates to some of the baby boomers, camp at a caravan park and watch as the camp valets have to park the rigs, as their drivers cannot do same.

Steve
XR6T,,great grey nomad dodgem car

[GRNKPR]

Originally Posted by gthofan

if you have ever towed a van u would understand why u drive slow. i have towed a 1.5 tonne van on many highways, when a car drives past you, from the opposite direction, the van gets thrown everywhere. the faster u travel, the worse it is. in fact if a big truck drives past from oncoming way, the van DOES get swept over to the wrong side of the road. its even worse when you get overtaken.
all i can say is just have patience, and give some respect to people towing a van, its bloody hard work in busy roads, i can assure u

caravan shouldnt sway if it has enough beer in it for holidays

[EXECJIM]

Originally Posted by GRNKPR

caravan shouldnt sway if it has enough beer in it for holidays

Only if the beer is stacked correctly in the caravan :eclipsee_

Oh, and a few travelers in the tow car :

[Dezza]

While I don't enjoy being stuck behind a caravan doing 80, I can understand why they go very slow. Elaborating on what gthofan said, it can be easy for a caravan to start swaying and when it does it can be hard to control. I have to tell you about one of my teachers from when I was in year 12. He was the nicest bloke, and he was always telling us about his 3 daughters. Anyway, when he and his family went on holidays together a couple of years ago, his wife was driving and was towing a caravan when it started to sway. It forced her onto the other side of the road, where they had a head-on collision. The end result - one of this teacher's daughters was killed while their youngest one spent months in hospital in a critical condition. She has survived but her life will remain very difficult. A very sad incident, and it couldn't have happened to a nicer bloke. This is why caravans go so slow. Just keep that in mind.

[Ghiadude]

Towing a van isnt easy(i tow a large box trailer and a caravan every now and then) but some drivers fail to move over and let people past. I wouldnt recomend towing past 85/90 km/h. It might be deemed safe to 100km/h but i dont do it that often and so confidence is low as it should be with a combined weight over 2 tonnes. You blokes having a go at people towing a van should try it some time. you might learn a thing or two.