Originally Posted by ShrimpBurrito

If you have Goodyear Marathon tires, they are only rated up to 60 MPH. So going faster than that with those tires puts you at risk for premature tire failure.

There are other trailer tires out there that have much higher speed ratings. I had Kumhos before that were rated for over 100 MPH, so you can get around the tire rating.

However, as you mentioned, speed increases your stopping distance and decreases your safety margin. Regardless of the speed limit, including those areas in Texas that are 80 MPH (and soon to be 85), I don't tow above 60 MPH with the trailer. Not only is it safer, but it saves ALOT of gas. Going much faster than that, you might as well dump fuel out the window. On our first long trip with the TM years ago (before my current wisdom), we did long stretches at 70 MPH, and fuel economy tanked 30-40%.

That translates into alot more of a hit than you might think. A 40% reduction in fuel economy means you are paying for 67% more fuel. Our TV gets about 12 MPG (worst case) towing the TM. A 40% reduction in fuel economy means we only get 7.2 MPG. Traveling 500 miles, that means I would buy 42 gallons vs. 70 gallons, and at $4/gallon, that's a savings of ~$110 ($280 vs. $168). If it takes you 9 hrs to drive that 500 miles....well, you're SAVING over $12/hour!

Dave