Well Don, I ended up doing exactly what you were afraid I would do. If I had read your reply I would have stuck to my original plan. But my buddy and his wife mapped out the Route 89 leg because they thought it would be scenic. Well it was certainly that, but a bad mistake on my part.
My buddy drives a camper on a pickup. Even though he was pulling a trailer with 2 ATVs on it, he had no problem zipping through the mountains.
When we got to the route 89 turnoff near Hope, I saw a sign that said no trucks over 40 feet. I called my buddy on the radio, and he said not to worry, I was not a truck. I had some indecision, but I elected to follow him. It was very difficult driving our 40 footer with a long Taurus wagon toad. As long as there were no guardrails, we were able to get by. Somewhere along the way the road began displaying guard rails. I don't know why, because the area without guardrails was just as bad. The Admiral could not stand sitting in the passenger seat, got nauseous, and moved to the back of the bus. We were able to make the hairpin turns without guard rails. But we suddenly came upon a double hairpin curve. I made it fine through the first curve, as it was a curve to the left, and I had the opposing land between me and the inside of the turn. But then it swung around to the right, without any straightaway at all into a hairpin right. There was simply no way the coach could make it without swinging out into the opposing lane.
At this point I was doing 5 mph so I had time to think. My great concern was that if I swing into the opposing lane, I would be head on to the blind curve. Motorcycles had been racing through the route 89 passes all day. I know how much fun that is for them as years ago I used to do the same thing. I did not want to be responsible for a death of someone coming the other way, or even possibly my own death. I elected to go about a foot over the double line, estimating it would be just enough to clear the guard rail.
Wrong! I felt nothing but heard a faint swishing sound. At the next pullover we pulled aside. I asked the Admiral to go out and look, and she asked me to go out and look. Neither of us wanted to look. I went outside finally and at first did not see a thing. I jumped in the air and gave her the thumbs up sign, thinking something had shifted in the basement and that was what I heard. But as I walked on down the side my heart sank. I must have just kissed the guard rail. There were double stripes for the last 3 bays on the passenger side, matching the double bulges on the guard rail. A few spots were down to the base but 95 % of it can be buffed out. I also have matching touch up paint.
The good news is that no structural damage was done. No worse than branches scraping the paint. I figured God had made a deal with me. Since I refused to go very far into the opposing lane, The good Lord gave me a break and only allowed cosmetic damage to occur. I know know that no 40 foot trucks mean motorhomes as well.
When we arrived at Cottonwood, the campground owner asked if we had come up 17. When I said no, we came across 89, he looked at us in disbelief. I showed him the scratches, but he said,"that is still mighty fine driving man!" His comment was what finally stopped the Admiral from bitching what a lousy driver I was for kissing that guard rail. ;D No one should ever take 89 to Cottonwood if the have a big rig.