I-70 W of Denver
We're traveling in a 38' DP with a flat tow, and are planning on taking I-70 West out of Denver. I've heard that it is advisable to disconnect and drive each vehicle separately after the Eisenhower T...
Forum Discussion
I would be remiss to not alert you to some other challenging areas.
The I-70 Grade just West of Denver up to Evergreen and El Rancho is where I've had the most near-overheating incidents. It will be a good 'test case' for how your Rig behaves on what's ahead. The descent West of that summit is more taxing than the area west of the Eisenhower Tunnel. Relatively short, but steep. Next is the Georgetown Grade. As steep as is allowed. Especially at the Georgetown Grade, you always smell [and see] Truck Brakes burning on the Eastbound Grade. From there, the climb up to the Eisenhower Tunnel is a very long, relentless slog, but is not so steep as the Silverthorne side.
After the Tunnel, you then face the slog after Frisco up Vail Pass to 10,400'. It's not 'too bad'. However, the descent down into Vail proper is miles long and more taxing IMO than the stretch West of the Eisenhower Tunnel into Silverthorne. Indeed, west of the Eisenhower Tunnel and the west descent from the Vail Pass Summit have multiple Truck Runaway Ramps, and I have seen Semis 'stuck' in the Gravel of several of them.
The State has added several long, wide, paved Chain up/Chain down areas well off to the right of I-70 Lanes. A call to the State will confirm that RVers can use those areas for the 30 minutes allowed [I think you can]. There are also several very large, hard dirt Turnouts along the way, clear down into Vail. My hope was that by refreshing the Cotrip Web Cams, you could watch the sort of RVs going through the Tunnel and see if they're towing or not; especially as our good Weather now improves and Folks hit the Road.
Dual, 'old' Tunnels that are bottlenecks just East of Idaho Springs are being enlarged in a major, long term Project. Traffic is being taken off I-70 and put onto a Frontage Road adjacent while blasting occurs. This is going to be ugly. Sitting still at altitude at 80 or 90 degrees is when I've had the most near-overheating incidents. There are also ~30 minute delays projected while Traffic is stopped on I-70 for the same reason. No practical way around it, and I'm not looking forward to being in that Summertime Parking Lot.
The I-70 Grade just West of Denver up to Evergreen and El Rancho is where I've had the most near-overheating incidents. It will be a good 'test case' for how your Rig behaves on what's ahead. The descent West of that summit is more taxing than the area west of the Eisenhower Tunnel. Relatively short, but steep. Next is the Georgetown Grade. As steep as is allowed. Especially at the Georgetown Grade, you always smell [and see] Truck Brakes burning on the Eastbound Grade. From there, the climb up to the Eisenhower Tunnel is a very long, relentless slog, but is not so steep as the Silverthorne side.
After the Tunnel, you then face the slog after Frisco up Vail Pass to 10,400'. It's not 'too bad'. However, the descent down into Vail proper is miles long and more taxing IMO than the stretch West of the Eisenhower Tunnel into Silverthorne. Indeed, west of the Eisenhower Tunnel and the west descent from the Vail Pass Summit have multiple Truck Runaway Ramps, and I have seen Semis 'stuck' in the Gravel of several of them.
The State has added several long, wide, paved Chain up/Chain down areas well off to the right of I-70 Lanes. A call to the State will confirm that RVers can use those areas for the 30 minutes allowed [I think you can]. There are also several very large, hard dirt Turnouts along the way, clear down into Vail. My hope was that by refreshing the Cotrip Web Cams, you could watch the sort of RVs going through the Tunnel and see if they're towing or not; especially as our good Weather now improves and Folks hit the Road.
Dual, 'old' Tunnels that are bottlenecks just East of Idaho Springs are being enlarged in a major, long term Project. Traffic is being taken off I-70 and put onto a Frontage Road adjacent while blasting occurs. This is going to be ugly. Sitting still at altitude at 80 or 90 degrees is when I've had the most near-overheating incidents. There are also ~30 minute delays projected while Traffic is stopped on I-70 for the same reason. No practical way around it, and I'm not looking forward to being in that Summertime Parking Lot.
