Road elevations

[anon125]

Our old rv struggled over the 4000 ft passes on the I-5.
When we were in Phoenix we were told the route to Eastern US was over 10,000 feet passes.
Were they correct?
Crossing nearer the gulf of Mexico, would that have been a lot lower?
Thanks all

 

[CharlesinGA]

Where are you leaving from heading east?

I-70 through Colorado gets as high as 11,000+ ft at the Eisenhower Tunnel.

I-80 is at slightly lower elevation as the high point at Sherman summit is 8600 ft. I-10 on the south reaches 5000 ft near Tuscon AZ. I-40 reaches 7300 ft at the continental divide in AZ.

Looking at your previous posts, I see your motorhome is a 2006 Winnebago 29R. Must be a Sightseer as that is the only model 29R, which is a Class A on the F53 chassis. This would have the three valve V10 motor in it which should preform rather well at altitude. You may need a tune up of spark plugs and possibly the coil on plug (COP) units, as they do get weak as they age. Be sure and use the proper, specified plug for the engine. Newer engines do not take well to equalvent spark plugs. It needs to be the exact plug it came with. Also change out the fuel and air filters.

The V10 likes to spin up and produces its best power at 3800-4000 rpm. Very un-nerving to many people as it is a screamer. Use tow haul mode and keep the RPM up on it. It is not a race, stay to the right and let the fast ones pass you.

Charles

 

[Domo]

When you mentioned that you struggled going over the hills do you mean you're in the right hand lane possibly going only 30 mph just like all the other trucks? We commonly find ourselves in the right lane crawling up the highways if they're going way up mountains, I think it comes with the territory when you're hauling a big load.

 

[Isaac-1]

The lowest elevation option will by I-10 , but you will still have to deal with a couple of 4,000+ ft points along the way. Of course it will also be hotter weather along I-10 this time of year and engines loose more power in the heat than in the cold.

 

[Larry N.]

hen we were in Phoenix we were told the route to Eastern US was over 10,000 feet passes.
Were they correct?

In many areas yes, but if you take I-10 east from Phx you won't get that high. But there aren't many actual routes east/west because the mountains severely limit where it is possible (even more so, possible at reasonable economics) to build roads through.

Still, the comments above are very pertinent about dealing with the higher elevations and steeper climbs and descents. ANY large rig is going to need patience in dealing with the mountains, whether they are eastern or western. And that V-10 will do fine if you wear ear plugs, or otherwise deal with the fact that its power really comes at higher RPMs, which can be unnerving, even though the engine itself will do just fine.

and engines loose more power in the heat than in the cold.

But they also lose power with elevation... always there are tradeoffs...

 

[UTTransplant]

If the elevations aren’t your thing, just take I-10/20/30 across. Even I-40 isn’t too bad with the high spot being around Flagstaff. If you take I-10 until you hit I-25 then head north you miss just about all the real elevation. Even I-80 isn’t too bad because the passes are more gradual than I-70.

 

[Utclmjmpr]

Speed when climbing is not a priority,, getting to the top in good running order is.. >>>Dan

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Our old rv struggled over the 4000 ft passes on the I-5.

Perhaps you could elaborate a bit about "struggled"? As Domo says, your Winnebago/Ford F53 isn't gonna race up hills at 60+ mph, but it should have no difficulty climbing over a 10,000 ft pass at moderate speed. I've crossed those high passes a couple times with a gas-powered coach using a GM 8.1L V8 engine. I was more concerned about getting down those mountains than up them.

 

[anon125]

Thanks everyone for your kind help
IN PREFERENCES I have everything checked, but I still don't get emails when you post a reply.
Why, on this site, am I getting asked to run a internet speed test? Is that an ad?
Thanks

 

[darsben]

Thanks everyone for your kind help
IN PREFERENCES I have everything checked, but I still don't get emails when you post a reply.
Why, on this site, am I getting asked to run a internet speed test? Is that an ad?
Thanks

That is an ad

 

[Ray-IN]

For long steep upgrades, some folks stop at the bottom and unhook the towed. One person drives the MH and another drives the towed to the top of the mountain. Then they re-couple the rig and proceed.

 

[Ray-IN]

Thanks everyone for your kind help
IN PREFERENCES I have everything checked, but I still don't get emails when you post a reply.
Why, on this site, am I getting asked to run a internet speed test? Is that an ad?
Thanks

Download and run the browser extension Add-block Plus if you don't want to see adds.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

IN PREFERENCES I have everything checked, but I still don't get emails when you post a reply.

You can automatically WATCH any forum you interact with by selecting that option on your CONTENT preferences, or manually select WATCH on each forum's header page (top right). WATCHed forums get Alerts but there is an option for email notification in the CONTENT preference for the automatic Watch. You can view your Alerts by clicking on the bell icon next to your logon Id at the right side of the menu bar.

Please post questions like this in the forum dedicated to Forum Admin & Account Info.

 

[Skookum]

We've been up and down the Rockies several times, Cascades, Siskiyous, the Grapevine, 4th of July Pass,. Mountain passes are just slow-going and we often find ourselves in a train of semi-trucks huffing and puffing up the mountain , all of us with our flashers on to warn other drivers that we're slow-moving... Low gears, high RPM, and watch your water temp and transmission temp gauges. Use the same low gears and low speeds going down...