Pikes Peak and my Roadtrek 210

[esquaredg]

Hello all,

We have a 2008 210 Popular in excellent mechanical shape. We live in the gulf coast area and our rig would not be set for elevation. I am not sure if this is an issue or not.

I would like to know if others have taken their Roadtreks up the road to the top of Pikes Peak? We did this 20 years ago with a rental car and I don't think there would be any issues, but wanted to hear if others have done so and hear their experiences

Thank to all...

Eric

[tonyandkaren]

Yellowstone is our favorite national park! If we're anywhere close we have to visit. We've been very lucky and have never visited in the summer so the crowds haven't been too bad. Spring is nice because the extra water is good in the basins but the cooler fall weather with more fogginess is really cool. Glad you had good time!

[esquaredg]

tonyandkaren wrote:
Aww.. sorry about the view. We had some rain too but it had cleared a lot by the time we got to the top. How was Yellowstone?

Hello Tony and Karen,

This was our second time in Yellowstone (1999 and 2013). As I mention in the blog (www.MeiMeAndUs.com), Yellowstone is the most diverse and interesting place we have been. In my opinion it is the best NP our country has (although we have many). If it were not for the (multiple negative words here) people whom occupy it, it would be perfect. If you can stand the cooler temps (it was 31 degrees Aug 9th), then I say go in the shoulder months. We have thought about doing a winter trip at some point and staying in the Snow Lodge.

If you have never been to Yellowstone... GO !!! It is an incredible place !

\e

More details on the blog...

[georgelesley]

esquaredg, congratulations on doing your trip. 12 years ago I was part of the same unsuccessful journey you and your wife are fighting. Best wishes.

[Eugarps]

Ride the cog railway and enjoy the view.

Clicky

My $0.02 and worth every penny,

Bill

[tonyandkaren]

Aww.. sorry about the view. We had some rain too but it had cleared a lot by the time we got to the top. How was Yellowstone?

[Quick_trip]

You will do worse than your vehicle once you get to the top!
You won't walk around too fast and you will need to sit down more often.
To me it felt like I wasn't getting enough oxygen!
So just walk around slowly & enjoy the views!
Good Luck & Drive safe!

[stan909]

Sorry about the view but glad all went well. Rocky Mountain High is no exaggeration.

[esquaredg]

Well we went for it… Got to the top with pouring 33 degree rain and visibility of 20 feet. Ohh... well… But we have been to Pikes Peak summit with Meime !

I would like to emphasize a few of the comments made by others in previous post.

1) Going up is not the problem really… Going down is… Hahaha, True, true, true… When we got to the brake check area the man needed to check my brakes twice. I asked… too high? He said no… 220 degrees when max was 300 degrees. He looked at me and said, “for a rig this size, you did a great job”. I stopped often to let others go by. Going up I nearly had the pedal to the floor and doing 15 miles / hour. She made it, but I was as happy to see the summit as she was.

2) When you get to the top, just don’t jump out and get active. Take your time… We sat in Meime for 15 minutes with the windows (partially down) and still questioned what would happen when we got out.

3) Cog Railway was totally booked as with your (senf) trip.

4) Oil Pressure did not change. Engine temps were 10 – 15 degrees higher.

We are glad we made the summit with Meime, but will probably not do it again.

At the top they had t-shirts and caps which said “Got Oxygen ?” I bought one…

Thanks again for all your help and advice.

Eric

Check out our trip at www.MeiMeAndUs.com

[senf]

We climbed Pikes Peak in the late 90's in our 1996 Dodge Roadtrek with a 5.9L engine. No power problem going up, just a white knuckle drive in places. Coming down, despite 1st gear, our brakes tested hot and we were sent to park and cool off. Wow, was that a relief!
Try anything once - been there done that!

We originally wanted to go up on the cog railway, but could not get a reservation for three days. Given that there is a motor race held each year, we figured that it couldn't be that bad to drive up. Also, we had lots of company during our drive up, including dump trucks unloading dirt in the middle of the road.

Go for it - best of luck!

[esquaredg]

Quick Note...

We have decided to attempt this. We will be cautious. We will be there about mid-day Sunday July 28 and have reservations that evening at ELEVEN MILE STATE PARK. I will report once we return.

Thanks all,

Eric

[time2roll]

I would be more concerned about the decent including hot brakes.
Use first gear, second at most, go slow.

Likewise I was up 20 years ago in a rental 😉

[Lorne_Lorraine]

We went up Pikes Peak in the early 80's with a 1979 Class B on a Ford E250 chassis with 351 engine. With 3 children and two adults on a long trip we weren't lightly loaded. At the time I asked the young attendant in the booth at the bottom if he thought our rig would be able to make it up. He said no problem. But .......we had it foot to the floor and were barely moving as we neared the top in the then gravel section.On the way up some other vehicles were having difficulty making the grades and that caused us to stop in a line several times. I was afraid we wouldn't have enough power to move if we got bogged down in the sandy switchbacks. We made it to the top, but barely. Coming down they stopped all vehicles for a brake heat check and were pulling over any vehicles they thought should stop and let the brakes cool down. I thought we would be pulled over for sure, but the inspector said the brakes were okay so we continued down in first and second gear. I would let the camper pick up speed, brake hard to slow down and then let the brakes cool till I needed to slow down again.

Today's B's are more powerful and have much more sophisticated engine controls, albeit there will still be a huge power loss as mentioned by the other posters. I think your Roadtrek would do just fine. Watch the temperature gauge as others indicate but I doubt engine heating will be a problem. The air will be cooler as you go up. The engine will cool better in a lower gear. And manually switching gears will keep the transmission cooler as opposed to letting the transmission gear up and down. We won't be doing Pike's Peak again, not because I think our B isn't up to it, but because 30 years later I think we may not be up to it. That's some mighty thin air up there.

[tonyandkaren]

That's good news from the doctor so go for it! Th elevation is pretty high in Yellowstone and I don't think you'll come down in elevation much from there to Colorado Springs. You should be fairly well acclimated.

We had no problems at all either going up or coming down - no overheating or hot brakes. There's a point on the way down where you must stop and the rangers check your brakes with a heat sensor.

[esquaredg]

Doctor's response...

Hi Ms.G..,

You should be all right to go 15,000 feet. You are not anemic. However make sure you are staying hydrated. Compression stockings would be a good idea to prevent blood clots and exercise your calf muscles when sitting.

Have lots of fun !

Regards,

Dr. N...

---

So the option to do this is still on the table... Obviously... it is of a high priority for my wife or she would not have sent the email to the doctor. One of the previous posters said that during the ascent to stop and "acclimate" yourself... I agree with that idea and plan to be careful.

I have not heard from many about "if they have actually done this themselves in their Class B / C". I was hoping to hear comments like "hey... no problem"... to "Holy Moses... I would never do that again". lol

Again, thanks to all for your comments and posts.

\e