[Richard]

I don't quite know how to word this post. We made the drive without incident. For those who told me not to, I will come across as one who doesn't listen. For those who told me no problem, they will say I told you.

The reality is somewhere in the middle. I did take every comment and phone call into consideration before starting out.

The switchbacks were really not a problem without the toad. I don't know if the toad would have mattered or not. The descents and curves in the descents were managed with the jake. I kept the tranny in second gear and it would hold the speed to 20 mph. I didn't have to abuse the brakes in any way. Rhonda was surprised at how little she saw the brakelights.

We did pullover about five times to let traffic by. It was never more than four or five cars.

The dropoffs can be very intimidating. If you make a mistake on this road, or lose your jake/brakes you are going to have serious event. You are going to have to drive it into the sidewall to keep from going over the edge.

I had two tense moments in the trip. One, I met a tractor trailer in one of the sections where I was on the outside, and he was up against the rocks. We didn't swap paint on the mirrors is all I can say. The second was two cats on motorbikes on my side of the yellow line in a blind curve. I applied Forest's rule, he with the most wheels wins.

The only coach related info is coolant never exceeded 205, and tranny never over 214. That is what this coach does on the open road too. The brakes did not smell 'hot' when we stopped in Ouray. However, I do have the hot smell of differential fluid. That is to be expected with the stress on the diff both going up and coming down. The gear selection computer would get a little delayed action on throttle from time to time. I suppose altitude and up down up down up down could have been factors.

Thank you to all who provided info. It was helpful. Extremely helpful in making an informed decision. I started out with a cautious mindset, mentally prepared for the drive.

I will neither recommend nor discourage anyone from this drive. I think it all depends on your own comfort level and the condition of your coach.