How's the road through Zion?

[roamingrob]

Hi Gang,
We're going to be traveling in a few days from the North Rim of the Grand Canyon over to Lake Mead.  The most direct route is to hang a left off of alt. 89 onto 389 through the Indian reservation up to Hurricane then pick-up I-15.  But it looks more interesting on the map to stay on US 89 and then take Rt. 9 through Zion.  Zooming into the map on route 9 shows some pretty hairy looking switchbacks, but then again I brought my 31 foot MH with toad over 11,300 foot Monarch Pass through Gunnison to Montrose and across to Dolores, so I'm not too intimidated by mountains anymore.

Any recommendations? 

 

[seilerbird]

I just left there last week and that road is a disaster, go through Hurricane instead. They are redoing the road and you could be sitting for hours. They will be working on the road all summer, they are no where near done. I talked to some people who did go through and they had three stops of an hour each. It is a more interesting road, but not worth the hassle. And they will charge you $15 for the pleasure of using their tunnel to add insult to injury.

 

[taoshum]

Plus, if you're over 50' total, IIRC, you have to detach the toad and drive it separately.

 

[roamingrob]

Thanks, that is very useful information.

With a 31 foot motor home, I know my Miata toad doesn't bring me over 50, even with a tow bar.  But since I'm the only one onboard with a license, that would be damn amusing if they told me I had to drive both vehicles.
I guess I'd have to drive one, hitchhike back, and drive the other.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

That road is doable with your 31 footer, but the construction makes it a bad choice. And the $15 tunnel fee for RVs is another negative. They close the tunnel to other traffic so you can transit in the center of the road (with escort), so the fee is reasonable, even if distasteful.

 

[seilerbird]

That road is doable with your 31 footer, but the construction makes it a bad choice. And the $15 tunnel fee for RVs is another negative. They close the tunnel to other traffic so you can transit in the center of the road (with escort), so the fee is reasonable, even if distasteful.

That is not the way they have done it anytime I went through it. They would allow traffic from one direction to go for 10 minutes then stop them and allow traffic to go in the other direction for 10 minutes. They claim they are escorting you but they are not.

 

[ArdraF]

Seilerbird is correct.  The tunnel is not escorted.  Rangers at each end use their radios to tell each other when the last vehicle of the line is through and it is safe for the opposite direction to travel.  Motorhomes MUST travel down the middle of the tunnel because it is old and curved so that larger vehicles like RVs might scrape the sides.  With the construction, this is not the route to take.  The one through Hurricane is far superior at this time and until the construction project is finished.  By the way, the switchbacks in a motorhome are doable, but they require total concentration because there is no shoulder.  That's why longer combination vehicles are either prohibited or you must disconnect.

ArdraF

 

[seilerbird]

When I came up to Zion at the beginning of July I never even considered going through the tunnel. The $15 is a total rip off. I don't care if it costs me more in gas to go around. I won't support their money grubbing scheme. They should be ashamed of themselves. When I complained about it to the lady at the entrance to Zion she remarked how much it costs to station the "rangers" there. Yep, four "rangers" at $5 per hour means it takes two motorhomes per hour to pay their salary. Rip off.

 

[ArdraF]

I disagree, Tom.  The alternatives are that none of us would be allowed to to go that route (e.g. RVs would be prohibited) or it would be total chaos and very dangerous.  I don't think it's a ripoff at all.  There are annual salaries for people at each end of the tunnel and it has to cover temporaries who have to fill in if someone gets sick.  It's not just two people, I'm sure.  It's open 24 hours on weekends in the summer so that's at least six people to cover three shifts of eight hours each.  Also, the $15 fee is good for two trips through the tunnel within 7 days.  Those of us who use special services should be willing to cover their cost - or not use them.  You make your choice and we'll make ours.

ArdraF

 

[Wendy]

Tom, Tom, Tom, NPS rangers are not highly paid but they do make more than $5 per hour. And there are 2 rangers posted at the tunnel, 8am-8pm, so that those of us with RVs can go thru and not go around. The folks in SUVs could give a rat's behind if we can use the tunnel or not so it's up to us to pay for the rangers who are there ONLY for us. And trust me, that's got to be one of the most boring jobs in the NPS.

Wendy

 

[seilerbird]

I disagree, Tom.  The alternatives are that none of us would be allowed to to go that route (e.g. RVs would be prohibited) or it would be total chaos and very dangerous.  I don't think it's a ripoff at all.  There are annual salaries for people at each end of the tunnel and it has to cover temporaries who have to fill in if someone gets sick.  It's not just two people, I'm sure.  It's open 24 hours on weekends in the summer so that's at least six people to cover three shifts of eight hours each.  Also, the $15 fee is good for two trips through the tunnel within 7 days.  Those of us who use special services should be willing to cover their cost - or not use them.  You make your choice and we'll make ours.

ArdraF

With the money they make off of the tunnel in 3 months they could install a set of signal lights that would do the exact same thing for free. But they won't put in signal lights and kill the cash cow.

 

[seilerbird]

Tom, Tom, Tom, NPS rangers are not highly paid but they do make more than $5 per hour. And there are 2 rangers posted at the tunnel, 8am-8pm, so that those of us with RVs can go thru and not go around. The folks in SUVs could give a rat's behind if we can use the tunnel or not so it's up to us to pay for the rangers who are there ONLY for us. And trust me, that's got to be one of the most boring jobs in the NPS.

Wendy

Yes, Wendy, Interps, LEO and maintance workers get more than $5 per hour. However the "rangers" manning the tunnel are $5 an hour college students, not real rangers.

 

[Wendy]

With the money they make off of the tunnel in 3 months they could install a set of signal lights that would do the exact same thing for free. But they won't put in signal lights and kill the cash cow.

The signal lights would stop everyone instead of just making us RVers wait. And then you'd get some a**h*** who would run the light and you get a car and an RV or 2 RVs meeting in the middle. And you still have to stop those RV combos that are simple too long to drive those switchbacks. To me, the $15 is a small price to pay to drive that way in my RV.

 

[Wendy]

Yes, Wendy, Interps, LEO and maintance workers get more than $5 per hour. However the "rangers" manning the tunnel are $5 an hour college students, not real rangers.

They're wearing green and grey, they're rangers. And even a lowly GS-1 makes around $9/hour.

 

[seilerbird]

They're wearing green and grey, they're rangers. And even a lowly GS-1 makes around $9/hour.

I haven't been on the road in years so I don't know what color they wear. But even at $9 per hour they could still be eliminated with a set of traffic signals.

 

[Wendy]

I guess the bottom line is, if you don't want to pay the $15 (assuming you're not too long), then go around. Isn't it nice that we have choices?

Wendy

 

[BernieD]

Yes, Wendy, Interps, LEO and maintance workers get more than $5 per hour. However the "rangers" manning the tunnel are $5 an hour college students, not real rangers.

I hadn't heard that the $7.25/hour minimum wage had been repealed. ???

 

[seilerbird]

I hadn't heard that the $7.25/hour minimum wage had been repealed. ???

Do you have the slightest clue as to how many people in the country work for under minimum wage?

 

[Tom]

[quote author=seilerbird]Do you have the slightest clue as to how many people in the country work for under minimum wage?[/quote]

Not legal workers. We see many of them in our local community; We live in the Central Valley of California; At 500 miles long and 42,000 square miles, probably the largest farming community in the US. woulld expect a minimum of $9/hour.

Methinks you're out of touch Tom 

 

[seilerbird]

The government employs a whole bunch of people that earn way less than minimum wage. They are called volunteers.