I am thinking about traveling down the pass with my TC (ram diesel with lance camper, 11,800 lbs). The grade will hit 28%. I do not have an exhaust brake.
Has anyone done this? How did you manage the brakes?
Uh, no. I did a 24% run on CA-211 last year, less than fun. Smokey brakes. If you had an exhaust brake, then.... maybe. But, no exhaust brake, no way...
CBChannel 17Space Ghost '1991.5Dodge W-250 Power Wagon - Club Cab Long Bed V8 5.9L 4spd H.D Auto 4x4 4.10 Gears '1974KIT Kamper 1106 - 11' Slide-in '1987Pullman Mini Camper '2004Bi-Mart 4x8 Cargo Trailer
I had a hair-raising trip down from the Sierras last summer without an exhaust brake... DW & kids on-board, in low gear, wheel-brakes smoking!
I vowed that I would never do that again and installed a PacBrake PRXB over the winter.... I'd drive down just about anything now, including Sonora Pass!
I would suggest skipping the pass for now... better safe than sorry, right?
I've done it with a Lance 990 but it was Westbound and the truck was a Ford with a 460. As I recall the steep parts are very windy and slow so I'm not sure if an exhaust brake would do you much good because they aren't like long grades where you build up a lot of speed. I think you'd be on the brakes a lot even with a gasser just to get through the turns.
1994 Lance 990 on 1997 F350 PSD Dually
We also have a 'truck' that FLYS
I went down it westbound in my old RV, similar in size to a small TC on a 1983 Toyota 4x4 chassis. Even with gearing down, I thought the brakes would burn out. Plus, when I was going slow enough to feel moderately safe the other travelers on the road were trying to run me over. Swore never to do that road again, so it sounds like your decision not to go is a good one.
Went down it eastbound last year in the 8000-lb Tiger, using the manual tap-shift mode to gear down the Allison, and rarely had to touch the brakes.
I've been up and down both ways with my 9600 lb camper rig. No exhaust brake. I do have the manual 6 speed though. It is very curvacious so you never build up much speed to have to slow down from. Seems to me we were in 1st and 2nd gear some. It is steep, but variably so, with only a few real steep sections. I don't know, maybe I should have been worried. Everything was fine. No smokin' brakes. No fade. Engine RPM's got up there on some downhills. If you stay under 10 mph, you just don't have as much inertia to slow down. I followed a big truck/trailer that got stalled (no perceptible forward motion) uphill on a curve, all eight drive wheels smokin', bouncin' , and chirpin'. I got out (since I couldn't get by) and had him backup a hundred feet and take the steep curve in the opposite lane, less steep/less curvature ( I stood guard for down traffic) which worked fine and he was off. He hammered pretty hard with that thing. I though sure he would break and axle or RG&P doing that throbbing drivetrain show.
There are several very nice TC boondocking camp sites near Sonora Pass. I'm sure we'll be back this summer.
Do you have an automatic?
regards, as always, jefe
'01.5 Dodge 3/4T, CTD, HO, Qcab, SB, 4x4, 6spd, D60, D80+Pwr Loc,
camper&tow pkg,Titan V, 285/75R-16 frnt, 33/14.5 Nitto super singles rr,
Rancho 9K's, Warn M15K winch. tows Jeep CJ8 rock crawler on 14' trailer
'98 Lance Squire Lite 165s, 8' 6" X Cab
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