Sonora Pass

[Ed_Manifold]

We are going to spend a few days on highway 395. We live in Concord Calif. and I havn,t been over Sonora Pass in over 40 years and I am wondering how the road is these days and is driving A 35FT Phaeton towing a jeep would be like. Last time I was over it that would not be A good idea. I know that going over highway 88 is a nice drive. Any thoughts?

[profdant139]

By the way, if you want to see some photos of that area, check this out:

Sonora

[profdant139]

After driving Sonora Pass a couple of times in my truck, I contacted the Highway Patrol office responsible for that area. I spoke to a female officer. I told her that I had a six cylinder four liter Tacoma with a 6000 pound rating towing a 12 foot trailer weighing 2000 pounds and would be coming up from the east side.

She said it was doable. I did it. No problem. I would NOT do that pass in anything longer than 20 feet. We spent a week boondocking near the pass and saw two accidents involving over-length vehicles that could not stay in their lanes. There are several hairpin turns.

And coming down, I put it in low gear and rode the engine compression all the way down. There are pull-outs if you need to let faster folks go by.

PS -- if you go into the back country of Sonora Pass with your truck scouting for off pavement boondocking sites, make sure you have great tires. We had BFG Rugged Trails and the volcanic rock sliced one of my tires. My wife learned a few new words as I changed the tire at ten thousand feet. She also learned how to use a torque wrench.

When I got home, I switched to BFG All Terrains. No flats since then!

[caffeyw]

Mr. Pinky wrote:
Do not, I repeat. Do not do it!!!!
I learned the hard way with a 26' Class C.

When was it? I used to agree with you. However improvement over the years have IME made it ok for Class C up to 25-27ft.

Just drove it couple days ago, along with two others who've never done it. (In their own RVs) They had no issues.

[Mr__Pinky]

Do not, I repeat. Do not do it!!!!
I learned the hard way with a 26' Class C.

[time2roll]

Stay off Ebbett's pass also. CA-4

[caffeyw]

I thought I'd post a recent experience as 120 via Yosemite isn't driveable without getting a ticket for entry. These tickets are impossible to get due to bad website design and limited number. Until CV19 goes away this will be the case

CA108 doesn't allow any RV over 40ft. For a small portion there's a limit of 30ft. The road has been improved over the years, thus some of issues people remember aren't the case anymore. Ie there's no one lan segments, while not hugely wide, it's wide enough for RV and other vehicles to pass in opposite directions.

The portion of 108 west of the pass really isn't an issue. The western side I never needed to move out of drive. In fact this fools a lot of people into thinking they'll have no issue on 108. The problem is the portion east of the pass. This is where you will find 26° hairpin turns, with very short switchbacks. If going east to west, you'll need to be in 1 for a good portion of eastern side. Even then you're likely to only be going five-ten mph. Going west, to east, you'll want to be in 1 for engine breaking.

I've driven it in a 25-27ft Class C. Anything bigger/heavier will have problems on the eastern side of pass. However anything under 25ft-27ft is doable. I wouldn't recommend a class A. Mainly cause they normally have lower ground clearance, and are generally longer and heavier.

However don't be afraid as long as you're within those limits. I won't pretend it'll be the easiest drive. Slow and steady wins the race here. The biggest danger during my last two crossings, cars/trucks speeding around corner over the centerline.

[msmith1199]

One thing I will add for those of you who haven't been over the Sonora Pass in a while, the road has been improved and widened in most areas. I don't think there are any one lane areas left on it that I remember. It's two lanes the entire way. But those two lanes are very narrow in some points and there is a lot of traffic up there in the summer months. The biggest problem if attempting to take an RV over it is meeting head on traffic. There just isn't enough room in many places for an RV and a car coming in the other direction. And if you were to meet another RV head on up there, especially if both had a toad, you may find yourselves blocking the road for a long time while you unhook toads and try and back up to a place wide enough for both to pass. And you better hope that doesn't happen on the 26% grade section of the road.

[RayChez]

I come down Sonora Pass on a truck and camper. It was tough coming down had to be shifting to low gears on many spots. This was like in the seventies and I recall that in June there was still several feet of snow on the side of the road. I would never attempt it with a large class A or B coach.

[2gypsies1]

popeye766 wrote:
Is there any kind of book or map one can purchase with info on steep grades one may encounter while traveling? I have been surprised more than once and actually want to avoid them all...lol

Yes, purchase the Truckers Mountain Directory - it comes in West or East editions. We refer to it all the time and we love mountain driving. It will give you a good picture of what to expect on certain roads, including where the escape ramps are located 🙂 .

[Lisa85603]

First post on rv.net. My DP says the only thing to go over the Sonora Pass in is a covered wagon and oxen!
This is one of the few threads I've ever read on an RV forum where everyone seems to be in agreement. 😉

[Quick_trip]

Sonora Pass is the 108 and I was stationed at the Marine Base on same highway.
I was there for 3 1/2 years and that road is downright bad for anything bigger than a car.
We had to go up and down part of it with 6X trucks and we were in low and 4 wheel drive to slow them down more!
Go around as other posters suggested.
Good Luck & Drive Safe!

[popeye766]

Is there any kind of book or map one can purchase with info on steep grades one may encounter while traveling? I have been surprised more than once and actually want to avoid them all...lol

[msmith1199]

moparmaga2 wrote:
I took Sonora Pass by mistake with my previous 37 foot gas class A with the Ford V10 and Toyota Corolla toad about 3 years ago.

We were originally set to go over Tioga Pass, but it was closed due to snow, so we found the next open pass so that we could get over the mountains, which happened to be Sonora Pass.

I have never ever been scared on a road before with an RV before, and if you have read any of my previous posts on this site, you will find that I think it is pretty asinine when posters buy any type of RV, and then are afraid to take it off the freeway.

However, even I met my match when going over Sonora Pass with my RV. I WILL NEVER EVER DO THAT AGAIN!!!!!NEVER EVER!!

There is a 26% grade on the pass, as well as many other grades above 15%. I had my foot all the way down to the firewall, the RV was in 1st gear, and I was not going fast enough at the top of the 26% grade for the speedometer needle to move off the rest between 0 and 5 mph. To say I was shaking is an understatement.

If the grade was 27%, I would have had to either turn around or have people get out and walk to lighten the load. I guess the ole 275 HP V10 had its limits.


I am not going to tell you that you can't take an RV up this pass, because thanks to the Good Lord Above, I made it, but if I were you, I would seek an alternate route.

I would second what this person said. Just last week I was telling people Highway 1 between Carmel and San Simeon is not as bad as people were making it out to be. I've done that stretch of 1 in my 35 foot dp with a toad several times. However, no way would I take my 35' DP over Sonora Pass. I did once take a 28' rental class C over Sonora pass and it was not a good drive. I had a lot of close calls with motorcycles coming in the opposite direction going to a rally in Bridgeport.

If you knew there would be no opposing traffic then you could probably do it in a Class A with a toad, but there will be other traffic up there. I would not do it. Both 88 and 120 are better routes. Don't take Highway 4 either as it's worse than 108.

[skipsor]

I would never take any type of RV over Sonora Pass except a slide in camper.

I have driven hwy. 550 in Colorado between Durango and Ouray and compared to Sonora Pass it's like driving on an eight lane highway.

Don't do it.