Big Horn Mountain routes & gears

[travel4family]

From Yellowstone to SD, if we go east through the Bighorns, it sounds like the southern route (16) is a little easier driving so we are leaning toward 16 (looking at other posts).

We are first time mountain drivers, a little nervous about knowing when to go into lower gears so we don't overheat the brakes. Can someone explain how to know when to use brakes vs. gears going through the kind of passes we will see in the Big Horns (and is 16 the better route for us)?

[travel4family]

Thank you everyone - just reading all this makes me feel better, the tips all help.

To clarify, we are headed to Devil's Tower then the next few days after that SD (Rushmore, Custer, Badlands).

[Ed_C]

Are you going to SD? It is much easier to go through the Wind River area (and at least as nice scenery) going through NE.

[paulj]

I like to shift down to the point that I only have to touch the brakes once in a while to maintain a safe speed. The actual gear choice then depends on grade, but also on the curves and road condition. A curvy gravel road calls for a lower gear than a freeway, regardless of grade.

[newk]

Yes, Hwy 16 is the easiest route. Going from west to east you'll want to drop a gear just after crossing Powder River Pass, then you probably won't need to again until you're 10 miles out of Buffalo and run into a short series of 35 mph curves. (It'll be marked that trucks should use a lower gear.) You can at any time rather than braking, but it won't be necessary. I do it routinely, but I drive a stick shift and am constantly shifting.

I should also mention that as you come out of the Bighorns and approach Buffalo, there's still a fair bit of slope. (I think it's called 6% but doesn't look that steep.) An older couple driving an old motor home overheated their brakes on that section a few years ago and ended up inside a building in downtown Buffalo. He was killed. He must have been riding the brakes all the way down.

There will be two 20-25 mph hairpin curves on your way up, out of Ten Sleep Canyon, but you'll be climbing then so won't need to brake much if any.

As you're going over the Bighorns on your way back, after leaving Yellowstone, you should have a good grip on mountain driving by that time. Hwy 16 over the Bighorns is no more difficult than what you'll see in parts of Yellowstone. It's a good, all season highway. Take your time and enjoy the scenery.

It never hurts to stop at one of the many pull-offs to give your brakes the touch test, and while you're stopped take a picture of the scenery. If the hubs feel hot, take a 30-60 minute break.

[noe-place]

We came home to Kentucky through the BH last summer from Yellowstone. I don't recall needing to shift (automatic, Class C 30' no toad) more than a few times while climbing. It's steep but a magnificent drive. Your engine will tell you when it's time to shift going up. If you get concerned about brakes, watch rpms and down shift till you feel it's ok to gear up. The grades will tell you what you need to do. I had no trouble and that was our first time across the BH too. Take pictures and enjoy the ride.

[Gale_Hawkins]

Had the same fear when we did the opposite direction in 2011 with 32' 1992 P30 MH with no toad. With our four speed second gear held us on the hills in most cases.

We took 14 from I-90 to Cody to reduce non interstate mileage I guess but 16 is more common I think but 14 was a non issue as far as slope and curves but we did it at night because it was about 2 am when we got to WM in Cody. Once we left I-90 we did not see and signs of towns and only met two or three cars to Cody. We did not see any animals either on that leg mid Sept.

Not sure what you are driving because some of the new transmissions do a lot of the thinking for you like the GM six speeds, etc. We did 99% of our braking with the engine and keep RPM's at or below 4000.

Being a flat lander I was stressed for no reason exceptj getting into Yosemite. We did 8000 miles getting to San Francisco and never saw anything that gave me a concern other than getting on the old Priest road by GPS accident going into Yosemite.Thankfully we were going up but was only making about 15 MPH with the gas on the floor and the old 454 never missed once and stayed out of the temp temp zone by a hair for those four hair raising miles on a hot day.

You should be fine. Shifting up is easier than shifting down too late so start at a gear lower than you used to climb.