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Quote: Originally posted by cwdc56768 on 05/3/2010

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  I wouldn't tackle Garrowby hill on the road from York to Brid but I have seen others take their vans up it. Lighterweight vans I would add, probably about the 1100-1200Kg weight. After those hills it gets a bit flat round here

 

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Yep thats the one Bill on the A166. I tend to go around the Wolds down the A1079 and then up to Market Weighton to get home (Chicken!). Maybe it was you that impressed me when I was going down Garrowby without the van and someone went up with a van. Might try it if that's easy......err.......

Staxton B1249 is a steep 17% gradient drop fown to the village of Staxton. Bus ran away with itself last year going down there and crashed into a VW at the bottom. Going up may be a pull. If you're coming from York to Scarborough the A64 would be easier.

Found it I think....

The 1 in 8  gradient issue, that I had a vague recollection of, is related to the maximum towing weight of a car. That max tow weight (in your car hand book) is the max that the vehicle can comfortably tow, from a standing start, on a 1 in 8 incline. Many Caravans are well below the max tow weight of the car where the 85% rule is observed. Thus, when approaching a 1 in 8 hill and you see lights half way up because of road works, you should be comfortable with the prospect of stopping and starting.

As most Caravans are a lot less than the max tow weight it follows that hill starts at greater gradients will be comfortable until you reach that point where it just can't be done. Shame there isn't some kind of scale you can just plot the weight of your van on so that if you do come across that potentially prohibited hill you know before you start up it!!!

Found this if it helps anyone concerned about hills

The most an ordinary car towing a heavy caravan can do reliably is a slope of about 1 in 6 (on a good surface). (this extract does not define "heavy caravan") Hill starts on steeper than 1 in 8 can prove difficult. Even on a good road, heavily laden goods vehicles can have difficulty on a 1 in 6 slope (or even 1 in 7) because of their low power to weight ratio. A typical car - even when laden - should be able to manage a 1 in 4 hill, but not when towing a caravan. 

This comment concerns hill starts and does not discuss issues about continuous driving up a hill. One of our earlier posters commented on a 1 in 4

So, to the poster who asked a question about Staxton you are looking at a 1 in 6 and it has a bit of a bend near the top which will slow you down. That is if you are travelling south from Scarborough. If you are going north drop to a low gear to go down hill and take it slow. The folks stuck behind won't mind as they will have time to enjoy a beautiful panoramic view from the top of Staxton Wold. 

Phil

Its the only reference I found. Take it with whatever pinch of salt you may like. If there is anything better it would be good to read. Power to weight ratio of the vehicle affect ability to hill start as does traction at driving wheels and if anyone understands how you convert those factors into an ability to push off on a 1 in 5 but not a 1 in 4 ( I don't) they may like to add a comment as to how you work that into any equation.

The issue is that a driver with a van would need to have some feel about whether he/she can get up a hill and pull off from a hill start in comfort if they meet some obstruction along the way. I'm  not personally looking at an exact scientific answer here just a feel for what is achievable with comfort and what may be a challenge. Wouldn't it be nice to have a chart on line that you could weave all these factors into for a definitive answer? 

Phil

Yes I think the Max Gross Train Weight (MGTW) of the car is the weight at which it can pull away on a slope of say 1in8 without sustaining damage such as a burned out clutch. I think some manufacturers give it for 1in 6 and some for 1in8 and some for both.

Trouble is, you won't always be loaded to the MGTW and altitude also has an affect on engine power.

http://www.whattowcar.com/report.php   predicts the hill you can start on. This link gives it for my outfit as 16.6% at sea level, dropping to 14.9% at 2500m altitude, that's about 1 in 6. Personally I always try and avoid anything over 1 in 10.

http://www.streetmap.co.uk/ gives OS style maps with arrows on the hills. If I think I'm going any where near a steep hill while towing, I check this first.