Advice for Getting up Steep Gradients (1 Viewer)

[jopparocks]

Hi Everyone. Just came back from a trip from the east of Scotland and one of the routes took us over Cairn O' Mount which has a couple of approach roads quite steep - up to I think 16% but definitely 14%. The Hymer has taken long gradients in its stride before this (it went up Glenshee pass without any problem albeit in third gear and that is 17%) I was fairly confident going up this particular hill. It wasn't long But - On the hill there wasn't much of a chance to get a run up to it and so I started going up in third then second then had to go into first and each time I had to change very fast as it slowed down very quickly and in the end it ran out of power and I had to do a hill start. When stopped the hand brake started to slip which was quite worrying but managed to get it into another notch but of course it was hard to get off that notch when I had the revs up and started releasing clutch. Managed it in the end and no one behind so all worked out.
Is there any advice any of you more experienced big van drivers or truck drivers with manual gears have that would give me more confidence next time? Wife is now worried about going up steep hills and has ruled out North Spain or the Pyrenees both areas that I want to go to when I retire in a couple of years.
The van is a 4.6 tonne Hymer with 2.8 diesel engine. We had a half tank of water but apart from that nothing particularly heavy.
Cheers Martin

 

[busby]

If it looks very steep as you approach stop on the level and engage first before you get to the steep part.Clutches. on modern vans don't seem up to the job.BUSBY.

 

[PP Bear]

Get in the low gear early, even if it seems silly at first and high revs, as changing down on a steep gradient is daunting at the best of times and our handbrakes just aren't up to the job.

It would also save having to slip the delicate clutches we seem to have fitted.

Lastly, tell SWMBO to pop back and have a lay down, or go in the loo when taking really steep hills

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[jopparocks]

Get in the low gear early, even if it seems silly at first and high revs, as changing down on a steep gradient is daunting at the best of times and our handbrakes just aren't up to the job.

It would also save having to slip the delicate clutches we seem to have fitted.

Lastly, tell SWMBO to pop back and have a lay down, or go in the loo when taking really steep hills

Yes the changing down bit was very stressful. Good advice about she who must be obeyed - could always ask her just to close her eyes

 

[jopparocks]

If it looks very steep as you approach stop on the level and engage first before you get to the steep part.Clutches. on modern vans don't seem up to the job.BUSBY.

Thanks Busby - the van is 1997 so may not come under the description of modern. Can the van take high revs without any problem when getting it up a steep hill?

 

[Neil S]

Cairn O mount catches out a few unwary drivers
I went up it in second without any issue with 150bhp but I changed down from 3rd to 2nd just before I got to the sharp right hand bend as I knew what to expect.
Don’t be put off by the Pyrenees your van will cope just fine

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[cornish boy]

As already suggested, change down early while still on the approach and go steady, no need to rant the nuts off.

 

[jopparocks]

Cairn O mount catches out a few unwary drivers
I went up it in second without any issue with 150bhp but I changed down from 3rd to 2nd just before I got to the sharp right hand bend as I knew what to expect.
Don’t be put off by the Pyrenees your van will cope just fine

Yep definitely don't want to miss out the mountainous parts of France and Spain.

 

[2657]

Good fun going up those sort of gradients with 32 tons and a crash box

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[WillH]

Just like going round a bend, be in the right gear before you get there.

 

[fat haggis]

Good fun going up those sort of gradients with 32 tons and a crash box

I still double de clutch at times in the van. Happy days

 

[joe and sue]

Did Scotland in 2018, plenty of 1 in 4 but 4.5 tonne Autotrail Chieftain with 2.8 and 5 speed box go on fine , just get into first as soon as possible and medium revs,
Not sure about those behind us though !!

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[Neil S]

Good fun going up those sort of gradients with 32 tons and a crash box

yep been up Sutton bank with a 4x2 113M 360bhp at 38ton , made me sweat a bit but I stopped at the wee layby half way up and selected 2nd and just kept her singing .
Didn't attempt to change up until it levelled out near the top

 

[2657]

The problem these days is that people have so much power/weight ratio that they expect to climb everything in top gear.
Gearboxes are there to be used.........correctly

 

[jopparocks]

yep been up Sutton bank with a 4x2 113M 360bhp at 38ton , made me sweat a bit but I stopped at the wee layby half way up and selected 2nd and just kept her singing .
Didn't attempt to change up until it levelled out near the top

Seems then that the advice is to get the gear right before getting on the hill and then stick with it and never try changing down.

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[chaser]

Been up the Pyrenees in a ldv van that I had only had a couple of months, lot of first gear but you get used to it, I found downhill worse than going up

 

[pappajohn]

yep been up Sutton bank with a 4x2 113M 360bhp at 38ton , made me sweat a bit but I stopped at the wee layby half way up and selected 2nd and just kept her singing .
Didn't attempt to change up until it levelled out near the top

Yep, caravans are banned from Sutton Bank for a reason.

 

[Neil S]

Yep, caravans are banned from Sutton Bank for a reason.

yep but HGVs are not , and modern trucks are more than capable of going up the bank

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[pappajohn]

Been over the pyrenees (sp? ) Spain to France via Andorra in my 3850kg 2.8 diesel Kontiki no problem.... Even the switchbacks above the tunnel presented no trouble. Low gear and just plod up.

 

[pappajohn]

yep but HGVs are not , and modern trucks are more than capable of going up the bank

I doubt a modern 4x4 with a proper low box would have a problem with a caravan but if caravans weren't banned everyone and his dog would have a go.
Never had the misfortune to be behind an artic but I imagine it would be somewhat slow.

 

[busby]

Thanks Busby - the van is 1997 so may not come under the description of modern. Can the van take high revs without any problem when getting it up a steep hill?

Yes,diesels are governed but don't over do it.Dont worry about what's behind you.My old last van was a 1997 Transit non turbo.Went all over Spain and Portugal in it.BUSBY.

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[chaser]

Nowadays everyone thinks that everyone should go at the speed limit, but the roads were built for all sorts of traffic even horses and walkers and God forgive even people on bikes, if you have to go up a hill in first gear that's your perogative.

 

[cornish boy]

Never had the misfortune to be behind an artic but I imagine it would be somewhat slow.

It isn’t the slow one going up you need to worry about, it’s the fast one coming down!!!

 

[pappajohn]

It isn’t the slow one going up you need to worry about, it’s the fast one coming down!!!

Yep, that hairpin near the bottom is a tight one.
Even in the car it's a speed killer coming up.... Disaster waiting to happen coming down.

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[busby]

Good fun going up those sort of gradients with 32 tons and a crash box

And only a 150 brake horse Gardener under the bonnet.BUSBY

 

[TinaLes]

Hi jopparocks its all about predicting the correct lower gear early enough on steep hills, especially when you come across a few blind sharp bends that knock off your speed very quickly. Luckily we have synchromesh on 1st gears these days, it would have been a lot harder with much gear crunching in the old day.
I just google earthed the road over Cairn o Mount, and yes it is steep with many potholes due to the winter snow, which sometimes are impossible to miss.
I have found you the best tool to have another go at this trip, with the wife safely strapped in I am sure she would love the experience, I know I would, so enjoy.
LES

 

[dunnah01]

Stopping the wheels from spinning in a FWD van on the hairpin bends of Europe is a bigger problem then running out of steam.

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[jopparocks]

Hi jopparocks its all about predicting the correct lower gear early enough on steep hills, especially when you come across a few blind sharp bends that knock off your speed very quickly. Luckily we have synchromesh on 1st gears these days, it would have been a lot harder with much gear crunching in the old day.
I just google earthed the road over Cairn o Mount, and yes it is steep with many potholes due to the winter snow, which sometimes are impossible to miss.
I have found you the best tool to have another go at this trip, with the wife safely strapped in I am sure she would love the experience, I know I would, so enjoy.
LES

Hi Tina thanks for the good advice (and same to everyone else!). Yes it was the suddenness of the steepness which found me in the wrong gear, changing down and losing speed very rapidly. Quite hairy doing a hill start with such a large van - something new to me which I don't really want to repeat.

 

[scally]

Many moons ago (late50s) I had an ex-post office series E morris van. Went to Bognor in it but it would not go up Goodwood hill in first. Had to reverse all the way up.ahh the heady days of motoring

 

[chaser]

Many moons ago (late50s) I had an ex-post office series E morris van. Went to Bognor in it but it would not go up Goodwood hill in first. Had to reverse all the way up.ahh the heady days of motoring

This is true, my father had an Austin seven, and when we got to anything above flat road we had to get out and push it.
Probably unbelievable to most folks now.
Good times

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