Fear of Driving to the Mountains
I was hoping for any kind of tips for mountain driving. Basically I've read that driving a large motorhome on winding mountain roads is a challenge that can cause overheating, brake issues (overheatin...
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This comment isn't about nervousness in the mountains, its about nervousness with something new. I've driven a lot of mountains.
About 12 years ago we set off to Mexico following friends in their rig. From the border at Nagales to San Carlos as a day of white knuckle driving: Narrow roads and no shoulders with usually steep drop offs at the edged.
From San Carlos on to Mazatlan was two more days of the same, but I was beginning to get a little less uncomfortable.
Then we drove on our own to Puerto Vallarta and back by which time I no longer flinched when a semi blasted by, our mirrors no more that 6" apart.
Now I am quite comfortable (even though we lost a mirror to a tree once).
Just saying, new driving experiences are often nerve wracking. With a little practice and experience you will soon gain confidence.
However, even the most experience of us can get overconfident:
In our former motorhome, a 30" gasser with 16" wheels (read small brakes!) towing a Chevy Tracker, we did the Espinoza del Diablo from Durango to Mazatlan about 6 years ago and over heated the brakes near the bottom. We had made the mistake of stopping for a couple of minutes in 90+ temps when the brakes were already hot and with out the "cooling" airflow some of the brake fluid (or moisture in the fluid) vapourised. When we pulled back on the road and went to brake for a curve the pedal went to the floor! Fortunately we were still going slow enough that I could shift into 1st gear. Pumping of the brake pedal got a some slowing. Also fortunately we were right behind a big bus so I knew that at worst I would be able to run into his back end! I followed the bus (at maybe 20 mph) for about 20 miles by which time we were out of the worst part of the hills and curves and had our brakes back. In Mazatlan I had the system flushed and refilled with fresh brake fluid.
Here is a clip that I found on you tube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Au9tdT_iU1A
And another one, doing it by motorcycle!
Note that any speed signs you see are in Kilometers per hour, not miles. A factor of 5/8
About 12 years ago we set off to Mexico following friends in their rig. From the border at Nagales to San Carlos as a day of white knuckle driving: Narrow roads and no shoulders with usually steep drop offs at the edged.
From San Carlos on to Mazatlan was two more days of the same, but I was beginning to get a little less uncomfortable.
Then we drove on our own to Puerto Vallarta and back by which time I no longer flinched when a semi blasted by, our mirrors no more that 6" apart.
Now I am quite comfortable (even though we lost a mirror to a tree once).
Just saying, new driving experiences are often nerve wracking. With a little practice and experience you will soon gain confidence.
However, even the most experience of us can get overconfident:
In our former motorhome, a 30" gasser with 16" wheels (read small brakes!) towing a Chevy Tracker, we did the Espinoza del Diablo from Durango to Mazatlan about 6 years ago and over heated the brakes near the bottom. We had made the mistake of stopping for a couple of minutes in 90+ temps when the brakes were already hot and with out the "cooling" airflow some of the brake fluid (or moisture in the fluid) vapourised. When we pulled back on the road and went to brake for a curve the pedal went to the floor! Fortunately we were still going slow enough that I could shift into 1st gear. Pumping of the brake pedal got a some slowing. Also fortunately we were right behind a big bus so I knew that at worst I would be able to run into his back end! I followed the bus (at maybe 20 mph) for about 20 miles by which time we were out of the worst part of the hills and curves and had our brakes back. In Mazatlan I had the system flushed and refilled with fresh brake fluid.
Here is a clip that I found on you tube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Au9tdT_iU1A
And another one, doing it by motorcycle!
Note that any speed signs you see are in Kilometers per hour, not miles. A factor of 5/8
