Haul'n the Colorado Rockies

[WrightOn]

I am in the midst of planning a Colorado trip for either summer 2015 or 2016. I have 14 days to play with. From the Chicago area, I'm planning on two days to Denver and two days back (80 one way and 70 the other - unless you suggest otherwise).

My question: Being a "flatland mid-westerner," mountain towing is fairly new to me. I successfully navigated crossing the Big Horns via Rt 16 several years ago on my Yellowstone/Teton trip. I have a F350 dually without an exhaust break pulling a 40' Silverback. How much different are the Rockies? My plan includes:

Estes Park
Glenwood Springs
Ouray (via Grand Junction)
Colorado Springs

Thoughts and/or suggestions.

Brian

[kennethwooster]

Tons of things to do in Colorado. Been coming up since a little guy. Today we are sitting in South Fork Colorado, and had no problems what so ever. We have a 2014 F350 DRW. it does an excellent job. The transmission brake works just fine. You will not come close to seeing everything so just pick what you think is the best for you. We stay in same park for 3 months, and take road trips when ever we want to. Have fun. A great place.

[WrightOn]

Thank you all for the suggestions. I am not married to the schedule as listed nor clockwise or counter. All that is certain right now is about two weeks of freedom. Filling in the rest is the fun part.
Brian

[mleekamp]

we are headed to Cheyenne Mtn State Park in early July as well, but not going thru Denver. Going thru Kansas.

[Thom02099]

WrightOn wrote:
I am in the midst of planning a Colorado trip for either summer 2015 or 2016. I have 14 days to play with. From the Chicago area, I'm planning on two days to Denver and two days back (80 one way and 70 the other - unless you suggest otherwise).

My question: Being a "flatland mid-westerner," mountain towing is fairly new to me. I successfully navigated crossing the Big Horns via Rt 16 several years ago on my Yellowstone/Teton trip. I have a F350 dually without an exhaust break pulling a 40' Silverback. How much different are the Rockies? My plan includes:

Estes Park
Glenwood Springs
Ouray (via Grand Junction)
Colorado Springs

Thoughts and/or suggestions.

Brian

Presumably, the above is the order in which you'll be travelling? Is that something that's set, or are you flexible in the order? I'm sure others may offer some routing alternatives.

For now and for at least the next year, US 36 from Lyons to Estes Park is and will be under construction, so check the CDOT website (www.cotrip.org) prior to actually leaving, so you can determine the best route to Estes Park at the time. For now, it's US 34. If you're looking more toward 2016, then hopefully the construction will be completed on US 36.

From Estes Park to Glenwood Springs, double back down US 34 to Loveland (or US 36 to Lyons, if the construction is completed) rather than taking Trail Ridge Rd (US 34) through Rocky Mountain National Park. With that size rig, trust me, you'll thank me later!

Getting around to the other destinations really isn't difficult, especially if you plan to take I-70 west from Denver to Glenwood Springs. Ups and downs, but it's not all that difficult. Getting to Ouray from Glenwood is easy; just continue on west on I-70 to Grand Junction then south (US 50/550) to Ouray. Ouray to Colorado Springs is also not difficult, US 50 from Montrose over Monarch Pass, then you can go down the Arkansas Valley on US 50 to Pueblo and then north, or you can take US 285 to US 24 and go that way across the southern part of South Park -- a really beautiful drive.

There are, of course, a lot of variations that you can consider, depending on your comfort level once you actually drive some of these routes. There's routes that you can meander to get from place to place, some diversions that might be worth considering.

[2gypsies1]

If you did Hwy 16 then your planned destinations in Colorado will be very doable for you. Have fun planning!

[pezan]

WrightOn wrote:
I am in the midst of planning a Colorado trip for either summer 2015 or 2016. I have 14 days to play with. From the Chicago area, I'm planning on two days to Denver and two days back (80 one way and 70 the other - unless you suggest otherwise).

My question: Being a "flatland mid-westerner," mountain towing is fairly new to me. I successfully navigated crossing the Big Horns via Rt 16 several years ago on my Yellowstone/Teton trip. I have a F350 dually without an exhaust break pulling a 40' Silverback. How much different are the Rockies? My plan includes:

Estes Park
Glenwood Springs
Ouray (via Grand Junction)
Colorado Springs

Thoughts and/or suggestions.

Brian

A MUST!
Close to Denver, beautiful.

[Heisenberg]

No problem

[SDcampowneroper]

Come have fun.
There are no grades in the Rockies any steeper than you did on 16 over the Big Horns.
Keep your right foot light, an eye on temperatures, use your tranny downshift.

[skipnchar]

??? are you towing or hauling? :H For what it's worth, ALL of those mountain ranges are part of the Rockie mountain chain so there is no difference.

[wincrasher65]

Crazy is the word I'd use for not having an exhaust brake. Regardless of in the Rockies or not. Seriously consider an properly equipped truck if you are planning such a trip in such mountain country.