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Old 07-05-2009, 06:25 AM   #15
lnussbau
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As mentioned in the above posts, there are two aspects to towing (or even just driving) in the mountains, especially those in the western U.S.: climbing and descending. Many of the factors apply equally to the eastern mountains, such as steep grades up and down, but the higher altitudes of the western mountains rob your engine of power and rob the air of its cooling power, that is, the air is thinner so cannot extract as much heat from cooling devices.

Wayne did a marvelous job of covering the uphill portion, especially talking about gearing, etc. One other item I'd like to mention is something I've only encountered once. My TV used to be an Explorer Sport Trac with the big V-6. On one road headed from Denver up to the Golden Gate State Park there was a very steep grade (well over 6%) on this narrow two lane road, and due to traffic I had to stop on this grade. Unfortunately, I couldn't get started again from the spot where I stopped -- there just wasn't enough oomph in the Sport Trac to do the job -- so I wound up backing down the hill a bit (thankfully not much over a hundred feet) to a bit more level spot where I could get rolling again. That's part of why I now have an F-150.

Both Wayne and John also have some good things to say about the downhill leg, but I'd add a little: the trailer pushes you. "let 'er roll" isn't always a good idea, except on the shallower slopes, since your speed may soon get out of hand, either exceeding what is safe for the tires/vehicle or what is safe for the curves(or both). In these cases, you may want to get slow enough to downshift (maybe more than one gear, depending on steepness, vehicle, road conditions, traffic, etc) to let engine braking reduce your braking needs to a few moments every little while, rather than almost continuous. You don't want the brakes to fade and you don't want them to catch fire.

Note that engine braking in a given gear won't be nearly as effective with the TM attached as it is without it, since the TM pushes hard going downhill. Do not let your vehicle build up a head of steam on the descent -- you may not be able to overcome it on the steeper slopes, especially those which have curves (nearly all of them). Be aware, too, that on many occasions the downhill grades may continue for several miles.

Finally, when there are warnings about steep grades for truckers, consider that those warnings also apply to you, if not quite to the same extent. That TM, combined with gravity, puts quite a load on your TV.
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