Knoxville to Boone
Seems like lots of us are going to be in the mountains soon! One leg of a long trip has us going from Knoxville TN to near Boone NC ... West Jefferson is the actual NC town. The Asheville route takes us up through the mountains, down again, and then back up again. Also, we are not very fond of that section of I-40 through Cherokee National Forest. The combination of grade, sharp curves, and tight lanes with just guardrails dividing traffic directions can be unnerving to us flat-landers!
We are considering taking a bit more time and heading on up I-81 past Abingdon VA to Marion VA, then down to West Jefferson on Route 16. We know the NC part of Route 16 pretty well, but we have never been on the VA portion.
Is anyone familiar with the VA portions of I-81 and Route 16 that I am describing? I drive a 33ft Seabreeze LX on a W-22 chassis, and like others, I have had way too many brake problems. I go slow and let the engine do the braking down hill, but I still had one brake lock up and boil fluid 20 miles AFTER I came down into Marion NC once!
Thanks in advance!
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Gary Orwig
2014 Tiffin Allegro Open Road 34TGA
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