Hello, Sorry I dont' speak very well. Date: august 2011 RV25 Cruise America Road: From Durango to Silverton, and Silverton to Delta, and Delta to Grand Mesa (final Grand Junction). Question: the road US550 - and 65 are their very difficult with this RV ? Thank you and best regards. French family Jean.
Bonjour Jean, We took our motorhome on Hwy 550 from Durango all the way to Grand Junction with no problems. We are 30,000 lbs, diesel, and tow a Honda auto. You can do this trip but I will tell you this, use a lot of care on the road from Durango to Montrose. You will have a lot of hills, up and down driving, and lots of speed limits are 5 MPH on turns. Not a lot of guard rails in place on roads. Drive slow, take your time, and it will work. Stop in Silverton and Ouray to spend the night, nice places to visit. The San Juan mountains are beautiful and you will find the trip to be a great one. Merci
Actually, I disagree with John Blue on a couple of points. 550 is NOT a road that beginners or those with no mountain driving experience should attempt. It's best to go from Durango to Delores to Ridgeway and then on to Grand Junction as the road is much safer and every bit as pretty. Another point is that the road from Durango to Ouray over Red Mountain Pass is the potentially dangerous part while the road from Ouray to Grand Junction is essentially flat and much of it is four lane. If you can, drive a car over 550 from Durango to Ouray and leave the RV somewhere else. It's a beautiful drive and should be seen, but without mountain driving experience it should be avoided. If you don't believe me, ask anyone who lives in that area what they think of drivers who aren't familiar with the area and you will get an ear full. There are plenty of large vehicles, including semis, that travel that road every day so it can be dont. Those RVers that drive that road are experienced - like me and perhaps John Blue - or simply don't know the dangers or don't care. Macho can be dangerous. Whatever you do, enjoy the drive and be safe.
I advise people with large RVs never to drive Highway 550 between Durango and Ridgway, but if "RV25" means it's 25 feet long, it is not all that big. Some SUVs these days are around 20 feet. Depending on how familiar you are with mountain driving (gearing down for downhills, etc.), and how much time you have had to get used to driving the Cruise America RV, Highway 550 would be okay in something 25 feet long (and I assume you are not towing anything). But your passengers may not appreciate the trip because it is scary. And you're definitely not going to be able to enjoy any of the scenery because you will be concentrating on the road 100% of the time. If you google million dollar highway you can see photos of the road, with the hairpin turns and extremely sheer drop-offs with no guard rail. That might help you decide whether you want to take it. The scenery is spectacular, but other than that and Silverton, you won't miss anything going around on the route that abbygolden suggested, plus you could drop by Telluride if you go that way. This route has very pretty scenery, too, but it is not scary at all. If you want to go to Ouray, you can get there from Ridgway.
Hello, Thank you to John Blue, Abbygolden, and dbnck ! I'am very happy to have reponses. Depending on how familiar you are with mountain driving (gearing down for downhills, etc.), = Yes and how much time you have had to get used to driving the Cruise America RV = Yes, 3000miles (2009 year) trip West USA (Las Vegas-....Moab...Flagstaff..). But, I'am OK It's best to go from Durango to Delores to Ridgeway and then on to Grand Junction. Best Regards. Jean.
