[jjwalburn]

Hey all,

Driving west through Colorado to Southern California. I'm towing a 5x8 U-Haul and want to make sure I understand how to use Autostick going up & down steep grades. If there's a resource you could direct me toward or if you have advice or experience, let me know! I'm leaving Denver on Monday night. Thanks!

 

[alexman2525]

Video from U-Haul: https://youtu.be/ad8jBwvHlJM?t=1m16s

When going up a hill you are going to need more power, shift down a gear as your vehicle starts to slow down.

When going down a hill, the trailer behind you is going to push you down the hill, making you go faster. Holding down the brakes going down a hill with a trailer will burnout your brakes, so only brake before the decline. Shift down a gear and let the engine power maintain vehicle speed.

How to use Autostick:

 

[Ignatz]

I'm not sure autostick would benefit you all that much while hill-climbing: just let the CVT find the optimum RPMs. Descending hills it will be beneficial if used as alexman2525 says.

 

[bd1]

Don't be afraid to let the engine rev, both uphill and down. A roaring engine is a working engine, but it's made for it so long as the oil is good and the engine temperature is under control.

On the uphill, watch the temperature gauge. It should be fine if everything is working well. You are also heating the transmission and the differential, and I wish that they had gauges as well. Keep those fluids up to date, including the differentials.

On the down hill, hold the lower gear to keep the revs up. You might be able to coast down hill with the roaring engine for the whole mountainside. The important thing is that the brakes are stone cold. Keep back from whoever is in front, and use the brakes a bit every now and then if you need to. Don't ride them continuously, though.

Some mountain roads have "escape ramps". These are short exit ramps made of deep gravel intended to stop a runaway truck. Using one of those can damage your vehicle, especially if you have a trailer in tow. Think of it as a semi-controlled crash.

There are also slow vehicle lanes on the uphill. Here you'll find the big rigs doing 15 MPH with flashing lights.

Sometimes you can pass on the downhill in the oncoming uphill passing lane ( dashed center line), and I've seen crazy stuff here as a bunch of cars try to get ahead of slow trucks by passing at 90MPH downhill in the uphill lane.

Failure to downshift has been known to cause welded brake calipers. I saw this on an RV in a campground being repaired by a mobile mechanic.

If the trailer has electric brakes, you MUST use a brake controller. It's actually a legal requirement in many states, and failure to do so could in theory be used against you in court if you cause damage. Pay for a more expensive inertial-sensing model.

 

[Metaxa]

Good advice from all.

My only addition is start slowly, stop slowly, slow down before corners, go slow over the crest of hills, be slow and in control.

Don't let your speed creep up and a straightaway and then be suddenly surprised at the curve...it happens a lot.

Back before I had much experience I used my CJ to tow a trailer out into the bush. fine as could be all the way out and up the mountain but filled with firewood on the way back and down it was an entirely different beast.
Just when I thought I had it figured out a curve came up and i was too fast while only going maybe 40 mph. The loaded trailer simply pushed me straight ahead, off the road and into the weeds.

we had to unload two cords of wood, unhook the trailer and pull it out by hand...only then could I back and fill and get the Jeep back on the road...then we had to hook the trailer back up and load two full cords of split firewood back in.

You might say that going a bit fast did not save me any time.

Did I mention slowing down?

 

[aroundincircles]

I see yours is a 2014, so you may not have very many miles on it and you may/may not have the CVT. but if you have the CVT, its worth getting the fluid at least checked. The CVT is fluid sensitive, and making sure it is at the correct level and still good is important. Towing is very hard on a transmission, and a few bucks in prevention is worth it.

 

[Ignatz]

Some mountain roads have "escape ramps". These are short exit ramps made of deep gravel intended to stop a runaway truck. Using one of those can damage your vehicle, especially if you have a trailer in tow. Think of it as a semi-controlled crash.

You may also get a bill from the DPW to re-grade all that gravel on the escape ramp, and that gravel being specially chosen to grab & hold your wheels, you may need a tow getting out of there. If you need the ramp, its there to save you, but the best plan is to avoid needing it. Kinda like seat belts and airbags -- nice to have; God forbid you ever need them!

Hope you have a safe trip and please keep the rubber side down! :smiley_thumbs_up:

 

[rcguymike]

Downshifting on slight grades might help but with the 4 banger and extremely high gearing downshifting isn't going to do much for you on any sort of grade especially with a trailer. Plan for that and slow down at the top of the hill(better safe than sorry). I drove a 4 cylinder YJ that could squeal the tires when downshifting, the Pat doesn't really engine break at all and if you watch it with an OBD2 scanner it actually applies a bit of throttle as the RPMS rise and your MPG drops:doh:. Good luck and have a fun trip!