Grade question I40 into Albuquerque

[sunset4k]

Hello my RV friends!! Planning on heading west from Texas to the 4 Corners area in Sept. Taking I40 west through New Mexico and then north. I've never driven our 43' DP in the mountains. I don't remember the Sandias being extreme but any advise you can give will be appreciated. We have a HR Navigator and it has an exhaust brake, and I understand the gearing, just not familiar with the grades along I40 across NM. Any bad hills along that stretch??

Thanks
Jerry

[KPFulltimers]

Use this website to check out the elevation profile:

How far did I run? - Create running maps with On The Go Map

I have driven Texas to Albuequeque several times with my V-10 with no problems. Sure, the elevation climbs and in places there are rolling hills but nothing too bad.

[twogypsies]

It'll be an easy drive with your coach - no difficult areas - just traffic through the city! NM 491 off I-40 or AZ 191 are good ways to get to the Four Corners area. Four Corners itself isn't a big destination. . nothing much around there. Mesa Verde Nat'l Park at Cortez, CO is worth a trip and a ranger tour of the ruins. Lots of things in southern Utah for that time of year. What else are you planning to see? Perhaps we could help.

[Steve Ownby]

Originally Posted by sunset4k

Hello my RV friends!! Planning on heading west from Texas to the 4 Corners area in Sept. Taking I40 west through New Mexico and then north. I've never driven our 43' DP in the mountains. I don't remember the Sandias being extreme but any advise you can give will be appreciated. We have a HR Navigator and it has an exhaust brake, and I understand the gearing, just not familiar with the grades along I40 across NM. Any bad hills along that stretch??



Thanks

Jerry

You won't have any problems in the mountains, just pay attention to the road ahead & gear accordingly. You don't say which engine you have but all 3 of the engines available in your coach have engine compression brakes instead of exhaust brakes. These compression brakes are very effective & are most effective toward the top of your rpm range. Until you get a feel for how to manage long descents, be sure to be conservative with speed when you start down. I generally want to be no faster than 55-60 when the down grade is 6% or greater. To get good retarding power you need to be in 4th gear or lower.

[sunset4k]

Thanks for the great info !! This will be our first trip to this part of Southern Colorado and to Arizona. Staying in Cortez because son is traveling with us in his 5er and they are headed to Salt Lake City when we start home. So we are open to suggestions for anything in northern Az. Will be there 6 or 7 days and will go to Grand Canyon of course. We will be towing a Jeep for touring.

Thanks for tips on mountain driving. We have the 500 Cummins so I know we have plenty of power. I think after this trip and some experience under our belts in this coach we will be good to head back east next spring.

[Steve Ownby]

Originally Posted by sunset4k

Thanks for the great info !! This will be our first trip to this part of Southern Colorado and to Arizona. Staying in Cortez because son is traveling with us in his 5er and they are headed to Salt Lake City when we start home. So we are open to suggestions for anything in northern Az. Will be there 6 or 7 days and will go to Grand Canyon of course. We will be towing a Jeep for touring.



Thanks for tips on mountain driving. We have the 500 Cummins so I know we have plenty of power. I think after this trip and some experience under our belts in this coach we will be good to head back east next spring.

Your ISM is a wonderful engine in a motorhome. The one weak spot is the EGR valve which was added in late '02 in preparation for the '04 EPA requirements. The EGR has proven to be problematic in an engine which, other wise, has a reputation for trouble free operation.

There is a device available:

http://www.theuglyfix.co/index.html

Which is plug and play and essentially keeps the valve closed and problem free. If you are interested, just use the contact info in the link above.

[sunset4k]

Originally Posted by Steve Ownby

Your ISM is a wonderful engine in a motorhome. The one weak spot is the EGR valve which was added in late '02 in preparation for the '04 EPA requirements. The EGR has proven to be problematic in an engine which, other wise, has a reputation for trouble free operation.

There is a device available:

The Ugly Fix® Cummins EGR Control Module® Delete - Cummins EGR Performance Module Delete Kit (The Ugly Fix™)

Which is plug and play and essentially keeps the valve closed and problem free. If you are interested, just use the contact info in the link above.

Thanks for the link!!! We have already had it in to Cummins the EGR was replaced by the dealer the day we bought it!! I will be checking this out!!!

[Steve Ownby]

Originally Posted by sunset4k

Thanks for the link!!! We have already had it in to Cummins the EGR was replaced by the dealer the day we bought it!! I will be checking this out!!!

Perfect. The one caveat is that the EGR must be in good working order for the Ugly Fix to work.

[sunset4k]

Originally Posted by Steve Ownby

Perfect. The one caveat is that the EGR must be in good working order for the Ugly Fix to work.

Our coach is at our RV repair shop right now having the cruise control fixed. I am going to have him run it to Cummins just to be sure the EGR is in good order and I will be ordering the kit tonight for him to install. I am sure appreciative of the info!!

[jacwjames]

We drove that route last October to go to the Balloon Festival. Didn't have any problems with the grades either up or down, just pay attention as the grades going into Albuquerque had some twists and turns.

FYI, if you need a place to boon dock overnight the Sandia Casino allows overnight parking, it was packed during the Balloon Festival but we were able to find an open spot just before the festival and again after we came back from a trip to Santa Fe and surrounding area.

[neilnoff]

Originally Posted by jacwjames

We drove that route last October to go to the Balloon Festival. Didn't have any problems with the grades either up or down, just pay attention as the grades going into Albuquerque had some twists and turns.

FYI, if you need a place to boon dock overnight the Sandia Casino allows overnight parking, it was packed during the Balloon Festival but we were able to find an open spot just before the festival and again after we came back from a trip to Santa Fe and surrounding area.

Hopefully I'm not hijacking this thread, but we are making a similar trip in a few weeks. I was planning to take Why 550 from Albuquerque up thru Cuba & Farmington enroute to Cortez. Is this a decent route or would you all recommend I-40 to Hwy 491? We drive a 45' Essex towing an F-150. Thanks for the input--

[twogypsies]

550 to Durango is a very easy highway.

[sunset4k]

Neilnoff we decided to go ahead and take I 40 to Gsllup snd then 491 up to Cortez. We are traveling with another couple that has very little experience in mountain driving either. My son is also going in his 5er but they are leaving us at Tucumcari to head to South Fork Co for two days before rejoining us at Cortez. He will be driving Wolf Creek pass to get back down to us!!! We will be in Cortez sept 11th at the Ute Mountain Casino (close to Cortez). Any chance you will be there at the same time??

[sunset4k]

And by the way, if you go on You Tube, and type in almost any route there is usually a video that someone has created. That's how and why we picked the I40 to 491 route. There was a time lapse video of the entire route!!