Flat towing a Wrangler up mountains out west.

[MLnDavo]

My wife really likes the Georgetown XL, but I'm concerned about the gas V10 and towing up steep hills. Can anyone speak on their experiences?

[VinceU]

Originally Posted by MLnDavo

My wife really likes the Georgetown XL, but I'm concerned about the gas V10 and towing up steep hills. Can anyone speak on their experiences?

If you take the toad off when navigating steep terrain, it will perform just ok. Mine struggled with small mountains in Pennsylvania. It was only rated to tow 3500 lbs. via the hitch but the Chassis only had 4000 available for towing to the weight of the coach The toad was 3100 with never any cargo. Smaller coaches on the Ford F-53 chassis are lighter and probably have less problems. Mine was 378XL chassis 22000 lbs and GCWR was 26000.

[SS396CV]

We just crossed the Siskiyou's in Califorina on I-5 (6% grade) with no issues pulling a Honda CRV. i use RPM and not worry about the speed. The sweet spot IMO is between 3,000 and 3,500 RPM which is about 40 mph. (i believe it is 3rd gear). As long as you are not in a hurry it is manageable. I-5 in southern Oregon and Northern California is an up and down hilly stretch. On the flat there is no issue.

[SeaDog]

That V10 will pull the hills fine I had done the mountain ranges out west and Idaho with the old winnie and a 460 without problems. I keep the RPM under 4K and let the speed settle where ever it wants. My toad is a GMC Yukon.

[jeffv003]

We have been up and over most of the passes in Colorado and Utah and had no issues. Yep, a little slow going up just like the 18 wheelers. A bigger issue is going down. The Tow Haul button does a great job keeping speed down on the major decents. Remember to limit the braking by just touching the breaks once in a while to prevent overheating. We did opt to travel the very steep strech from Durango to Silverton CO with the DH driving the Jeep Wrangler unhitched. This road has several stretches of 7% grade that are 4 to 5 miles long with hair pin turns.

We use the Allstays app which has a filter that will give you good info on the road grades. Its always nice to know what is in store.

Love the 378 XL. I gets a little loud at high rpms but it gets the job done. Get out west and enjoy the beauty!

[Jmsx2]

We tow our Jeep Wrangler behind our GT. living in SWPA. The Georgetown does fine. Don't get me wrong you know the Jeep is back there going through the hills of WV coming out of PA. She does fine. Good luck.


John & Janine
Pazzo the Maltese
2014 Georgetown 328 TSF
2013 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon (Toad)

Sent from my iPhone using Forest River Forums

[HikerBob]

Totally agree with those who use RPM and don't worry about the speed. Our Lexus RX300 does just fine pulling our 18ft 2011 Rockwood MiniLite etc over high Sierra passes, including Tioga, Sonora, Ebbetts, and Carson as well as all the passes on Hwy 395 and into Death Valley from Lone Pine. Just pull over when there's a place and let the rest of the traffic pass you when it backs up to three or four vehicles. You'll feel better and so with those drivers.

[Steelhorzz]

We've been flat towing our PT Cruiser behind our XL360 for 4 years now. We've been all over the country. Up and over the Sierras, the Rockies, the Appalachians.

I've found the "keys" to towing up inclines are:
1) Keep your RPMs up.
2) AND keep an eye out on the traffic ahead.
When safe.... Signal and pass the slower moving traffic ahead of you!
I've gone up a number of grades and passed the slower trucks, making it to the top with no difficulty!

Just be safe!!
As long as we are talking about pulling power up hills.....

Question... Has anyone looked into, or installed the Banks Engineering "kits" for the Motorhome F53 V10? I see they give you almost 56 HP and 70ft lbs more torque. Besides improving the pulling power, it's got to improve your gas mileage.

(That's been the case every time I installed an exhaust system, or intake package on any of my cars.

For about $2k, (and the kit looks like it can be installed by yourself), I'm thinking
"more is better".....

Thanks, and drive safe!

[VinceU]

Originally Posted by SS396CV

We just crossed the Siskiyou's in Califorina on I-5 (6% grade) with no issues pulling a Honda CRV. i use RPM and not worry about the speed. The sweet spot IMO is between 3,000 and 3,500 RPM which is about 40 mph. (i believe it is 3rd gear). As long as you are not in a hurry it is manageable. I-5 in southern Oregon and Northern California is an up and down hilly stretch. On the flat there is no issue.

Here's why 40 isn't good enough, "Road Hazard" and many levy fines for this, its just dangerous to maintain 40 with others 70-75 in a real world of limited access highways.

"Traffic operation and safety characteristics were analyzed in relation to the posting of the minimum speed limit of 40 mph on Florida rural interstate freeways. The operational analysis results showed that 57% of the recorded vehicles exceeded the maximum speed limit. In addition, while only 0.14% of recorded vehicles had speeds below the 40 mph posted minimum speed limit, safety analysis results revealed that 9% of crash-involved vehicles were estimated to have occurred at speeds below 40 mph. The over- involvement of slow moving vehicles in the crash data suggests that even a small proportion of vehicles traveling under 40 mph can have negative impacts on safety. Thus, regulation of vehicle speeds at the lower end of speed distribution is important. Further, the second-order crash risk model developed to estimate the crash risk of a vehicle on the freeway as the function of the deviation from the mean traffic speed indicated that the minimum risk occurred when the pre-crash driving speed is 8 mph above the mean speed, which is equvalent to the 85th percentile speed observed in the field."

That's what I was talking about.

[Myrle]

Originally Posted by MLnDavo

My wife really likes the Georgetown XL, but I'm concerned about the gas V10 and towing up steep hills. Can anyone speak on their experiences?

Towed a 2015 Jeep from NW Arkansas to east coast up the coast to Maine then down through West Virginia and had no problems at all we have Sunseeker.

[CamperAndy]

Hello all,
When I'm driving the Georgetown I'm usually on holiday, so not really in a hurry. Going uphill, logic tells me it will get slower. Do you see any of the 18 wheelers racing uphill? Definitely not when they are loaded. So why should I? I'm not driving a race car, I'm driving a Motorhome pulling something and when you come up behind me your common sense should tell you already from a distance "hey watch out" and as you are constantly checking your rearview mirrors (you are, aren't you?) you know if it's safe to start a passing maneuvre or not. There are different vehicles on the road and it is part of your "skilled" driving to make it safe for everybody or do you tell every 18 wheeler to install a bigger engine so you can race him up the hill? Happy camping, Andy

[twojump36]

We pull our Wrangler all over Oregon... We have the FR30 DS. It's got the V10 and I believe its the F53 chassis...
I don't like the transmission but it pulls just fine.... 6.5 mpg but it gets ya there...
My only complaint is how dirty the jeep is from towing on the dirty roadys here in Oregon

[AquaMan]

Originally Posted by VinceU

Here's why 40 isn't good enough, "Road Hazard" and many levy fines for this, its just dangerous to maintain 40 with others 70-75 in a real world of limited access highways.

"Traffic operation and safety characteristics were analyzed in relation to the posting of the minimum speed limit of 40 mph on Florida rural interstate freeways. The operational analysis results showed that 57% of the recorded vehicles exceeded the maximum speed limit. In addition, while only 0.14% of recorded vehicles had speeds below the 40 mph posted minimum speed limit, safety analysis results revealed that 9% of crash-involved vehicles were estimated to have occurred at speeds below 40 mph. The over- involvement of slow moving vehicles in the crash data suggests that even a small proportion of vehicles traveling under 40 mph can have negative impacts on safety. Thus, regulation of vehicle speeds at the lower end of speed distribution is important. Further, the second-order crash risk model developed to estimate the crash risk of a vehicle on the freeway as the function of the deviation from the mean traffic speed indicated that the minimum risk occurred when the pre-crash driving speed is 8 mph above the mean speed, which is equvalent to the 85th percentile speed observed in the field."

That's what I was talking about.

If a motorhome is doing 40, you can bet there will be tractor/trailer rigs going slower. I don't see anyone getting a ticket for this.

[fbconsults]

Originally Posted by AquaMan

If a motorhome is doing 40, you can bet there will be tractor/trailer rigs going slower. I don't see anyone getting a ticket for this.

I have driven our 2011 Georgetown 378TS pulling our 2011 Ford Escape over many mountain passes in the west with no problem whatsoever. Very few times do I get slowed down to 40. Most of the time I am at 50+, even on the steepest grade. I pass trucks all the time. To say 40 is unsafe when all other large vehicles are traveling about the same speed is incorrect. My opinion is your Georgetown will do great. Just stay in the slow lane except when passing and you will be fine.

Happy Trails, Forrest

[AquaMan]

Originally Posted by fbconsults

I have driven our 2011 Georgetown 378TS pulling our 2011 Ford Escape over many mountain passes in the west with no problem whatsoever. Very few times do I get slowed down to 40. Most of the time I am at 50+, even on the steepest grade. I pass trucks all the time. To say 40 is unsafe when all other large vehicles are traveling about the same speed is incorrect. My opinion is your Georgetown will do great. Just stay in the slow lane except when passing and you will be fine.

Happy Trails, Forrest

Completely agree.

[VinceU]

Originally Posted by AquaMan

Completely agree.

Just trying to save some folks from a rear end collision. Best I can find every interstate has a speed limit and punishment for exceeding. They also state a minimum speed limit......

I'm out! Hope no one causes a problem this summer. I've been honked and saluted when in severe under speed situ's. No more, I'm in a 450 HP Cummings DP.

[VinceU]

Here's the attachment

The minimum speed on Interstate highways is?
The minimum speed on major routes (if any) varies by state. As an example, in many jurisdictions the minimum speed on a 65 MPH Interstate is 45MPH.

Most states have a catch-all rule that states you can be ticketed for driving at any speed that is so slow as to impede the flow of traffic.

[MLnDavo]

I'd prefer a diesel, but the wife can't find a diesel with a floor plan she likes as well as the Georgetown...I'm pushing for a Dynamax. We will be fulltiming, and I'm not convinced a gas burner is the way to go.

[toolman_57]

I'm a big fan of the 5star tuning programming. Usually pulling close to 5,000 lbs. behind the 364 and have crossed over east and west coast mountains. I keep up with most of the 18 wheelers going up the hills.

[CARMAN]

Hi folks I just installed the 5 star programmer on my 2015 FR3 30DS a couple of days ago and so far it seems to have addressed the issue of high rpm shift from 1-2 & 2-3 and it feels much more responsive when accelerating . You can definitely feel the extra torque & horsepower. It was very easy to install, took about 15 minutes. Just make sure your jacks are raised up , plug it in and follow the on screen directions it uploads the factory setting and then downloads the new program and your done. I won't know how well it does in mountains for a couple of months. I would recommend this to any rv'er that is tired of lifting their foot for the trans to shift.