Driving thru Colorado with a trailer

Moving back to CA from NJ in two weeks (end of March) and we've decided to drive. We're thinking of doing the Northern Route which means driving thru Denver and Grand Junction. How difficult is the route with my little SUV (Mazda) pulling a little trailer? AAA says medium grade/ steepness but not sure what that exactly means? Are there a lot of trucks on the roads (ie slow vehicles like me)? How are road conditions?

We did the Southern Route three years ago when we moved from San Diego to NJ, so we'd like to try this one.

Thanks for any help!
Keeping my fingers crossed for gas prices to go down,
OnEwOrLd

Welcome to the RTA forum!

As long as your plan is to stick to I-70, the trailer is small, and you have the factory towing package, you should be fine.

The grades on I-70, and all Interstates for that matter, are limited to a "medium" grade, so you won't have any spots where you are dealing with extremely sharp curves. You will probably have to take your time as you approach the Eisenhower Tunnel, but there will be plenty of other trucks who will be slowly climbing the hill too.

My personal Roadtrip Vehicle is a V-6 Tribute, and I've towed a small car behind it without any problem. Admittedly, I wasn't going over any mountains, but I never felt like I lacked power.

Turn off the overdrive to save your transmission some work. The factory tow package comes with a transmission cooler and is rated to tow 3,000 pounds (if you've got a factory hitch, you've got the tow package). So if you are staying within those perameters, you shouldn't have any problems.

If you've only got a 4 cyl, or you've simply added an aftermarket hitch, your towing capacity is reduced to 2,000 or less, then I might think about avoiding the Rockies.