Coming down a mountain for first time

[Cindy and Ray's Grand Tour]

Hi all, I got myself up to a campground in Groveland, CA near Yosemite on CA120. I did not realize the grade or number of tight turns until I got here. Now I have to get back down without killing us. The grade is about 6% with tight 15MPH curves for about 8 miles. Has anyone else pulled a Monty down this stretch of road or similar drops? Any suggestions for what gear to use on the RAM 3500 or gain to use on the trailer brakes? There are other large 5th wheels and Motorhomes up here so there is no prohibitions on this stretch of road but I don't want to be the first to crash out. Thanks for any info.

[hemiallen]

Use your tow-haul and exhaust brake buttons, and if you have to manually downshift , assuming you have the automatic like my 2016 ram. Keep it at a reasonable speed and the tow-haul and brake should solve your problem.



Allen

[RMcNeal]

I regularly drop off 7% and 9% grades in upstate WV. The best advise I can give you is to down shift and start off VERY slowly. As stated, use Tow/Haul and exhaust brake. Forget about the other traffic. Small cars will fly down those mountains, you have a lot more weight behind you than they do.
I typically will shift down to 1st gear and crawl down the 9% grade at about 5-10 MPH. They are only a few miles long, but there are KYA turns and switchbacks that make it perilous at higher speeds.
Also, try to stay slow and not use brakes too much. They heat up fast and once they are gone, you have nothing to stop you. The engine brake and very slow speeds are your best option.

[timandsusan]

Start the downgrade SLOW! Carrying to much speed to begin the decent will make the trip a white knuckle experience. X2 on engine and exhaust brakes, low gear and IGNORE the race track drivers behind you!

[jimcol]

Good advice from all. I'll just add, Don't be concerned about traffic backing up behind you. If there is not a place to pull over and let them pass they will just have to reach the bottom right behind you. Their rush is not your concern. You'll do just fine. Like most things the first time for almost everything can be pretty daunting.

[phillyg]

Yep, start very slow using lower gears and no riding brakes, just the "stab" method where you brake semi-hard for only a few seconds at a time.

[Fish]

Monteagle is the steepest I've been on but I never manually shift. Just full exhaust brake and tow/haul and keep the speed down.

[fatcatzzz]

I was born in that area and have been down Priest Grade more times than I can count. Good advise give above. Slow and steady is the rule. Use the turnouts and ignore the traffic until you reach the bottom.

[DQDick]

We're another vote for the tow/haul and exhaust brake and believe it or not we usually use the cruise control and, for us, it has always done the job.

[twindman]

I went up a 8 mile 8% and then 10 mile 10% grade at about15-20 mph. That was my old truck only 5 gears (auto.). The other side was about 6-8%. My 2nd gear wouldn't hold it and low only went up to around 17 mph, so was problematic.

I now have a 6 speed and exhaust brake - much better. I have not tried the original road but I was hoping the extra gear would gear down 2nd so it would hold me back. Also the exhaust brake is wonderful.
Oh, the road above is call the 'Oh My God' hill in the mountainous driving book!! It is in the Big Horns of Wy. Try it, you'll like it!!!

[rohrmann]

The basic rule, learned in the Army, is, whatever gear you climbed the grade is the gear you should go down it, and never let your speed exceed what you can safely handle the curves, and you will do just fine. DO NOT RIDE THE BRAKES or you will soon have no brakes and then you will be in trouble.

[twindman]

Update - Today drove to Payson from MEsa. There was a 5 mile downhill at 7%. I had the exhaust brakes on and automatic transmission. It held me at 55 (speed limit) until near the bottom when it flattened out and then the speed started dropping under 50 and I had to use the gas pedal. Exhaust brakes are awesome!

[rohrmann]

Having the tow/haul mode selected also adds to the braking.

[Hblick48]

Originally Posted by Cindy and Ray's Grand Tour

Hi all, I got myself up to a campground in Groveland, CA near Yosemite on CA120. I did not realize the grade or number of tight turns until I got here. Now I have to get back down without killing us. The grade is about 6% with tight 15MPH curves for about 8 miles. Has anyone else pulled a Monty down this stretch of road or similar drops? Any suggestions for what gear to use on the RAM 3500 or gain to use on the trailer brakes? There are other large 5th wheels and Motorhomes up here so there is no prohibitions on this stretch of road but I don't want to be the first to crash out. Thanks for any info.

Did that drive a few years ago. WHITE KNUCKLE! I hogged both lanes as much as possible. Fortunately for us, we had the entire road to ourselves the whole way down, no other traffic. Tow/Haul absolute necessity. In 2nd gear the whole way. I don't have an exhaust brake.

[Cindy and Ray's Grand Tour]

Thanks to everyone for all the information. We made it down the Priest Grade without any issues at all. Used the Tow/Haul and Exhaust Brake to stay under 20MPH most of the way down. It really has built my confidence now (not too much though). Do you know that I have used the Tow/Haul feature for 3 years and thought that it included the exhaust brake. Turns out that the exhaust brake was the button next to it. So this was the first time I ever used the EB when I thought I was using it all along. First time I knew I had a manual brake lever to brake the trailer and not the truck too. I finally found all the info on using the features on the RAM 3500 site. They have a users forum too with lots of great info on towing loads in good and bad conditions.

[Montana Man]

We've done these roads. Our ram uses EB more effectively not in tow/haul mode. I recommend trying EB in both modes and manually shifting. For some reason the drivetrain programming on these are a bit strange. Trying the various combinations will lead to control of your liking.

[vipermanden]

I hope you did not try to go down the "OLD" Priest Grade? We used to have a cabin in Pine Mountain Lake, and we would go up and down Old Priest Grade, because it was much faster, but we were in cars! New Priest Grade is more suited for 5th wheels!

[Donjamin]

I’ve been in that stretch of CA 120 with our Montana 3160. As you found out and others suggested, use you Tow/Haul and EB on the downhill side., not exceeding 20 MPH and you’ll do fine. That stretch Road road is even better on a motorcycle! I’ve been up and down at several times.

Don

[oddjobal]

I have been on CA-120. That is not a fun one. I was towing A trailer with a Dodge 1500 (318) and I struggled. I would do it easy with what I have now. I would not like to come down that hill. That is a nasty grade.

[MikeRP]

You should use the EBrake all the time. It not only saves your brakes but it keeps soot cleaned out of the system.

The Ram is a beast going downhill.