Since the release of the November ’09 issue, which featured a piece on some of America’s toughest tows, I’ve received quite a few emails from readers willing to share their stories. This is an area we may definitely have to revisit at some point…
This one came from Tim and Donna Urban:
“In November, 2007 my wife, myself and three dogs left North Carolina in our ’01 F-550 towing a 30-foot travel trailer. The truck weighed 10,000 pounds and the trailer weighed 10,000 pounds. We first stopped in Lead Hill, Arkansas (BTS) to get my tranny overhauled (slipping while towing), we then continued West on Interstate 40. My family lives northeast of Sacramento, California, so we decided to travel through Las Vegas and head up to Reno to catch I-80. South of Carson City my wife decided we should spend the night at South Lake Tahoe near Stateline and she told me about a Nevada state highway (207) that would take us right there.”
“It is hard to describe this highway other than 1000 yards, then switch back, another 1000 yards, then switch back again. This goes on for seven miles and you climb 2,500 feet. The road starts at 3,500 feet (approximately) and summits at 6,700 feet before dropping back down to 6000 feet (approximately). My turbocharger was screaming and chattering (500 miles later it had to be replaced). I would have never made it with the stock tranny. This highway is listed all fall and winter as Nevada’s most treacherous highway. I looked all over for specific details on this road, but only found a brief mention on Wikipedia and on this blog.”
— I like the BTS reference. And it shows just how great this one-of-a-kind transmission shop’s customer service is.