Is Colorado Safe for RVs?

[Bob Denman]

There is no excuse for not maintaining a vehicle properly.

[Kickstand]

You have the 6 speed Ford Torqshift transmission, right? You don’t have to use the shift lever at all. Downhill- Just put in tow mode and tap the brakes and it will downshift. Still going too fast or picking up speed? Tap again for another downshift. As noted the engine will scream but no worries. I love my 6.8 Triton/Torqshift combo in hills. And the only time I take it out of Tow mode in the hills is when the downgrade levels out and I want to let the transmission decouple and do some coasting.

[atreis]

Apparently my Chevy also has automatic grade braking in tow/haul mode, which is set by braking until the vehicle reaches the desired speed, and then letting up on the brake. Brake again if it starts going too fast to cause another downshift... Very cool! Have to give that a try on a hill sometime.

[Terry and Jo]

Based on the route you plan up through Amarillo and heading for Colorado, I may be presuming that you will take Highway 87 North from Amarillo to Dumas and then on west at Dumas following Highway 87 all the way to Raton and then hit I-25. If so, as mentioned before, depending on your RV's mileage, fuel will be cheaper in Dumas than on west, and as suggested before, buy fuel before you go into New Mexico. NM is even higher. It is something like 189 miles from Dumas to Trinidad.


Going that route, Raton Pass is the only mountain pass that you will encounter all the way from Amarillo to Denver. Raton Pass is only about 7800 feet in elevation, so it isn't that bad of a pass. I've taken it for years with everything from a pickup and 16 foot camper up to the Ford F450 and our 38,500 lb fifth wheel. Speed going up ended up being about 45 or so at the top of the pass, which was just about right for having a lower speed for going down the other side.


I have to fall in the category of people suggesting that when one's speed gets up to where the engine is at higher rpms, then braking from say 60 mph down to about 40 or 45 and then let it begin to build up again before braking again. Now, that said, I've never done any pass in a motorhome, so I can't speak to how well the tow haul works in keeping the speed down.


As for staying in Denver, definitely arrive outside of the time for rush hour. Denver is a monster at those times. If you aren't pulling a toad, you might even consider parking the RV somewhere around Colorado Springs and renting a car for the trips to Denver. There are some RV parks just north of Colorado Springs and right off the interstate.


Last piece of advice is take a camera. It is beautiful up that way. All of I-25 is "east of the Front Range," which is what the call the eastern edge of the Colorado Rockies.

Terry

[rbykid]

Originally Posted by Terry and Jo

Based on the route you plan up through Amarillo and heading for Colorado, I may be presuming that you will take Highway 87 North from Amarillo to Dumas and then on west at Dumas following Highway 87 all the way to Raton and then hit I-25. If so, as mentioned before, depending on your RV's mileage, fuel will be cheaper in Dumas than on west, and as suggested before, buy fuel before you go into New Mexico. NM is even higher. It is something like 189 miles from Dumas to Trinidad.
Terry

HA HA. You said Dumbass four times.

Sorry I could not resist the bad joke.

[16ACE27]

Originally Posted by rbykid

HA HA. You said Dumbass four times.

Sorry I could not resist the bad joke.

[Terry and Jo]

Originally Posted by rbykid

HA HA. You said Dumbass four times.

Sorry I could not resist the bad joke.

Ha! You are mispronouncing the name. It's more like "doo-mus."


And, that part of the country is my stomping grounds. I was raised about 75 miles north of Dumas, lived for about 1 1/2 years in Amarillo, and have traveled the routes mentioned numerous times...too many times to count.


And, not that the OP is asking, but there is an excellent National Forest campground that we used to vacation in almost every year that is located west of Trinidad off of Highway 12. It's about 3 miles or so off of the highway, has lots of trees, and has the Purgatoire River going through it. It's a great place for those wanting to boondock and get away from civilization.



Terry

[rbykid]

Originally Posted by Terry and Jo

Ha! You are mispronouncing the name. It's more like "doo-muss.
Terry

I know I am sorry. It was a stretch for a joke but I could not resist.

[dkoldman]

Originally Posted by Pete'sMH

Lots of good advice here but don’t obsess about any of it. Just go and use common sense. You’ll be fine and your coach will too. It’ll do you proud. There are a few mountain passes that will put you in the truck lane at 45 mph but just go with it. If you have a choice don’t use the 85 octane gas but again, don’t sweat it if you have to buy some of it. It’ll work. It’s beautiful country and I presume that you bought your coach to travel in so just go for it. You’ll have a lot more confidence after you’ve done it once.

Thanks Pete, I think I bought my RV to be a SOB like Bob, but he is the bestus SOB around

If this trips works Denver, CO may be a yearly ritual for us to travel to escape future harsh Texas winters. I was cleaning my RV yesterday preparing for the Colorado trip and learned I had rubber tearing off those 32" Anco wiper blades and to make matters worse, the installer of of my SumoSprings did not align my rear dually wheels because one of the extenders is lodged in-between the the dually and will not reacxh to the closest opening; while the other side extender is very loose (meaning the holder for it was not properly reseated). The SumoSpring install was the 1st time I used a RV repair facility beside the Winnebago dealer I am already p&%$#. They are supposed to be Authorized Sumo Spring Dealer at that. They actually improperly installed the front springs the first time, but having reached out to SuperSprings; I have already returned for that which once they figured out what happened, they graciously fixed it. I will see how the extenders on the duallies fix goes.

[dkoldman]

Originally Posted by Kickstand

You have the 6 speed Ford Torqshift transmission, right? You don’t have to use the shift lever at all. Downhill- Just put in tow mode and tap the brakes and it will downshift. Still going too fast or picking up speed? Tap again for another downshift. As noted the engine will scream but no worries. I love my 6.8 Triton/Torqshift combo in hills. And the only time I take it out of Tow mode in the hills is when the downgrade levels out and I want to let the transmission decouple and do some coasting.

Well as I say, Tow Haul mode is my best friend and Google is a good advisor

I drive in Tow haul mode all the time, so the pump to the brakes just comes natural. But generally, I feel it slowing itself down before I need to, but if it is curve or something I will make sure the computer is not asleep

[dkoldman]

Originally Posted by Terry and Jo

Based on the route you plan up through Amarillo and heading for Colorado, I may be presuming that you will take Highway 87 North from Amarillo to Dumas and then on west at Dumas following Highway 87 all the way to Raton and then hit I-25. If so, as mentioned before, depending on your RV's mileage, fuel will be cheaper in Dumas than on west, and as suggested before, buy fuel before you go into New Mexico. NM is even higher. It is something like 189 miles from Dumas to Trinidad.


Going that route, Raton Pass is the only mountain pass that you will encounter all the way from Amarillo to Denver. Raton Pass is only about 7800 feet in elevation, so it isn't that bad of a pass. I've taken it for years with everything from a pickup and 16 foot camper up to the Ford F450 and our 38,500 lb fifth wheel. Speed going up ended up being about 45 or so at the top of the pass, which was just about right for having a lower speed for going down the other side.


I have to fall in the category of people suggesting that when one's speed gets up to where the engine is at higher rpms, then braking from say 60 mph down to about 40 or 45 and then let it begin to build up again before braking again. Now, that said, I've never done any pass in a motorhome, so I can't speak to how well the tow haul works in keeping the speed down.


As for staying in Denver, definitely arrive outside of the time for rush hour. Denver is a monster at those times. If you aren't pulling a toad, you might even consider parking the RV somewhere around Colorado Springs and renting a car for the trips to Denver. There are some RV parks just north of Colorado Springs and right off the interstate.


Last piece of advice is take a camera. It is beautiful up that way. All of I-25 is "east of the Front Range," which is what the call the eastern edge of the Colorado Rockies.

Terry

What a valuable post of information

Actually Google Maps had us going through Boys Ranch / Channing etc. I started searching for a nearby Wal Mart to Hartley. The nearest Wal Mart was in Dumas So I was thinking about taking the route you suggested just to go through Dumas. That is where I may wish to spend the night and get up at 6:00 AM and go into Denver (should be well after rush hour).

Raton Pass 7,800 feet? That is a Mile and Half high, so Broncos stadium should have been called Mile & Half Stadium ( we all are bad comedians on this site

If necessary & reservations are available I will try to get into Cherry Creek or Chatfield state parks in Denver which is a few miles from where our son is moving to.

I have a R2 4K Dash cam so it is will be filming 24/7

[dkoldman]

Attached is weather forecast for Denver this week. Would you drive to Denver with all tanks winterized, or make the trip as normal relying on propane heat to keep the coach & basement warm? I can't assume I will have shore power to run electrical heat or a light bulb in the wet bay.

One night it get as cold as 21 degrees. The coldest we have been in thus far was 27 degrees overnight; but it warmed up to the 40s by noon.

[Terry and Jo]

Originally Posted by dkoldman

What a valuable post of information

Actually Google Maps had us going through Boys Ranch / Channing etc. I started searching for a nearby Wal Mart to Hartley. The nearest Wal Mart was in Dumas So I was thinking about taking the route you suggested just to go through Dumas. That is where I may wish to spend the night and get up at 6:00 AM and go into Denver (should be well after rush hour).

Raton Pass 7,800 feet? That is a Mile and Half high, so Broncos stadium should have been called Mile & Half Stadium ( we all are bad comedians on this site

If necessary & reservations are available I will try to get into Cherry Creek or Chatfield state parks in Denver which is a few miles from where our son is moving to.

I have a R2 4K Dash cam so it is will be filming 24/7

If you do choose to stay the night in Dumas, there is a new RV park south of the city and the Walmart. There is also another one that is a "honor-pay" site that has electric and water hook-ups. I don't remember if there is sewer or not as we didn't stay there but one night. If the honor-pay site interests you, after you turn west on Highway 87, take the off ramp just before the overpass to get to it. (See link below to Google Maps' image of the site. The link should also show where the intersection is where one turns off of Highways 287/87 to just onto Highway 87.)


Google Maps Image


Oh, and Raton Pass is not that hard of a pass, especially so because it is an interstate route.



Terry

[kbatschke@gmail.com]

Sorry if someone else covered this. It looked like most just discussed mountain towing. We stayed at our son's house in Monument (about 6600ft) last summer. By day 2 the genny was not running well. Having failed to properly read the manual (I admit), I hadn't realized there are altitude settings on the front of the unit. Set altitude to 6k and it worked great. Not sure how high you can go and operate successfully but 6600 was fine.

[rolfh]

Have been to and through Denver 6 times over the past 4 years.

Passing through on Interstate 70 has not been an issue other than at rush hours (slow) and did that towing a 25 ft 1500 pound trailer.

Have not been able to find a decent RV park near Denver but i'm sure they are there (someone here will probably be able to identify one).

Gas has not been an issue.

Enjoy your trip.

[duncii]

If I 'm not mistaken your route will not take you over the mountains. They are further West. Denver is the mile high city, it is a gradual almost not noticeable ascent. If you need a place to park while you are there I would recommend Cherry Creek State Park. It is very clean and well maintained. Located just south of Denver with easy access into Denver. Good luck.

[DogLovers]

Denver Colorado is Pot Head ground Zero. What job did your son take there? Are you safe there? No more or less than any other large metropolitan city in the US except LA, Chicago, Atlanta, New York, Houston, Detroit and other blighted large cities with a plethora of bottom feeders. Just exercise good judgement and all will be fine.

[SchoolTeacher]

Lots of opinions. Unless it snows or ices up, you will have no problems driving in that area. Avoid rush hour in Denver or any other city for that matter. Make a reservation somewhere to make sure you have a place to stay. Once you are parked, let it snow. You will be fine. To drive in mountains, slow down and don't ride the brake and enjoy the view.

[Bob Denman]

Originally Posted by DogLovers

Denver Colorado is Pot Head ground Zero. What job did your son take there? Are you safe there? No more or less than any other large metropolitan city in the US except LA, Chicago, Atlanta, New York, Houston, Detroit and other blighted large cities with a plethora of bottom feeders. Just exercise good judgement and all will be fine.

Cue the movie...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrsbjjuDTzU

[hatwate]

Originally Posted by dkoldman

Our Son recently accepted a new job in Denver; so we plan to go up to Denver Colorado next week and spend 5 days. Mainly to help him move in, but also a good chance to get out of the Texas freeze weather and get into a warmer state like Colorado.

But I am not sure I can safely drive the RV to Denver, Colorado? I was thinking to maybe drive it to Kansas (or similar) and then get a rental to drive into Denver? On one hand it would be nice to at least cross the border; so I can check Colorado off as one more state we have visited with RV, but my fears / concerns are as follows....

1. Mile high? What will that do to my RV systems like emissions etc.? Generator? Refrigerator?
2. Mountains? I drive in Tow Mode fulltime in Dallas area. Seems like I would need a Super Tow Mode for Colorado? I hate to be in some situational driving on a hill or decline where I may not be able to safely stop. I have driven through the Boston Mountains near Fayetteville AR in RV with no issues, but I have also driven our SUV Navigator on that Million Dollar Highway in Colorado from Silverton - Ouray and I know I NEVER want to do that again and would NOT even think about it with RV.
3. Campsites in Denver area (where I need to be) besides the reservations ( which is normal; but they say dump stations are closed until 4/1 Does that mean that if we are in Denver areas we may not find anywhere to dump?
4. Weather? Is it likely we may encounter freezing ice type conditions and become stranded?

We have had our RV 1 1/2 years now, and I just don't want this surprise trip to Colorado to become a disaster and take away from my son's accomplishment.

Thoughts

If ur concerned about driving thru the mountains, I would think going N to Kansas than west to Denver would be a much better route. I don’t remember eastern Colorado as being mountainous. It seems like it is more like a gradual climb to Denver’s elevation. I don’t know if we are doing it right, but we only use tow haul for mountainous areas so I’m not sure why u are using it in Dallas. Not being critical just saying that’s why I don’t need a super tow haul for the mountains. We have never had to adjust anything due to Denver’s elevation.