Crossing the Rockies with a 24' trailer and fear of heights

[JTucholke]

Got a new job out West - very West. As in Central Washington. Seeing has how the 1969 Coronet R/T I've been restoring is not quite yet running, it looks like I will be pulling it out in my 24' Haulmark trailer from IL. The trailer has two 5000 pound axles, and I think my car should come in under 4000 pounds. Just had the brakes done on the trailer. Truck should have enough power, and the trailer has stabilizer bars and a Reese sway controller. I'm happy to provide pics if anyone wants more details. I'm guessing declines will be the roughest part.



I've been pulling gravity boxes on the farm for 20+ years, but after driving through the Rockies with my wife a couple weeks ago (already dropped a car off) I'm beginning to get concerned how much stomach I have for heights. We took 90/94 out and it wasn't really bad until we hit the Idaho area. Being a flatlander most of my life, it was a bit hard to stomach - and that was in a car that was low to the ground. I can see a lot more peering out the cab of my RAM. Add in a trailer and even crossing the Illinois River gets my panties in a bunch.



Anyone got any suggestions for someone new to dealing with this. Or any experienced puller want a free trip out West to help me during the bridges and heights :-laf



Any idea how much weight I can throw in the back of the truck if I'm pulling that trailer? I'm guestimating I will be pulling between 8000 to 10000 pounds with just the trailer and car. Obviously there are lots of things to move and I might like my tools and a few other things out there with me before we get the rest of the stuff moved, but I certainly don't want to over do it.





2005 LWB 4x4 Quad Cab RAM HD manual 6 speed, Smarty Jr.

 

[cerberusiam]

You are well within towing capacity at that weight. With a Smarty and a manual you will have no problems. If you have 10k in th etrailer and 10k with the truck and box loaded you should be fine.

Not really anything that is that bad on I90. Lookout pass is the worst and even it is not that bad. The Fourth of July pass in Idaho and Homestake in MT are not as bad as Lookout. Drive an enjoy the scenery.

 

[Grizzly]

Go down a pass in the same gear it took to go up the pass. Go slow, take your time. The Rocky's are not that bad. Make sure your brakes are good and don't over use them. Rely on gearing down. A MaxBrake controller is great if you don't have one.



Enjoy the truip, george

 

[redbone]

you can still take I 84 thru Oregon which is pretty flat along the Columbia river which is pretty ride & take I 5 north to washington

 

[cerberusiam]

you can still take I 84 thru Oregon which is pretty flat along the Columbia river which is pretty ride & take I 5 north to washington

That is a whole lot of long way around to get to central washington. Then you would have to go over Snoqulamie to stay on the intersate and that sucks worse than anything in MT. :-laf



I80 to SLC and then I84 thru the Snake river valley is not bad but you still have some ups and downs. You have to pull thru Larmie, 3 sisters, and a big drop into Utah. I84 does some pretty good grades north of SLC then you have Huntington and Pleasant Valley passes before you hit the Blues in Oregon. The Montana route I think has less passes albeit one longer\higher one but it is compressed in a smaller area From Butte to Kellog. Montana is for sure a LOT cooler than Utah and Idaho in the summer time. I-80 is a bit more attractive in the dead of winter.

 

[LRutigliano]

I know the feeling you are describing and I'm an Oregonian (we have no flat roads here) ... I have driven over many narrow high roads and bridges and what I do is:

1) Stay very focused and look far ahead and straight.

2) If the road is curvy, make sure the trailer stays "on track", take your curves as wide as possible.

3) Slow down.

What I have decided over the years is that I like being the driver in these situations much better than the passenger...

I was the passenger in a CL8 tractor/trailer going Northbound over the Mackinac bridge (in the winter) and when I looked out of the window, I could see straight down into the water. On the SB way back into the MI mainland, I was the driver and was nervous, but felt alot better...

4) Bridges are the worst for me. I HATE bridges... The Golden Gate, Mackinac, Astoria, Bridge of the Gods... all scare me and I dread driving over them especially with a trailer...

 

[JTucholke]

Thanks for all the thoughts, folks. I spent quite a bit of time debating the I80 route. Ultimately the heavy semi traffic, winds, and Cabbage Hill have me leaning toward the Northern pass. And if I chicken out I can leave the trailer/car in SD on my parents farm until I work up the nerve if I go the Northern way. That and the passing the Columbia West instead of North looks easier. There was a lot of wind when we took that crossing South. I even looked into seeing if there was a ferry that would cross the Columbia for me.

LRutiliano, thanks for passing along what works for you. I think I'll stay away from the Mackinac! The Astoria bridge is what nightmares are made of for me...

 

[NIsaacs]

Third gear on the freeway?

Nick

 

[mfurrh55]

Third gear on the freeway?

Nick

Going down a steep mountain, use your brain

 

[BIGNASTY]

Mine is an automatic I put it in tow/haul and jump off the top of the grade and just use break when I need to. The wife has your problem with shear drops and heights she gets in the floor of the truck when she gets scared but its not a good practice for the driver to do this. Just two words are all you'll need in this scenario



COMMON SENSE

 

[Tractorat]

I share your fear of heights. And I remember as a kid, riding in the back seat when we drove some of those mountain roads that were straight up on the inside and straight down "just inches" from the tires on the outside. What made it worse was when my little sister would say something like "drive off the cliff daddy, so we can be with Jesus".

I'm sure those roads may still be there. But they are not I-90. I just really can't think of a spot between Mn and central washington where fear of heights should be a problem. On the steep hills, just keep it in a lower gear, and control the speed with the brakes. Just dont let it get going fast so you have to apply a lot of pressure to slow down.

 

[NIsaacs]

Going down a steep mountain, use your brain

My brain tells me that with a 6spd manual in third gear on the freeway I will get run over. Now if it were a narrow, crooked and steep two lane with 25 mph corners, then third would work.



Nick

 

[mfurrh55]

My brain tells me that with a 6spd manual in third gear on the freeway I will get run over. Now if it were a narrow, crooked and steep two lane with 25 mph corners, then third would work.

Nick

Where do you see any mention of a FREEWAY??

 

[NIsaacs]

In his original post, the OP was wondering about I-90/94... .....



Nick

 

[Tractorat]

My brain tells me that with a 6spd manual in third gear on the freeway I will get run over. Now if it were a narrow, crooked and steep two lane with 25 mph corners, then third would work.

If you're driving a RAM pulling a 24ft TT going down one of our mountain passes in 3rd gear, you won't get run over. I've gone down many a pass with just my 19ft TT going pretty darn slow, and Ive had to pass semis who were going even slower. And Im not talking about going around curvy roads.

 

[cerberusiam]

There is nothiong on I-90 that is even close to scary. Any places there are steep drops are all covered by railings. It is a 4 lane all the way. You will spend more time trying to go fast enough on the passes because the road is so rough. Just drive a comfortable speed, meet the minimum speed, and relax. There really isn't any place you would even have to worry about downshifting uless you stay behind slow moving vehicles on a grade. We run all those interstates with trailers at 65-70 with no issues other than having to slow when the road surface is cratered.

 

[mfurrh55]

He was also talking about going over mountains, which is what i was referring to in my post,Monte

 

[BIGNASTY]

Here we go again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Grizzly]

My brain tells me that with a 6spd manual in third gear on the freeway I will get run over. Now if it were a narrow, crooked and steep two lane with 25 mph corners, then third would work.



Nick

Your thinking is absolutely correct for a 6 speed manual. Nothing wrong with your brain Nick.



george

 

[Tractorat]

I-90 (freeway) goes over the mountain passes. Unless you try to drive as fast as you can, there will be no problem.