Towing up the mountains

Also in those videos they are not trying to "drive" them! They put them in "D" and go at it. There is a reason the manuf.'s gave you a manual shift mode! Give those trucks to a seasoned tow'er and you will see completely different results!

Just keep it in the Sweet Spot of the engine. My truck is 2700 rpms, which is roughly 4th gear @ 60. If I cruise at 2700 on a hill I have to keep my foot out of it or it wants to keep climbing. I have a trans temp gauge and I never seen it move past normal operating temp.

4X4Dodger wrote:

RedRocket204 wrote:
The only reality of those TFL videos is the armchair racing and brand loyalty comments that follow. I live about 45 minutes from Eisenhower Pass (the real name, not IKE Gauntlet nonsense... OP, not criticizing you :)) and those videos are about as valuable as Toyota's Space Shuttle advertising stunt.

It is amazing how many, who watch those videos, take to heart that because one truck made it up to the pass 30 seconds quicker, the other slower truck(s) are complete junk. Are people really that stupid?

Those who drive that stretch of highway also know that it is not often you can wide open throttle it all the way to the pass because of traffic. Also not shown, adverse weather, wild life dodging, blinding sun rises/sets etc.

The most important thing you should be looking for in a truck is can your choice of truck tow your intended weight safely at an adequate speed to get you to your destination.

Well sorry I dont mean to be picky here but the REAL name of the pass is the LOVELAND Pass as it always was before and since the interstate. Only when the Eisenhower TUNNEL was built did folks started to call it the Eisenhower pass. (I think this EP name started with traffic reports) Note: it is possible that it has been officially renamed but I find nothing to support that.

Yes, you are correct that technically, the I70 section that opened in '73 is Eisenhower Tunnel... but many locally refer to as Eisenhower Pass to distinguish from the real Loveland Pass over Hwy 6. One of the main reasons I believe is because of the different direction one might go for winter sports to "thumb" a back country day of skiing/snowboarding or to hit A-Basin. I do know Loveland Pass intimately since I've ridden my bicycle up it almost 20 years ago... much respect for those who do the Triple ByPass or Double Triple ByPass.

4X4Dodger wrote:
But I agree with you this "IKE gauntlet" stuff is pure Webipoop from those who feel it necessary to make everything sound "cool".

Yes, they might as well call it: The Mountain Dew EXTREME Truck IKE Gauntlet EPIC Challenge. They could also sell tickets and come up with all kinds of marketing junk to sell. Would be an EPIC event ;)


:B

RedRocket204 wrote:
The only reality of those TFL videos is the armchair racing and brand loyalty comments that follow. I live about 45 minutes from Eisenhower Pass (the real name, not IKE Gauntlet nonsense... OP, not criticizing you :)) and those videos are about as valuable as Toyota's Space Shuttle advertising stunt.

It is amazing how many, who watch those videos, take to heart that because one truck made it up to the pass 30 seconds quicker, the other slower truck(s) are complete junk. Are people really that stupid?

Those who drive that stretch of highway also know that it is not often you can wide open throttle it all the way to the pass because of traffic. Also not shown, adverse weather, wild life dodging, blinding sun rises/sets etc.

The most important thing you should be looking for in a truck is can your choice of truck tow your intended weight safely at an adequate speed to get you to your destination.

Well sorry I dont mean to be picky here but the REAL name of the pass is the LOVELAND Pass as it always was before and since the interstate. Only when the Eisenhower TUNNEL was built did folks started to call it the Eisenhower pass. (I think this EP name started with traffic reports) Note: it is possible that it has been officially renamed but I find nothing to support that.

But I agree with you this "IKE gauntlet" stuff is pure Webipoop from those who feel it necessary to make everything sound "cool".

I traveled this pass this past April and maintained a steady 60-65 with my 5.7L Dodge Ram pulling my 31 foot TT. My truck was not laboring in the least. My fuel mileage for that leg (I fueled in Golden CO in the western foothills and then in Parachute, CO (near Gr Junc)) was 7.7 MPG so that tank took me over the vast majority of the mountainous part of the Rockies.

On the site they say average grade of 7%

I tow a 29', 7K lb TT with a 6.8l V10 F250 that has about the same power/torque as the 2015 F150 with the 3.5l engine. Steepest grade so far has been around 7%. Zero issues going up or downhill. Can run 60-65 mph uphill with power to spare but can see the needle on the gas gauge going down fast. Unless I need the speed for some reason, I slow down to save gas. Tow/haul works great and does it's thing.

I can drive down the steeper hills and have no problems. With our F250, we're well under the GCWR. Curvy downhill stretches are not problem either, but we have bilsteins on the truck and shocks on the trailer which helps a lot.

On downhill stretches, I would expect the bigger brakes on an F250 to make quite a difference. AFAIK, the 2015 F150 brakes are not upgraded despite higher payload and towing capacity? Again, the T/H works well downhill too. I also know that our truck and trailer brakes are in good working order. The only concern I do have downhill is the traffic and the drivers and I try to leave plenty of clearance ahead but isn't easy sometimes.

Hills? Bring them on, I love them. If you live on the west coast, you get used to them since they're everywhere. The twistier the better too. :)

Google says the grade on the IKE Gauntlet is under 2%. Is that right? If so, 2% is nothing.

Just got back from nearly 3 weeks in Yellowstone, Cheyenne and Custer State park. It was my first time personally towing in the high mountains as a driver.

I drive a Sequoia with a 5.7L motor and I don't exactly take it easy and try to baby anything. I drive it. If that means WOT to hold the speed I want, that's what I did. My speeds were also held at the speed limit or better.

I'll manually shift at times to help hold a gear, as well as engine brake down hill. But I rarely attempt to alter shift patterns to keep RPM's low, as in below 3k...when its working hard.

We were in Glaciers National Park last August. No problems. I have an F-150 4x4 E-boost towing a 25 ft. TT.

I used the tow haul and kept my speed below 50 mph. I had to pump the brakes a few times on the longer grades but never had the brakes or motor over heat.

I doubt I will be testing tow vehicles any time soon.

I tow all over with my 3/4 ton gasser. Some pretty good grades here in Washington, Oregon and Idaho. I just let it sign at 4000 RPM. The 6.0 doesn't make peak HP and torque until 4400 rpm. For the limited amount of time you are that high in the RPMS you are not hurting anything. That is what they were designed to do. It is rare I have to put the 6.0's pedal on the floor, but combined I am at about 14,000lbs. I can't even begin to count the times I ran my old 89 TBI BBC with the pedal on the floor 4000 rpms to get over the Continental Divide, up Vantage Wa, 4th of July pass and Look out Pass. I put almost 200,000 miles on that thing.

bluie5 wrote:
I think the rule of thumb is whatever gear your in going up should be the same coming down. I must say though I loved my diesel earlier this month on our trip out west.

Only if you go down the same hill you just came up (and why would you want to do that?). Both sides of the mountain don't usually have the same grade.