07/27/2026
For those attending Climb to the Clouds as a volunteer:
I test my vehicles on hills steeper than the steepest of the Auto Road.
Two examples are NH Route 3, the hill entering the village of Whitefield from the north. I call this "driveshaft hill" having seen many trucks stuck on it, having blown a driveshaft while ascending it. It is short and easy to under estimate and be in the wrong gear when going up.
Miller Road, approaching Team O'Neil gate from the north.
My goal is to find a gear you can have the vehicle descending without having to use the brakes and when you raise your foot from the gas pedal, it slows down without braking. If possible best is to be able to step on the gas in this gear to not go too slow either.
For my Unimog those two hills are a third gear hill. The Mount Washington is a 4th gear hill. No use of brakes, but it can't go fast and holds others back.
On the two steeper hills mentioned, my Excursion with an automatic transmission holds back in second transmission gear, low range four wheel drive combination in the normal overdrive of transmission. I leave the front hubs unlocked so it is really two wheel drive for steering on blacktop. I can go up to 30 MPH without over revving the engine, yet when lifting my foot off the gas it slows down. A gentle tap of the brakes and it slows very quickly. We'll see on the Auto Road, might not have to use low range.
So depending on your vehicle's drive train and your use of it, you might not have brake overheating problems. Some modern vehicles have little, if any ability to hold back using the drive train and depend mostly or completely on the brakes when descending hills. Some are better than older ones, using regenerative braking the charge batteries.
I had one van many years ago, geared similar to the Auto Road vans and was able to descend following them, seldom touching the brakes. The friends and relatives who were riding along had no desire to do so again.
Much of the brake heating problem is actually brake fluid overheating and boiling. If you don't change your brake fluid every 2 years or so, you probably have water in it. When the water is too hot it creates gas (steam) which does not compress and you lose a little or all of your ability to brake. Even the brake fluid itself can boil and produce gas, although the temperature for this is much higher than for water.
This month's Amsoil magazine has a short article on DOT 3 and 4 brake fluid.
Amsoil brake fluid has a boiling point well beyond DOT standards, even when contaminated with 3.7% water.Its wet boiling point of 368F (187C) far outperforms the required standards of 284F (140C) for DOT 3 fluid and 311F (155C) for DOT 4 fluid. https://www.amsoil.com/c/brake-fluid/44/?zo=23310
I change my brake fluids every 2 years or so using Amsoil DOT 3
Shop for Brake Fluid at AMSOIL. Find the full line of premium AMSOIL products and buy online for delivery to your home.
