An RV’s job is to take you to new and unique places so you can enjoy the scenery that this planet provides. When going on these RV adventures you may find yourself traversing some difficult terrain that will need a steady behind the wheel. One of the more common terrains that may require some extra determination and skill is a mountainous landscape. Luckily for you there are steps you can take to make driving mountainous terrain a breeze.


Let’s look at what you can do to help yourself driving both uphill and downhill. 

Getting Your RV Uphill 

Many rookie RVers will simply gun it to push their rigs up steep hills. Not only is this unsafe, it can put stress on your engine and could possible even cause a breakdown. The key in driving uphill is to find your RV’s optimal power band. The power band is the range of RPMs in which you have the most horsepower, in other words it’s the range in which your engine is the most powerful. This range can vary but is generally between 2000 and 4000 RPMs.

Ideally you should achieve this power band before you hit the hill. Going under this amount will not give enough power to your engine and you can possibly get stuck, going over this band will put severe stress on the engine and may cause irreparable damage.

Maintaining your engine within this range can take a bit of practice, especially if use a manual transmission. If you are unsure of your skill and know you will be heading into hilly terrain you should practice before your next trip.

If you can find a fairly steep hill around your neighborhood that doesn’t draw a lot of traffic and give it a go. After a few tries you should be hitting this butter zone without even thinking twice about it.

Getting Your RV Downhill 

Don’t be fooled, driving downhill with a big RV can sometimes be more difficult and dangerous than going uphill. You don’t want to crawl at a snail’s pace down a hill, it will put extreme stress on your brakes and your whole ride, but obviously you don’t want to be careening down a hill either. Going too fast can result in loss of control and could lead to accidents. The idea is descend at a steady speed.

For those with a manual transmission, you may choose not to use the brakes at all. You may shift to a lower gear at the crest of the hill such as second or even first and use the natural resistance to cruise down the hill, pumping your brakes intermittently if you feel you are gaining too much speed. 

The engine will take care of most of the downshifting in an automatic transmission, you just need to take care to control your momentum. This includes applying light pressure to your brakes intermittently, try not to ride the brakes as this can cause excessive wear to both the brakes and your engine. 

Once again, you may like to practice before you feel comfortable taking on hilly terrain. Try it out in your neighborhood a few times until you’ve got a great feel for what gears you should be and how you should be applying your brakes. 

With anything else in life, the more practice the better you will be at something. Experienced RVers can navigate even the most extreme terrain with little effort. So don’t let the mountains scare you or you’re missing out on a ton of adventure. Get out and practice your mountain driving skills, before you know it you’ll be able to handle the highest highs and the lowest lows.