Community Forums

roecallahan · 05-16-2019, 08:03 PM

We are new rver's and are planning a trip from Sacramento to North Lake Tahoe. It appears to be a very steep highway and was hoping some of you have traveled that road and can give us some hints on downshifting, etc., as well as if there's a place halfway that we can stop and let the rv recover. Thanks in advance for your help

dsattler · 05-16-2019, 08:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by roecallahan

We are new rver's and are planning a trip from Sacramento to North Lake Tahoe. It appears to be a very steep highway and was hoping some of you have traveled that road and can give us some hints on downshifting, etc., as well as if there's a place halfway that we can stop and let the rv recover. Thanks in advance for your help

We drove it last summer in the motorhome with a toad. Good road just take your time. As Thousand Trails members we stopped at Snowflower TT park both times we went to Tahoe. There is a nice reststop at the top of the climb at Donnor Pass

F4Gary · 05-16-2019, 09:16 PM

It's not a hard pass to go over, but the road surface is pretty rough and chewed up from tire chains.

twogypsies · 05-16-2019, 11:25 PM

You can also take Hwy 50 depending where you want to go. We've done that.

Downshift before you even begin the descent; not when you get going too fast to do so. If you're in the right gear you won't have to use your brakes very much which is what you want to strive for!

D Gardiner · 05-16-2019, 11:53 PM

80 is not that bad from Sacto to Tahoe. Not as steep as other highways in California. We drive our rig in the sweet spot of the engine torque curve. We downshift and adjust our speed to match. We also have a transmission temperature gauge, and watch it as well. If the trans temps climb over 160 degrees we slow down, and turn on the trans cooler fan.

R2Home · 05-18-2019, 09:16 AM

OP, we just did this route in our MH and did not have any issues. Question about your MH, what brand and what engine?
Going up we just watched our engine temp. Coming down the grades, I used the engine brake to maintain speed and did not use the brakes too much.

norcal01 · 05-18-2019, 07:17 PM

We just drove I80 last week. Coming home last Thursday in rain and snow was fun
Don't worry it is better than you think, there is a rest area about halfway or stop in Boomtown for lunch.
Use the tow haul mode on your transmission if you have it. Especially on the down grades. The down grade east bound is less then west bound.
Remember it is easier to hold your speed from a slower starting point.
Have fun!!!!!