Destination

[Scarroll]

75 out of Chattanooga is the grade so steep that you have to downshift?

[Branson_in_Tucs]

I agree we have a lot of no it all's . You were a new be at one time.

[Passin_Thru]

If you are talking about I 75, no, just have to be careful , not go during rush hours or on weekends. I went to Fayetteville Tn last week from VA. If you do go down I 24, from Monteagle exit to exit 127 it has a bad hill and should shift down on it. Usually foggy this time of year too. It really isn't a bad hill when compared to Co mountains.

[LadyRVer]

We all had to start somewhere, not only in RVing, but in life. Sounded like OP had a reasonable question and to the OP...hope you got an answer and please come back to the forum.

On I-75 around the KY-TN state line is Tellico (or could be Jellico) Mountain. A new RVer might be a little hesitant, but since it is an interstate highway, I doubt if the grade is more than 6%. My gas motor homes might downshift a gear, but all is good and no problem. And yes, I do all the driving, or towing, depending on which type of rig I have at the time.

Good luck and most of us are nice and willing to help.

[2gypsies1]

Please don't let one rude poster keep you from asking questions. We've all been a newbie at some point.

[wolfe10]

ricelake922 wrote:
On my class A coach which is a 1996 Monaco Dynasty as far as I know I only have drive, reverse and neutral. I guess I must be a troll as well as I only know how to use my service brakes or Pac man brakes to slow me down. How do I "gear down" without using the service brakes please?

Assume from your coach that you have an Allison 3000 series transmission.

Assume you have an Allison shift pad with the following in addition to D, R and N:

Mode
UP arrow
DOWN arrow

The down arrow allows you to select a lower gear.

If you have the two window Allison shift pad, the left window (or only window if you have the single window shift pad)indicates the "pre-select" gear. That is the gear toward which the transmission will shift as long as it will not under or over-speed the engine. SO:

At a stop light in drive it will show "6". Of course you are not in 6th gear, but you have told the transmission to up-shift toward 6th gear for you. Suspect when you turn on your exhaust brake, that window goes from 6th to some lower gear, with 4th and 2nd being popular choices. But any gear can be programmed for this function.

And, it is totally idiot proof. You could down arrow to first gear at 60 MPH and nothing bad would happen. The Allison would merely downshift as soon as it would not over-speed the engine in the next lower gear.

And, PLEASE, two things for EVERYONE: Particularly with newbies, how about benefit of the doubt. And newbies, don't have your feeling hurt quite so easily, you have to understand there there ARE trolls out there who glory in conflict.

AND

Please put what coach you have in your signature. Makes answers a LOT more relevant.

[ricelake922]

Hello. Saying this person is a troll is just so disrespectful. Wouldn't it be nice if everyone came out of the womb having the same experience as all the senior members on this site. On my class A coach which is a 1996 Monaco Dynasty as far as I know I only have drive, reverse and neutral. I guess I must be a troll as well as I only know how to use my service brakes or Pac man brakes to slow me down. How do I "gear down" without using the service brakes please?

[Scarroll]

Not a troll but a newbie. Sorry I offended anyone it won't happen again. Thanks for all the posts and comments they were a lot of help.

[wolfe10]

2gypsies wrote:
This post seems to come from a true 'newbie'. Her only other post was asking how to keep things from falling off the counter while traveling.

I'd give her the benefit of doubt and not calling her a 'troll' right away.

I agree. Hopefully she will learn a lot here before hitting the road.

But, as posted, downshifting on grades is a normal (and NECESSARY) part of driving any heavy vehicle. Said another way, the engine/transmission must be used to control speed of descent, NOT THE SERVICE BRAKES!

[2gypsies1]

This post seems to come from a true 'newbie'. Her only other post was asking how to keep things from falling off the counter while traveling.

I'd give her the benefit of doubt and not calling her a 'troll' right away.

[vegasfoodguy]

Troll?

[Ivylog]

There is a good hill 15 miles north with a extra truck lane... maybe 1.5 miles long. Yes a gasser will probably downshift one gear... not a big deal. I sometimes stop at the exit just before to get fuel and since I'm headed towards Cleveland TN I'll take the old road along the river... no hill and a little shorter, but not faster.

[RoyB]

I was going to say something but looked it up first. I was thinking the OP was referring to what turned out to be I59 South out of Chattanooga which has no long grade hills. Been on I24 a few times with some long grades but don't think we have ever used I75 before except in FLA heading for Tampa area from I10.... North Georgia HIGH COUNTRY has some good mtns there to cross for sure...

Roy Ken

[tommy_g]

The only true "steep" out of Chattanooga is I24 up toward Nashville. I75 is no problem.

[bluwtr49]

Scarroll wrote:
75 out of Chattanooga is the grade so steep that you have to downshift?

What type of coach?? Curious as to why you care...no disrepect intended but downshifting is a normal part of driving.