Camping at altitude....anything I need to know?

[mojospeople]

In a few weeks we're set to camp up around the continental divide at close to 9000' feet. We're flatlanders. Anything we need to know/adjust with our camper systems?

I'm sure the first time towing over a mountain pass will be a thrilling experience. Time to adjust the trailer brakes....

[DavidM]

Use engine braking not your brakes as much as possible when coming down a mountain pass.

Also you might experience altitude sickness for the first day or so- lethargic feeling. Even our dog was affected.

Your boiled eggs will take about twice as long to cook and other similar effects.

David

[charliem]

I'll second DavidM on use of brakes. First and second gears will become your friends both climbing and descending.  Just take your time, drive safe, and enjoy the ride. As for the camper the only thing I can add is to observe the flame on the water heater. It will probably show some yellow due to oxygen deprivation. I saw some improvement by opening the outside access door to let more air in. Other than that there's not much you can or should do except plug in if you can  .

[mojospeople]

Great advice! We've driven these roads before but never towed over them so about to find out how well or poorly our TV will perform. Our campsite will have power so no worries there.

Hoping no one in our party suffers too much from altitude sickness so we plan to take things slow. Also staying at my dad's for a couple days on the way and he is at about 6700' elevation so making our way up in elevation relatively slowly.

We're really excited about this trip. We have a week planned near Crested Butte camping in Taylor Canyon. Our youngest son and his wife are going as well as my dad, stepmom, stepsister and her family. Plus our two dogs, my dad's two dogs and God knows how many other dogs! A bunch of our riding friends do this trip every year and have us stoked with advice for trails, restaurants (although we'll mostly eat in) and activities. We've ridden in various parts of Colorado but never here. I'm a little worried about it because I'm so out of shape this year but I just plan to do what I can and just enjoy being there with everyone.

The rest of the plan includes on the trip out, via I70 and 2 nights at Wilson Lake State Park in Kansas to ride the Switchgrass Trails. This could change though because our nephew was recently stationed at Ft Riley and has a new baby so we may change our plan and stay near Ft Riley instead. If anyone has camped nearby and has advice we would certainly appreciate it.

On the return trip I'm thinking about boondocking a night or two in a dispersed campsite somewhere between Crested Butte and Denver just for the hell of it. Of course by then my husband may revolt and want a hotel room! We'll most likely be making our way back via a north route so we can slide by my brother's in Greeley, CO to see them on our way home. I suppose I'd better start looking at where we'll stay on the way back through Nebraska. If anyone has any suggestions for convenient spots along I80 in Nebraska, I'm open to suggestions. This may be the point where I cede control and we grab a hotel room for a night since I hate to set up and tear down the camper for just an overnight stay and I suspect we'll be running out of days by then.

[Powder Hounds]

I would suggest to check your fridge on a regular basis. Camping at similar elevations we lost our LP operation due to the altitude. We have a Honda generator that we used to run the fridge in auto. The little bit of noise from the generator was not an issue as we were camping on a BLM spot. You could imagine being close to your neighbour and having to run a generator for eight hours a day. Chatting with some fellow campers we discovered that some fridges operated just fine on LP and others had similar issues as us. If you are staying at sites with hook ups then you are covered, just a drop in performance not running the fridge on LP.

Enjoy your trip!

[thudd3r]

drink lots of water...even if you arent thirsty

[GoElectric]

On the return trip I'm thinking about boondocking a night or two in a dispersed campsite somewhere between Crested Butte and Denver just for the hell of it. Of course by then my husband may revolt and want a hotel room! We'll most likely be making our way back via a north route so we can slide by my brother's in Greeley, CO to see them on our way home. I suppose I'd better start looking at where we'll stay on the way back through Nebraska. If anyone has any suggestions for convenient spots along I80 in Nebraska, I'm open to suggestions. This may be the point where I cede control and we grab a hotel room for a night since I hate to set up and tear down the camper for just an overnight stay and I suspect we'll be running out of days by then.

We stayed at the Cabelas Campground on I80 that was nice and convenient when coming back from about a days's drive from where we were at in Wyoming a couple Summers ago.  I don't recall the town it was near, but we were just going to stop around 7:30 - 8:00 PM and it worked out nice for our timing.

[Merlin]

Great advice! We've driven these roads before but never towed over them so about to find out how well or poorly our TV will perform. Our campsite will have power so no worries there.

Hoping no one in our party suffers too much from altitude sickness so we plan to take things slow. Also staying at my dad's for a couple days on the way and he is at about 6700' elevation so making our way up in elevation relatively slowly.

We're really excited about this trip. We have a week planned near Crested Butte camping in Taylor Canyon. Our youngest son and his wife are going as well as my dad, stepmom, stepsister and her family. Plus our two dogs, my dad's two dogs and God knows how many other dogs! A bunch of our riding friends do this trip every year and have us stoked with advice for trails, restaurants (although we'll mostly eat in) and activities. We've ridden in various parts of Colorado but never here. I'm a little worried about it because I'm so out of shape this year but I just plan to do what I can and just enjoy being there with everyone.

The rest of the plan includes on the trip out, via I70 and 2 nights at Wilson Lake State Park in Kansas to ride the Switchgrass Trails. This could change though because our nephew was recently stationed at Ft Riley and has a new baby so we may change our plan and stay near Ft Riley instead. If anyone has camped nearby and has advice we would certainly appreciate it.

On the return trip I'm thinking about boondocking a night or two in a dispersed campsite somewhere between Crested Butte and Denver just for the hell of it. Of course by then my husband may revolt and want a hotel room! We'll most likely be making our way back via a north route so we can slide by my brother's in Greeley, CO to see them on our way home. I suppose I'd better start looking at where we'll stay on the way back through Nebraska. If anyone has any suggestions for convenient spots along I80 in Nebraska, I'm open to suggestions. This may be the point where I cede control and we grab a hotel room for a night since I hate to set up and tear down the camper for just an overnight stay and I suspect we'll be running out of days by then.

If you are still looking for a convenient stop in NE on I-80, the Mormon Island State Recreation Area in Grand Island, NE is convenient and well-cared for.

[Ydydal]

We live at altitude - plenty of fluids helps with headaches and other initial signs of altitude sickness. You won't necessarily be thirsty, but drink anyway. This will also help with another irritating side effect, dry skin. Make sure you have and use a bottle of quality lotion.

[mojospeople]

Thanks, yes we're familiar with how to prep ourselves for altitude since we've been out there many times (family in the state). I was really wondering about our equipment. IE: I know cooking at altitude is different but I don't know how. Takes longer to boil water? IDK, stuff like that.

Also, mountain towing is something else we haven't done and makes me nervous thinking about. We've driven the high roads and passes several times but never towed over them. The tow vehicle will be serviced and prepped for the trip. The camper is relatively new but has about 1500 miles and 6 camping weekends so the shakedown/newness is over and I feel like it's solid as is.  Anything else to consider?

Thanks for the feedback - keep it coming!

[Merlin]

Your Toureg will be fine. The engine will breathe hard as you crest the passes because it will be hoping for oxygen that isn't there, but it will pull your camper up the hills ok. Take Charlie's suggestion and go slow. Life in the right lane is fine in the mountains because you get to look around! The owner's manual will have recommendations about which gears to use for the transmission. That 8 speed may need to be manually held to using a maximum of 6th gear to keep the torque converter locked up and the transmission cool. Of course as you climb higher it will downshift to lower gear but it may appreciate not having to shift in and out of 7-8. Just read the towing section and take any advice there. Make sure the trailer brake controller is set up with the right boost and level. Even though you'll use engine braking going down steep passes, if you do have to brake you don't want the trailer passing the Toureg. 

[DavidM]

Years ago I was pulling a 1,000 lb pop up with a 3,500 lb car with no trailer brakes. It took me two times of almost losing the car's brakes due to overheating and fade until I figured out to slow down and keep the car in a lower gear.

As others have noted, so what if you have a line of cars behind you, most trucks do. So keep it slow and safe.

David