DEN to Crested Butte (Denver, Colorado Springs: rental car, rental, home)

[luvinlife76]

Was wondering if anyone had an opinion about taking an RV from the Denver airport to Crested Butte. Safe or Not? How long would this take verses an SUV? Have three children and am scared to fly from Denver to Gunnison on the smaller plane....trip is scheduled in November, 22nd-27th

[jazzlover]

It will be slow and tedious under the best of conditions, and not advised if you are inexperienced in driving a heavy, cumbersome vehicle on winding roads with steep grades. If the weather is bad (and it can be), an RV is an especially poor choice. An RV can be of sufficient gross vehicle weight to be comparable to some commercial trucks. Colorado has laws to require those commercial vehicles to chain up during adverse winter mountain driving conditions. While the law does not directly apply to RV's (which I think is a gross oversight), if conditions are such that chains are required on commercial vehicles, why would an RV be considered safe to drive in the same conditions without chains? (Years back, I had the then-equivalent of a CDL and drove a lot of miles "chained up" in the mountains in trucks. It was no fun--and I consider an RV an even less well-equipped pain-in-the-*** to drive than those trucks were.)

An RV is a dumb alternative to consider. An SUV would be a better alternative, but still not very good unless you are an experienced winter driver. Flying may be your best option.

[proveick]

I agree, Gunny has a nice little airport and shuttle into CB. RP

[wanneroo]

Originally Posted by luvinlife76

Was wondering if anyone had an opinion about taking an RV from the Denver airport to Crested Butte. Safe or Not? How long would this take verses an SUV? Have three children and am scared to fly from Denver to Gunnison on the smaller plane....trip is scheduled in November, 22nd-27th

If you are scared of flying to Gunnison then you'll really freak out driving an RV to Crested Butte from Denver.

[80skeys]

DoubleH. I've been through Cochetopa several times this year, including the winter months. Not bad in the least. Very drivable. It's my preferred route from Junction to Pagosa Springs and South Fork.

[80skeys]

Originally Posted by wanneroo

If you are scared of flying to Gunnison then you'll really freak out driving an RV to Crested Butte from Denver.

No doubt.

[DOUBLE H]

Originally Posted by 80skeys

DoubleH. I've been through Cochetopa several times this year, including the winter months. Not bad in the least. Very drivable. It's my preferred route from Junction to Pagosa Springs and South Fork.

Appreciate the update, that post of mine was from last January. PLUS I haven't been through there in a couple years, so it sounds like 114 has been worked on. I make a few trips to Albuquerque a year, and at times would go that way, but since generally go down to Farmington and hit 550 south. Old schmeezers like me appreciate those 4 laned roads!

[jazzlover]

Over the past few years, there has been a fair amount of repaving done on CO 114. The truck traffic on the road is also down considerably from years past, thanks to a several-year-old ban on carrying hazardous materials on the route. Like 80skeys, I consider Cochetopa my preferred route from western Colorado to the San Luis Valley, and I have traveled it for that purpose more times than I can count.

All of that does not alter the fact that it can be a hazardous route for winter travel--especially for those not accustomed to winter driving on two-lane mountain highways. The CDOT folks do a pretty good job with winter maintenance, but CO 114 is still a secondary highway, and may not get the attention that a US highway or Interstate gets. That is somewhat mitigated by the fact that one does not have to deal with as many idiot drivers, but the underlying road conditions are what they are.

[80skeys]

One of the times this year I was driving south on 114 I was about 20 miles from Saguache and had to turn back and go all the way to Salida because there was an overturned semi truck on the highway and no passage around it. It looked to me like the truck had been going too fast when it dried to take the curve and flipped over.

[jazzlover]

CO 114 is definitely a route that one might want to avoid on a cold or stormy winter night. Nighttime maintenance can be iffy on such secondary routes. Also, as thin as the State Patrol is spread, the road may not be patrolled by them at all at night. With a lot of the area over Cochetopa without cell service, getting stuck or being in an accident can be a long wait for help. Emergency response times--once the authorities actually get contacted--can be a hour or more. All the more reason to carry that winter survival kit in the car during the winter. I'm about to throw mine into the car for the winter season.