Black Mountain Up and Down advice

Up is easy, just gas it and try not to get caught behind the real slow ones. You will want the RPM's up 3500 to 4000, more wont hurt it.
Down is a bit harder, but I'd try to find a gear that would hold me around 35 to 40 with minimal brake. Whatever gear and speed you came up would be a good place to start going down, maybe even slower.

Use the same gear going down as you did going up...or one lower. Don’t ride the brakes. Slow your rig below the speed you want and then release the brakes. You’ll be fine! Westerners aren’t better drivers than Tarheels, we are just used to it.

Just make sure your tranny controls your down hill speed. Do NOT control your speed with your brakes. Or they may overheat and then you will have no brakes!!

I will agree that you need to hold it back a bit going downhill, but if you use your tow/haul mode on your truck and hold it back to about 50 to begin your descent. You are on an interstate highway (I assume you are on I-40), so don't hold it back to 35 or 40 mph. That could get you killed with traffic flying by you going 60 mph. Use your brake to slow you down to about 50, then let it coast on down until you get about 60, then brake again to slow it down to 50. Keep doing this all the way down the mountain.

Merrykalia wrote:
I will agree that you need to hold it back a bit going downhill, but if you use your tow/haul mode on your truck and hold it back to about 50 to begin your descent. You are on an interstate highway (I assume you are on I-40), so don't hold it back to 35 or 40 mph. That could get you killed with traffic flying by you going 60 mph. Use your brake to slow you down to about 50, then let it coast on down until you get about 60, then brake again to slow it down to 50. Keep doing this all the way down the mountain.

I respectfully disagree with this. I think you should pick your speed and choose the gear to hold you at that speed without braking.

dave17352 wrote:

Merrykalia wrote:
You are on an interstate highway (I assume you are on I-40), so don't hold it back to 35 or 40 mph. That could get you killed with traffic flying by you going 60 mph.

I respectfully disagree with this. I think you should pick your speed and choose the gear to hold you at that speed without braking.

Yea thats some bad advice. Yes its an interstate highway but it also has a mandatory stop at the crest for big rigs, limits them to 35 mph descending, has a descent lane, and a runaway ramp.

The idiots who are flying down that grade at 60.....actually it is more like 75 to 80 are the ones who are risking the catastrophe, since the limit is 55. Not the truck doing 35 or the RVer doing 40 while under control trying to save brakes.

Black Mountain isn't any steeper than Mounteagle,Jelico, or Sams Gap. What makes Black Mountain bad is the curves. Black Mountain has a vertical descent of 1,361 ft. over a distance of 4.8 miles, about 6%. Zackyboy3rs stated that he is pulling a TT, not his 5th wheel. So starting slow with a unfamiliar trailer on a unfamiliar crooked steep down hill road is good, you can always speed up.

Last trip (pulling 5th wheel) I think I used 3rd gear and stay 35-45 max & had no problems. Going down.

zackyboy3rs wrote:
Last trip (pulling 5th wheel) I think I used 3rd gear and stay 35-45 max & had no problems. Going down.

You just answered your own question