Harold Longley (htg@cray.com) wrote on Fri, 16 May 1997:

>Mountain drivers,
>
>How well will an 87 Vanagon handle mountain driving? I live in Minnesota
>and am planning a dinosaur fossil hunting trip where the tricky part is
>west on Interstate 70 through Colorado across the Great Divide, through
>Grand Junction, CO, visiting Dinosaur National Monument in Utah/Colorado,
>and returning east across the Great Divide via Interstate 80. The trip
>will be in June. BTW, I'm not planning any off-road driving :^)

On westbound I-70 through Colorado, you will encounter two uphill
grades where a Vanagon driver might have to downshift to second gear.
One is just west of Georgetown, and the other is at the final approach
to the Eisenhower Tunnel.  At this altitude, you'll notice a loss of
power.  It's common practice for truckers with full loads and other
drivers with low power to weight ratios to turn on their emergency
flashers if their speeds drop below about 35 MPH.  I asked a Colorado
State Patrol officer if it's illegal to drive with emergency flashers
on in such situations and he said no, it's a good idea to do it.  In
Utah, road signs request slow drivers to turn on their emergency
flashers on certain steep grades.  However, it's illegal to drive on
the right shoulder so don't do that even in second gear.  The
continental divide on I-80 in Wyoming is hardly noticeable, it's
almost flat.

At Dinosaur Nat'l Monument, I don't recommend driving down to Echo
Park at the bottom of the canyon without a 4WD vehicle, it's pretty
steep.  After Dinosaur, you might want to go a little further west to
Flaming Gorge Nat'l Recreation Area.

Summer is road repaving season in Colorado and Utah.  When you see a
construction zone and flag person, slow down or you'll be ticketed.

The weather's going to be hot over most of your planned route.  If you
encounter violent thunderstorms or hailstorms pull off of the road and
wait, don't try to drive on those marbles.

Have the cooling system pressure tested for leaks and have hose
connections tightened.  Your radiator fan will turn on a lot, if the
bearings are noisy you should probably replace it.  Old, worn tires?
Better buy new ones.  Lately, I carry two spare tires instead of one.
All of my Michelin MXL's have low tread, and I lost one via blowout
last month; the tire was old and it just got too hot.

Oh yes, in the Rocky Mountains in June, inquire locally about TICKS
before hiking!

I'm off to southern Utah.
-- 
Brian Kraft <bhkraft@gj.net> Grand Junction, Colorado
'86 Westy GL Syncro
-- 
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