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Fancy Gap

jergeod
Explorer
Explorer
I know someone on here has been up and down it, just how steep and how long are the up and down grades? This is I77 NC.
George & Jerri
USMC VET
Jayco Eagle 339 flqs
upstate NY
12 REPLIES 12

SpeakEasy
Explorer
Explorer
Post prompts a story.

Many years ago I agreed to chaparone a spring-break trip of a group of college students headed to Winston-Salem to do some Habitat work. They rented a 15-passenger van, and were determined to do an overnight drive to get down there from western NY state. By the time we got to southern Virginia I was asleep in one of the back seats. It may have been 3 or 4 in the morning, I don't know. At any rate, I was in and out of sleep and not paying much attention to where we were. And then I smelled that smell. No; not that smell. The smell of burning brakes. That got my attention, and I woke right up. The driver and the shot-gun passenger were discussing it. The shot-gun guy recognized the smell, as I did. He was asking the driver if he was riding the brakes. Well, it turned out it wasn't us. We passed an 18-wheeler that was burning them up. That was my introduction to the Fancy Gap hill. I'll probably never forget it.

-Speak
It's just Mrs. SpeakEasy and me now (empty-nesters). But we can choose from among 7 grandchildren to drag along with us!



2014 F-150 Super Crew Short Bed 3.5L Ecoboost
2014 Flagstaff Micro Lite 23LB

irishtom29
Explorer
Explorer
I went both north and south through the gap last year pulling a 6500 pound TT with a 3.5 Ecoboost F-150. Going north, up that is, was effortless--65 mph in the left lane. Truck was in 4th gear running about 2500 rpm. No sweat.

Going south, down, was also easy--came down in tow-haul mode and tapped the brakes only twice, once because traffic had slowed down.

jimmyv13
Explorer
Explorer
I've been through it a few times in various towing configurations. Once in an 07 5.4L Expedition towing a very small 8'x10' covered trailer with not much weight. No issues. The last four trips through have been in my 05 Superduty 6.0 diesel and had absolutely no problems with our 8K TT. This is our first year going South with my 2015 Superduty 6.2L gasser. I'm not really looking forward to it and am strongly considering staying on I75 to avoid this hill.

Horsedoc
Explorer II
Explorer II
I might add this and Tom N will verify I'm sure. Some times when the wind is out of the east it can get sort of gusty and give you a scare as you hit open spaces in the road. The good thing is the uphill lane is the one usually affected and you will be going slow. The downhill (inside)lane is pretty much sheltered so there is not nearly as much turbulence when the gusts hit. Pretty much just a hill, just longer than some
horsedoc
2008 Damon Essence
2013 Jeep Sahara Unlimited
Blue Ox tow

jergeod
Explorer
Explorer
Thanks everyone.
George & Jerri
USMC VET
Jayco Eagle 339 flqs
upstate NY

Tom_N
Explorer
Explorer
Driven this route many, many times from Pittsburgh to Florida. Never a problem but follow the speed limit signs. I'm 23,200#s and gas. I gear down and tap the brakes every mile or so if my speed increases. Going up I gear down and stay in the truck lane. There are some huge truck runaway ramps going down. Enjoy the view. It's a great one. Fog is the biggest problem in the area and there have been many multi-car accidents so if it's very foggy pull off for a rest or drive very cautiously. There's a FlyingJ at the bottom of the hill at the I-77 I-74 split.

-Tom, W3TLN

My son took this photo following me in the car.


Pilot Mountain, of Andy Griffith fame, in the distance.
Sarver, PA/Crystal River, FL/Shelocta, PA ยท W3TLN ยท FMCA 335149 ยท Mystic Knights of the Sea
2005 Suncruiser 38R ยท W24 chassis, no chassis mods needed ยท 2013 Honda Accord EX-L ยท 2008 Honda Odyssey EX-L

Ed_C
Explorer
Explorer
We do it every year. With our DP we set the exhaust brake and start at 60 MPH at the top. When we had a gas rig we started at 45-50 MPH using the "tow-haul" mode. If we got up to 55 I would slow down to 45 and let build to 55 again. I would always slow down in 10 MPH increments and NEVER Ride the brakes. It's not a bad hill if you use common sense.
Ed/Jeanie & Slade the GSD
2017 Entegra Aspire 42 RBQ/ Sierra Crew

Dutch_12078
Explorer II
Explorer II
We've been up and down Fancy Gap many times, both with our previous Ford 460 V8 powered 33' motorhome and our current Ford Triton V10 powered 34' motorhome, towing our car in both cases. Going up and down with the older coach was a bit more of a strain, requiring a lower gear going up and a heavier foot for stab braking going down than our current coach. In both cases I turned off O/D going down though, to gain additional engine braking. I've driven worse hills...
Dutch
2001 GBM Landau 34' Class A
F53 chassis, Triton V10, TST TPMS
Bigfoot Automatic Leveling System
2011 Toyota RAV4 4WD/Remco pump
ReadyBrute Elite tow bar/Blue Ox baseplate

VTLee
Explorer
Explorer
We have done it many times with no problems. Just go slow and use low gear. The 18 wheelers will set the pace. As mentioned previously, fog can be a problem so we try to hit the area around mid-day.

DrewE
Explorer II
Explorer II
It's been about a year since I was last on it, so my memory may not be too exact...but it's nothing too extreme. I think going south it's mainly a long downgrade (several miles) at a fairly steep by interstate standards but not extreme slope. (Fancy gap itself is actually in Virginia, very near the border, by the way.) Googling shows that the grade is between 3% and 5% for about six or seven miles. Here is a page with some nice summary tables on the grades.

In my opinion, more concerning than the grade is the dense fog that sometimes forms in this area...sometimes very dense, catching people who are driving too fast by surprise and occasionally leading to massive destruction-derby sorts of pile-ups. They've now installed (within the past year) a variable speed limit system based on the fog conditions.

Terryallan
Explorer II
Explorer II
Done it is abig truck, but not a RV,

as mentioned below not that bad. 3.5% grade down. with a 5% for the last 4 miles down

start down slow, and stay slow in a low gear. No problem
Terry & Shay
Coachman Apex 288BH.
2013 F150 XLT Off Road
5.0, 3.73
Lazy Campers

dalenoel
Explorer II
Explorer II
โ€œIโ€™ve heard Fancy Gap is a good hill,โ€ says Dubonnette, referring to a 7-mile, 7 percent grade on I-77 in Virginia just past the North Carolina state line. Uphill, Fancy Gap is a strain. Downhill itโ€™s long, steep and curvy, and the North Carolina scales are at the bottom.

From another website.

http://www.overdriveonline.com/killer-hills/
03 Monaco Neptune 36PBD DP - 18 Focus Toad
Wife, myself, and Oreo the Malshi