Steep grades
Are there steep grades from Denver to San Francisco, to o dangerous for a 40 foot Tiffin bus with tow. How are the grades from in and around Alaska? How are the grades from Alaska to Yellowstone Natio...
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Your Allegro Bus is equipped with everything you need to climb and descend mountains safely - as long as you use it properly. Your Allison transmission has six speeds and you should learn to downshift to keep the engine in its power band (around 2000 rpm) when climbing grades. Your engine and transmission will run cooler and you won't be setting any speed records (you really don't need to climb the mountain at 55 mph, 45 or less is fine).
When descending a grade, use your exhaust brake before you use your foot brakes. You have a 2 speed brake - try it out before you jump into the mountains. The trick is to descend a steep mountain in the same gear and same speed as you went up it. If you do need to brake, apply your brakes hard enough and long enough to snub your speed down to below the speed you wanted to descend at - and then take you foot off the brake and let the transmission and exhaust brake do their jobs. This allows the brakes to cool between applications. Do not ride the brakes as you will overheat them and posssibly lose your braking.
Want some practice - take a drive to Smokies and points north. My favorite "western type" climb and descent is I-77 at the NC, VA border. The area is called Fancy Gap and you have 6-7 miles of grade into VA and, of coarse, 6-7 miles of down hill back into NC.
When descending a grade, use your exhaust brake before you use your foot brakes. You have a 2 speed brake - try it out before you jump into the mountains. The trick is to descend a steep mountain in the same gear and same speed as you went up it. If you do need to brake, apply your brakes hard enough and long enough to snub your speed down to below the speed you wanted to descend at - and then take you foot off the brake and let the transmission and exhaust brake do their jobs. This allows the brakes to cool between applications. Do not ride the brakes as you will overheat them and posssibly lose your braking.
Want some practice - take a drive to Smokies and points north. My favorite "western type" climb and descent is I-77 at the NC, VA border. The area is called Fancy Gap and you have 6-7 miles of grade into VA and, of coarse, 6-7 miles of down hill back into NC.
