White knuckle, near death experience!

[TTnewbie]

I am not sure if this is going to help me in the future, but I am definitely buying one of those GPS navigation systems made for RV's. I would hope that a GPS made for RV's would have saved me from the near death experience that I had on Friday. That and an F250!

I use Waze for navigation on a daily basis without any problems. I used Waze on Friday to get to a campground and boy did I regret it. I was 5 minutes away from my destination. The GPS told me to make a left onto the campground road so I did. What it didn't tell me was that I was about to attempt to go up the steepest hill I have ever seen in my life. Long story short, I go up a steep hill so I think I am okay. I see a 2nd hill and figured I would make it. Well, I didn't. I stalled a third of the way up. My Yukon simply stopped. Engine started heating up. I told everyone to get out and reversed down a bit. Tried again and no go. I honestly thought that I was going to roll down both of the hills and die. It was the scariest thing I have experiences so far towing my trailer. Fortunately, there was a house with a U shaped driveway next to the hill. I pulled in and made a U turn. I called the campground and they gave me directions to the safe way to get to them.

The owner of the house came out when I made the U turn on his property. He was a really nice guy about the whole thing. He told me that almost on a daily basis vehicles towing trailers get stuck on the hill. He said that unless you have at least a 3/4 ton truck you ain't making up the hill towing a regular size trailer. Lesson learned.

FYI...for any Jersey folks out there, I'm talking about Mount Pleasant Road in Columbia, NJ, heading up to Camp Taylor.

[NavyLCDR]

Yesterday my Garmin GPS told me to turn left into a sidewalk market.

In Hawaii I was looking for a waterfall. GPS brought me to end of a private drive with a big cardboard sign that said Google maps brought you here. This is NOT the waterfall!

Some GPS units will have some clearance and weight restriction limits available. But I don't think in your situation a different GPS would have given different directions.

[Cidewayz]

That same thing happened to a friend of mine. I've been going to this campground for years but Waze tried taking me down a dirt road that I knew didn't connect. My friend being 30 mins behind and their 1st time didn't know any better. Being barely any cell reception until you reach the store of the campground, I tried to warn them but they were out of cell range at that point. Fortunately, like you, there was one driveway they were able to turn around (but they had an RV) and learned a lesson. Just for future, what I do, If I haven't driven a certain route(freeways or rural roads) or just unfamiliar with the area. I'll follow the route of Google map, checking turns, roads, even interchanges to try to make sure I'm set up correctly and not do last minute maneuvers. I have a 3/4 ton with a 35ft fifth wheel so I try to not just pull over or turn anywhere like my navigator aka wife would like me to lol Best of luck in the future.

[TTnewbie]

Originally Posted by Cidewayz

That same thing happened to a friend of mine. I've been going to this campground for years but Waze tried taking me down a dirt road that I knew didn't connect. My friend being 30 mins behind and their 1st time didn't know any better. Being barely any cell reception until you reach the store of the campground, I tried to warn them but they were out of cell range at that point. Fortunately, like you, there was one driveway they were able to turn around (but they had an RV) and learned a lesson. Just for future, what I do, If I haven't driven a certain route(freeways or rural roads) or just unfamiliar with the area. I'll follow the route of Google map, checking turns, roads, even interchanges to try to make sure I'm set up correctly and not do last minute maneuvers. I have a 3/4 ton with a 35ft fifth wheel so I try to not just pull over or turn anywhere like my navigator aka wife would like me to lol Best of luck in the future.

I totally forgot about the wife part. I was ready to file for divorce by the time I made the U turn. It's true what they say about RVing, it can definitely make the monster come out of both spouses under the right, stress induced, conditions.

[Cidewayz]

Originally Posted by TTnewbie

I totally forgot about the wife part. I was ready to file for divorce by the time I made the U turn. It's true what they say about RVing, it can definitely make the monster come out of both spouses under the right, stress induced, conditions.

For sure! There's a sign I saw, "I'm sorry for what I said while setting up!", I think it should extended to the travel portion too [emoji1787] Like I said before, try to check everything out beforehand. It'll ease, not eliminate, the wife navagating factor [emoji1787]

[Jfkmk]

Originally Posted by TTnewbie

I am not sure if this is going to help me in the future, but I am definitely buying one of those GPS navigation systems made for RV's. I would hope that a GPS made for RV's would have saved me from the near death experience that I had on Friday. That and an F250!

I use Waze for navigation on a daily basis without any problems. I used Waze on Friday to get to a campground and boy did I regret it. I was 5 minutes away from my destination. The GPS told me to make a left onto the campground road so I did. What it didn't tell me was that I was about to attempt to go up the steepest hill I have ever seen in my life. Long story short, I go up a steep hill so I think I am okay. I see a 2nd hill and figured I would make it. Well, I didn't. I stalled a third of the way up. My Yukon simply stopped. Engine started heating up. I told everyone to get out and reversed down a bit. Tried again and no go. I honestly thought that I was going to roll down both of the hills and die. It was the scariest thing I have experiences so far towing my trailer. Fortunately, there was a house with a U shaped driveway next to the hill. I pulled in and made a U turn. I called the campground and they gave me directions to the safe way to get to them.

The owner of the house came out when I made the U turn on his property. He was a really nice guy about the whole thing. He told me that almost on a daily basis vehicles towing trailers get stuck on the hill. He said that unless you have at least a 3/4 ton truck you ain't making up the hill towing a regular size trailer. Lesson learned.

FYI...for any Jersey folks out there, I'm talking about Mount Pleasant Road in Columbia, NJ, heading up to Camp Taylor.

As I read your post (before I got to the end) I wondered if you were talking about Camp Taylor. Their website contains multiple warnings about Mt. Pleasant road being too steep for most vehicles and provides directions for avoiding the steep hill. When we went there, we drove down the hill without the camper. Yikes!

Hope you enjoyed the wolf preserve and local winery (you probably needed it)!

[chriscowles]

Originally Posted by Cidewayz

That same thing happened to a friend of mine. I've been going to this campground for years but Waze tried taking me down a dirt road that I knew didn't connect. My friend being 30 mins behind and their 1st time didn't know any better. Being barely any cell reception until you reach the store of the campground, I tried to warn them but they were out of cell range at that point. Fortunately, like you, there was one driveway they were able to turn around (but they had an RV) and learned a lesson. Just for future, what I do, If I haven't driven a certain route(freeways or rural roads) or just unfamiliar with the area. I'll follow the route of Google map, checking turns, roads, even interchanges to try to make sure I'm set up correctly and not do last minute maneuvers. I have a 3/4 ton with a 35ft fifth wheel so I try to not just pull over or turn anywhere like my navigator aka wife would like me to lol Best of luck in the future.

Neither Google Maps nor Waze considers grades, tunnels, bridge clearance or dirt roads. Your trailer may lose an A/C if you go down the wrong route.

If you don't want to buy a dedicated RV GPS, subscribe to RVTripWizard.com. The subscription includes a phone app (RV Life) which has RV GPS directions. You can download the maps to your phone so you don't need a continuous connection for it to work. The publisher is working on CarPlay compatibility. No mention has been made about Android Auto.

[ependydad]

Originally Posted by Cidewayz

If I haven't driven a certain route(freeways or rural roads) or just unfamiliar with the area. I'll follow the route of Google map, checking turns, roads, even interchanges to try to make sure I'm set up correctly and not do last minute maneuvers.

My wife does that before every drive we take. So far so good, we've not gotten stuck in this situation.

To the OP, that had to have been brutal!

[GravelRider]

Yikes! That sounds awful. Glad you found a place to turn around.

Reminds me of being in the Black Hills last year. I was going down a dirt road trying to find a boondocking spot. It got narrower and narrower, until it was suddenly blocked off. I had to back up for over a mile towing a trailer until I found a borderline spot that I could turn around (right before a brutal u-turn). However, the spot wasn't quite big enough, and after about a dozen stabs, I realized it just wasn't happening. I had to unhook, turn the truck around facing the direction I wanted to go and hitch back up. Amazingly my wife and I are still married, and we each earned our drinks that night!

[TTnewbie]

Originally Posted by Jfkmk

As I read your post (before I got to the end) I wondered if you were talking about Camp Taylor. Their website contains multiple warnings about Mt. Pleasant road being too steep for most vehicles and provides directions for avoiding the steep hill. When we went there, we drove down the hill without the camper. Yikes!

Hope you enjoyed the wolf preserve and local winery (you probably needed it)!

Im still going through the learning curve of RV life. I have 25 plus years of tent camping behind me. I never had to think ahead before arriving at a campground. I packed up, drove and set up. Plain and simple.

That being said, I never read any of the paperwork they sent me. I only printed the registration page and that was it. Now I know better. I am going to read EVERY single piece of information that a campground sends me when I confirm my dates with them. I would have avoided that crazy hill had I read the paperwork. Never again!

And, no, we did not get to see any of the wolves when we hiked up to their animal preserve. I didn't know about the winery so I am adding it to my list for next time.

By the way, if anyone is heading to that area you better be prepared to deal with ticks. They are EVERYWHERE at the campground. I have never had so many ticks on me in my entire life. I pulled 27 deer ticks off of my dog yesterday and had to bathe him with Flea and Tick shampoo.

[TTnewbie]

Originally Posted by ependydad

My wife does that before every drive we take. So far so good, we've not gotten stuck in this situation.

To the OP, that had to have been brutal!

I don't even have words for all of the emotions that went through me while I had my foot jammed all the way down on the gas and I was slowly sliding back. That was beyond scary. To add to this I had trouble reversing being that I am still trying to get the swing of steering in the opposite direction. I almost ended up jack knifed across the middle of both sides of the road two times. Crazy!

I have to take my Yukon to the mechanic because I know I damaged something in the front end. My tires were cut all the way to one side while still on the hill but the combined weight of the trailer and tow pulled the Yukon backwards leaving skid marks on the road. After unhitching at the campsite I was making a wide turn and it sounded as if my front wheels locked in place as I turned. I am not mechanically inclined so I will have to get it checked out.

[ArkRVHog]

Originally Posted by NavyLCDR

Yesterday my Garmin GPS told me to turn left into a sidewalk market.

In Hawaii I was looking for a waterfall. GPS brought me to end of a private drive with a big cardboard sign that said Google maps brought you here. This is NOT the waterfall!

Some GPS units will have some clearance and weight restriction limits available. But I don't think in your situation a different GPS would have given different directions.

On a trip out west, we followed Google maps to a turn with a professional looking street sign that said "Your GPS is wrong." Obviously we didn't turn on that street!

RV Life's map app allows you to put in your unit's length and height so I hope it would steer you away from situations like this...but that is probably wishful thinking.

[GlennW]

I have never had a bad GPS experience here in Canada. When In have talked to people who did have problems, they almost all told me they set the route preference to shortest route instead of fastest route.

Never pick shortest route.

GlennW

[thoremilly]

Originally Posted by TTnewbie

I am not sure if this is going to help me in the future, but I am definitely buying one of those GPS navigation systems made for RV's. I would hope that a GPS made for RV's would have saved me from the near death experience that I had on Friday. That and an F250!

I use Waze for navigation on a daily basis without any problems. I used Waze on Friday to get to a campground and boy did I regret it. I was 5 minutes away from my destination. The GPS told me to make a left onto the campground road so I did. What it didn't tell me was that I was about to attempt to go up the steepest hill I have ever seen in my life. Long story short, I go up a steep hill so I think I am okay. I see a 2nd hill and figured I would make it. Well, I didn't. I stalled a third of the way up. My Yukon simply stopped. Engine started heating up. I told everyone to get out and reversed down a bit. Tried again and no go. I honestly thought that I was going to roll down both of the hills and die. It was the scariest thing I have experiences so far towing my trailer. Fortunately, there was a house with a U shaped driveway next to the hill. I pulled in and made a U turn. I called the campground and they gave me directions to the safe way to get to them.

The owner of the house came out when I made the U turn on his property. He was a really nice guy about the whole thing. He told me that almost on a daily basis vehicles towing trailers get stuck on the hill. He said that unless you have at least a 3/4 ton truck you ain't making up the hill towing a regular size trailer. Lesson learned.

FYI...for any Jersey folks out there, I'm talking about Mount Pleasant Road in Columbia, NJ, heading up to Camp Taylor.

Time for real truck no less than a 3/4 lol equipped for towing

[Splashes3]

OP - Did you have to change your underware?? LOL

I use & study my route with the Good Sam Road Atlas (yes, it's a large print map book).....state by state (& Canada). It hilites, in orange, RV friendly routes - which is a huge help....My 5ver is 13'6"+ high....I also have the Low Clearance data base on my laptop which I look over before hand.

We only use WAZE for police/accident reports.

I'm pretty sure the OP's route would not have been hi-lited as being RV friendly...and yes, I read all the campground notes whether on their site or from reviews of others that have been to the c/g.

Safer travels in your future...and I hope the damage isn't too bad.

Mike

[Chuck_S]

Garmin makes an "RV" or "truck" GPS where you enter your sizes and weights and they claim it keeps you from excessively steep grades, low clearances, etc. Several times more expensive than an ordinary GPS.

There are a couple of places here in the Richmond with state erected signs that "your GPS is wrong" and advising the correct route. Campground where we have reservations over Independence Day notes to not follow the GPS into their camp -- seems there's a very low capacity bridge it's unlikely the trailer will get across.

-- Chuck

[IchLiebeBier]

RV GPS won't be the cure all you're after. I found out last year the hard way.

We were in a no cell phone coverage area, so we had to go with the GPS only. It took us down a narrow, dirt country road, 7 miles out of the way, just to put us back on the road we crossed over through an intersection a mile away. Ironically, when I took it out of RV mode, it routed us down the main paved road it should have used to begin with. It was my worst white knuckle experience so far.

It was also a culmination of bad occurrences. We had to make a last minute campground change, so we had no way of knowing about their website that said to not follow the GPS.

Long story short...if you have time (and trust me, I'll make the time next time), double check the route for crazy stuff.

I have a feeling you already internalized that lesson

[Reverse_snowbird]

Originally Posted by TTnewbie

To add to this I had trouble reversing being that I am still trying to get the swing of steering in the opposite direction

Glad you made it through in one piece. Unfortunately, most of us have had our GPS get us in sticky situations. Our Garmin put us in the middle of an onion field in New York State, took us on a road that had a bridge washed out, and put us at the wrong end of a tourist railroad. We've learned to use several types of routing apps when we're headed into unknown territory and look carefully for directions on campground websites for instructions to 'call' because GPS won't find them. We've learned that when a COE campground gives instructions on how to get there, follow them exactly. A class A from our campground found itself in a ditch with the entire side leaning against an uphill cliff on a dirt road and they had to climb out a window while following the GPS instructions. No idea how they got it off the side of the mountain.

For steering, put your hand on the bottom of the steering wheel and turn the wheel in the direction you want the back of the trailer to go. That was a tip from a truck driver.

So an RV GPS might help, but not necessarily.

[jbflag21ds]

I prefer the Google Maps app, so before I head out I compare that to RV Trip Wizard's (RVLife) GPS directions and make adjustments to the Google Maps route and add waypoints as needed to match the RV specific route.

[Jdb95650]

I always plan my route before I leave to make sure im.good. I've noticed that if I'm going anywhere east of the west coast I have to be very careful.