traveling in a tt

If I did it, you can too with your rig, assuming a decent set up, ie, good brake controller, properly adjusted brakes, etc.

I towed our trailer 34' and 7700 lbs with my 300hp F-150 at my GCWR of 15,300 lbs. I was not the first up the hills. I sometimes had to run the dog pee out of it in 2nd to maintain ground speed of 45-50 mph. And, to be sure, I had to use my brakes judiciously. But, it was fine. No white knuckles, no near misses. Don't come down a hill in a taller gear than you went up is a good barometer. When using brakes, get on them early before momentum starts sucking at you. Apply short, firm pedal pulses for a few seconds then back off and do it again. Do not ride them long-term or they'll fade. You should be fine with your rig, even with the altitude derating.

We navigated Big Horn Pass, Wolf Creek Pass, and plenty of other un-named but challenging roadways, all without incident.

Also, Good Sam, who I had a membership with at the time, had a routing service where the steep mountain grades were labeled for your consideration when chosen as a part of your route. It's pretty difficult to completely avoid all the steeper routes, even around PA. Western Rt 30 anyone?

I took the "tour" out West in 1997 with a Ford Crown Victoria towing a 22' tt....traveled rt 80 from Pa. ..don't remember all the routes but do know if I did it with a car, you sure won't have a problem. Went thru Salt Lake and then down to Vegas and back home over rt. 40 ..the only tough time was a shortcut from Bullhead City over a steep climb. Second time two years later we did the rt.90 trip and this time with a '94 Chevy conversion van and went to Yellowstone,down to Zion and Bryce Canyon and Vegas (same rt. home)--15 Nat'l parks over a three month trip. Lots of mountain climbs and gorgeous canyons..I,too,was worried silly but didn't even have a flat tire! Go and enjoy..life is too short to worry about those mountains--most times it is so gradual you don't realize you have climbed. Gear down and don't worry if you are leading the parade!!

I have a 2012 Ram 1500 pulling 5000lb trailer. The Ram has "tow package" and a tow-haul switch on the instrument panel. We just came home from a route which had us climb up and down several steep grades. With the tow-haul switch "on" the engine helped gear me down automatically. I still needed to brake sometimes but the engine gearing down really helped. If you have a tow-haul type switch on the Tundra I would use it and not worry to much about coming down a steep grade.
Not being familiar with roads in and out of Wyoming I can't help with that issue

Thanks to all for some well needed advice. Now I can suck it up and start mapping a route.

Passin Thru wrote:
You can go west all the way on I 70 to Denver, North on I 25 to Ft Collins and N on 287 to Laramie, you can go west from there without big mountains all the way to Utah. There aren't any bad mountains on I 25 from Denver to Sheridan. No grade on any interstate highway is over 9 % or 9 feet for every 100 ft forward. Not sure why no-one could just answer your question. Have run the interstates lots of times and I 80 just west of Cheyenne is a pretty hard pull past the 329 but doable or you can just take 210 and 30, 287 which have relatively flat ground.

Exactly. Went from Denver area to Jackson, WY (I25 to Fort Collins --> 287 to Laramie --> I80 west to Rock Springs then north on 191) and then on to Yellowstone last summer.

Easy drive into Jackson. Now, from Jackson to West Yellowstone, I did go over Teton Pass but I have a newer 1 ton diesel so it wasn't an issue. If I were you, I would avoid Teton Pass and just go north out of Jackson up into Yellowstone to the south entrance.

Beware if you are in Yellowstone and wanting to head east, leaving via the east entrance you will be faced with a gradual, long descent leaving the park after you are on the east side of Yellowstone Lake. Once you are out of the park, the road is not so bad, just meanders alongside the river for a ways.

No worries about the Tundra having enough power to do this tow; we have towed more than that in the mountains & it's been fine. The engine "braking" feature in the Tundra is great, and helpful when going downhill - though you will still have to brake, just don't ride it. Gear down using the semi-manual settings when needed. And, as others have pointed out, just take it easy. No need to set speed records.

You can go west all the way on I 70 to Denver, North on I 25 to Ft Collins and N on 287 to Laramie, you can go west from there without big mountains all the way to Utah. There aren't any bad mountains on I 25 from Denver to Sheridan. No grade on any interstate highway is over 9 % or 9 feet for every 100 ft forward. Not sure why no-one could just answer your question. Have run the interstates lots of times and I 80 just west of Cheyenne is a pretty hard pull past the 329 but doable or you can just take 210 and 30, 287 which have relatively flat ground.

I am driving a 2014 5.7 CM Tundra towing a 31BHDD North Trail. I travel North and South from our home in Ashland. While I don't have to deal with the altitudes you will experience I do have to drive over multiple passes to get where I am going.

Here are my numbers from our trip home today:

Front 3,400
Truck 7,200
Rear 3,750
Trailer 7,050

The front weight of the truck is 50lb off the unloaded weight. This load, with 2 kids, 2 dogs, wife and trailer, is exactly at our GVWR of 7,200. This is about as heavy as we will get as we were fully loaded for a 5 day trip.

My impression:

The truck has more than enough power to pull this load. As a matter of fact we could easily pass trucks and RV's struggling on the passes. More than enough power. The suspension felt as though it was feeling the load but there was never any oscillation or questionable moments. The worst was a major dust devil we drove though. I saw the RV in front of us make a big sway and saw the grass and******swirling so I saw it coming. As we went through it it was definitely 2 hands on the wheel.

As far as the descents are concerned, learn to tune your brake controller and they will be a non issue. When we are on the road traveling I increase the brake assist. When we are maneuvering or driving slow in town I decrease it a little bit. That keeps the trailer from locking up at slow speeds.

My opinion on the whole subject?

If you have the towing pkg you should be well within your trucks limits. But you would be wise to drive within your limits. Don't worry about your truck if your maintenance is up to date. Drive within your limits and don't worry about where you go within reason.

Enjoy the ride!

If you are going to Yellowstone NP or Teton NP, the Big Horn Mountains, you WILL be towing in the mountains. Gear down coming downhill and usually don't go faster than you went up the hill. Use your transmission as much as possible to save the brakes on your truck and trailer.
The grades in Yellowstone aren't bad and getting to Teton NP there are no really steep grades. I admit I am used to driving in the mountains. Been doing it all my life. Advice: Just take it easy and you will be fine.

If you are going to wander around out West, you are going to be going up some and down some..Lots of folks do it all the time. It's part of the "adventure."

Here is an interesting article.....The 10 Toughest Tows in America..LINK