Route into Yosemite Valley

Did you downshift?? That saves your brakes. We had a Colorado Highway Patrolman stop us and clue us in on that many years ago.
No engine/exhaust brake I assume, that is one major advantage of Diesels.

Getting in Yosemite is going to call for major altitude changes whichever road you take.

Go the extra miles and take 140 if you need to avoid 120. Could take a different route up vs down if that helps.

I personally would take the fastest arrival time as I have been up-down all three of the west entrance routes without issue. Ok I am a bit slow up some of the grades and I don't consider that an issue.

+1 for going slower and using a lower gear. Also don't ride the brakes to maintain a steady down hill speed. More effective to coast up to the speed limit (if appropriate) and then use the brakes moderately firm to reduce speed 15 to 30 mph. Then coast up to speed again. Braking before the turns is best. The firm braking will better distribute the heat load to all disks and drums on all axles.

You didn't say if you were downshifting for those types of grades. You need to do that in the mountains.

In 12 years of driving a gasser 30ft Class C, I never once smelled my brakes. But she was always in second gear for the grades steep enough to merit a warning sign.

Take the detour.

Several of you asked about downshifting. No, I did not.

I kind of thought with all the uphill at Priests Grade I was already at the top.

Didn't know how long or steep Big Oak Flat was till I was already on it.

Several of you asked about downshifting. No, I did not.

Well it an absolute requirement for mountain driving. My F350 and now the RAM do the downshifting for me when I engae the engine brake. But I do not think most gassers will. So you have to learn to shift into lower gear and let the engine and trans do the braking.

Downshifting in the mountains

While there are probably some variation in grades along the route, 2300ft in 10 miles is only around an average of 4% downgrade. That's shouldn't be an issue for a rig in decent condition.

1. Downshift as soon as you see a steep downgrade and try to keep the speed down. Once it gets to fast, it's harder to slow it back down.
2. If downshifting isn't enough, short hard braking (not locking them up) then let the speed slowly creep back up letting the brakes cool between uses.

If you get to a flat section where you can safely pull off part way down, consider stopping and letting everything cool off if you think you have been pushing the brakes hard.

Does your MH have a tow/haul mode and do you turn it on? With a MH, it should always be on. It will do a lot of this for you. First time you tap the brakes, it will downshift.

Answers:

No, I do not have a tow mode. I do have an overdrive on/off switch on the shifter.

No, I do not ride the brakes. I brake firmly and release and coast.

Yes, this section works out to 4.356% grade. But it's still 10 miles of a 4.356% grade.

Once again, I was not asking how to drive in the mountains. I was not aware of the grade or the distance until after I was already on it. And there are only a few places to pull off in those 10 miles.

The question I asked was: Which route would you take to get to Yosemite Valley from I-5 Southbound?

The one that is shorter, but climbs to over 6300 ft. (Hwy 120).

Or the longer route that never goes over 4000 ft. and only takes about 25 - 30 minutes longer. (Hwy 140).

Well.... two people have already answered take the detour vs. the climb and another said it's a wash.

One thing I've learned in 20 years here is never volunteer too much information when asking for advice. Saying things like "I really smoked my brakes in the mountains" is guaranteed to open yourself up to unsolicited advice.

If you really want to have fun and see reactions, admit that you tow a 39' fifth wheel with a half-ton over in the Towing forums... ;)

lane hog wrote:
Well.... two people have already answered take the detour vs. the climb and another said it's a wash.

One thing I've learned in 20 years here is never volunteer too much information when asking for advice. Saying things like "I really smoked my brakes in the mountains" is guaranteed to open yourself up to unsolicited advice.

If you really want to have fun and see reactions, admit that you tow a 39' fifth wheel with a half-ton over in the Towing forums... ;)

Point taken! And you are correct about how many threads on this forum take a hard turn from the original topic.

I come from the south going north but the decisions are basically the same. 41 through the mountains or 140 following the Merced. Since my kids were prone to motion sickness I took/take the 140 every year. The road has much gentler turns than the 41 that goes up and over the mountains.

Also the 140 used to be called the year round highway for all I know maybe it still is. To me that means much less likely to freeze or get black ice than the other routes. So I spend maybe 30 minutes extra driving because I go for the 140.