Community Forums

Papawto5 · 07-24-2012, 07:53 PM

This morning we left Sevierville, Tn (the rally campground is excellent BTW) and at the south end of Smoky Mtn National Park we hopped on the Blue Ridge Parkway. We headed north towards Ashville, NC.

As we drove on this otherwise wonderful roadway, we began to encounter low hanging branches over the roadway. Small branches wacked the top of our motor home. I saw a 1" branch too late to avoid and I thought someone hit my roof with a baseball bat. On a few occasions, if you weren't alert, branches from the side of the road hung out over the edge of the road. Again, this was a recipe for damage or at least ugly scratches on the outside walls.

If someone out there knows how to report it, the section of road I was on was from the Smoky Mtns National Park to U S 19. I wanted to go further but didn't want to sustain the damage.

bdickson · 07-24-2012, 08:31 PM

I'm going to stick my neck out here and say you probably shouldn't have been driving a motorhome on the BRP. It is certainly closed to commercial vehicles, which usually means there are size and/or weight restrictions involved. I know that some of the old stone bridges under the BRP are too short for a good sized MH to get under. Any time we are there, the MH stays in the campground and we drive the Parkway in the toad.

JJH3rd · 07-24-2012, 08:57 PM

We have visited Asheville and the Pisgah Inn and the Folk Art Center on the BRP many times but always in a 4 wheeler. This past June we drove the HM+tow from Helen Ga to Asheville using US 441, US 74 and I-40. I looked long and hard at using BRP but the low+narrow tunnels & bridges caused me to forgo the drive. I had not thought about the low & intrusive vegetation that make the trip by auto a literal drive in a park. Thanks for the extra reason to park the MH and use the tow.

lgarcia · 07-24-2012, 09:02 PM

Rv's are fine on the BRP. The tunnel height may be the limiting factor.

bdickson · 07-24-2012, 09:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lgarcia

Rv's are fine on the BRP. The tunnel height may be the limiting factor.

I don't think having branches whack your roof qualifies as "fine".

I have a general rule that if 18 wheelers don't use a road, I don't either.

lgarcia · 07-25-2012, 03:19 PM

Poor choice of words on my part - I should have said RV's are legal on the BRP.

bdickson · 07-25-2012, 03:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lgarcia

Poor choice of words on my part - I should have said RV's are legal on the BRP.

Yes, they are certainly legal. But are they advisable? I think not.

rocknrun · 07-25-2012, 03:43 PM

The BRP has had budget cuts, so some of the maintenance such as tree trimming might not be quite up to par right now. I love traveling on the BRP, but wouldn't even consider taking my MH on it.