The Teton Pass challange...

I have been super happy with Blue Bailout (the GMC Sierra 2500 Duramax/ Allison) pulling the Airstream trailer. We cruise along at 60/65 mph with the beast purring at 1500 rpm and sipping diesel at an incredible 14-16 mpg.

But one thing is to cruise on flat or rolling hills, and another is to pull your rig through a high mountain pass. On our way from Idaho Falls to Tetons, we got the option of cruise along HWY 26 to Jackson Hole, or...take HWY 32 and 33 through Teton Pass via Victor and Wilson to Jackson Hole.

This route is marked as scenic, and we are suckers for scenic routes, but as soon as we turned into HWY 32, we started to come across snow warnings, steep grade warnings, weight limit warnings, Tow truck service phone numbers...(kidding on the last one)

We hesitated and pulled over...is this a good idea? So we asked: "Can you do it Blue Bailout?" "Broom, Broom!" it roared in affirmation. So we pushed ahead.

(How wise is to ask critical decisions to inanimate objects?...and how did we know that Broom, Broom means "yes, yes" and not "no!, no!)

The truck handled the steep uphill switch backs like a champ, but as it turns, the hardest part of a mountain pass, is not the uphill...but the downhill. Here is your chance to bake your transmission or cook your brakes if you do not know how to do it.

If you rely solely on the TV brakes, you will cook them and loose them, you need to use your engine/transmission to downshift and brake...but this puts strain on your transmission and engine also, as you see the revs peaking and the temperature on your tranny soaring.

On the downhill from Tetons Pass, I feathered the brakes before every turn, and the Allison Transmission did the rest, sensing the trailer push and downshifting when necessary, and easing up when the temperature spiked. I monitored the transmission temperature through the pass.

We made it in one piece, and now I have the piece of mind on how the TV handles for future mountain passes and know that I do not need to take lengthy detours to avoid them.



I guess in the case of mountain passes, "scenic route" means a route where you will see the temperature of your transmission resemble the colors of a sunset.