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If you fancy towing at 130kph then "Good Luck!" Judging by the state of repair of most trailers, or Caravans if it comes to that, it is pretty crazy to do those sort of speeds. Think about it: What's the worst thing for tyres? you've got it, standing on the same section week in week out. The tyre eventually develops a flat area. You can guess the rest

Belgium is 120kph but if you are on a dual carriageway and return to the inner lane you will be restricted to 90kph

 the french police love cars towing with uk plates on the A26 south.

 they just wait for the ferries to dock and then come out in force.!!!!

 something to do with their pension scheme i think!!!!

We towed at 60-70mph on the peages this year without any problems at all.  We were stable, safe and comfortable and yes, there were caravans going past us alot faster!

Quote: Originally posted by swiftsure on 10/9/2008

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 the french police love cars towing with uk plates on the A26 south.

 they just wait for the ferries to dock and then come out in force.!!!!

 something to do with their pension scheme i think!!!!

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Not in my experience. You are entitled to tow at 130kph (around 82mph) towing a caravan, the exception being on some downhill section where the limit is posted on the side of the road. If you stay within the law you have nothing to worry about.

David

The big difference is that the autoroutes have excellent surfaces so your trailer doesn't bounce around all over the place. We found 130kph perfectly do-able. Wouldn't do it with a caravan, but then I never want to tow a caravan anywhere.

Alan

I towed my Trailer tent at 65 - 70mph through France (cruise control was set at about 68 most of the time) According to my satnav, my average speed was 64mph, including tolls. I left Marseille at 16:30 on Saturday and arrived at Calais at 0900 on Sunday morning (16.5 hours) this included a 5 hour stop (from midnight to 5am), and 1 hour in a traffic jam south of Lyons, and 45 minutes for dinner near Villefrance - So Total driving was 9.45 hours, I really don't think that towing a trailer really makes any significant difference to driving time.

So I could have driven 10 mph more which theoretically would have reduced the journey by 1.5 hours (Try to average more than 75 mph, even on French roads) - however, what is 1.5 hours in the big scheme of things

I was driving a Mercedes E320 Diesel, with 3 windsurf boards and roof box, 3 bikes on the luggage rack and 2 bikes on the trailer rack - I still averaged 31mpg, which is much better than I had expected. If I tried to drive at 80, I think that my fuel consumption would have been in the low 20's

Tyres on the trailer didn't even get warm, so didn't really worry about punctures 

Legally it is generally the same as the speed limit for other vehicles, though sometimes it is reduced on steep downhills. I must admit that on French roads I am quite happy towing at 130 kph but I have a big car and a relatively small trailer. No way would I do it with a caravan. I do keep my trailer well maintained and strip down and regrease the bearings regularly and because the trailer is used throughout the year it does not develop flat spots. I am also careful to balance the weight in the trailer. Also I would not do it in one of those tinny trailers with 8 inch wheels, the smaller the wheels the faster they have to go round.