We ran 2 tons all they would go back in the 50's which might even be 70 down hill and almost walking up the next hill. Running them at 70 was dangerous, but those were different days. Wrecks were common and thats just how it was. If a driver had a wreck a year, that wasn't considered too bad. Today we live in a different world. Past 55 or 60 two tons become unsafe and beside that, due to the fact that they are not at all aerodynamic, they don't have enough HP to break the wind at those speeds on level ground. Unless a 2 ton had a larger engine installed, every part of the suspension rebuilt, every part of the steering rebuilt or retrofitted with newer components and the brakes completely rebuilt, I don't think of running two tons over 55 or so. 50 years ago I would kick them out of gear on a long down hill and they might get up to 80 which gave me a better run at the next hill. But as I stated before, those days are long gone. It doesn't hurt the engines to run 55 all day and gearing them any faster accomplishes nothing in my opinion.
