Traveling through the Appalachian Mountains

[sblackb7]

What is the best route to tow a Wildwood Extra Lite, 27' from Myrtle Beach to Ohio? I do not want to travel Rt77 through W Virginia. We are somewhat newbies (1 1/2 yrs) but have traveled
a lot in upstate SC and GA mountains and SC/NC lines. The mountains are holding us back !!!
Advise appreciated!

We have a 2019 Nissan Frontier

[Grit_dog]

sblackb7 wrote:
Thanks to all replies on my post! Wow, a lot of really good and useful information to consider, reconsider, and let sink in. We have family in NE Ohio but would also like to travel to or back from Michigan. All of you are right about the mountains scaring us (!) but just want to be prepared as much as possible. We have found the best advise comes from seasoned RVers! Thanks for taking the time to look up our specs and investigating.
I think it sounds like we should get more truck to avoid most problems. We've always worried a little about the smaller sized Nissan. It pulls higher rpms frequently towing just smaller grades around Columbia, mid-state SC! Could anyone suggest good reading materials so we can learn more about RV towing, grades etc?

Not trying to talk you out of a bigger truck, because I think one is in order, but what exactly are you uncomfortable with?
High rpms? Any gasser 1/2 ton is going to drop 2-4 gears from crushing rpms to pulling 8k up a hill, except maybe the turbo trucks. If your engine or trans isn't overheating pulling hills, you're not hurting them, per se.
Braking? Have you had a bad experience, or just worried about it? Honestly your new midsize has as good or better brakes than every other 20 year old 1/2 ton truck out there still doing the same duties as yours. Yes a brand new half ton will be better than the Frontier , but if the trailer is 80-90% stopping itself, like it should be, then it's not a cause for alarm.
Handling/sway? Guessing if that wasn't under control, your question wouldn't be limited to mountain towing, but rather towing in general. Yes a 1/2 ton crew cab will have significantly more mass than the midsize, but just like the brakes, if it works fine, then it works fine.

All that said, unless it's financially prohibitive, a newer 1/2 ton with a V8 or Ecoboost will pull and handle the trailer with more authority. The question is, is it a necessity or a luxury?
I say little bit necessity and a lot of luxury.

[Terryallan]

sblackb7 wrote:
Thanks to all replies on my post! Wow, a lot of really good and useful information to consider, reconsider, and let sink in. We have family in NE Ohio but would also like to travel to or back from Michigan. All of you are right about the mountains scaring us (!) but just want to be prepared as much as possible. We have found the best advise comes from seasoned RVers! Thanks for taking the time to look up our specs and investigating.
I think it sounds like we should get more truck to avoid most problems. We've always worried a little about the smaller sized Nissan. It pulls higher rpms frequently towing just smaller grades around Columbia, mid-state SC! Could anyone suggest good reading materials so we can learn more about RV towing, grades etc?

Never seen a lot of reading material abut towing. Most learn by experience, and advice. like when mountain towing. NEVER start down the mountain in a gear higher than the one it took to go up, lower is better,.

Now when looking at trucks. check out the towing capacity of it BEFORE you buy it. Just because it looks like the one sitting beside of it, doesn't meant it is. If you buy new. the engine, GVWR, and rear gear are listed on the window sticker. There can be as much as 1000lb difference in GVWR between 2 identical trucks sitting side by side. The higher the GVWR the better, and the lower the rear gear the better for towing. There can be as much as 7000lb difference in the towing capacity between a 3.15 rear gear, and a 3.73 rear gear. With the 3.73 having the higher tow capacity. So when you buy. Make sure you get what you need.

If you buy used. there are also ways to find the rear gear ratio, and towing capacity. Do your homework.

[sblackb7]

Thanks to all replies on my post! Wow, a lot of really good and useful information to consider, reconsider, and let sink in. We have family in NE Ohio but would also like to travel to or back from Michigan. All of you are right about the mountains scaring us (!) but just want to be prepared as much as possible. We have found the best advise comes from seasoned RVers! Thanks for taking the time to look up our specs and investigating.
I think it sounds like we should get more truck to avoid most problems. We've always worried a little about the smaller sized Nissan. It pulls higher rpms frequently towing just smaller grades around Columbia, mid-state SC! Could anyone suggest good reading materials so we can learn more about RV towing, grades etc?

[philh]

I can tell you the county road where trailers are limited to 30' is a most interesting and beautiful drive... 15mph switchbacks can be fun 🙂 Good thing I was in no hurry, kept the stress level way down. Not recommended for a beginner towing at max capacity tho.

[Terryallan]

sblackb7 wrote:
What is the best route to tow a Wildwood Extra Lite, 27' from Myrtle Beach to Ohio? I do not want to travel Rt77 through W Virginia. We are somewhat newbies (1 1/2 yrs) but have traveled
a lot in upstate SC and GA mountains and SC/NC lines. The mountains are holding us back !!!
Advise appreciated!

We have a 2019 Nissan Frontier

You can run 26 to 75 but you will still have to go over the mountain. and if mountains are your problem. Maybe you shouldn't go. I-26, I-40, I77. ALL have mountain grades to climb.

Maybe there is a way thru Pennsylvania or such that is flatter.

[DownTheAvenue]

Your problem is not the mountains but your set up. The Nissan Frontier is not much truck to be towing a 27 foot travel trailer. I would not be happy towing with that set up cross the street let alone on the highways. In my opinion it is not a safe set up.

[Grit_dog]

I mostly agree with Lynmor and Bob. That's a lot of trailer for not a lot of truck. I'd have a few reservations about coming down the Mountian too. But given that's what you got, make sure the trailer brakes are working great and turned up to where they are taking 100% of the trailer weight and take the downhills slow.

[PastorCharlie]

sblackb7 wrote:
What is the best route to tow a Wildwood Extra Lite, 27' from Myrtle Beach to Ohio? I do not want to travel Rt77 through W Virginia. We are somewhat newbies (1 1/2 yrs) but have traveled
a lot in upstate SC and GA mountains and SC/NC lines. The mountains are holding us back !!!
Advise appreciated!

We have a 2019 Nissan Frontier

The best route by far for a newbie or a Professional is I-77 from MB to OH. If you cannot navigate that highway you will fail on all the others.

I have traveled about every road over the pass 50 years going from the south, north to OH, driving trucks/cars towing trailers and a Mobile-Home and for the pass 10 years have made the trip each year with a class A MH towing a Jeep.

Patience is a virtue... Slow Down... Keep lots of distance between yourself and the vehicle in front of you... Use lower gear to aid breaks on steep decline... enjoy the journey and do not be concerned with destination it will be a the end of the trip... NEVERS FAILS.

[CFerguson]

I40 to Knoxville, I75 to Ohio. Try not to hit Knox at rush hours.
Only possibility of a problem (its all good 4 lane) is if theres a rockslide near the TN/NC line. That seems to happen every couple of years.

[Merrykalia]

I live IN the Appalachian Mountains. Again, we don't know exactly where you want to go in Ohio, but I-64, I-77 and down is not a bad drive. Yes, there are mountains, but in order to get to the coast, you HAVE to drive over mountains to get there.

If your setup is decent, ie not pulling a 27' trailer with a Chevy Colorado or other small pickup or SUV, you should be fine. Interstate highways cannot be over a 7% grade and most aren't even that. Thousands of people pull trailers up/down those mountains everyday with no problem.

The mountains in WV are no different than the ones in NC. There are a couple of higher peaks, but you aren't going to be driving across the peaks unless you take a really bad turn!!

Pull up your big girl panties and take off. The scenery through there is fantastic and I think you will appreciate it. It's not one big mountain all the way through WV. You will go up a 5 mile grade, then down for several flatter miles, then up another grade. It will give the transmission time to cool off and you to take a big breath. If you feel like you have to pull off at the next exit, DO IT!

You are giving the mountains much more power than they deserve. If you find that you are not comfortable, take the next exit, turn around and go home. Nothing ventured, nothing gained!

[BarabooBob]

Just looking at internet specs for your truck it looks like towing capacity is between 3500 and 6500 pounds. I also see that the DRY weight of 27' Wildwood TT are in the area of 6200 pounds. When you add batteries, lp tanks, people, and all of your other stuff, you will be overweight. You may want to look at your truck/trailer combination.

[Lynnmor]

You have a mid-size truck pulling a 27 foot travel trailer? If you have a setup that can't handle interstate highways, you need to rethink the whole deal.

[naturist]

I agree it depends on where in Ohio you want to go. I-77 through WV isn’t bad at all. We even jump off onto US 33 at Ripley, WV for the trip to Columbus. The steepest grades are in the 6-7% range. Perhaps the only thing to fear is fear itself, not to coin an expression.

Knowing nothing about the details of either the OP’s setup or experiences with it in the mountains, but having lived in, near, or along them my entire life, with family on both sides, and having dragged my own 21 foot TT back and forth often, leads me to wonder if perhaps, just maybe, the problem might be a wee bit more trailer than truck. To be sure, there are some steep and twisty roads in the Appalachians, but the Interstates I’ve used there keep the grades down to 6-7%. Grades of any steepness do stretch the truck and it’s where “too much TT, too little TV” first bites you. To not use I-77 through WV, you either have to cross clear over to I-75 in the south or stay East into Pennsylvania then take I-70 west, but even then, there are mountains to cross.

There are mountains in both Kentucky and Tennessee, as well as West Virginia and Pennsylvania. While it’s true WV is probably the worst of them, they will all challenge your rig. I am not familiar with the southern route, but both I-64 to I-77 and I-81 or I-95 to I-70 will send you up and down. The last of those is the flatter, but both longer and takes you through the traffic hell of DC/eastern PA.

The OP’s Nissan surely has 6 or 8 years in the transmission and I would strongly urge them to make full use of them by manually downshifting when on a grade. The engine can take a lot of load off the brakes as well as pull much better in those lower gears. The program by which the automatic transmission selects gears is strongly biased to save gas, not to drag heavy loads around. Thus over riding that program is essential when crossing mountains heavily loaded. Though I don’t know the OP, I have observed that inexperienced folks tend to not know about downshifting and/or eschew it thinking high revs from the engine are bad, or cringing when the engine feels like it is screaming.

My own TV has 6 gears, and I have found both second and third gears the most useful gears in the mountains. And that’s with a Diesel engine with a 5,000 rpm redline. Second gear and 40 mph gets me over both up and down 15% grades when towing. Third gear and 65 mph takes me up and down I-77 with only rare touches on the brakes as well as keeping up with traffic.

[am1958]

We did Detroit to Myrtle Beach twice over two spring breaks with a Bullet 31BHPR, (6500lbs), behind an F-150 EcoBoost through W. Virginia and with no issues.