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Grangrey4's avatar
Grangrey4
Explorer
Feb 28, 2019

Fancy Gap Virginia bad road for small class c?

Two mudslides on I-40. Heading to Apex, NC. Wondering if I-77 south past Wytheville VA is a rough route for my small 26 foot Minnie. Any information on steep climbs and descents is appreciated.
  • I-77 has one long downhill grade going into NC. Gear down and don't ride your brakes. I-26 south out of Johnson City is quite hilly both up and down going into NC.
  • The only problem other than grade on the trip going up the mountain at Fancy Gap is on occasion there is strong winds blowing up the mountain (is that from the east?) and get pretty gusty at times.
    South lanes are not nearly as rough.
  • You have two choices, I-40 to I-26, which is the recommended route or on up I-81 to I-77 south.

    Either way, you have to go over a mountain to get there. On I-26, you have to climb a mountain then go down into NC.

    If you take I-81 up to hit I-77, you are climbing very gradually for many miles, then go down the mountain on I-77.

    I will say that I-81 has many more tractor trailers on it than I-26 does, but it is major route into the northeast.

    Both are interstates, so you should be fine either way you choose to go. Both have spectacular views from the top. On I-26, there are several pull-offs with overlooks. On I-77, you just have to look while you drive. I will warn you that I-77 has many clogs due to accidents going up/down the mountain so use your GPS or google.maps or waze to check out traffic before you settle on one way rather than the other.