Advice driving from Vancouver to Banff

[JV2LY]

In a few days we will be driving from Vancouver to Banff in our 35’ gas moho towing a Jeep Wrangler. We are going to stay mostly on TransCanada1. Are there any areas we will need to unhook because of knarly down/up grades?

[Skip426]

Highway 1 through the Frazer Canyon just reopened after clearing a mud slide in the area of the wildfire that destroyed Lytton . So watch for possible closures again there, if we get more rain.

I don't know how well your coach and toad behave on the highway so I can't say if you'll have to disconnect on either up or downhill sections .
And I don't know what you consider knarly.
I consider I-84 down from La Grand to Pendleton , knarly and I've never considered disconnecting there.
The #1 , Coke #5 and Connector 97C have RVs just like yours going through every hour of the day and night .
A coach with reasonable power and a toad with an aux braking system , you should have no issues . Slow to a control speed at the summits and gear down ( 70 kph ) works best for me , coast up to 80 kph then hard on the brakes back down to 70, coast again to allow brakes to cool .

EDIT: Just noticed you're from California , if you made the Siskiyou on I-5 without disconnecting you'll be fine.

[Kenny Loney]

I've driven the TransCanada 1 several times in both directions. 06 E-450 c-class towing first an Accord on a dolly, then the CRV four down. Never once even thought about disconnecting. I just made sure that the 'tow/haul' mode was on and only in a couple of places had to use the brakes to slow down. Most up grades, we easily kept up with trucks.
We loved the TC1 through the Fraser Valley, scenery is fantastic, as is ALL of BC.

Ken

[twogypsies]

Originally Posted by JV2LY

In a few days we will be driving from Vancouver to Banff in our 35’ gas moho towing a Jeep Wrangler. We are going to stay mostly on TransCanada1. Are there any areas we will need to unhook because of knarly down/up grades?

Nothing gnarly about the route!

97 or 95 are very pretty routes to Golden and on to Banff. I hope you'll be going up to Jasper, also. Well worth it!

[JV2LY]

Originally Posted by Skip426

Highway 1 through the Frazer Canyon just reopened after clearing a mud slide in the area of the wildfire that destroyed Lytton . So watch for possible closures again there, if we get more rain.

I don't know how well your coach and toad behave on the highway so I can't say if you'll have to disconnect on either up or downhill sections .
And I don't know what you consider knarly.
I consider I-84 down from La Grand to Pendleton , knarly and I've never considered disconnecting there.
The #1 , Coke #5 and Connector 97C have RVs just like yours going through every hour of the day and night .
A coach with reasonable power and a toad with an aux braking system , you should have no issues . Slow to a control speed at the summits and gear down ( 70 kph ) works best for me , coast up to 80 kph then hard on the brakes back down to 70, coast again to allow brakes to cool .

EDIT: Just noticed you're from California , if you made the Siskiyou on I-5 without disconnecting you'll be fine.

Yes, we have pulled the Jeep up the Grapevine of I-5 that drops down into the San Fernando Valley by driving ad you describe. We have also driven the mountainous roads near Durango, Colorado and only unhooked upon one very steep grade. I knew ahead of time because we had “Mountain Directory West” guide to prepare. I could not find something similar for BC/Alberta. Your post reply assures me that I will be fine. Thank you

[JV2LY]

Originally Posted by twogypsies

Nothing gnarly about the route!



97 or 95 are very pretty routes to Golden and on to Banff. I hope you'll be going up to Jasper, also. Well worth it!

We plan on camping on the Banff area, maybe at Tunnel Mountain Village; there are so many independent and Provincial parks it’s hard to decide. Then using it ad our basecamp, drive the Jeep to Jasper and all the beautiful areas around these National Parks.

[Skip426]

Originally Posted by JV2LY

We plan on camping on the Banff area, maybe at Tunnel Mountain Village; there are so many independent and Provincial parks it’s hard to decide. Then using it ad our basecamp, drive the Jeep to Jasper and all the beautiful areas around these National Parks.

Last report I had on the " Icefields Parkway " taking the toad is the best idea , report said ROUGH this spring, and with everything else going on this summer , I'm pretty sure it didn't get fixed.

[JV2LY]

Happy to report that we made it to Banff Tunnel Mountain Village Trailer and found all of TC1 to work fine for our moho and toad. We did take a diversion route to Lake Country in the Okanagan Valley. The 97 worked fine for us. We stayed at the Wood Lake RV park. We had an enjoyable time at the wineries overlooking Okanagan lake. As we got close to Banff there was a lot of road construction but no closures.

[Mr_D]

I-5 from Vancouver north to the border is fine, once into Canada I have no idea

[twogypsies]

Originally Posted by JV2LY

Happy to report that we made it to Banff Tunnel Mountain Village Trailer and found all of TC1 to work fine for our moho and toad. We did take a diversion route to Lake Country in the Okanagan Valley. The 97 worked fine for us. Attachment 344332We stayed at the Wood Lake RV park. We had an enjoyable time at the wineries overlooking Okanagan lake. As we got close to Banff there was a lot of road construction but no closures.

Lookin' Good!!! Glad you went through the valley. It's a pretty drive.

[Skip426]

I lived in Kelowna/Lake Country for 55 years , if you think it's nice now , you should have been there in the sixties when the population was less than 20% of what it is now . You could drive through the area without getting road rage.

Woods Lake Resort is where I stay now when visiting friends and relatives in the area.
Did you get a chance for a meal at, Turtle Bay Pub ? Food has been great there during our visits, and the seven years we lived in Winfield , before the small communities became known as Lake Country .

[JV2LY]

I could see that Turtle Bay was once like the small town I grew up in CA, but now there are an abundance of signals and a lot of traffic. I was happy to find a Tim Horton’s but just across the street was a Pot Shop. We stopped to talk to the owner, a funny guy with a doomsday attitude who thought all the heads of government were just stunt doubles. The former politicians had been executed! Wow, and no we didn’t get a chance to eat at the Pub next to our campsite but saw there were people waiting to get a table. Overall, we loved our stay there.