Stuck on uphill side of bridge for 1 hour - towing 3000 lbs!

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Rope-Pusher
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Stuck on uphill side of bridge for 1 hour - towing 3000 lbs!

Post by Rope-Pusher »

I was stuck on the West-Bound uphill slope of the Bluewater Bridge for an hour yesterday, towing my pop-up camper. Could have been even more of a pain in the buttocks if I hadn't shifted the transfer case into 4-Low - extra 2.73:1 ratio. Why is it the uphill side took 1 hour and the downhill side only took 25 minutes? (I think they opened up 4 more lanes going through customs just before I crested the bridge). I suppose that w/o low range, I would have just waited for gap to car in front to get to 4 or 5 car lengths before moving up.

I think next time I'll just plan on driving to Sambra and taking the ferry to Marine City. Doesn't cost much more and you also get a boat ride!
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Re: Stuck on uphill side of bridge for 1 hour - towing 3000 lbs!

Post by beowulf80 »

Sucks....
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Re: Stuck on uphill side of bridge for 1 hour - towing 3000 lbs!

Post by kamesama980 »

Thats no fun. I'm glad I didn't get stuck on any uphills when I moved a few weeks ago... 2700lb 4banger 2wd toyota pickup with 5500lbs of cargo/uhaul trailer (2 motorcycles, 2 toolboxes, couch, bed, and stuff for me and my gfs apt). had to abuse the clutch bad enough to start out on level ground, (interstate aka low incline) hills were taken in 3rd at 50.
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Re: Stuck on uphill side of bridge for 1 hour - towing 3000 lbs!

Post by Rope-Pusher »

Since the time of my initial post, I found out that my vehicle has "Hill Start Assist", which helps you launch on hills >/= 7% slope by holding the brakes applied for a few seconds or until the throttle is tickled. I was thinking that my use of low range on the transfer case was responsible for the relative ease in launching on the grade, but now I'm thinking that HSA was working for me as well. I was familiar with the fact that my antilock brakes were tied in with Traction Control, Electronic Roll Mitigation, Hill Descent Control, Electronic Stability Program, Trailer Sway Control and Brake Assist program, but HSA - Whoda thunkit?

All this time I thought I was in charge and there has been a committee second-guessing me.

If we have the technology to do all that, how come we can't ZAP someone who tries to text while driving? I'm thinking that texting while driving is responsible for more wrecks than stalling while launching on a hill, right?
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Re: Stuck on uphill side of bridge for 1 hour - towing 3000 lbs!

Post by nothfx »

Rope-Pusher wrote:Since the time of my initial post, I found out that my vehicle has "Hill Start Assist", which helps you launch on hills >/= 7% slope by holding the brakes applied for a few seconds or until the throttle is tickled. I was thinking that my use of low range on the transfer case was responsible for the relative ease in launching on the grade, but now I'm thinking that HSA was working for me as well. I was familiar with the fact that my antilock brakes were tied in with Traction Control, Electronic Roll Mitigation, Hill Descent Control, Electronic Stability Program, Trailer Sway Control and Brake Assist program, but HSA - Whoda thunkit?

All this time I thought I was in charge and there has been a committee second-guessing me.

If we have the technology to do all that, how come we can't ZAP someone who tries to text while driving? I'm thinking that texting while driving is responsible for more wrecks than stalling while launching on a hill, right?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lane_depar ... ing_system <--- more an annoyance than a ZAP, but it's a step in the right direction! Maybe you could get an aftermarket shocker?
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Re: Stuck on uphill side of bridge for 1 hour - towing 3000 lbs!

Post by theholycow »

nothfx wrote:Maybe you could get an aftermarket shocker?
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Re: Stuck on uphill side of bridge for 1 hour - towing 3000 lbs!

Post by Rope-Pusher »

theholycow wrote:
nothfx wrote:Maybe you could get an aftermarket shocker?
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I can never remember - is it "one in the stink" or is it "two in the stink"?
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Re: Stuck on uphill side of bridge for 1 hour - towing 3000 lbs!

Post by theholycow »

The Shocker is two in the pink and one in the stink.

The explicit movie series that predates the Shocker and does not involve fingers is "One In The Pink and One In The Stink", unless they've come out with new variations ("unless"? More like "until".). Not that I'd know anything about that sort of thing...
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Re: Stuck on uphill side of bridge for 1 hour - towing 3000 lbs!

Post by comingbackdown »

theholycow wrote:The Shocker is two in the pink and one in the stink.

The explicit movie series that predates the Shocker and does not involve fingers is "One In The Pink and One In The Stink", unless they've come out with new variations ("unless"? More like "until".). Not that I'd know anything about that sort of thing...
I prefer the Spocker. Two in each. Live looooooong and prosperrrrrr!
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Re: Stuck on uphill side of bridge for 1 hour - towing 3000 lbs!

Post by chrono »

I hate HSA. We have the handbrake if we want to make sure we don't roll back. If I'd want a computer to control basic driving functions of my car (like applying brakes when starting uphill), I'd buy an automatic.

Moreover, the time I drove a car with HSA, I stalled it a few times on level ground and even a little downslope. I'm 99% sure that it was a bug in th HSA system that applied brakes when it shouldn't. It was a diesel, you aren't supposed to be able to stall it that easily, especially on level ground.
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Re: Stuck on uphill side of bridge for 1 hour - towing 3000 lbs!

Post by theholycow »

chrono wrote:I hate HSA. We have the handbrake if we want to make sure we don't roll back. If I'd want a computer to control basic driving functions of my car (like applying brakes when starting uphill), I'd buy an automatic.
Don't buy a 2010 model...I don't think there's any without computer-operated throttles. :(
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Re: Stuck on uphill side of bridge for 1 hour - towing 3000 lbs!

Post by chrono »

The 306 was such a bliss after my dad's 406 with a DBW... Suddenly, throttle response is instantaneous :)
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Re: Stuck on uphill side of bridge for 1 hour - towing 3000 lbs!

Post by LHOswald »

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