Colorado Driving

WrightOn wrote:
I appreciate the encouragement. My wife mentioned that "you're going to get destroyed for even mentioning a van/hotel" idea.

The helpful hints of bypasses will help as well.

Brian

You will be fine. Remember this. Many people like myself pull all sizes of trailers up and over the Rockies (in CO and Elsewhere) in GAS trucks with no engine braking. Dont let the "idea" of the height of the pass fool you, the approach may not be that steep, it depends on what elevation you have gained already.

IE. Denver is at 5000 feet and the approaches from the East, North and South are all very gradual, almost unnoticeable. So by the time you get to the summit of Loveland Pass at 10,600 feet to the west you have really only gained 5600 feet. and that pass is pretty gradual compared to some others.

Just take your trailer and GO. You'll have a great time.

WrightOn wrote:
I appreciate the encouragement. My wife mentioned that "you're going to get destroyed for even mentioning a van/hotel" idea.

The helpful hints of bypasses will help as well.

Brian

Hey, we've done the motel/tent thing several times in the last few years when we wanted to cover big distances or when we flew or took the train to our starting point.

It's tough to avoid grades when travelling in the mountains of CO. Lots of RV's and pickups far older than yours are on those roads every summer.

One of the easier routes across CO is to take US 50 west out of Pueblo to Poncha Springs. Then south over the easy Poncha Pass on US 285 to Saguache. Then west on CO 114 to hook back up with US 50 (this route avoids Monarch Pass and is over 1100' lower in elevation). The US 50 west to your destination.

Another one of the easier routes is CO 14 up the Poudre Canyon, dropping into North Park and hooking up with US 40 not far from Rabbit Ears and Muddy Passes. From there, you drop into Steamboat Springs and continue west on US 40. You can then drop down to I-70 via CO 13 or CO 131, either of which mean you'll avoid both Vail Pass and the Eisenhower Tunnel on I-70. But neither of those roads can come close to competing with the scenery on I-70.

Heading south from Montrose down to US 160, you might consider CO 62 and CO 145 instead of US 550 if you aren't comfortable with mountain driving. Plenty of RV's take US 550, but it's not a "learners" road.

If you return from Durango heading east on US 160, you'll be going uphill on the steep part of Wolf Creek Pass. Downhill on the east side is the easier direction IMHO.

Check out this table for info on Colorado Passes.

I don't know how long you've got, but a loop across northern CO through Montrose down to Durango and back east to CO Springs or Pueblo will take some time. The speed limits aren't fast and there's so much to see and do. So do you have a couple of weeks? A couple of months? Or more ideally a couple of years? ;)

I appreciate the encouragement. My wife mentioned that "you're going to get destroyed for even mentioning a van/hotel" idea.

The helpful hints of bypasses will help as well.

Brian

WrightOn wrote:
With the 2015 vacation behind us, plans for V2016 begins. We are considering a trip to Colorado. However, with the age of the 1999 7.3L PSD (125,000 miles), I'm concerned with the mountains. She handled Wyoming 16 very well in 2010, but that "only" 9,500 feet at the top of Powder River Pass.

I don't have exhaust breaks and don't plan on installing any as 95% of our trips are in the flatlands of the midwest. We are looking at going counter-clockwise from Denver to Ouray to Colorado Springs (and the little towns in between).

1. Should I be concerned with the truck and the elevation of Colorado?
2. Should I leave the combo at home make this trip a van/hotel trip?

I appreciate the insight you will add.

Brian

You mentioned Powder River Pass at "only" 9500 feet. There are a goodly number of passes in Colorado that are not significantly higher than this; in the range of around 10K to 10.5.

Yes, there are "difficult" or "challenging" passes and climbs, US 550 between Durango and Ouray being one of them (3 passes between 10-11000 feet), regardless of direction. Independence Pass, topping out at over 12000 is also a "challenge" due to it's altitude and narrowness. Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park is another of those "challenges". But these are exceptions, and not the rule in Colorado. For every pass such as these mentioned, there's a Willow Creek Pass (barely noticeable), a Poncha Pass ("is that it?") or a Wilkerson Pass ("darn...I missed it"). I guess it just depends on your perspective. And route choice.

Given your posted itinerary, it just depends on what route you want to take. If you want to stay on I-70, there's multiple climbs that need to be considered (Floyd Hill outside Denver, the Eisenhower/Johnson Tunnel approach, Vail Pass) versus taking alternative routes such as US 285/US 50 (Kenosha Pass, South Park, Monarch Pass).

ETA: Regarding your questions about whether to tow or do the van/hotel thing, I agree with the others that your combo should be sufficient. Basically a matter of personal choice. Age/mileage of the TV are not as important as the maintenance/upkeep. I tow my Outback with a 2003 Tahoe with nearly 200K on it, and it does just fine with high elevation towing. Slow? Yup, sometimes. But I'm not looking to win any races, and my guess is most folks who tow aren't either.

Do a Google search on 7.3 electronic exhaust brake. The warm up butterfly in the turbo can be tricked into a surprisingly good exhaust brake. Easy to do with the manual transmission, a little harder if it's an automatic to keep the converter locked up.

This is just to give you an idea of what you might be dealing with in Colorado. Wolf Creek Pass, 6% ( if I remember right) 8 miles long. Just get in a lower gear and you'll be fine. Have done it both ways years ago with a 1998 Dodge Diesel, no exhaust brake, Just took it slower. Now Durango to Silverton is another story. Just take it slow. Remember, there's no guard rails on these roads. Beautiful drive.

Part of our summer trip was in Colorado this year and our RV is going to be
30 next year and no problems.

There are ways to get around some of the steeper passes. For example, you do not want to go from Ouray to Silverton to Durango on 550. Steep and winding. You would take 62 north of Ouray to 145 to 160 to Durango, then to Pagosa Springs. You would not want to do Wolf Creek Pass east of Pagosa Springs. You would take 84 south to 285 north to Alamosa to Poncha Springs, then 50 east to I-25. That misses both Wolf Creek Pass and La Veta Pass. May be other options as well and I am sure someone will chime in.

You are worried about a 7.3L with 125k on it? Ha ha ha ha.
Take your trailer and have fun. I had a '95 PSD that had twice that amount of miles before it finally started to slip the torque converter clutch. Ran like a dream, minus about half the glow plugs being inop.

Mileage is like age, it's just a number!

You should not be concerned with the elevation, you are turbo charged. Expect a little more smoke before the turbo spools up.
Take your combo, unless you don't like your trailer.

Before making a motel trip, if really worried about the tug my choice would be to buy a used popup for that one trip and sell it for close to the same amount afterward. A 5- to 10-year-old popup won't depreciate noticeably in a few months. I bought a 4-YO Aliner last July, sold it this July, and the difference cost me $500 to use it all year.

I don't know your present rig so I'm not qualified to speak to the braking issue, but for climbing the grades you should be all right by just slowing down more than you otherwise would.