Are you scared of the mountains!!

[et2]

Are you scared of taking your toad and MH's over the mountains ( let's say out west). If your loaded and within your weight capacity and towing capacity of the rigs you own, would mountain driving stop you from taking a trip?

The reason for the question is some people seem to think one engine might not be capable because, well ,it's just not one of the big boys ( I'm referring to diesel vs diesel).

I'm really dumbfounded by the reasons. You'll have to go 30 mph, or it's gonna struggle, or your coach is too big, etc. So, if your rig is maintained and in top working condition, and within it's designed capacities would a mountain out west stop you in your planning?

[Flasho]

Nope. Not scared of mountains.

[tropical36]

Ivylog wrote:

RayChez wrote:
Climbing mountains is no problem for diesel engines, BUT! coming down in my opinion can be more dangerous. Make sure you use your Jake brake or exhaust brake. Very important because if you start riding the coach brakes, you could lose your brakes and then you would have a run away coach which could be disastrous.

Going slow up a mountain is not going to hurt you, but going too fast down will. Until you know your rig's capabilities you need to come down in the same gear at the same speed you went up.

I beg to differ with you on the same gear that you went up in, as you didn't go up that side and there can be a lot of difference, like with Donner's Pass in CA for example. My recommendation is to always gear down to the point of not having to use your brakes or very sparingly, shut off you mirrors and don't worry about what's behind you if there's not a passing lane. Naturally sticking to the interstates in the Mountains, helps a lot.

[BigRabbitMan]

Klueck wrote:

wannavolunteerFT wrote:
I'm with Klueck, I am intimidated by mountains. I haven't been brave enough to pull my TT in the mountains. I hope to find someone to help me when I purchase my MH, so that I am not terrified to take it into the mountains (even NC, VA and GA). We don't even have hills here in South Georgia either (we are slightly higher than FL at 203 ft) so I have no real mountain experience.

We travel from Tampa to our lot in the north Ga mountains in Blairsville via a nice route with no steep grades or curvy roads. We go 75/575/76/129.

We found we prefer Atlanta traffic over mountains!

Most of us are concerned/afraid of the unknown. But once it becomes "known" we are no longer afraid. Mountains are the same thing. Once you have followed the going downhill advise given here, they are now "known" things and are no longer a concern.

I grew up in the country and had to learn how to drive in metroplitan areas - all those cars around me and stopping in front of me! But I did it! In your case it is just a matter of heading west. You will come to smaller hills/mountains first so by the time you get to the big ones, you will be experienced.

As stated above, be conservative coming down. Use exhaust brake if you have one and low gears and all will be fine.

[Klueck]

wannavolunteerFT wrote:
I'm with Klueck, I am intimidated by mountains. I haven't been brave enough to pull my TT in the mountains. I hope to find someone to help me when I purchase my MH, so that I am not terrified to take it into the mountains (even NC, VA and GA). We don't even have hills here in South Georgia either (we are slightly higher than FL at 203 ft) so I have no real mountain experience.

We travel from Tampa to our lot in the north Ga mountains in Blairsville via a nice route with no steep grades or curvy roads. We go 75/575/76/129.

We found we prefer Atlanta traffic over mountains!

[Ivylog]

RayChez wrote:
Climbing mountains is no problem for diesel engines, BUT! coming down in my opinion can be more dangerous. Make sure you use your Jake brake or exhaust brake. Very important because if you start riding the coach brakes, you could lose your brakes and then you would have a run away coach which could be disastrous.

Going slow up a mountain is not going to hurt you, but going too fast down will. Until you know your rig's capabilities you need to come down in the same gear at the same speed you went up.

[Mike_Hohnstein]

Hmm, wonder what's up with all them burn spots on the side of the road?

[John_S_]

Just drove from west yelliwstone to go out the east gate. Hit 8200 feet at the high and a 7% grade on the down slope. Very easy to drive up and down. Second gear on the down side kept my speed at 25 and the limit was 20-35 depending on the curves so it was an easy climb and decent. Then again, living in a valley means climbing and descending mountains every day. The transmission retarder works like a dream and the ISM pushes you up any hill I have tried at 35 to 50 mph depending on the hill.

[wannavolunteerF]

I'm with Klueck, I am intimidated by mountains. I haven't been brave enough to pull my TT in the mountains. I hope to find someone to help me when I purchase my MH, so that I am not terrified to take it into the mountains (even NC, VA and GA). We don't even have hills here in South Georgia either (we are slightly higher than FL at 203 ft) so I have no real mountain experience.

[Klueck]

Yes, frankly, we are a bit intimidated by mountains. We're Floridians, so we won't even have hills. We don't like driving down the steep and curvy mountains in the North Carolina or Georgia mountains.

We haven't had a chance to get out west, but the mountains are certainly a concern.

We have a DP, but going down is the main concern.

[J-Rooster]

I've been over every mountain pass out west with no troubles, I've been RVing since 1976!

[dubdub07]

I have to say, those that I see on the side of the road with their brakes burned up probably are not wise enough to get advice on rv.net. Going up is never a problem as many MHs have Allison trannys that will pull the mountains with any engine attached to it. The main passes in Colorado are some of the nicest roads to drive on. They just go way up and then way down.

[Executive45]

You normally should have no problems driving up and over any of our mountainous States. That said, common sense should prevail. Know YOUR limitations, they may be different that those of your rig. There's some places, IMHO where coaches do not belong....Hwy 1 in California comes to mind, coaches should be left in the campgrounds when traveling through Yellowstone, Hwy 550 from Durango to Ouray in Colorado is another...you get my drift......Dennis

[DanTheRVMan]

I see all types of RVs in yellowstone. gas, diesel, trailers, MH's

All happy campers

JUST DO IT

[tropical36]

et2 wrote:
Are you scared of taking your toad and MH's over the mountains ( let's say out west). If your loaded and within your weight capacity and towing capacity of the rigs you own, would mountain driving stop you from taking a trip?

The reason for the question is some people seem to think one engine might not be capable because, well ,it's just not one of the big boys ( I'm referring to diesel vs diesel).

I'm really dumbfounded by the reasons. You'll have to go 30 mph, or it's gonna struggle, or your coach is too big, etc. So, if your rig is maintained and in top working condition, and within it's designed capacities would a mountain out west stop you in your planning?

Engine power is never a problem, even when overloaded and overloading will usually affect the transmission before anything else suffers, unless your engine is prone to overheating, like many were with the older gas coaches that didn't have the house installed properly on the chassis, along with a variety of other reasons. This is not to say that DP's don't over heat and you can find plenty of threads on that with dirty radiators, seemingly being the worst culprit.

[AllegroD]

Nope!