Forum Discussion

Sandy___Shirley's avatar
Sandy___Shirley
Explorer
Feb 25, 2018

GPS for steep grades

Are there any units or phone apps that will warn us when we are approaching a steep grade? Would love to hear something like, “7% grade 5 miles ahead”. We will be traveling from Maryland to Oakland and back again this April and May. The plan is to unhook the toad and drive each unit separately up or down steep grades. None of the road atlases we have seen seem to give a good definition of what grades are where, we have heard that there are apps and systems that will do that.

Any help pointing us towards the products we should consider would be appreciated.

Thanks
Class A
  • Second_Chance's avatar
    Second_Chance
    Explorer II
    Feb 25, 2018
    My Garmin RV760 tells me when approaching steep grades. I also use The Mountain Directory (PDF version - East and West) for trip planning. Personally, I think the GPS warning a mile ahead of time is too late.

    Rob
  • Nutinelse2do's avatar
    Nutinelse2do
    Explorer
    Feb 25, 2018
    Ok, I will be the first to ask.... Why would you drive the toad and rig separately on hills?
  • Lwiddis's avatar
    Lwiddis
    Explorer II
    Feb 25, 2018
    Welcome to the West when you arrive. Fear not our climbs. Relax and enjoy.
  • ferndaleflyer's avatar
    ferndaleflyer
    Explorer III
    Feb 25, 2018
    How about this---The motor home motor doesn't have enough power to pull the toad at a decent speed up steep hills and it could also cause a over heating problem----better to in-hook and drive the toad. That really wasn't a very informed question.
  • Nutinelse2do's avatar
    Nutinelse2do
    Explorer
    Feb 25, 2018
    ferndaleflyer wrote:
    How about this---The motor home motor doesn't have enough power to pull the toad at a decent speed up steep hills and it could also cause a over heating problem----better to in-hook and drive the toad. That really wasn't a very informed question.


    Too funny. Informed question?:S

    I wasn’t aware it was a race. But thanks for answering for the OP

    If it’s a speed issue, by the time you unhook once, and rehook again, you could have been over the grade. Overheating, or not enough power, sounds like someone needs a lighter toad.

    Gonna make for a very long trip.
  • rk911's avatar
    rk911
    Explorer
    Feb 25, 2018
    ferndaleflyer wrote:
    How about this---The motor home motor doesn't have enough power to pull the toad at a decent speed up steep hills and it could also cause a over heating problem----better to in-hook and drive the toad. That really wasn't a very informed question.

    do you speak from experience or from an abundance of caution? when we first started towing back in ‘03 i was concerned about steep grades but i soon realized that it was not a race to the top. if you’re determined to unhook then i would suggest getting and using the 2-volume mountain directory.
  • Second_Chance's avatar
    Second_Chance
    Explorer II
    Feb 25, 2018
    Nutinelse2do wrote:
    Here is a good link for the OP to check


    I've found FlattestRoute to be pretty inaccurate in several places. Just my personal experience...

    Rob
  • jplante4's avatar
    jplante4
    Explorer II
    Feb 25, 2018
    Also, Google Earth Pro (NOT Google maps) has a route profile feature that shows you percent grades and elevation. Create a route and right-click on the blue line to get the profile view.

    Looks like this;

  • Ductape's avatar
    Ductape
    Explorer
    Feb 25, 2018
    ferndaleflyer wrote:
    How about this---The motor home motor doesn't have enough power to pull the toad at a decent speed up steep hills and it could also cause a over heating problem----better to in-hook and drive the toad. That really wasn't a very informed question.


    Yours is not a very informed supposition regarding a 2015 motorcoach.

About Motorhome Group

38,705 PostsLatest Activity: Jan 14, 2025