My first loaded trip

[jburgessx2]

We've taken our first trip in our BB with it loaded. We full time and have for
7 years now. We did most of that time in a Beaver and just recently bought our
Bird. We left the Ventura, CA area on Thursday and took 101 all the way to
North Bend, OR. I've taken a motorhome (not the Bird) on 101 all the way from
Seattle to San Diego. In the 85 PT40, it was a good trip for the most part.

While this trip was good, it's not for the weak of heart. The portion from
Oakland to North Bend is full of hills, twisties, Redwoods, etc. and gives your
driving skills a test. It also tests your ability to shift and use the retarder
without overheating it. It's a workout that tests your skills - especially with
lots of traffic to contend with. Only once did my retarder exceed 230 (closer
to 260) and it couldn't be helped at the time - I had to get slow enough to make
a corner that snuck up out of nowhere!

I guess I must have more weight in the coach than I thought. Since we do full
time, I have my tools, golf clubs and other goodies that fill the basement.
But, it's no more than we had in our 40' Beaver (no tag axle). I was surprised
at how slow it took the steep hills and I'm not sure if this is normal. The
steep hills had us crawling at 20-25 mph all the way to the top. The engine
temp stayed about 185 and the tranny at about 215 so I was in no danger of
overheating. I somehow thought the horsepower of the Detroit (330?) would go up
hills faster than the horsepower of my 3208 Cat from the Beaver (250). I do
know the BB is much heavier right out of the gate. Plus, I had 300 gallons of
diesel, a tank of water and the tow car (a Miata - 2450 lbs).

On the straights, the Detroit hauled butt with zero problems. In fact, I had to
watch my speed because it wanted to run faster (70-75) and I wanted to conserve
fuel and go 65 at best. My question: Is it normal for the Bird to go up hills
at 20-25 mph?

Other than that, it was a great trip and we should be headed back to SoCal in
about 2 weeks.

Jerry
85 PT40