Going to the sun road in a Sprinter

[gordonhks]

I have a 2006 Roadtrek RS Adventurous. It is 6" longer than the maximum length allowed on the going to the sun road. Has anyone with a similar Sprinter based RV successfully traveled this road? Did the park staff hassle/prohibit this?

[Davydd]

You should be OK. Many people have reported they've driven Going to the Sun Road in a Sprinter with no repercussions. I've driven it a couple of times but not in a Sprinter. It is not all that difficult, IMO. There are tougher mountain roads to drive in the USA and I have been on some in a Sprinter.

BTW, you are technically only 21'-9" long for the body if you don't count trailer hitch receivers, added step bumpers or spare tire on the back.

[teachergal]

I just got my PW-Plateau (Sprinter) 3 days ago, but I looked up the rules for Going to the Sun as that was something I wanted to do... I was disappointed as I'd wanted to drive Going to the Sun road, but then I read about the shuttle vans and it occurred to me that that road is scary (I've been there, but I was with a tour group and wasn't driving) and it might be better to leave the driving to a professional and leave my PW safe in the campground! I did note that the shuttle vans the park uses are Sprinters and prob about the same length/height as me (and you!).

[booster]

Originally Posted by Davydd

You should be OK. Many people have reported they've driven Going to the Sun Road in a Sprinter with no repercussions. I've driven it a couple of times but not in a Sprinter. It is not all that difficult, IMO. There are tougher mountain roads to drive in the USA and I have been on some in a Sprinter.

BTW, you are technically only 21'-9" long for the body if you don't count trailer hitch receivers, added step bumpers or spare tire on the back.

The rules, IIRC, are 21' ,long including bumpers, by 8' wide, including mirrors. Our Roadtrek C190P is listed as 20' 5" without the Continental tire, 21' 3" with. I have also heard they are pretty forgiving on the length for the smaller class B type rigs, compared to the taller and wider stuff.

[Davydd]

Interestingly the Glacier shuttle is a Sprinter.

[gordonhks]

Davydd, thanks for the help. I am not too concerned about the implied danger, we have been on some pretty tricky roads in the Sprinter. The one that caused the most white nuckle moments for me was Highway 550 between, Durango, CO and Montrose CO on the way to Black Canyon of the Gunnison. No shoulder, narrow, curves with a 2,000 drop.

My concern was more along the lines, of will they actually measure, and disqualify me because the rig is a few inches over the limit.

Thanks all for your help.

Gordon

[Mike]

I was there last September. We drove in about 10 miles, from St. Mary, got stopped at a construction checkpoint, waited around 20 minutes for something with priority to pass us, and when another 10 minutes had passed, we decided to try it again some other time and turned around. It was getting late, and darker earlier. The girl at the checkpoint said it was passable, but delays were regular and lengthy. Doh!!
The website mentions height restrictions for vehicles over 10' due to rock overhangs at some places
but the l/w/h vehicle restrictions are only between Avalanche Campground and the Rising Sun picnic
area parking. Don't know how that affects a Sprinter, but our Chev is only 8'6", so we could have
gotten through OK.
http://www.nps.gov/glac/planyourvisit/gttsrfaq.htm
There's also a new video about GTTS road, available to download (in Quicktime format). It's 25MB,
but it's got some good info about the reconstruction, the delays, and vehicle limits.
http://www.nps.gov/glac/planyourvisit/g ... unroad.htm

The next time we get out there, we'll probably have the trailer, so we'll probably take it in as far as
we can before dropping it at a c/g, and then do the rest with just the truck. If we're not sure what
the rules are, we ask the experts. Less hassles that way. Usually.

[AZ ADVenturist]

greetings from Snowy Arizona in April!
I lived the 1st 43 years of my life in Montana, most of that west of the Cont. Divide.
Have driven over Logan Pass - GTTS many times both directions by car, camper & motorcycle.
One thing we learned a long time ago is DO NOT go through Glacier Nat'l Park OR Yellowstone Park when all the other tourists want to be there at the same time. If you must go (& we all should - sometime) - go after school starts in Aug., not on weekend or holidays. Same for Grand Canyon & Zion Nat'l Parks. To many People in one place ruin a good thing! That said I've never been to Sturgis or Daytona during bike week, but I've been to both before &/or after the crazies & enjoyed them a lot (not the crazies). Ric. in Ariz.

[Mike]

Originally Posted by AZ ADVenturist

greetings from Snowy Arizona in April!
I lived the 1st 43 years of my life in Montana, most of that west of the Cont. Divide.
Have driven over Logan Pass - GTTS many times both directions by car, camper & motorcycle.
One thing we learned a long time ago is DO NOT go through Glacier Nat'l Park OR Yellowstone Park when all the other tourists want to be there at the same time. If you must go (& we all should - sometime) - go after school starts in Aug., not on weekend or holidays. Same for Grand Canyon & Zion Nat'l Parks. To many People in one place ruin a good thing! That said I've never been to Sturgis or Daytona during bike week, but I've been to both before &/or after the crazies & enjoyed them a lot (not the crazies). Ric. in Ariz.

You are wise beyond your years, Grasshopper.
Is there an off season at Grand Canyon? North Rim, yes, when it's closed down. Actually,
it's a pita to get to when it's open. But worth it.
We've been to South Rim early, we've been there late, doesn't seem to matter much. We
like to walk the trails and it still feels like you're a salmon swimming upstream. We won't
walk Bright Angel trail when it's too crowded, for safety reasons. People just push by you,
and it's a long way down in spots. The down side of the "off season"? Sometimes interesting
things, including roads, are closed.
It's the chance you take, I guess.

I watched that video from GTTS/GNP again, and it looks like the new shuttle fleet are all
Sprinters. They've got some apparatus on the top/rear roof area (A/C?) which must put
them close to the maximum height limit, so I don't think a converted Sprinter would be any
taller, unless you had your satellite dish up.
It doesn't specify whether the shuttles actually run end to end that I can find anywhere, but
I would assume they do? There's supposed to be shuttle routing and stops info on the website somewhere. Looks like an alternative to driving, and it's free with park admission.

[AZ ADVenturist]

Thanks, Mike. Not so Wise as you might suppose. Mostly Experienced, Opinionated & sometimes Arrogant - that's what Dear Wife says anyway. But she may be biased to as she's put up with me for 47+ blissful years (LOL)...

BTW - the Train trip from Williams to GCNP is supposed to be a good way to get there. But of course as locals here, we disdain that & have never done it. (see what I mean)?!

[Mike]

We actually thought about the train ride north to GCSR, but didn't want to leave the Roadtrek
sitting in the parking area all day and night, if we were to try it. When we travel, one of our
main concerns is security, and we rarely get farther than a few miles (walking/hiking) from the
van at any place we've ever stopped. And, all our "stuff" is in the van, so I don't know what we'd
do once we got to the Village.
We've done GCSR at least 5 times in 4 years, but only hit GCNR last Fall first time. After seeing it
and doing the side trip to Imperial Point, I believe I prefer North Rim to South Rim, but it's a
tedious drive to get to it, and back out.

[soohma]

We just got back from Glacier. The West entrance was packed with people - I agree no one should go there until after school starts if at all possible. The East entrance was much better and St. Mary's Campground was nice - no hookups.

We parked and took the free shuttle so we could both look out and see the scenery. Got off and hiked a few times, then got back on. Much better than driving. The road was packed with people driving and the wait (I concur) was about 15-20 min. Why bother?

[Mike]

You've sold me on the shuttle. Thanks for the info.
Was the road in from the east entrance still under construction with delays in private vehicle
access/passage along the GTTS road?
We gave up trying to do the GTTS road last year, after we were stopped a few miles in, waiting
for gravel trucks which had the right of way. We waited for almost 30 minutes, then asked the
"flag-lady" how much longer and she said she wasn't sure, but she had to hold us until they came
out. So, we decided to try again another time, and headed to Cheyenne, WY.

[Johnny R]

I was there on my motorcycle on Wednesday July 18 and couldn't take TRTTS on account of a mud slide. We detoured south of it and had a great ride nevertheless.

[Mike]

Do you think they "fake" these "problems" so that Canadians can't enjoy the GTTS road?

[Davydd]

For the record I drove the Going to the Sun road Thursday, August 16 from west to east in my Great West Van Legend Sprinter 22'-9" long. They made no attempt to stop me other than to question my intentions at the entry gate. I noted at the Logan Pass visitor center they were using extended 24'-1" Sprinters for shuttles. The literature does say 21', 8' wide and 10' high. I encountered one cement mixer truck and learned good techniques the bus drivers used in Denali NP for oncoming passing. I would venture to say I would not allow trailers, Class A's and C's on that road mainly because of the combined lengths and widths. Sprinters, no wider than a standard pickup truck would have no problem. Actually the road is not that challenging.

I wanted to get to the east side of Glacier and the Going to the Sun Road saves time and distance despite the construction delays which give you plenty of time to scan the mountains. We ended up camping in the Swiftcurrent CG in the more northern Many Glaciers area. That's my favorite place. Nice campground, trailhead and hotel. The day hikes to Iceberg Lake and the Grinnell Glacier are the best in the park. The area had the most bear sittings on trails but we never encountered any.

[gordonhks]

Well, I started this post. I can now bring this full circle. I have been back from our latest Ramble for 3-4 weeks now and am starting to get caught up. We went to Glacier NP. We took our 2006 RoadTrek RS Adventurous on the Going to the Sun Road. The only issue we encountered was at the entrance a guard/ranger gave the Rig a couple of good hard looks. He said "how long is that vehicle?" I stretched (actually shrunk) the truth and said "21 feet" The unit is actually 21'8". He replied, "do you know what you are getting into? and are you comfortable with that decision?" I said "sure". On we went.

We traversed the road east to west. The drive was a piece of cake. At no point was length an issue. Travelling east to west we were on the inside (or mountain side) of the road the whole time. The east bound lane was on the drop off side. The only issue I had was the large number of frightened east bound drivers driving closer to my side of the road in an attempt to aleve their fears of dropping off into the abyss.