HWY 5 in BC (Coquihalla)

Thanks for all the tips! My wife and I am looking forward to showing my daughters Western Canada! Just have to take it slow...but not to slow!

We live in Kamloops and travel to the coast in January every year on our way to Arizona. In the last 5 years we use the Trans Canada rather than the coquihalla hiway. No hills/passes to worry about in the winter and no snow. Takes a bit longer but no hurry anyway.

you have 4 mountain ranges between the rockies and the coast mountains.the coq is the least troublesome. as mentioned there are only 2 steep grades westbound and the rest is all down hill.the 5 out of kamloops is a real killer.it's steep. the 97c is steep and long,but i find it the easier of the 2.the t/c is the most scenic.do yourself a favour and avoid the coq on a sunday.westbound traffic is heavy and it's fast.

Ain't that the truth? I really don't like towing on that road, my comfort zone with the trailer is 90-100kmh. More than that I am on edge and fuel mileage goes south.

I lived in that area for several decades and have run the Coquihalla an uncountable number of times.
I too am towing with a Dmax and Allison.

The grades on the Coke (as we call it) are steep and long primarily in 2 places. If you come via Kamloops there is one long haul going up on the Hwy 5 out of Kamloops and another going out of Merritt.
If you do come through the Okanogan to Kelowna then the 97C out of Peachland there is a heckuva long climb there.

But! If you don't try to win any races and drive smart you will be just fine. Speed limit on the Coke is 120K and a lot of people go a lot faster than that.

Use your tow haul mode and even manual to drop a couple gears. What I do when I'm pulling my 27 foot TT is hold the revs around 3000, even 3500 on the very steep parts but I do it without having to stand on the throttle hard. Idea is to go slower and not work the engine too hard. I have never had a problem and I've towed over the Coke countless times.

Going down the other side needs attention too. Let the tranny hold you back and run down the hill without riding the brakes. Drop a couple gears there too. There are a few other steep pulls on that road but nowhere near as long as the big ones.

After Merritt and you pull the grade to the summit you will go a ways without too many big ups and downs, but then a short ways past where the toll booth used to be, the descent down towards Hope is a very long steep one, especially in area of the snowshed. That part is the steepest.

There are some rest areas along the way too.

Beautiful drive, take your time and accept the fact your going to have everyone passing you!

Enjoy!

If you come through Kelowna and use the 97C then be aware that the climb from Westbank to the top is just under 29Km...steady and relentless climb. Just take it easy and watch your temps and you'll be fine.
Coming through Kamloops will greet you with a similar climb although not quite as long.

Would also suggest not towing in the heat of the day...can get to 40C on either route in the summer.

I've towed both with my old V10 and it made it just fine....although not as easily as your truck will do it, so don't spend too much time worrying about 'the mountains coming up' :)

Have a great trip!!

Do you have any other tips for towing in the mountains?

Thanks

You will be fine with your duramax. Do not attempt to do 110-120km/hr up or down the steeper grades. Keep your speed to 90-100km/hr and you will be safe and let the diesel engine and transmission keep your speed where u want it or slow you down. Don't ride your brakes. Most of the vehicles you will pass on side of road overheated because they thought they could do the speed limit up hill loaded down.

Might catch more posts on Canada and Alaska sections