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So today I drove from Seattle to Sacramento as my first installment of this trip. It took me 12 hours to get to Sacramento, which is where I am now. I went through insane steep grades in Oregon and Northern California. I have read all about shifting on the fly into 2nd, 3rd, 1st..etc but I am SCARED to death of driving on mountains. I suck at it and I know I am going to kill my brakes.
My plan tomorrow is to drive from Sacramento down through Bakersfield and Riverside then go into Phoenix, AZ tomorrow night. From there take I-10 into San Antonio, TX which will take me through Louisiana, etc etc into the Panhandle of Florida. I want to make sure I HAVE NO MORE Mountains I will encounter in California, AZ, etc.
Please advise me. I get HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE anxiety from these mountains. The elevation even gives me breathing issues. It makes me a mess and no one should have to drive around me on those things.
If you continue to take your intended route to southern California then eastward on I-10 you are done with mountain driving. The worst of it is all behind you. Over.
However, I have read that there are a number of security checkpoints along I-10 these days, as issues on the US/Mexico border have been leaking northward. Be notified.
Well I am not too worried except the fact my car is LOADED since I am moving from Seattle to WPB, FL and I wonder if they will want to remove everything from my car and search just because it is so loaded. Which I have no problem with them searching as long as they don't plant anything on me and as long as they put the stuff back in the car nicely like I have it. Yeah right, right?
No, you have one more big mountain to go over: Grapevine/Tejon Pass on I-5.
When you go past the California state weight station at Wheeler's Ridge, you'll start up a 6 or 7 mile grade of about 6%. After that, you're on the top of the mountain range for awhile, then drop down another 6 or 7 mile 6% grade just before you come into Castaic. You'll know when you're there because the road shifts and the south bound lanes are actually to the left of the northbound lanes.
But, don't worry about it. I doubt you'll get damage your brakes in a car, even one heavily loaded, unless you just keep on hammering and have to slow it down repeatedly. The secret to coming down a long grade is to downshift at the top and let the transmission hold you back. I wouldn't recommend going down by but one gear.
Naturally, as you go down, the RPM's will come up, so keep an eye on that and don't let them wind too high or you'll blow the motor. You WILL have to use the brakes to slow down your descent and there's two ways to do that: Light, steady pressure or what's called "stabbing."
On a car, the light steady pressure may very well heat up your brakes as the brake pads aren't that big and don't carry heat away very well. So, "stabbing" is your best bet. What that involves is a brief, heavy pressure on the brakes when the RPM gets too high to slow the vehicle rapidly. For instance, if you're going 65 and the RPM's are too high, jump on the brakes and pull it down to about 45 or so, the release. BE SURE AND CHECK YOUR MIRROR BEFORE YOU DO THAT, or you may get run over. Everyone else will be flying!
The point is that brakes get overheated when air circulates between the pads and the disc or brake drums. The more you "fan" the brakes, the hotter they'll get. "Stabbing" allows time for the pads to cool somewhat between usage. One a grade the length of Tejon, they'll get warm but probably not enough to cause you problems. At freeway speeds, your descent won't last but about 5 minutes, so that's all you have to worry about.
After Tejon, you'll be alright all the way to Florida. There are some upgrades along the way, including a very long one just east of Palm Springs, but there's no corresponding downgrade afterwards as you're climbing up onto the high desert. You'll have a brief downgrade at Benson, AZ and another one just before you come into Van Horn, TX but don't worry about them. They're nothing.
If you're really that frightened and want to avoid ANY big hills, here's you an alternate route:
Instead of staying on I-5, jump over onto CA-99 south to Bakersfield. You can do that right there in Sacramento. It's all freeway and flat as a tabletop.
At Bakersfield, go east on CA-58 to Barstow. You'll go up Tehachapi Pass, which is about 30 miles of steady upgrade, but you never come down on the other side. You just come out on the high desert and stay there.
At Barstow, take I-40 east toward Needles, CA. There is a pretty good downgrade between Essex and Needles, but you can get off at Goffs Rd, just past the rest area, and make a left. That'll take you around the hill and it ends at the US-95 junction. Make a right and it'll take you right back to I-40 at the bottom of the hill. Just watch the low-water dips and very rough train tracks at Goff's and you'll be alright.
At Needles, go south on US-95 to Blythe, where you get back on I-10. It's uphill for the first 10 or 15 miles from Needles but, again, there's no downgrade. It's a two-lane road and heavily traveled, so you'll be OK.
It's a little farther that way, but you not only avoid Grapevine/Tejon Pass, you also skip right around all that LA/San Bernardino mess.
Last time we drove from San Diego to Phoenix in November, the border patrols were ridiculous. There were so many, it made no sense to drive only to be stuck in traffic every half hour! The kicker? They just look at you and wave you on, what a waste of resources!
And we definitely drove through some winding mountain roads on the way to Phoenix, but I have no idea which mountain and at which part of the road since AZ looks the same to me, dry and dull.
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