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

[hmknightnc]

Been down all those fun little routes several times in all kinds of combinations. The hardest combination is my 18k# horse trailer with a non-exhaust brake diesel dually. I generally go down in 2nd gear starting at the top at around 35mph let engine hold until speed gets to 40mph then brake fairly hard down to 30 mph then speed back up to 40mph and repeat until at bottom. Alternate your brake use, do not ride your brakes continually.

It's not that bad, just slow.

[Drew_K]

Going downhill really isn't that a big a deal as long as you use a lower gear and don't ride the brakes. You'll be fine.

[Dennis_M_M]

Pick your speed and gear at the top, let the speed build to 5-10 MPH over your target, then brake firmly to bring speed about 5 MPH below target. Then repeat. Main thing is never ride the brakes, let them cool between firm applications.

With a stick shift avoid shifting up or down, pick a gear and stick with it.

Slow is always better!

[DavisK]

Since it's your parents' trailer and not yours, you need to make sure you adjust your brake controller for their trailer. You want to make certain that the trailer will be doing its share of the braking if you need to apply the brakes during the descent.

[CampingN_C_]

Terryallan wrote:
As others have said. Gear down. Your sig says you have a gasser. So you have lots of engine braking in the lower gears. I come down Black Mountain in 2nd. I start down 321 in 1st, and up shift to 2nd part of the way down, I start down 221 in 1st, and upshift to 2nd after the top 2 miles. I come down 226 in first, all the way down in 1st. I also do 16 in 2nd.

You didn't say which road you will come down. The interstates are easiest. They have the same max grade % all across the US.

Been down all of these with campers. 226 will take a few years off your life it's so stressful!! The rest are a piece of cake.
Better to start low and upshift than vise-versa.

[coolbreeze01]

bud121156 wrote:
IIRC, its 6% for 6 miles.

6% isn't really considered a grade here. Be careful and have fun.

[Terryallan]

As others have said. Gear down. Your sig says you have a gasser. So you have lots of engine braking in the lower gears. I come down Black Mountain in 2nd. I start down 321 in 1st, and up shift to 2nd part of the way down, I start down 221 in 1st, and upshift to 2nd after the top 2 miles. I come down 226 in first, all the way down in 1st. I also do 16 in 2nd.

You didn't say which road you will come down. The interstates are easiest. They have the same max grade % all across the US.

[bud121156]

IIRC, its 6% for 6 miles.

[coolbreeze01]

bud121156 wrote:
I came down Black Mountain on I-40, this week. I have a smaller trailer and a V-8 Silverado 1500. I was in tow mode and pulled down in third gear. Hardly had to use the brakes.

What % grade is that? Glad you made it down.

[bud121156]

I came down Black Mountain on I-40, this week. I have a smaller trailer and a V-8 Silverado 1500. I was in tow mode and pulled down in third gear. Hardly had to use the brakes.

[midnightsadie]

I just came back from morehead city using rt 24,40,74,, and rt 77 north to ohio its not bad , use towhaul and common sense , brake only a little at a time ,if you ride the brakes they,ll fry, stay in the right lane go at your own pace. enjoy the view.

[zackyboy3rs]

Thanks. Experience is everything.

[spoon059]

I concur with what others said. Have your speed managed at the TOP of the hill. Its easy to add speed, its more difficult to lose speed.

If you need to brake, I believe it is preferred to stab your brakes hard and quick rather than ride the brake pedal. The idea is that a quicker and more sudden brake won't produce the heat that a long gradual braking does.

Don't be afraid to go too slow. People might be pissed they are stuck behind you, but they will be WAY more pissed if the road is closed due to an accident.

You have a 3/4 ton truck and a relatively light trailer. You should be fine. Good luck.

[coolbreeze01]

Depending on how steep the grade is, start down in 1st. gear. It is much easier to up-shift than downshift. Good luck.

[hddecker]

zackyboy3rs wrote:
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

First slow down to the speed you want to maintain on the down grade, well before you start your descent.

Tow haul button on or down shift manually your choice. You don't say what vehicle you are towing with, but the same applies use your engines transmission and engine to provide much of the braking. If you need to use your brakes for more than a couple of seconds to scrub off speed, you should drop down another gear.