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Trip from Louisiana to Galinburg

883 views 5 replies 5 participants last post by  tightywhitey 
#1 ·
Hey guys, my wife and I are taking our 32' Keystone Springdale to the mountains in about a month. I have never pulled the TT in the mountains and I was wondering if there was anyone on here who has also made the same trip and if there is anything I should be concerned abut? One of my worries is Chattanooga, because of the very steep climb you have to make going through there.

Any pointers or advice is greatly appreciated.
 
#2 · (Edited)
Steady is key when pulling a trailer. When you go up a pass, steadily slow until you find the speed the truck can stay at without shifting. Once you find that speed, the easiest thing to do is set your cruise at that speed and enjoy the ride up. The guy in first place to the top is only rewarded with a tired truck. When you go down, slow down before you start to go down. Decide what your safe speed is, and start down that hill at 5mph or more below that speed. When you get to that safe speed, stab the brake to bring the speed back to 5 under. Only you know what the appropriate gear is, based on your TT weight, comfort level, etc. Ideally the idea is to stay off the brakes altogether, but a lot of times that doesn't work out. If you can not touch the pedal at all, you know you have done it right. There is an old saying that says every time you use a brake pedal, you have wasted fuel, and you have also made a mistake somewhere. There is another older saying that says you can go too slow down a hill a million times, but you can go too fast down a hill only once.
 
#3 ·
All of the above makes sense except setting your cruise control while towing uphill. Never heard of anybody ever doing this. And, with curves, traffic, change in the grade, momentum, etc., how can your truck adjust to the conditions with your cruise control on?
 
#4 ·
You will be going slower than the majority of the traffic, so the only vehicles you might have to adjust speed for are 18 wheelers in front of you. As for change in grade, it doesn't matter. There will be times when the terrain may get a little less steep for a minute, and it will be possible to go faster. The wise thing to do is to resist the urge to speed up. Look at it like these are times for the truck to cool a bit and take a breather before having to work hard again for the next steep pull. This is exactly how truck drivers climb grades. Find the speed the truck can hold without having to shift, and leave it at that speed until the absolute top of the grade. It makes even the steepest of grades an easy pull for the truck. Most people tend to stand on the pedal and try to get up as fast as they can. That's how trucks break. 3/4 throttle tops, and steady all the way, makes a stress free trip, for you and the truck.
 
#5 · (Edited)
Call your bank and have your credit card limit raised.

You will be stopping frequently to fill up.

Don't know why Toyota didn't put a bigger gas tank in these trucks from Day one and I have the lowly 4.7 which sucks even more gas when you need power.

Oh and I love the Smokey Mountains. If I could get someone to build me a cabin way back there that had AC, Hi speed internet and a trail to get in and out of, I would do it.

SInce you are in Gatlinburg, make sure you go to the RIpley's Believe it or not the Aquarium they have with the tunnel to walk through is awesome. Also have your picture taken with the General Lee.

Sitting in a sidewalk cafe in Pidgeon Forge and watching the freaks is awesome as well.

THe Humidity in the afternoon followed by the 30 minute rain storm is a pain in the ass.
 
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