Mountain Driving with 1995 42', 42,000 lb. Blue Bird

[James Hutchings]

Ron I have a Class A license and spent a fair amount of time behind the
wheel of a Kenworth going back and forth over the grapevine (a long 6% grade
in California). Big rigs and motor homes (buses) are different creatures.
Big rigs often have 15 gears forward and 3 in reverse and run at 80,000
pounds. More gears equals better matching load to horsepower and engine
braking ability. The best people to ask about mountain driving in a
bluebird are the people on this site. I am assuming you have plenty of
ponies, and an engine brake of some type. My basic rules are simple. 1)
Make sure you vehicle is in good shape with proper tire pressure fluid
levels, and brakes properly adjusted. 2) When going up grades keep your RPM
high and watch your engine, transmission and axel temps. If anything starts
to get hot downshift. 3) Be considerate of other driver truck and car. Pass
only when you can move at least 5 miles per hr faster than the vehicle you
are overtaking. Use the slow vehicle lane only if you are going slow, if you
are going slow use vehicle turn outs as a courtesy to others.

Some say to go down a hill (grade) in the same gear you came up, but that is
not always true. Uphill is where you break things downhill is where you
kill things. When starting down a steep grade 6% or so put the vehicle in
a gear that will allow you to control your speed without overtaching the
engine. The brakes are meant to slow the vehicle down use them. Old school
was to apply the brakes hard and slow down then release the brakes to cool
while you gain speed. The currently recommend method is to apply constant
steady pressure to the brakes to maintain a safe speed ( one from which you
could stop the vehicle with the distance allowed in front of you) down the
grade. I agree with the second method, the first is for race cars.



So when descending a grade. 1) shift to a lower gear and use your engine
brake without overtaching. 2 ) apply steady continuous pressure to the
brakes to slow the vehicle while keeping an eye on you air pressure. (if you
smell brakes you are in too high of a gear) 3) Be careful overtaking slow
moving vehicles. 4) watch out for idiots who think you can stop on a dime.
5) you are not under the same rules as the semi trucks i.e. Lane
restrictions and speed limits. Drive at a speed that you feel is safe for
you. I am sure there will be additional opinions, but just to tick them off
they are wrong! Just kidding.



Jim Hutchings



From: WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com
[mailto:WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Ron Thompson
Sent: Monday, June 25, 2007 12:28 PM
To: WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [WanderlodgeForum] Mountain Driving with 1995 42', 42,000 lb. Blue
Bird



This is a question that lots of people might want to explore. Would
someone with a lot of experience driving a big rig in the mountains
please write up a good descriptive instruction for mountain driving.

I have never driven in the big mountains with a normal vehicle much
less a 42,000 lb motor coach. I am planning a trip through the
mountains maybe this year but definitely next year from Texas through
the Rockies and on up to Alaska. It would sure be helpful to have
some pointers from an expert.

Best regards,
Ron Thompson





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]