Hi everyone, It's our first yr w our 5th wheel. We are doing a cross country trip. RI eventually to Washington state.My concerns are visiting areas around Rockies. We will be traveling from the Black Hills to Moab Utah. Debating routes to take. Mainly US 70 vs 80. Don't mind longer rt if more rv friendly. All suggestions appreciated.
Well US70 is down in AZ and NM. First step is knowing what highways and interstates are options.
Next is your level of experience. After that, weight and tow rig.
Regardless of route, you’ll get a few 6-7% freeway grades and plenty of 4-6%.
Eisenhower on 70 is 7% iirc. Deadman Pass in Oregon is 6% I think for a LONG ways. It’s harder on the rig than Eisenhower.
State and US highways through the Rockies (lesser extent the Cascades, they’re more mellow) will be in the 6-8% range and more akin to the guardrail or death scenario below.
If you’re talking interstates and asking about more “rv friendly” than any interstate, that basically doesn’t exist.
If this is concerning, start thinking about your setup and skill.
Are you comfortable and capable of being a miniature semi truck with 4 wheelers and rigs blowing past you if you don’t have the power, balls or brakes to keep up with traffic?
Are you good with a 2 lane switchback, no shoulders and guardrail on the fog line between you and death?
Do you have a diesel pickup with a good exhaust brake and know how to use it in conjunction with service brakes, trailer brakes, gear shifter and common sense?
The nature of your question begs these questions.
Download Google Earth (different from Google Maps), it's a free download for your laptop.
Once you enter a route, right click on the route and you get an option to "show elevation profile". At the bottom of the screen will show the elevation profile along with the grades. Using this, you can see how steep the road is and we've found it pretty accurate.
Thank you so much. Good to know!
