Fear of Driving to the Mountains
I was hoping for any kind of tips for mountain driving. Basically I've read that driving a large motorhome on winding mountain roads is a challenge that can cause overheating, brake issues (overheatin...
Forum Discussion
Now as the the actual BRAKING issue. The WORST thing you can do is to lightly RIDE the brakes to control your speed. This will make them QUICKLY overheat and opens up the possibility of warping your brake rotors (disc brakes) or burning your shoes (drum brakes). It's RARE for disc brakes to fail from overheating but you CAN warp the rotors which can be expensive to repair.
The solution is to use brakes firmly to slow down BELOW the speed you want to drive then get back off of the brakes and allow the vehicle to speed up a little beyond your preferred speed. Repeat this procedure and when combined with gearing, you should be able to use your brakes only about 10 to 15% of the time instead of close to 100% by riding them. Using this method should let you reach the bottom of the mountain with only slightly WARM brakes, no damage and no brake fade.
Good luck / Skip
The solution is to use brakes firmly to slow down BELOW the speed you want to drive then get back off of the brakes and allow the vehicle to speed up a little beyond your preferred speed. Repeat this procedure and when combined with gearing, you should be able to use your brakes only about 10 to 15% of the time instead of close to 100% by riding them. Using this method should let you reach the bottom of the mountain with only slightly WARM brakes, no damage and no brake fade.
Good luck / Skip
