The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk 216 in granny low up a steep grade

Any special considerations needed such as overfilling of fluids??

Steepest is the adjacent hillside pictured below.
There are two or three such inclines I'd like to tackle with the SM420 in my 216-powered truck.
Excellent dry traction, no sand or anything.

Of course my buddy's 4wd Toyota had no difficulty, but I have a guest in town who'd very much enjoy seeing the spectacular views from my old '52. (I'd kinda like it too)

You shouldn't need to worry about overfilling anything. Make sure the gas tank is not to full, letting gas run out the fill cap. probably the best thing you can do is put some weight behind the rear axel such as sand bags to help give you some added traction. The other thing I would consider is how well your brakes will hold you back if you spin out. and how well you can back back out of there if you get in trouble.
I am from Colorado and we have lots of roads like what your picture shows. As kids we spent time seeing how far we could go on those roads. I also spent 25 years on the fire department and responded to several accidents on these kind of roads. Some of them didn't come out to well.
Just my thoughts for what it is worth.
Jim

I can confirm the danger in off road steep terrane. In 1975 in Colorado my new '74 GMC 4x4 had a conflict with the environment. Long story short, my buddy and I had to walk out 5 miles to seek help after the truck came to rest. Lucky for us no broken bones or severe cuts. Emergency room found no internal damage other than bruising from the seat belt binding into the flesh EACH time it rolled over. Truck did not come out so well. JM, you may know the area, highway 285 Grant/Bailey area, Red Cone with the old pass over the Divide. Skooter, be VERY careful please.

Two wheel drive ..........rear traction is in short supply and is going to be the issue not power.


Watch few hours of “Matt’s Off-road Recovery” on YouTube........education on the limits of two wheel drive and tire section even with modern vehicles.

I think by the looks of that road, its more of a function of the driver than the truck. Just like most accidents, operator error.

If your truck is as low geared as my old 55.1 panel was with a granny gear four speed it'll take you two days to get to the top of that grade in granny low.

In Hawaii, they would say that road is only passable by four wheel drive or a rental car.

Take the Tacoma, it is not worth the risk in an old two wheel drive truck!

Don

Keep her on the level. You won’t regret that decision at all, the other.......hmmmm. That old stovebolt of yours doesn’t have ANY belts. I wouldn’t want to end up out of a window and have a truck land on me.

How about this? You and your guest hike up (or take the Tacoma) and then admire the stunning view of your little old stovebolt down below. Photo opportunity for sure.

And it looks steep enough in the photo! It’s probably even steeper once you’re on it!

I've run a few roads like that while camping in my old 2WD '63 long bed C10. Used to have an old ice chest that was the same width as the bed. I used to fill it with all the normal camping goodies and strap it down against the tailgate. Last thing in the truck and first thing out of it when we got to our destination. It provided lots of traction. After I got rid of that truck, I had a 77 K5 Blazer. Much better traction with 4 wheel drive.

That's not steep, at least by eastern Oregon standards.

78 buckshot I know of the area. We travel 285 to go to Denver. My son's in-laws live in Bailey. We don't know much about the country around there. We live on the west side of the continental divide.
From the sounds of things you were very luckily
Jim.

I agree with JM make sure u got excellent brakes,I use a 40 chevy wood truck with 292&NP540 and on the brakes all the time!,and switched to bendix system on 1.5 ton

Yes JM, luck may have played a part in it but as I look back on my life in general I think GOD has been carrying me all along. I had nightmares for a number of years about it. Some maps of the area call the old mining trail "Webster Pass". The trail went from Webster to Montezuma on your side of the hill. The day after the event I met with the Sheriff and recovery crew and we retrieved the truck. The insurance company gave the ok to repair it after the initial estimate, when it was all said and done they paid $600 less than what I bought it for brand new off the lot. When I got the truck back after 4 months in the body shop I ordered a new 1976 K20 from A Chevy dealer in Lakewood. I brought the'76 back home to Michigan with me and drove that truck for 18.5 years - it didn't owe me anything when I sold it.