Need advice - safest mountain passes to drive out West

I 80, to I 94, to I 90. Easy.

 

Completely counter intuitive, but exactly right!

 

Yes the US Interstate system usually have a limit of 7% on mountain passes and curvatures able to support cars at 70.

If the OP is getting out of Scranton, there will be more passes until the midwest anyway. Call that basic training for what's coming.

Continental Divide in Montana will be a challenge. But this is top of Summer I don't expect anything other than storms now and then. (These really need to be paid attention to, tornadoes are really big out here)

Do not force your vehicle and trailer upgrade at the max. Pull it easy, spend a little time getting up and over. Then easy down, be the slowest on the downhills if you must. But not too slow.

DO NOT constantly stab the brakes. You only have so much. Then that';s it. Do not use them really heavy unless you intent to stop right there.

The key is finding a balance with literal earth gravity downhill where you can let her drift without using hardly any braking down hill. There is usually a speed somewhere that will happen. Ypu need to find it.

Watch your fuel. Fill whereever you can at half tanks. You have not yet seen possibly just how far the west really is between civilization with fuel and food.

I recall a sign north of denver. 80 miles no food, no fuel. THEY MEAN NO FOOD NO FUEL 80 MILES. FILL your tank BEFORE YOU proceed past such a sign.

Steady and pace yourself you should get to Seattle in about roughly 5 to 6 days from today in Scranton PA

When the day time gets hot, check your tires constantly every few hours. Especially that trailer. Keep an eye on that truck coolant temperature etc. Do not lean on the air conditioning uphill. Wait until you get up and over then turn it on to add a touch of resistance to the engine. And go slow and easy.

You may have signs telling you what to do. Follow them. Remember to stop at the top of the big passes and memorize the escape ramps and speed limits if any for the downhill in addition to checking your rig and trailer plus car securement etc.

Carry water and food. Anything is possible out here. You are taking on nature on a scale large enough to hurt you or possibly kill by dehydration or some other complication should you be stranded long enough without water.

I am over cautious in my post. It's the way I have always been treating the mountains anywhere in the USA, large and small. And the west is beautiful but if you don't watch it, it can hurt you or kill easily.

Enjoy the trip. Watch yourself in the Spokane rush traffic. They are not nice people getting through that town. They are pretty aggressive. Then expect about 250 miles of farms until the big pass before seattle.

Oh one more thing. Several actually.

If you go through down town cleveland there is a 30 mph curve on the interstate in the core. THEY MEAN 30 mph. Slow that down.

Chicago will be your biggest problem and risk. I remember a rest area called highland near there I think, full of thieves and trouble makers preying on outsiders who know nothing. Consider the area about 50 miles east of Chicago to about 70 miles west a no go zone. Once you enter through Gary IN or thereabouts, you are now in Chiraq.

Do not stop for nothing there. Fill up, eat hearty and keep going. Do not stop there.

I don't need to get into 100,000 gang mambers worth of reasons why not. You get through there and once you get far enough west of there, things will improve a little bit.

 

If you come out of Scranton on 81, and hit 80 west. You will eventually descend a pretty good two mile ridge into a valley near US 15.

From the bottom of that valley straight up westbound on 80 is a 10 mile upgrade called Milesburg Hill. Snowshoe is at the top. (A no good truckstop once busted for evading federal fuel taxes decades ago.)

That will be your basic in upgrade on long western hills going up.

You will run into a couple of grades depending on how you go from 80 Be gentle. The first half of Ohio will be lumpy. Then the rolling hills across the midwest.

Once past Chicago through wisconsion, it's not bad. When you get into the Dakotas, welcome to the west. Empahsis on do not stop in Chicago. It's part of risk management, do not make yourself prey. You show up like a prey to the locals who will take advantage of you there.

Once past the missle and bomber bases up there into Montana you will begin to encounter passes. Those are tame compared to what's coming when you get through Missoula into Idaho with it's Lookout Pass among 4 other passes.

pace yourself. It's going to be a week or less before you get there.

 

Based on when this thread started I suspect they have arrived at the destination by now. Would be nice to get an update.

 

It would be so typical. By the time I show up it's all over LOL.

Story of my life. HA.

 

Hi, I'm from northwest Washington and I'm hoping you are still in route for my best advice. When you get to the end of I90, make sure you take I5 south.