Need advise towing I-70 West going from Denver to Vail

[davestar]

Hi,
This is my 2nd trip with my camper trailer and would like to hear advise or experiences towing a camper on I-70.
I have a camper whose dry weight is 3080 lbs and has a 46G fresh water tank that will be full.
My overall estimate of the weight of the camper would be about 5200 lbs plus 350 lbs of camping gear on my truck bed.
I am towing the camper with a Nissan Titan V8 with a Tekonsha P3 brake controller set at 7.0
I've driven that route many times on my car and I know the speed limit varies with a max of 65 mph.
what is the recommended speed or advised speed for towing a camper that size on some of those 6% grade down slopes for a distance of over 8 miles?
Should I take frequent pit stops to cool the brakes and engine? Please help.

[brirene]

Glad it went well for you! Now start planning the next one. Happy trails!

[davestar]

Thanks to everyone. We had a great trip and returned home safely. Braking in bursts to dump speed was a great suggestion. We kept it under 55 and a few times had to lock it in 3rd gear. It was actually quite enjoyable and easier than I originally was stressing out about.

[Passin_Thru]

Drive like I do! LOL Actually 45 down a 6% is good until you aer used to mountains. I was raised in the Rockies and learned to drive truck over the Old Levita Pass which was 13 %. Boy did our brakes smoke coming down with a load of Potatoes. Have fun, envoy the scenery and stop and watch BNSF trains climb the hills. Some use about 30800 horsepower and may go 10 MPH up.

[6_7_tow_rig]

Why not tow with a full tank? If 300-400 lbs exceeds your limits its time to rethink your setup. Taking your own fresh water is smart.

[Grit_dog]

I've driven that route hundreds of times. Just keep er slow coming down from the tunnel and down into Vail. Those are the 2 worst grades.
A buddy with a Titan regularly towed his similar weight boat through there. No issues plus you have trailer brakes.
Don't fret it and just enjoy.
Keep er in a lower gear coming down and use the stab the brakes and then let off for a while method rather than riding the brakes down.
Have fun in the Flattops. I miss them although AK doesn't suck!

[gkainz]

lots of places to top off the water tank, including nearly every National Forest campground, as well as many other places. Ask at any Tourist info or Chamber of Commerce, city parks, etc. With that said, I end up filling mine before I go ... should take my own advice and just have 5 gallons or so in there.

Be prepared for some ugly delays due to construction on I-70 at the Twin Tunnels just east of Idaho Springs. This weekend saw 30-60 minute delays westbound, and possible delays of 30 minutes either way due to blasting.

[Hamops]

We did that road several years ago. I keep the speed at about 55mph ascending and descending and only used the brakes a couple of times. While a diesel doesn't have the compression braking of a gasser, I was still able to maintain between 55 to 58mph on the descent to Denver.

[skyhammer]

Since you have a Titan, be sure to lock out 5th gear when going up the mountain,this will help prevent the tranny from over heating.
Tow mode on the Titan only works in the first 3 gears,will probably have use manual mode to down shift and hold the gear when going down hill.

[davestar]

jpetrey wrote:

davestar wrote:
Hi,
This is my 2nd trip with my camper trailer and would like to hear advise or experiences towing a camper on I-70.
I have a camper whose dry weight is 3080 lbs and has a 46G fresh water tank that will be full.
My overall estimate of the weight of the camper would be about 5200 lbs plus 350 lbs of camping gear on my truck bed.
I am towing the camper with a Nissan Titan V8 with a Tekonsha P3 brake controller set at 7.0
I've driven that route many times on my car and I know the speed limit varies with a max of 65 mph.
what is the recommended speed or advised speed for towing a camper that size on some of those 6% grade down slopes for a distance of over 8 miles?
Should I take frequent pit stops to cool the brakes and engine? Please help.

Do you really need the fresh water tank to be completely full?

I dont have to...are there places in vail where i could fill up water? We are camping in the white river national forest so i will need water.

[md2lgyk]

What's the point of traveling with a full fresh water tank? Though we have a 58-gallon tank, we only keep five or ten gallons in it, enough to flush the toilet on the road if we need to.

[jpetrey]

davestar wrote:
Hi,
This is my 2nd trip with my camper trailer and would like to hear advise or experiences towing a camper on I-70.
I have a camper whose dry weight is 3080 lbs and has a 46G fresh water tank that will be full.
My overall estimate of the weight of the camper would be about 5200 lbs plus 350 lbs of camping gear on my truck bed.
I am towing the camper with a Nissan Titan V8 with a Tekonsha P3 brake controller set at 7.0
I've driven that route many times on my car and I know the speed limit varies with a max of 65 mph.
what is the recommended speed or advised speed for towing a camper that size on some of those 6% grade down slopes for a distance of over 8 miles?
Should I take frequent pit stops to cool the brakes and engine? Please help.

Do you really need the fresh water tank to be completely full?

[Dick_B]

Quick, get a copy of Mountain Directory West that shows several extreme locations on that stretch of highway.

[tsetsaf]

DesertHawk wrote:

brirene wrote:
As you're descending you don't want to ride the brakes. That would cause them to overheat and affect braking ability. Don't be afraid to shift to a lower gear to keep the speed under control. If you're picking up too much speed, hit your brakes hard for brief periods to dump speed, then release them. You don't want to just "free fall" and then slam them on. Stay in the slow lane, let others go around, don't worry about it. You won't be the only one.

:C Very Well Said!

Excellent advise. We recently travelled east over I-70 and all I can say is wow! What a beautiful highway. We never exceed 55 and had zero issues. Heed the above advise and try to find your engines happy spot for "compression" braking. This would be the speed and gear that holds you at a safe speed without (or with minimal) use of your brakes. Regarding your P3 settings: play with the boost and voltage so that your trailer tugs the truck on initial braking and then holds that pressure through out the stop.

[DesertHawk]

brirene wrote:
As you're descending you don't want to ride the brakes. That would cause them to overheat and affect braking ability. Don't be afraid to shift to a lower gear to keep the speed under control. If you're picking up too much speed, hit your brakes hard for brief periods to dump speed, then release them. You don't want to just "free fall" and then slam them on. Stay in the slow lane, let others go around, don't worry about it. You won't be the only one.

:C Very Well Said!