Motorhome demolished, 1 killed in Teton Pass crash

[Neal]

https://www.rvtravel.com/motorhome-demolished-1-killed-teton-pass-crash-8n-r1/

 

[sheridany]

That is tragic. Seriously tragic. You can never prepare enough for mountain driving. It requires an A+ game only. I have never been where this happened. Has anyone or is this a bad idea all the way around? I don’t think I have ever been down a 10% grade. Sounds like a bad place to be.

 

[old timer]

I ,by accident by not planning my route hit a grade on highway 140. Heading to Kalmath Falls, never will run that road again. Luckily I didn't have my camper on the truck.
Do the tow vehicle's not have a brake similar to campers?

 

[MemoriesByTheMile]

Oh wow - wonder how the driver is doing, can’t imagine surviving that and when a family member died?

I don’t know if it was mechanical failure or not - but I frequently wonder if anyone who drives a heavy vehicle with air brakes should be required to pass a test of knowledge of air brakes, how they work, how they should be used and not used in mountain ranges. When we purchased our coach a few years ago, even though our state didn’t require it, I took a CDL class for air brakes and did the practice tests.
Now at least once a day when driving the coach we take the few minutes to run through the air brake system test steps. When driving in mountains it amazes me how fast some trucks take the downhill grade, and I am sure to not only watch the hill in front of me but also the hill behind us in the mirrors.
Can’t imagine what that family must be going through and hope none of our RV Forums’ family here never goes through something like this.
Please be sure to stay safe!

 

[Rd1]

Steep grades in a heavy vehicle, can always be a serious challenge. The first time I experienced a steep grade in W. Virginia, noticed brake smell then saw smoke from the trucks and semis up ahead. The steep was just overwhelming. There comes a time, when the grade just takes over the engine brakes. Eventhough, the bigger engines (hi-line coaches) have 3 stage engine brakes and the HI setting is very effective, don't assume, it can'tbe overcomed by the grade.

It is best to plan ahead and downshift to a lower gear at the top of the hill. You can always up shift, but once the rpm gains momentum, Allison won't downshift to a lower gear.

 

[J&JD]

I have traveled that road in my 36’ Alpine pusher towing a Jeep JK and it is one STEEP sucker for sure. We were aware of the conditions and the coach had a 2 stage Jake Brake. We had no problems at all and probably never went faster than 25mph in low gear and Jake on high. You just need to be aware and plan ahead for sure. The DW did say that she would rather not travel that stretch of road again, however.

 

[Jim]

It was a terrible tragedy, no doubt.

Living in a mountainous area myself, I quickly learned that my first Class A with a V10 engine just wasn’t cut out for the terrain. It wasn’t just the lack of torque that concerned me, but more importantly, the absence of an engine brake (or Jake brake) when descending those steep grades.

I had a heart-stopping moment when the master cylinder failed while I was heading down a mountain in that V10. I was trying to stay calm and work my way down the mountain, but it wasn't long before Trish asked me, "Do we have a problem that I need to be aware of?"

I was incredibly lucky to find a safe spot to pull over without becoming a statistic. It was a scary experience that I wouldn’t want to repeat. The very next day, I made the switch to a diesel Class A, and lord what a difference!

 

[Scooterfan]

Man...I white knuckle the 6% downhills going over the Siskiyou's on our Oregon trips. I find the engine brake will hold us at 50 mph at 3800-4000 rpms without braking, but if that "system" failed I wouldn't want to have to use brakes to maintain a safe speed. Sad about the accident and prayers for the family...but good reminder to drive "cautiously". Blessings

 

[team bradfield]

Never experienced a 10% grade, sounds scary, we stick to interstates, I think 6% is the steepest allowed, been mtn traveling all my rv life, rule of thumb, never go down faster than you can go up. Stick to interstates, do the crazy stuff with the jeep

And edit: air brake testing is important, but it can give a false sense of performance, I drove construction trucks for years, anything can change at any given moment, pay attention to the test brakes signs before steep grades, your welcome

 

[AbdRahim]

I think it was I 81 in Va. It was pouring rain down one of those 60 mph curvy hills. The left side tires went of the edge of the pavement. The breakdown lane was paved, but there was a one inch or more difference in the level of the surface. Trucks were all around me. Thank God I managed to ease the right side tires back on to the road on a sharp curve. After that I just said you guys have at it. I put on the brakes and slowed to 48-50 mph, the rest of the way down. Keep up with traffic was not worth the risk and anxiety. Just have to watch for the 18’s that just let them roll behind me.

 

[JakenJo]

That stretch of 22 from Driggs to Jackson is a notorious no go which I learned from seasoned folks on other forum . Even intrepid drivers who say other routes which scare us are not that bad say don't do it. There is another route through Alpine which adds an hour or so. Very sad.

 

[sheridany]

This morning, I read an interesting fact that US interstates can not be over a 6% grade.
It makes me think twice about taking a route away from the interstate in the mountains, even if the detour is an hour or more. If there is no interstate within a reasonable distance, I will verify that it is a drivable route using a trucker's atlas.

From interstate standards
Maximum grade: The maximum permissible vertical angle, or grade, along the highway is determined from terrain and design speed,[4]with up to 6% generally allowed in mountainous areas, 5% in rolling terrain, and 4% on level terrain. An additional 1% is allowed in urban areas.

 

[AbdRahim]

Traveling in these things is supposed to be fun. For me, if the intersate takes adds 100 mikes to the trip, vs taking the white knuckle ride through the mountains, so be it. I would rather enjoy the ride than arrive less worn out - not to mention less wear on the rig.

 

[Ddmo]

I passed by this accident about 8pm on Wednesday. Wasn’t sure it was an Rv until I saw the front, upside down facing the wrong way. It was devastating to see. I’m so sorry for the person who died.

The next day I had to pass it again going in the same direction they were traveling. Lots of black rubber on the roadway from the front tires before you could see it leave the road then go down an embankment. Looked like this is when it spun and flipped. It occurred at the bottom of the hill. Not sure the driver had any other options than leave the roadway.

I was in a rental car.

 

[BGMAC]

Traveling in these things is supposed to be fun. For me, if the intersate takes adds 100 mikes to the trip, vs taking the white knuckle ride through the mountains, so be it. I would rather enjoy the ride than arrive less worn out - not to mention less wear on the rig.

I understand where you’re coming from, but I feel different about it. Interstates are way too busy for me. Everyone doing 70+ miles an hour on a deadline. I much perfer a major Hwy vs interstate. Speeds are slower and the roads don’t have that concrete washboard effect. I can go 50-60 mph and not bother anyone.

I hit some of those 6% downhill grades before in my gasser. Like @Jim said no real engine braking. Now I’m not sure it’s the best way, but on the long ones, I don’t let it get over 50mph. When it hits 50, I hit the brakes and slow to 25mph. Release brakes, and let it slowly get back to 50 then repeat.

 

[FLSteve]

Is this the same road that had part of it closed due to a landside earlier this year?

 

[GTS225]

Anybody happen to take notice of this paragraph?

"However, as the website Book Outdoors points out, using the runaway arrestors isn’t easy. “There are two runaway truck ramps, and to use them on an east descent, you need to cross to the left through head-on, uphill traffic,” the site reports."

The article claims the driver passed an arresting system a 1/2 mile before the accident. I can't help but wonder what moronic civil engineer thought it would be a good idea to force runaways to cross oncoming traffic.

Roger

 

[Rd1]

/Anybody happen to take notice of this paragraph?/

I noticed that too. Haven't been there, but from the map, looks like the ditch is on the R side going downhill and the mountain on the left. It is a 2 lane hwy, one up and one down. hence the reason. It looks like one heck of road, even worst in winter times.

one of the challenges with RVs, is that the industry tends to present RVs like driving a car or a van. Far from it. At a recent show, there were a lot of newcomers or first timers. While on a test drive and following a super C, it was unreal to observe the unit completely out of control. In a very scary manner. The factory rep was telling me he had a few heart attacks that day taking some new folks for test drive.

This is a problem in the industry where there is a need for some new innovative ideas to help new folks to get acclimated with RV driving, to avoid such tragedies. Unfortunately, bottom line seems to be the main focus.

 

[MemoriesByTheMile]

I understand where you’re coming from, but I feel different about it. Interstates are way too busy for me. Everyone doing 70+ miles an hour on a deadline. I much perfer a major Hwy vs interstate. Speeds are slower and the roads don’t have that concrete washboard effect. I can go 50-60 mph and not bother anyone.

I hit some of those 6% downhill grades before in my gasser. Like @Jim said no real engine braking. Now I’m not sure it’s the best way, but on the long ones, I don’t let it get over 50mph. When it hits 50, I hit the brakes and slow to 25mph. Release brakes, and let it slowly get back to 50 then repeat.

We like the US Highways and state roads - will frequently use them instead of Interstates. But do use interstates in some cases.
Down side to state roads is they can be steeper. I think last year in Oregon we had a 8% grade but don’t recall exactly where. Tripwizard planner helps us see these ahead of time and then I review the road and how sharp the curves are - to determine if we should take a longer route around.
I like the typical rule of thumb for diesel engine braking, don’t go down faster than the engine can pull you up. If you exceed that speed than the engine braking will have no chance of maintaining the speed. And, don’t care about trying to keep up with others, do what the physics say your setup can control.
On that 8% grade, following that rule, we didn’t have any issues and as usual didn’t need to use the brakes, but we were doing around 35-40mph down that hill.

 

[AbdRahim]

This is a problem in the industry where there is a need for some new innovative ideas to help new folks to get acclimated with RV driving, to avoid such tragedies. Unfortunately, bottom line seems to be the main focus.

RV Driving School. I did it when I moved to the class A. I wish I had before the class C. Dealers should partner with these folks and it should be part of the price of the rig for newbies. The cost of the would be two day course was less than half the price of repairing the damage I did to the new C on the second gas fill up. I only had one day because he ran out of things to show me. I just needed a few pointers. But it was well worth it.