We are always glad to have our Chevy 1500 when we go over the Grapevine. Usually when we go over it with the TM, there is snow on the side of the road or up on the hills, because we're headed down to Desert Hot Springs in January and we don't really have to worry about overheating.
We really appreciate the tow capacity when we're headed up to the Sierras or on the I-5 near Ashland, OR.
Wayne suggests doing what B always says...turn off the A/C when going up a steep hill. We even do that with our cars, it just puts less stress on the engine. That's also a good idea about turning on the heater, if you can stand it inside the car
. Bryan and I were lamenting the demise of windwings driving somewhere last week, it could have been on the way home from the TM rally.