Driving the mountains... grade question.

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

Planning my trip, to drive back home (GA to WA state) in June.  I've only pulled through the smaller mountains in N. GA.   When looking at these passes, can anyone tell me what percentage should make me stop and go, "okay...this is steep".   Going up the plan is to stay in the right lane and go slow...possibly downshift??   Going down, I know to let the exhaust brakes do a majority of the work... I think I downshift?

Please let me know, what you know....

[Helmsey......Todd 134]

I think I'd be inclined to let the truck to the work as far as shifting\braking. With the weights you guys are towing I can't imagine there will be much to slow you down too much.

[PghBob 31]

Know the capacity of your tow vehicle.  Are you near maxed out?  Do you have some extra capacity?

If in doubt about the higher mountains, plan your trip to the degree possible, to avoid the higher grades.  I believe there is a book published called the Mountain Directory (west) for sale at many truck stops that gives good info. regarding roads and road-grades.  Many RVers out west use this.  It will help your planning.

Good luck and have a fun trip. 

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

3 hours ago, Helmsey......Todd said:

I think I'd be inclined to let the truck to the work as far as shifting\braking. With the weights you guys are towing I can't imagine there will be much to slow you down too much.

Thanks.  Wasn't sure about the shifting part.

3 hours ago, PghBob said:

Know the capacity of your tow vehicle.  Are you near maxed out?  Do you have some extra capacity?

If in doubt about the higher mountains, plan your trip to the degree possible, to avoid the higher grades.  I believe there is a book published called the Mountain Directory (west) for sale at many truck stops that gives good info. regarding roads and road-grades.  Many RVers out west use this.  It will help your planning.

Good luck and have a fun trip. 

We're good on the truck. Thank you for the tip on the book, I may look into that.

[AldeanFan 4]

If in doubt, follow the transport trucks. Slow down when they slow down and let them set the pace.

If you're gaining speed down hill you're in to high a gear. If you're slowing down going uphill it's time to shift.

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[Duane 152]

I'm sure some of the Ford owners will be along shortly to verify, but from what I remember when I had my F-250 back in 2008, I would just leave the truck in drive and if I needed for it to down shift, I would just tap the brake and it would do it.  If the level of the grade caused the truck to accelerate past my comfort level or overspeed the engine, even if it was operating in a lower gear, I would depress the brake pedal firmly to slow the truck down the immediately release the pedal... Whatever you do, you do not want to ride the brakes so that they overheat.

[caveat lector 181]

2011 f250 turbo dieasel here. put it in tow mode, and set the cruise control. I never touch the brakes going through tenn mtns.

Note: I took it to the top of pikes peak. I wasn't towing, but the truck was like magic. It controlled my speed all the way down. At the inspection point, the ranger was impressed how little heat was showing on his laser heat gun inpector.

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

4 hours ago, AldeanFan said:

 

If in doubt, follow the transport trucks. Slow down when they slow down and let them set the pace.

If you're gaining speed down hill you're in to high a gear. If you're slowing down going uphill it's time to shift.

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Great tips, thank you!

 

3 hours ago, Duane said:

I'm sure some of the Ford owners will be along shortly to verify, but from what I remember when I had my F-250 back in 2008, I would just leave the truck in drive and if I needed for it to down shift, I would just tap the brake and it would do it.  If the level of the grade caused the truck to accelerate past my comfort level or overspeed the engine, even if it was operating in a lower gear, I would depress the brake pedal firmly to slow the truck down the immediately release the pedal... Whatever you do, you do not want to ride the brakes so that they overheat.

Thank you!  Yes, the exhaust break is new to me,  but I now understand that their purpose is to prevent your brakes from overheating.

1 hour ago, caveat lector said:

2011 f250 turbo dieasel here. put it in tow mode, and set the cruise control. I never touch the brakes going through tenn mtns.

Note: I took it to the top of pikes peak. I wasn't towing, but the truck was like magic. It controlled my speed all the way down. At the inspection point, the ranger was impressed how little heat was showing on his laser heat gun inpector.

Thank you!  That's our (current) TV as well ☺️

[keith_h 420]

19 hours ago, Duane said:

I'm sure some of the Ford owners will be along shortly to verify, but from what I remember when I had my F-250 back in 2008, I would just leave the truck in drive and if I needed for it to down shift, I would just tap the brake and it would do it.  If the level of the grade caused the truck to accelerate past my comfort level or overspeed the engine, even if it was operating in a lower gear, I would depress the brake pedal firmly to slow the truck down the immediately release the pedal... Whatever you do, you do not want to ride the brakes so that they overheat.

Yes, Tow Mode in Fords still down shifts if you tap the brake or use it lightly (at least that is how my 2015 F-150 is. Same for others I've read about on various Ford truck forums).

If you stick to the interstates you shouldn't have too many problems with grades. A few might be steep but they are designed knowing that big rigs and other vehicles will need to go slow and need room to maneuver. Don't quote me but I believe that the maximum allowable grade for interstates is 6%. However some of those could be miles long. If you've ever driven the Black Mountain grade on I-40 in NC you should be able to handle any of the other major grades in the US.

[bdm 47]

We tow a 12,000lbs fifth through Tenn all the time.  Our 2012 Ram with a diesel will slow our truck and trailer down to about 45mph on the steepest hills along I-75 and I-40 with no break input.  

Going I-40 from Ten to NC that is some of the twistiest-est highway and steep i've ever driven.  Twice i got the feeling of tail wagging the dog, and just gave a little manual trailer break to help keep everything aligned.   

I think you'll find that with the engine break, and the trucks controle of the gears will keep you at a very safe and reasonable speed.  Like it was mentioned before, follow the big rigs and make sure to give them some room.  There's not need to overtake going up or down a mountain, the extra 2 or 3 minutes arnt worth the effort. 

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

Thank you!

[PGHFiend 140]

I can tell you that the Fancy Gap mountains in the very last 7 miles of Virginia are in fact a 7 percent grade, and my 2008 F250 with the v10 pulls my 10k 5th wheel up without beating on the truck around 50 mph in around 3rd gear out of 5. Going down, I let the tow/haul mode do it's thing and basically coast down in 4th gear at around 55 or 60. 

I do have a class a cdl, and I suggest staying away from big trucks as most are inexperienced and drive way too fast on downhills. 

Also, when reading a driver's manual for big trucks, it's suggestion for downhills is to use one lower gear than the one you climbed in....which is reaaaallllyyy slow. Braking suggestions are to slow to 5mph below your target speed ,  then coast to target and repeat.  I think transmissions are capable to hold most any vehicle to a decent set speed and will save all of the wear and tear on the brakes.

Either way, if it feels wrong or sounds wrong....it probably is wrong. 

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

13 hours ago, PGHFiend said:

 

Either way, if it feels wrong or sounds wrong....it probably is wrong. 

Agreed.  Common sense is almost always a great gauge!  Thank you!!