550 between Ouray, Silverton, and Durango

i have been over it several time and what scares me is the drivers coming at me taking part of my lane,white knuckles, face frozen in fear and his wife ready to jump out at any moment. i have seen this at least once on every trip.

Big truck drivers are well experienced mountains drivers; many big rv drivers are not.

I have had rv drivers take their half out of the middle too many times in the mountains (well, other places also) but have yet to see a big truck driver do that.

Simple as that.

If the big trucks can do it, there is no reason any RV cannot do it.

Nice ride. Done it by car, large class C & 5er. No problem if you don't get stuck behind some flatlander with vice like grips on the wheel.

If you aren't comfortable taking US 550, just use the very scenic alternate route--CO 62 to Placerville and Colorado 145 to Dolores. That route takes you to Telluride, where you can photograph Bridal Veil Falls and take a jeep tour over Imogene or Black Bear Pass. There are even several Forest Service campgrounds along CO 145 with electric hookups. If your ultimate destination is Mesa Verde NP, CO 62/145 is the shortest and easiest route from the north.

Just drove it in March in a blizzard in the dark. :E Only other vehicles we saw were snow plows. They closed the road for three days just after we got started out of Ouray and were closing them behind us. Good news about the road in the dark and a blizzard is one can't see how bad the drop offs are. Heck, one just can't see!

One year, I followed a fully loaded school bus north out of Silverton one February. I'm sure it was around 40' long but it did have the automatic chains that deployed when the road got icy. That's how we thin the herds here in Colorado. ;)

Seriously, though, if you aren't used to mountain driving, this is no road to learn on. On the other hand, thousands of trucks and RV's use it every year. The section between Silverton and Ouray is worse than the part between Silverton and Durango IMHO. What seems to scare many people is the lack of guard rails. I guess the question is how often do you use a guard rail to keep you on the road?? The road surface is actually wider in the canyon above Ouray than it is down in the flats between Ouray and Ridgway. (Yes, I was curious and have measured it in different places. Boring life, eh?)

I followed a Coca-Cola semi from Ouray to Silverton and he had no issues. I left my TT in Ouray for the week and explored the area on motorcycle. I would agree that if don't like heights this might not be the road for you. There use to be a plaque at a pullout dedicated to the snowplow operators that lost their life on the road.

This has been posted a lot of times on here and usually it goes 50-50.

I have driven it many times and will do so again this Fall. I DO NOT recommend it for RV.

We lived in CO for 8 years and I have driven mountains a lot.

That being said, here is why on the 550.. There are areas with 12 inches of shoulder and straight down - no guard rails. On curves.

Now, even if you think you can handle that, here is the kicker.

You have no control of the guy coming against you who takes his half out of the middle. Or the one who does not have to follow the speed limit in either direction.

And yes, that is done there and on lots of mountain and other roads.

I had it all the time when we lived in Estes Park and when driving all over the state.

And, of course, anyplace.

You SHOULD drive it - with the toad or TV.

I was surprised (pleasantly) to find the posted speed limits matched the road conditions. Drop off areas were like 15 mph zones.

I agree with most, 550 is doable with a trailer but it's not for the faint of heart! We drove it with the pick up a few days after a snow fall in early April of this year.


This was taken as we approached Silverton.


The views ARE breath taking, I only wish somebody else was doing the driving, I was a bit preoccupied driving and paying attention to the road. 550 rates right up there with Going to the Sun Road in Glacier. Beautiful.....

Dan

Drove my Cadillac one time, turns so tight I could read my licence plate on the back of my car. Would not take a truck and trailer over that route .