Towing in the Mountains

[Sixpack]

Originally posted by Dean Upson

My advice, as others have posted... ... . Exhaust Brake.



Dean

DITTO!!!

 

[stick]

I'm not saying you have to have a brake when you go to Colorado, it's just real nice when you come down off a 14,000 ft. pass on a two lane road, and the bottom of the ravine beside you is about a thousand foot down, and the wife has a death grip on the grab handle, and the 30 ft. fifth wheel behind you is trying to push you down one heck of a hill, it's just real nice to be able to push a button, and put it in 3rd gear, and relax!!!



Stick

 

[Fireman Dave]

Re: EXHAUST BRAKE - *****

Originally posted by WyoJim

Don't ride the brakes. Start down the hill already slowed down and already in a lower gear, with your foot OFF the brake. When your speed gets up 10 MPH or so, slow right down like your are approaching a stop sign, then take your foot off the brake until you have to slow down again.



I don't know why I bothered to print this, because nobody listens anyway.

Good advice, Jim. I've found this type of approach works well for me. I traversed the Big Horns last June, and coming down wasn't a problem.



Dave

 

[jimnance]

Exhaust brake is best, but failing that:



1. Go down the hill in the same, or lower gear that you would climb the hill (unchipped). Jeez, that doesn't sound right!



2. Gently ride the brake down the hill. I know this sounds counter intuitive, but if you put too much heat into the brake at one time by pumping, the rotor has a harder time staying cool. Gentle braking will (hopefully) bring the rotor up to a temp where the heat can be disapted as quickly as it is absorbed.



Better yet, open your wallet and part with some coin and get an exhaust brake!

 

[KBennett]

An exhaust brake is a good idea, my Dad swears by his.



I pulled my friends 33' TT from Idaho Springs to Denver down I-70 last fall (his Dad pulled it up with a Ford PS). I don't know what that thing weighed in at but it was heavy. Now for the pucker factor: NO TRAILER BRAKES! He was going to pull it down with an '85 Blazer I gave him my 18' TT to pull and took his.



Take it easy, let the crazy people pass you, and pay attention to the grade signs and you'll be OK. I have almost the same truck as you and the engine brakes pretty good on it's own without the exhaust brake. Having good trailer brakes should help

 

[WyoJim]

jimnance... ... ... . Your advice will destroy the vehicles brakes... ... if not the vehicle and all the people in it.

 

[willy1947]

wyojim, that is about the way I drive now, so I listened However, I have also heard what jimnance said too. Never tried to prove or disprove this theory.



I don't know eactly how brake heat disapation works, but my gut feeling is that whenever the pad is touching the rotor, it is heating up. When it isn't, it is cooling down. This may not be correct though. So when I go down hills, I just try to control my speed throughout the descent. Thus, I never get going to fast. Plus, with the Cummins I can always catch back up when I climb the hill on the other side.



I also keep the brakes on my trailer serviced. I would rather work them a little harder, than ruin my truck brakes.



I'm a pretty good driver (knock on wood) and I just want to be on the safe side. I fiugred those of you who do this kind of traveling a lot and have a similiar rig would know best. I would say, if I go out there, I'll be on the interstate most of time. I might go up to Silverton and Ouray (sp) area.



An exhaust brake, TST or Edge, etc... is on the upgrade list. It just may be awhile. I'm trying to support a Jeep and Cummins habit at the same time



Thanks for all the information,

Dave

 

[Jumbo Jet]

It's always amazing to me the timing of information that appears on the TDR.



I have been planning a trip out west for the last few days and was going to ask about traversing some hilly roads.



I pull a 9,000 lb. 5th wheel with my new 2004 LWB AUTO CTD. We are going to the 4 Corners area from Arkansas across US64 and then down US60 through the Fort Apache Indian Reservation to Green Valley, AZ.



The map shows some crooked roads. I would assume there would be a steep grade or two on those roads.



I don't have an Exhaust Brake and have an Automatic. I have lots of experience pulling the 5th wheel, but no real mountain experience. The mountain elevation on that route doesn't look to bad.



Anyone ever travel those roads??

 

[jcarew]

Hi put a pac-brake on your truck, money well spent you won,t hardly be using your brakes with the exhaust brake. a really important addition for mtn. driving.

 

[Gene Arnold]

I agree with Wyoming Jim!



"Don't ride the brakes. Start down the hill already slowed down and already in a lower gear, with your foot OFF the brake. When your speed gets up 10 MPH or so, slow right down like your are approaching a stop sign, then take your foot off the brake until you have to slow down again. "



The best thing for me is to religiously prevent my speed from going too high. That makes it less necessary to do hard braking. Of course, as others have pointed out, keep your trailer brakes properly adjusted. It's fun to brag about pulling up a grade in fourth or fifth gear, but going down, forget it! Use your lower gears and don't be in a hurry.



One of the most challenging mountain roads I ever traversed was over Douglas Pass in western Colorado. Not very high (as Colorado passes are measured), but boy was it steep!! Used patience and had no trouble (down in second and third gears). Later that day drove north of Vernal, Utah, which is also some pretty steep stuff--same story, used patience, had no problem.

 

[klenger]

Jumbo Jet



We traveled that route through AZ when we moved from Denver to Tucson. The only serious grade is a 5 mile series of switchbacks at the Salt River Canyon about 1/2 way between Globe and ShowLow. Take your time and enjoy the scenery. It's very different than what you are used to, but very pretty. Wave as you pass through Tucson.

 

[ropinfool2]

Ok, I'm starting to think you guys are recommending and Exhaust Brake???? Anyway I thought you couldn't put one on an '03 with automatic??? Am I missing something? Thanks. John

 

[TPCDrafting]

I pulled quite a bit before I got a pacbrake and always made it fine. A few times had smelly brakes, but never saw smoke. Try coming down Battle Pass into Encampment on hwy 70. 9 miles of 7% curvy road, trying to take the curves easy with 5 horses. I always do a brake check near the top before starting the descent. Tighten the trailer brakes so you feel them way before the truck brakes. Save them incase you really need to slow or stop.

Be VERY Carefull to not over rev the engine. I watch my RPM closer than the speedo. The Cummins is governed to not excellerate beyond redline, but it will climb past that coasting down a hill.

I'd say if you're gonna pull your trailer around a lot, flat land or mountains, an E-brake is a great buy. I know now, I won't wait at all to put one on my next truck.

 

[WBlackburn]

Generally the rule of thumb here in colorado is "you go down the pass in the same gear it took you to climb the pass" if you don't have and E-brake.

 

[DPelletier]

Obviously the E-brakes are the way to go if you have a big enough load. Question is, how big before it would be considered prudent? Thought I saw a semi-official recommendation based on trailer weight somewhere (8000 pounds?) Anybody read this?

I'm at about 15,500 - 16,000 lbs GCW, all loaded up and haven't had a problem, despite some extremely steep highway passes, and that's with my old '01. 5 auto.

Not knocking the E-brakes, I may get one at some point.



Some good advice here on how to drive in the mountains. FWIW, I always subscribed to the "go slow and use intermittant, firm (not heavy) braking" to keep the speed in check. Haven't smoked a set yet!



As an aside, me and my buddies generally do a downhill freewheeling run to test the "terminal velocity" of a new set-up. We have a steep grade nearby, that is followed by an uphill section, so its reasonably safe. With my large frontal cross-section on my camper, my terminal velocity on that grade is about 75mph. That is as fast as it will go without touching the throttle and transmission in neutral. Just nice to know where it would top out if you didn't brake at all.



Dave

 

[RustyJC]

Dodge strongly recommends use of an e-brake in manual transmission applications for trailer weights of over 10,000 lbs.



Rusty

 

[J D Moore]

My $0. 02, I am a retired Anesthesiologist and spent my professional career avoiding dangerous situations to the best of my ability. I probably obsess about safety, somewhat like airline pilots, and would not even dream about mountain driving without an exhaust brake, but then I am a "flatlander". My thinking is that the price of the e-brake (relative to the combined value of the truck and RV) is miniscule. For what's its worth I also plan my mountain passes carefully and use the Mountain Directory (west and east editions) as an aide. Example: Lolo pass near Missoula. MT going west "6% grade next 5 miles - trucks 35mph, it is a steady 6% with many 35 and 40 mph curves. After 5 miles of 6% there are about 3 miles of lesser grade". There are many other drives that are much worse and being prepared allows some serenity with the downhill drive.

Jim

 

[DPelletier]

Thanks Rusty,

knew I saw something, somewhere.

Dave

 

[Carle]

The only other way would be to drive like the over the road guys used to do in the old days before "Jake Brakes". That rule was to go down the other side of a mountain in the same gear you went up. I much prefer using he exhaust brake and letting it do the work. The service brakes on the truck and trailer will give up even with the new disk brake setups. Also remember that there are run offs on the down side of the mountain that will stop you.

 

[Casey Balvert]

The 2004 Towing Guide states, "Use an exhaust brake for all 3500 manual transmission applications with a trailer weight over 10,000 pounds".



The 2003 Towing Guide dated November 16, 2002, states "An exhaust brake or "Jake Brake" is required for Dodge 3500 Pickup and Chassis Cab models pulling a trailer of 10,000 pounds or more".



Doesn't even sound like DC sees is as a recommendation, more like a requirement.



Between the truck and trailer I have a ton of money invested along with the safety of my family, an exhaust brake is a bargain.



FWIW



Casey