I also did the drive all the way to Durango. Once you make it to Silverton, the road gets a little easier, hence a reason to do the whole drive one way.
When my younger son found out 13 years ago that I was selling my condo and had bought a 32' motorhome in spite of never driving one other than a 2 mile test drive, he said I would die in a fiery crash 200 miles down the freeway. (I was 69 at the time and planned to head west from Ohio to California to visit my other son and go full time.) I told him I could sit in my recliner like a lot of old people do, watch TV, and read, and in 20 years someone would find me dead in my chair. I said I would take my chances on the road.
This is not a cheap lifestyle, but think of all the people who could afford it, but spend their last years sitting "safely" in a recliner and never take chances to really do anything. I can't imagine missing all the things I have seen and people I have met in the last 12 years, so my recommendation is to drive those "bad" roads, whether you do it in a car or an RV!!
(And I have made all my reservations for 6 weeks in England and Wales for this summer. It will be my 5th or 6th trip to the UK, and I travel alone, but have had nothing but good experiences traveling solo, and even driving a car for a substantial number of those days. My kids disapprove of this travel, as well.)
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