Difficulty of some CO routes?
I tow a 6000 lb trailer (loaded) with a half ton gas pickup running at about 80-85% of its spec values in terms of payload. Being from Texas where things are flat or at best some rolling hills, my wif...
Forum Discussion
My last trip with my half-ton Suburban pulling a ~6,000-lb trailer was to Yellowstone and Colorado. It was my last trip because soon after I bought my 3/4-ton Suburban.
We went over Powder River Pass in Wyoming - elevation 9,666 feet. My half-ton had the 5.3 engine, 4-speed auto transmission, and 4.10 gears. Best we could manage up the last few hills was 25 MPH in first gear. Fortunately, it was late in the afternoon, so traffic was light and there were very few cars on the road to get mad at us.
Going down was fine - I let the transmission and the engine do all the work. My brakes weren't even warm after the descent.
Was I stressed? No. However, I lived in Colorado for 10 years (plenty of experience driving in the mountains), and I'm also a seasoned road warrior, so I'm used to that kind of thing. Someone with less experience probably would not have fared as well.
We went over Powder River Pass in Wyoming - elevation 9,666 feet. My half-ton had the 5.3 engine, 4-speed auto transmission, and 4.10 gears. Best we could manage up the last few hills was 25 MPH in first gear. Fortunately, it was late in the afternoon, so traffic was light and there were very few cars on the road to get mad at us.
Going down was fine - I let the transmission and the engine do all the work. My brakes weren't even warm after the descent.
Was I stressed? No. However, I lived in Colorado for 10 years (plenty of experience driving in the mountains), and I'm also a seasoned road warrior, so I'm used to that kind of thing. Someone with less experience probably would not have fared as well.
