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Steepest Grades

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  • #1

    Steepest Grades

    Hi All,

    Here's a link to an article that I posted at BCC.....It's has a link to an rv forum about driving on steep grades....

    http://forum.bettercarcare.com/showthread.php?p=2638#post2638



    I got a chuckle reading about some of their horror stories, so I thought I'd share it with you here.
    r. b.
    Tags: None
  • #2
    There is some good reading there... About 10 years ago my parents and I were driving in the mountains, can't remember where but we followed a car and old couple driving down them with the brakes on the ENTIRE way and the entire way down we had a lovely burning smell coming in our car. Can't imagine there were any brakes left at the bottom. Some people!?!?
    Brandon

    2007 Black Chevy Avalanche
    My Albums: Avalanche
    Meguiars Online Acronyms - Meguiars Product List....

    Comment

    • #3
      Hey RB,

      Living in mountainous BC, I KNOW steep hills! A couple of years ago, my wife and I were towing our 28' travel trailer up to a mountain lake. The highway had construction, soooooo.... I took a short cut!

      It was a paved road, but it was soooooo steep and winding that my truck, with its V10 and 4.30 gears was in first gear in many spots!! I have a tow rating of 13,800 lbs (GCWR is 20,000 lbs) so the truck is a pulling machine! Could you imagine if it was a 1/2 ton with a V8? You would not make it up the hill! Needless to say, we took the highway on the way back. IRONICALLY, the road construction was already completed when we were going up to the lake!!

      Oops!

      Tim
      Tim Lingor's Product Reviews

      Comment

      • #4
        Originally posted by 2hotford
        Hey RB,

        Living in mountianous BC, I KNOW steep hills! A couple of years ago, my wife and I were towing our 28' travel trailer up to a mountain lake. The highway had construction, soooooo.... I took a short cut!

        It was a paved road, but it was soooooo steep and winding that my truck, with its V10 and 4.30 gears was in first gear in many spots!! I have a tow rating of 13,800 lbs (GCWR is 20,000 lbs) so the truck is a pulling machine! Could you imagine if it was a 1/2 ton with a V8? You would not make it up the hill! Needless to say, we took the highway on the way back. IRONICALLY, the road construction was already completed when we were going up to the lake!!

        Oops!

        Tim
        Hmmmmmm............I see why you bought the V-10 now........Better to be safe than sorry.
        r. b.

        Comment

        • #5
          Originally posted by gb387
          There is some good reading there... About 10 years ago my parents and I were driving in the mountains, can't remember where but we followed a car and old couple driving down them with the brakes on the ENTIRE way and the entire way down we had a lovely burning smell coming in our car. Can't imagine there were any brakes left at the bottom. Some people!?!?
          I know the feeling gb

          Hwy. 441 runs between Cherokee, NC & Gatlinburg, TN through the Great Smokey Mountains National Park.

          It's very steep & curvy in places as it goes over the hump of the Smokies, and it's bumper to bumper all the way during the 4th of July.

          Some tend to ride there brakes more than others do, and that makes it harder for all involved. We had to stop and cool our brakes a few times!
          r. b.

          Comment

          • #6
            While were on the subject, believe it not but NC has the steepest railroad grade in the USA!

            It's called Saluda Grade ......You can run a Google search and find all kinds of info about it.

            We're only talking about a 5% grade here (That's steep for a train), but there's only a handful of train engineers that are qualified to bring a train down the grade. They have to hold the train 8 mph or it could derail!

            Which has happened a few times over the years.
            r. b.

            Comment

            • #7
              2hotford... do you use all that tow rating? That is alot of weight!

              My truck will pull a tiny 5,000 pounds.



              RB... I have heard of that pass and some wrecks, that has got to be quite the experience.
              Brandon

              2007 Black Chevy Avalanche
              My Albums: Avalanche
              Meguiars Online Acronyms - Meguiars Product List....

              Comment

              • #8
                Originally posted by gb387
                2hotford... do you use all that tow rating? That is alot of weight!

                My truck will pull a tiny 5,000 pounds.



                RB... I have heard of that pass and some wrecks, that has got to be quite the experience.
                Hey,

                No, but with the truck and trailer both fully loaded, my gross weight is around 16,000 lbs. Trust me...that IS a lot of weight! But the truck handles it with no problems.

                Tim
                Tim Lingor's Product Reviews

                Comment

                • #9
                  Originally posted by gb387
                  RB.... I have heard of that pass and some wrecks, that has got to be quite the experience.
                  There have been a quite a few RR buffs over the years that have traveled many miles to the area just to ride down the grade.
                  r. b.

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