Chevy Class B on I-70 thru Colorado?

Atlee

Senior Member
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Any idea how a pre 2010 Chevy based Class B (RT 190P or PW Lexor) would handle I-70 eastbound thru the Colorado Rockies? I'm thinking mostly about the 4sp transmission.

I can either go northeast from Moab, UT to I-70 and turn east, or head southeast eventually getting to Albuquerque, NM and turning east.

The southern route would be very easy, but I've done it before. I've never been on I-70 in Colorado west of Denver. It would be a lot prettier.
 
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We bought our 2007 Roadtrek 210P new and took off a week later for a two week trip all over the Rockies in Colorado. All these years later, we still take it to the Rockies a couple of times a year and many of the roads and passes we use make I-70 from Glenwood Springs to Denver look like kid's play.

In summary, our four speed and 6L engine have never troubled us on 70 or anywhere else for that matter. We just don't drive our RT like it was a Porsche. We go to look the country over and enjoy the journey, not try to drive the speed limits on every road under every condition.
 
We bought our 2007 Roadtrek 210P new and took off a week later for a two week trip all over the Rockies in Colorado. All these years later, we still take it to the Rockies a couple of times a year and many of the roads and passes we use make I-70 from Glenwood Springs to Denver look like kid's play.

In summary, our four speed and 6L engine have never troubled us on 70 or anywhere else for that matter. We just don't drive our RT like it was a Porsche. We go to look the country over and enjoy the journey, not try to drive the speed limits on every road under every condition.


We have done, both before and after our trans reprogramming. No problems. Long and kind of steep. Keep rpm over 2500 going up by changing gears.


Going down is deceptive, I think, as it is long and pretty steep but not bad. You can gain speed faster than you realize so keep it in check by downshifting to save the brakes, which you could overheat quite easily by poor use.
 
We have done, both before and after our trans reprogramming. No problems. Long and kind of steep. Keep rpm over 2500 going up by changing gears.


Going down is deceptive, I think, as it is long and pretty steep but not bad. You can gain speed faster than you realize so keep it in check by downshifting to save the brakes, which you could overheat quite easily by poor use.

I know about going down hill. My previous truck was a 2014 F150 Ecoboost. That 3.5 EB was a strong engine in the higher elevations of my previous trip to Yellowstone NO, etc. I was pulling a trailer then.

The down side was that relatively small engine, 3.5L, wasn't great for "engine breaking" when going down hill. There were times when I was all the way down to 3rd gear in a 10 speed tranny.
 
Any idea how a pre 2010 Chevy based Class B (RT 190P or PW Lexor) would handle I-70 eastbound thru the Colorado Rockies? I'm thinking mostly about the 4sp transmission.

I can either go northeast from Moab, UT to I-70 and turn east, or head southeast eventually getting to Albuquerque, NM and turning east.

The southern route would be very easy, but I've done it before. I've never been on I-70 in Colorado west of Denver. It would be a lot prettier.

This entire question is moot now. I've decided I will not be going that far west this summer. The furthest west we will be id Itasca State Park, MN, the headwaters of the Mississippi River. Instead of continuing west, we'll be turning back to Michigan's Upper Peninsular, the down to lower Michigan to see my daughter then home.

From Memphis, TN to Itasca State Park, we plan to roughly follow the Great River Road which is a series of roads that follow the Mississippi from it's headwaters all the wat to the Gulf of Mexico.
 
I know about going down hill. My previous truck was a 2014 F150 Ecoboost. That 3.5 EB was a strong engine in the higher elevations of my previous trip to Yellowstone NO, etc. I was pulling a trailer then.

The down side was that relatively small engine, 3.5L, wasn't great for "engine breaking" when going down hill. There were times when I was all the way down to 3rd gear in a 10 speed tranny.
Engine braking is not great on the 3.5. In Australia the remanufactured F150's( unlike the US few exist) is restricted to 4500kg(9,900lb) towing under ADR Australian Design Rules regulations. Yes it has poor braking on Mountains or steep gradient hills
 
I live north of Denver. You should have no problem on I-70 if you moderate your speed in the mountains, gear down for downhills to reduce braking and keep an eye on the temp gauge. Going uphill turn off the OD to minimize unneeded shifting. Be careful and don’t go too fast on the last long downhill before Denver.
 

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