I70 west out of Denver

Thunder Mountain is dead nuts on.

Thanks. Often time Diesel is available but too hard to get into dragging a 35 footer.

Fuel at any exit but surely you can make it to Silverthorne without stopping.

Getting ready to make this drive after we leave Cheyenne. Know the Ram will not have a problem pulling but wondering about where to fuel before or along the way. We hope to make it from Cheyenne to Grand Junction/Fruita for an overnight stay before heading on to the Bryce Canyon area.

Russ 1102' you didn't say where your trying to get to or much about your Ford. I drove from Loveland to Vail via I-70 about a month ago. I see that you're a flat lander from WI. IF you're not accustomed to mountain driving in your rig be advised that I 70 may not be a pleasure cruise. It's far from a typical interstate. A month ago they were blasting near Floyd's Hill which caused huge back ups and long delays. Since it's construction, expect some walled-in narrow lanes on curves. There are several stretches of rough and uneven pavement. Beyond that, the climb to and descent from the Eisenhower tunnel are quite long and as steep as interstates get. There are some stretches where the slope is less but there are several miles of 6-7% grades, some with 35mph max speed downhill curves. I recommend downshifting to about your lowest gear before starting downgrade. Rest stations are scarce but if you need a short break there are several "chain up"" pull offs where you can stretch. Weather can complicate. I drove eastbound in some heavy rains. Had there been a place to pull off to wait it out, I would of but was not an option. We went west on a Sunday - the eastbound traffic was backed up for miles and barely crawling along. We went east on a Friday - same mess going west. Don't even think about west on a Friday or east on Sunday
If you're only going to say, Central City, you can easily avoid I 70 by going into Golden on 6 then follow 6 through Clear creek canyon north to Blackhawk then into Central City. Decent 2 lane, light traffic, slight but steady climb into Blackhawk but quite easy. Pretty drive too since you wind thru a beautiful canyon and are usually alongside a whitewater creek. Plan your trip, make sure you and your rig are fit, know your capabilities before you go and be careful. Have fun. Remember it's a Recreational vehicle

I just came from Glenwood Springs to Denver headed North. The right lane is pretty rutted out going up Vail and up to the tunnel. The sign said something about blasting at 1 PM and up to 30+ min delay. We came through there around 9 AM. My guess is that East bound is a tougher pull than West bound

Thom02099 wrote:

russ1102 wrote:
Give me some input on I70 west out of Denver. I'm towing a 5 ton 5th wheel with a Ford diesel.

To give you some specifics about the drive, in very general terms:

Going WB out of Denver, you'll do a climb from Golden/470 area up to Evergreen Parkway; it's about 6-7 miles up, but not overly difficult.

Levels off for a bit (level being a relative term in our mountains!)with some ups/downs and curves. No biggie.

Next up is Floyd Hill. Bit of a climb and a rather long descent to where Hwy 6 joins up with I-70. Flattens out again, a bit curvy to Idaho Springs but again no biggie.

Idaho Springs to Georgetown. Beautiful drive, no difficulties at all...again that leveling thang!

Georgetown to the Eisenhower/Johnson Tunnel. Climb begins west of Georgetown, reaching the tunnels at ~11000 feet -- this is the highest point crossing the Rockies, unless you take Loveland Pass instead of the tunnels (tops out around 12000). Descent from the tunnels to Silverthorne is about 11 miles to get down...it's long but there's runaway truck ramps and multiple lanes in both directions.

Silverthorne/Frisco/Dillon area. Incredibly beautiful. Definitely worth stopping there if you have the time. From Frisco west to Vail Pass...again those curves and some ups/downs, but nothing major. Climb up the east side of Vail Pass not overly difficult, nor is the descent into Vail. Vail Pass tops out at 10600, that's the last high point heading WB.

Through Vail/Avon/Edwards area, beautiful country, no difficulties driving at all, just your typical mountain curves. Again relatively flat, not a lot of ups and downs. At this point, you're primarily in downhill mode from Vail all the way to the Glenwood Springs area and on into Grand Junction. Glenwood Canyon is particularly breathtaking in it's beauty, so if you get a chance to stop and savor some of the sights, it's highly recommended.

Glenwood to GJ just continues on down hill and is an easy drive.

Hope you enjoy your trip to Colorado!

Yep, this pretty much sums up the OP's question.

As others have said, "beautiful drive" and really, really appreciate the innovative engineering which helps make it so.

russ1102 wrote:
Give me some input on I70 west out of Denver. I'm towing a 5 ton 5th wheel with a Ford diesel.

You might want to think about trading that Ford for a Dodge or Chevy before making such a tough climb.

Don/Shar wrote:
A beautiful drive, when you get at the state line there is a little town Fruita, take the road south to The Colorado Monument. Beautiful drive. we went through on 70 several timesand didn't know about The Colorado Monument until a lady at Fruita told us about it, well worth the side trip.

I keep threatening to go over there to see the sights....pics like this are a great motivator!! Thanks for sharing that !