Steep grades on Interstate 17

[TravelingZoo]

I am traveling to Sedona in the near future and would like to know if anybody has traveled south on interstate 17 from Flagstaff. According to the Mountain Directory West that I have, there is a 6% grade on this road. I have traveled up 17 from Phoenix and traveled that 6% grade with no trouble. My rig is a 30 ft Keystone Cougar and I pull it with a Toyota Tundra Crewmax. Do you think I will have any trouble with this area.
Michael

[Western Traveler]

I will be interested in the responses. I have traveled Hwy 17 a few times in the past but not towing. Not concerned with our setup but good to know.
We are heading to Oak Creek Canyon above Sedona off Hwy 89 in March. That one twists and winds down as a narrow single lane hwy most of the way.

[Western Traveler]

So just returned from a trip up the 17 to Sedona and on to the Grand Canyon. That is a long 6% grade! (I am just guessing at 6 to 10 miles). We were going north but I paid particular attention to the RV traffic in both directions and it was well represented. I am assuming you have trailer brakes so I don't think you should have any trouble coming down that grade. I didn't think it was much worse than a few others out West like Cajon Pass/Summit and the Grapevine especially if you do like the truckers say, "Go down the grade in the same gear you used to go up."

Enjoy your trip,
WT

[Jim & DJ]

WT, Any recommendation for Grand Canyon area RV parks. Going south from
Utah in May ? Any info will be appreciated. :)

[ed cobos]

We liked Williams KOA - But the circle pines, not the one in town. Fairly close to the Grand Canyon, flagstaff and Sedona.

[ed cobos]

Interesting - we are going up the 17 to flagstaff from the Phoenix area, wouldn't think it would be a problem, is it any worse than the five around Shasta out of redding,ca or the 5 around central Oregon?

[theeyres]

Just to reiterate what others are saying. In general, all Interstates are just fine and you will not find a grade that is worth worrying about. 6% just means taking your time coming down--but you always have at least two lanes going your direction so it just isn't a problem. So you won't have a problem.

[Jim & DJ]

Thanks Ed.

[jjlongo]

Hello, we are very new to RV'ing and we have done this trip up the 17 to Sedona twice now in the last 30 days.

We have a 2008 Toyota CrewMax pulling our Springdale 295 (dry weight 6,400lb) - we do also utilize a pretty heavy duty W/D and Anti-Sway kit.

I can do 55-60 up those grades while staying under 4K RPM's - going down is no problem with the brake controller set at 75%.

The truck and set-up does fine. Coming home the one trip the crosswinds were pretty strong, but for the most part it towed very true.

The only real issue I have with the Tundra is the 20 Gallon gas tank and when towing only really getting 10mpg - it has a very short range.