Descending down a mountain

[zackyboy3rs]

1st timer hauling North Carolina mountains. Little nervous about the descent on the way back to flat land. I will be towing my parents TT which is 7500lbs total weight. Give me any tips or pointers. Tow/haul button on, gear down? Bend over & kiss my a$$ goodbye or what? Thanks

[zackyboy3rs]

opnspaces wrote:
Sorry don't know the area at all or I'd offer some advice. I'm curious though, did you have to use the gears to descend a mountain to get there? If so how did it go?

No. Hwy 16 was pretty much up the mountain & twisting. From Raccon Hollar I am about 10 minutes from 221then 15-20 minutes to 421. I think once I get on 421 it will be about 25 miles to Wilksboro.

[CampingN_C_]

zackyboy3rs wrote:
Sorry I have not responded but no wifi at campground & cell service is poor.

We made it about 2pm Wednesday. Very nice & quiet cg. Great views in this area. Raining a lot but that helps keep it cool. I was thinking taken 221 back to 421 was going to be easier but I noticed a sign stating 8% grade bAck towards Wilksboro. Does anyone know that stretch?

What campground are you in ?
Going down 421 isn't bad at all, no hair pins and 4 lanes.

[opnspaces]

Sorry don't know the area at all or I'd offer some advice. I'm curious though, did you have to use the gears to descend a mountain to get there? If so how did it go?

[zackyboy3rs]

Sorry I have not responded but no wifi at campground & cell service is poor.

We made it about 2pm Wednesday. Very nice & quiet cg. Great views in this area. Raining a lot but that helps keep it cool. I was thinking taken 221 back to 421 was going to be easier but I noticed a sign stating 8% grade bAck towards Wilksboro. Does anyone know that stretch?

[brulaz]

Terryallan wrote:

brulaz wrote:
One more thing, if you're going down a hill with lots of sharp 20mph turns, that can be a lot harder on your brakes than a steeper, but straighter and faster descent like on the Interstates.

And the drum brakes will fade faster on your trailer than the disk brakes on your truck. The trailer brakes will need constant re-adjustment via your controller as they heat up. On the western descent with all the hair-pin turns down the pass in Great Smoky Mountains N.P., I kept increasing the voltage to my trailer brakes as they heated up so the trailer would keep doing its part. I also started manually operating them to give the truck brakes a break. That was all in 2nd gear. All the brakes were stinking hot by the time we got down. Probably should have pulled over to let them cool.

Appears that 2nd gear was too high for your needs. You should have used 1st. You would have saved your brakes. OR. you have a diesel with no add on engine braking.

Another gear between first and second would have been perfect. But in first alone, it would not go over 15-20 mph without screaming (not sure of the rpms, definitely high).

The speed limit is 35mph down the mountain, but the hairpins are all 20 mph (and there's many, a dozen?). Never put my foot on the throttle, but in second gear it would accelerate to 40 mph between the 20 mph hairpins, so I would have to brake.

Yes, engine braking is not a strong point for the 3.5L Ecoboost. It could get me up that hill real quick. In fact it was a blast, like a 15,000# sport car. But coming down is another story. And it's the only the west slope of the Newfound Gap highway that's a problem. East slope is easy, not so many hair-pin turns.

But now that I know what's what, will be more prepared next time. In particular, will be looking for a place to pull over and cool down about half way down the mountain. There's a lot of nice hiking trails in the Smokies, that's why we go there.

Also might get slotted discs and more aggressive brake pads, but the originals still have a lot left so that won't be for a long time.

[DiskDoctr]

If your brake controller has a boost function like the Prodigy, set it higher. You can use b2 or b3, which I often do on steep grades, like down the mountain from Black Moshanon State Park near State College PA.

It makes the trailer brakes more aggressive than on standard proportional control. No need to adjust brake controller. It's important your brakes are adjusted properly and remain so while towing.

What make/model brake controller do you have?

[Terryallan]

brulaz wrote:
One more thing, if you're going down a hill with lots of sharp 20mph turns, that can be a lot harder on your brakes than a steeper, but straighter and faster descent like on the Interstates.

And the drum brakes will fade faster on your trailer than the disk brakes on your truck. The trailer brakes will need constant re-adjustment via your controller as they heat up. On the western descent with all the hair-pin turns down the pass in Great Smoky Mountains N.P., I kept increasing the voltage to my trailer brakes as they heated up so the trailer would keep doing its part. I also started manually operating them to give the truck brakes a break. That was all in 2nd gear. All the brakes were stinking hot by the time we got down. Probably should have pulled over to let them cool.

Appears that 2nd gear was too high for your needs. You should have used 1st. You would have saved your brakes. OR. you have a diesel with no add on engine braking.

[Terryallan]

opnspaces wrote:

bud121156 wrote:

Nvr2loud wrote:

bud121156 wrote:
I was more concerned about the engine turning ~4000 RPMs going up the mountain. I backed off, and kept the engine closer to 3000-3200 and was much more comfortable.

What engine do you have in your 1500?

I have the 5.3 in my 2011 Sierra and I try to keep it above 3000 RPM almost the entire time I tow. It produces peak HP at 5200 RPM and peak torque at 4000 RPM.

I find the transmission gets way too hot if the engine speed runs too low, and the fuel consumption goes way up when the engine speed runs too low.

I'm still trying to figure this truck/towing out. This was my first trip. So, I shouldnt be too concerned with the high RPMs?

To a point, no. but every engine can and will be damaged if you let it rev too high. Does your truck have a tachometer with a redline on it. If so then don't let it get into the red (I prefer to stay about 500 - 800 RPM away from red) you won't damage your engine.

New vehicles do have a rev limiter. It won't let you rev it into the danger zone with the gas pedal.

[hddecker]

opnspaces wrote:

brulaz wrote:
One more thing, if you're going down a hill with lots of sharp 20mph turns, that can be a lot harder on your brakes than a steeper, but straighter and faster descent like on the Interstates.

And the drum brakes will fade faster on your trailer than the disk brakes on your truck. The trailer brakes will need constant re-adjustment via your controller as they heat up. On the western descent with all the hair-pin turns down the pass in Great Smoky Mountains N.P., I kept increasing the voltage to my trailer brakes as they heated up so the trailer would keep doing its part. I also started manually operating them to give the truck brakes a break. That was all in 2nd gear. All the brakes were stinking hot by the time we got down. Probably should have pulled over to let them cool.

I've never driven a downhill like that with the 20mph turns but I can see how that would heat the brakes up. Were the truck brakes starting to act funny that prompted you to use the trailer brakes alone? Just wondering because it seems that if the trailer brakes will fade faster then the truck it would be a mistake to use them alone to also slow the truck.

Applying the manual switch alone to brake is going to cook your brakes in record time. The manual switch is there for emergencies not for regular breaking.

Trailer brakes get out of adjustment fast enough as it is, you don't want to compound the problem.

We have some for the steepest and winding roads in BC one of them being on our route to the coast. It is also the route that the trucks hauling the ore from the mine use.

I pull into the brake check at the top of the grade, (this is only about 20 miles from home) give the bakes a couple of taps to make sure they are doing what they should, then pull back out on to the highway, 2nd gear from top to bottom and I only need to apply the brakes at the two hairpins. I never get above 30 MPH.

[opnspaces]

bobbyg123 wrote:
Should I shift into 2nd gear at the top of the mountain, get into the right lane, and keep my speed under 50MPH and deal with the dirty looks as people pass me?

In a word, yes.

The other option is to take a chance on overheating your brakes and having an accident. Now you will be getting more dirty looks from more motorists as traffic is now backed up for miles because your trailer is spread across all lanes. The best outcome from this situation is you are still alive to be able to see the dirty looks as they crawl by the wreck.

[opnspaces]

bud121156 wrote:

Nvr2loud wrote:

bud121156 wrote:
I was more concerned about the engine turning ~4000 RPMs going up the mountain. I backed off, and kept the engine closer to 3000-3200 and was much more comfortable.

What engine do you have in your 1500?

I have the 5.3 in my 2011 Sierra and I try to keep it above 3000 RPM almost the entire time I tow. It produces peak HP at 5200 RPM and peak torque at 4000 RPM.

I find the transmission gets way too hot if the engine speed runs too low, and the fuel consumption goes way up when the engine speed runs too low.

I'm still trying to figure this truck/towing out. This was my first trip. So, I shouldnt be too concerned with the high RPMs?

To a point, no. but every engine can and will be damaged if you let it rev too high. Does your truck have a tachometer with a redline on it. If so then don't let it get into the red (I prefer to stay about 500 - 800 RPM away from red) you won't damage your engine.

[bobbyg123]

I've towed my 6500# loaded trailer with my F150 to Yellowstone and throughout our Pacific NW mountains, but I've never "really" figured out the best way to descend using my 4-speed automatic transmission. Should I shift into 2nd gear at the top of the mountain, get into the right lane, and keep my speed under 50MPH and deal with the dirty looks as people pass me?

Going uphill, I have no concerns about revving the engine above 4000RPM. I burn a ton of gas, but the engine actually seems to like being revved high.

[Terryallan]

Monaco Montclair wrote:
in 18wheeler school, they say to apply the foot brake enough to keep the speed from building, the material in the pads, are desgined to take care of that much.just drag the brakes, ever so slite. works for me. now its all happy-camping

That is the way I was taught. First time I started down the mountain in the big truck. I was stabbing, and coasting. Driver of 28 years looked over at me and asked. Whick runaway ramp you plan on using? Cause if you keep that up. You gonna need one. Told me just to hol it at 35 MPH with the brakes. We didn't have a exhaust brake, so service brake was all the braking we had.

[bud121156]

Nvr2loud wrote:

bud121156 wrote:
I was more concerned about the engine turning ~4000 RPMs going up the mountain. I backed off, and kept the engine closer to 3000-3200 and was much more comfortable.

What engine do you have in your 1500?

I have the 5.3 in my 2011 Sierra and I try to keep it above 3000 RPM almost the entire time I tow. It produces peak HP at 5200 RPM and peak torque at 4000 RPM.

I find the transmission gets way too hot if the engine speed runs too low, and the fuel consumption goes way up when the engine speed runs too low.

I'm still trying to figure this truck/towing out. This was my first trip. So, I shouldnt be too concerned with the high RPMs?