jetboat4
wausau
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I'm a pretty confident driver but mountains make me a little tense. Heading from central WI to the Porcupine Mountains in Upper Michigan April 20th. Anyone been there? How is the drive? I imagine it is nothing like the Rockies or Appalachians? Non-the-less I understand that going downhill I just downshift until I no longer pick up speed and maintain only the speed limit? Is there any wear and tear on the tranny from this practice?
BTW it is a ford v10 gasser, and auto tranny.
Any other comments on the campground or drive are appreciated. We are staying at Porcupine Mountains Wildness State park.
Thanks,
Darren
* This post was
edited 02/20/12 06:32pm by jetboat4 *
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skipnchar
Topeka or somewhere else
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I've been there but don't remember anything that I'd call mountains. Pretty country but nothing to be concerned about.
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jetboat4
wausau
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Thanks skipnchar!
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kodack
clintonville wi
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been ther several times,no mountains there is a state park campground at the entrance to the park just don`t take your motorhome up the hill to the top not much room up there but not steep
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johnsonbert
Houston, TX-Ironwood, MI
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To get to the State Park is not a problem, it is on the flats. To get up to the Lake of the Clouds is a little steeper and has a couple of curves in it but are negotiable. Some very nice scenery, you will enjoy it. Happy Trails Bert
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michahicks
Waterford/Gaylord, Mi
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Re: the campground, we were there early May last season. April might find traces of snow here and there? Advise you to walk wherever you pull off the road first. It's all high ground, but might be pretty soggy as a lot of it's just a few inches of dirt over rock - which can turn soft and muddy in a heartbeat. We saw several campsites where it appeared rigs had struggled...
Regarding downshifting (assuming you find something of any size), if you're in high gear and you downshift to slow your rig, you could still build speed depending on the grade and how fast you were going when you downshifted? Point is it's not just downshifting, but also the speed you're at when you do that. If you start downshifting while at 45mph, you'll have MUCH better engine braking/holding power available compared to downshifting at 55 or 65mph. Better plan is to slow when you see the sign, not after you're on your way down. FWIW
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summerhouse
Big Rapids, Michigan
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We were there last summer with our 32 ft motorhome. V10 gas motor. Absolutely no elevation or grade issues at all. We drove to all the spots and had no problem with parking or manuvering our coach.
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rexlion
Broken Arrow OK
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They call them mountains but they are really more like hills. Nothing remotely like the Rockies! An easy drive. Lake of the Clouds overlook is a pretty nice spot, but I like the west side of the park too... you can walk up one bank of the river, cross a bridge and walk down the other bank, seeing the waterfalls.
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Pirate
Appalachia
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I drove my 34' motorhome to the top with no issues. I wasn't going to walk up so why not.
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jetboat4
wausau
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Quote:Point is it's not just downshifting, but also the speed you're at when you do that. If you start downshifting while at 45mph, you'll have MUCH better engine braking/holding power available compared to downshifting at 55 or 65mph. Better plan is to slow when you see the sign, not after you're on your way down. FWIW
Never considered or realized that. Good to know-thanks so much!
Darren
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