We are planning a trip soon, we have a PX Ranger with a single axle Goldstream van -= we want to go from Bega to Cooma then on to Canberra, but we are more interested to know what the road from Bega to Cooma is like towing a van
Thanks in advance
Radar said
10:42 AM Dec 1, 2020
Very do able, drive to the conditions and for a short time up hill with slow corners.
Trevor 57 said
10:58 AM Dec 1, 2020
thanks heaps, I am an ex truck driver (B-Doubles for a bit) but just never done that road - thank you
Radar said
11:33 AM Dec 1, 2020
Trevor 57 wrote:
thanks heaps, I am an ex truck driver (B-Doubles for a bit) but just never done that road - thank you
From one truck driver to another, "just another hill", the lookout is interesting on the way up.
Don't forget to drop your second trailer at the bottom as that is mandatory.
-- Edited by Radar on Tuesday 1st of December 2020 11:35:13 AM
Trevor 57 said
12:25 PM Dec 1, 2020
Radar wrote:
Trevor 57 wrote:
thanks heaps, I am an ex truck driver (B-Doubles for a bit) but just never done that road - thank you
From one truck driver to another, "just another hill", the lookout is interesting on the way up.
Don't forget to drop your second trailer at the bottom as that is mandatory.
-- Edited by Radar on Tuesday 1st of December 2020 11:35:13 AM
I will make sure to leave the A trailer at the bottom
Thanks for the info
Greg 1 said
01:04 PM Dec 1, 2020
10k climb. Fairly narrow and steep with hairpin at the bottom so no chance of a run up but we towed a 3 tonne 21' van up there with a Ranger without problem so you should sail up. Just take it steady.
Trevor 57 said
02:42 PM Dec 1, 2020
Thanks Greg
PeterD said
04:54 PM Dec 1, 2020
Greg 1 wrote:
10k climb. Fairly narrow and steep with hairpin at the bottom
Narrow is not a word I would use for that road. It is a full two lanes on that hill (and as far as I can remember for the rest of the road.) The shoulders are a little narrow to non existent in a few parts. Drive the road before you hitch up.
Ascending Brown Mountain, NSW. I don't know what he is towing his Jayco Journey with but it sounds like a sewing machine. He is also playing with the lens settings at times which makes the road look odd.
If coming from the south another way is from South Pambula to Bombala via the Mount Darragh road. Not as steep or wide as the Brown Mountain way and a little bit shorter to the top. Of course, the round trip to Cooma is also longer than going up the Brown. (Ignore a sign post just before Bombala pointing to Nimitabel - that is a fairly rough dirt road. Carry on into Bombala.)
We have made some eight trips up and down the Brown, started towing a camper trailer, upgraded to a Jayco Freedom then finally our Stirling - which has made three trips to date, plus the Mt Darragh one.
A tip about the Brown - as mentioned the Brown is ten kilometres long. At the bottom read your odometer and count off the kilometres. Otherwise, it will seem to take forever. The lookout on the left is about two kilometres from the top and from there the road actually improves a little bit.
As others have already said, drive to the conditions.
Murray
PS: I put our Ranger in sports mode and select third gear for all but the tightest bends. (Both going down and coming up.)
-- Edited by Long Weekend on Tuesday 1st of December 2020 10:36:35 PM
-- Edited by Long Weekend on Tuesday 1st of December 2020 10:37:15 PM
Trevor 57 said
06:29 PM Dec 1, 2020
double post
-- Edited by Trevor 57 on Wednesday 2nd of December 2020 05:43:15 AM
Trevor 57 said
06:30 PM Dec 1, 2020
Is Brown Mountain part of the Snowy Mountain Highway?
The map says Snowy Mountain Hwy
I was wanting to go the Snowy Mountain Highway way
Long Weekend said
07:17 PM Dec 1, 2020
Yes, the Snowy Mountains Highway runs from just north of Bega up the Brown Mountain and through to Cooma.
From Nimitabel it doubles up with the Monaro Highway that runs from Canberra through Cooma then splits just to the east of Nimitabel and heads south to Cann River.
Stop for a cup of coffee at Bemboka which is a couple of kms from the start of the Brown. The climb is quite sudden - one moment you are on level road and the next the bonnet rises up.
Murray
Trevor 57 said
05:42 AM Dec 2, 2020
Thanks LW, for some reason I thought Brown Mountain was somewhere else
msg said
07:29 AM Dec 3, 2020
I would much prefer to cross the mountain via Kings Highway from Batemans Bay (weekends excepted) than from Bega. Brown Mountain is steeper but shorter. Just watch the traffic over the weekends.
PeterD said
08:06 AM Dec 3, 2020
These maps indicate that the Kings Highway has longer stretches than the Snowy Mountains Highway. Refer to the bit labelled "Bonzle incline/gradient summary" on each map. My preference as to which road to use is "use the most convenient one at the time."
Trevor 57 said
09:34 AM Dec 3, 2020
msg wrote:
I would much prefer to cross the mountain via Kings Highway from Batemans Bay (weekends excepted) than from Bega. Brown Mountain is steeper but shorter. Just watch the traffic over the weekends.
thanks for that, that is good info. I was just looking at the shortest route, we will be coming up from Victoria so no big deal where we turn off
Long Weekend said
02:02 PM Dec 3, 2020
msg is right about the Brown Mountain being shorter that the Clyde - sorta. The Clyde Mountain is about five kilometres long from bottom to top. But, from Nelligen to the start of the real climb the road is winding and undulating, which is almost as bad as the mountain itself.
The same tip I gave for the Brown applies for the Clyde - at the start of the climb read your odometer and count off the kilometres. Otherwise it will appear endless.
The Princes Highway north of Bega is not real good either - lots of bends and speed restrictions. From Moruya it does improve though.
Nonetheless, despite what appears to be negatives about the Brown and Clyde, they are easily taken with a caravan on tow, albeit not at highway speeds! You will certainly see other vans going in the opposite direction, even come up behind ones ahead or have them come up behind you. Buses and semi trailers use the same roads safely, just manually select your low gears and take care.
Murray
Radar said
02:17 PM Dec 3, 2020
Trevor 57 wrote:
msg wrote:
I would much prefer to cross the mountain via Kings Highway from Batemans Bay (weekends excepted) than from Bega. Brown Mountain is steeper but shorter. Just watch the traffic over the weekends.
thanks for that, that is good info. I was just looking at the shortest route, we will be coming up from Victoria so no big deal where we turn off
Hi Trevor,
You being a truck driver you can anything they put in front of you.
The Cann Valley/Monaro Highway from Cann River is great easy drive not like when I first did it in the mid seventies, windy dirt road its all sealed and not windy. Pretty easy run.
Or the one I did last year and enjoy as it was seriously quiet was from near Pambula to Bombala though Wyndham. I can still taste the coffee and cake on the side of the road while being entertained by the bell birds.
I don't take short waysi, we like scenic ways.
Long Weekend said
02:32 PM Dec 3, 2020
Just to add to Radar's post: if you take the Monaro Highway from Cann River then the mountains are irrelevant. The highway is almost straight and level all the way to Bombala - the only way you know you are on a rise is by the engine working a bit harder than on the straight and level.
First stop from Cann River is Bombala for a coffee. Next is Nimitabel on the Snowy Mountains Highway proper. It is several years since I went through Nimitabel but I seem to recall that the servo had closed down. Might be worth a check as it is some thirty odd kilometres to Cooma from there.
Murray
Long Weekend said
03:03 PM Dec 3, 2020
Deleted double post!
Murray
-- Edited by Long Weekend on Thursday 3rd of December 2020 03:04:57 PM
Trevor 57 said
07:25 PM Dec 3, 2020
I hadn't actually considered going from Cann River to Cooma, actually truthfully I didn't know you could. I kinda like the idea, we have never been that way before and I like new tracks
Any free camps that way?
-- Edited by Trevor 57 on Thursday 3rd of December 2020 07:26:25 PM
PeterD said
08:11 PM Dec 3, 2020
Trevor, If you are not spending any time in the Bega/Eden region I suggest you go up the Monaro Highway from Can River. It is the same width of road as the Brown or Clyde Mountains. That is the way I go. Truckies travelling from Sydney to East Gippsland also use that route. Map of route. - Route through Bega. That will save you 100 km travel.
PeterD said
08:24 PM Dec 3, 2020
PeterD wrote:
These maps indicate that the Kings Highway has longer stretches than the Snowy Mountains Highway. Refer to the bit labelled "Bonzle incline/gradient summary" on each map. My preference as to which road to use is "use the most convenient one at the time."
Sorry, I left a bit of the wording out. What I meant to say was "has longer stretches of steep road than.."
Trevor 57 said
08:58 AM Dec 9, 2020
Minister for War & Finance has decided we are going the Brown Mountain route
Long Weekend said
11:08 AM Dec 9, 2020
Enjoy the trip. Remember to count off the kilometres!
Murray
Trevor 57 said
05:49 PM Dec 9, 2020
will do Murray, thanks
Radar said
09:41 PM Dec 9, 2020
Trevor 57 wrote:
Minister for War & Finance has decided we are going the Brown Mountain route
let us know howmany gear changes you make?
Just joking e joy the drive, let us know your thoughts on the scenic drive.
PeterD said
11:17 PM Dec 9, 2020
Does that include on the undulating country either side of the big hill or just the hill itself? One of the steeper pinches is at the bottom. You will probably go to the lowest gear there. You will come back up a gear or two and maintain that until the other steep pinch just before Piper's Lookout. You will drop back to the same gear (or so) as the bottom steep pinch. From there you will gradually go back up to your highest travelling gear as you brest the top. That is unless you stop at Pipers's Lookout, which is worth a stop (there are picnic tables and dunnies there last time I went up.)
You will probably make more gear changes on the undulating country than on the big hill itself.
Radar said
08:55 AM Dec 10, 2020
PeterD wrote:
Does that include on the undulating country either side of the big hill or just the hill itself? One of the steeper pinches is at the bottom. You will probably go to the lowest gear there. You will come back up a gear or two and maintain that until the other steep pinch just before Piper's Lookout. You will drop back to the same gear (or so) as the bottom steep pinch. From there you will gradually go back up to your highest travelling gear as you brest the top. That is unless you stop at Pipers's Lookout, which is worth a stop (there are picnic tables and dunnies there last time I went up.)
You will probably make more gear changes on the undulating country than on the big hill itself.
Peter D hi.
My comment was all tongue in cheek, one old ex truck driver to another.
But I would be interested in his thoughts, if he is anything like me it will be, "just another hill".
Trevor 57 said
01:02 PM Dec 10, 2020
Not sure if you will be able to see this, but this is our rig going into towards Top Crossing Hut near Lake William Hovell, 1st gear low range - now that is a hill lol
We are planning a trip soon, we have a PX Ranger with a single axle Goldstream van -= we want to go from Bega to Cooma then on to Canberra, but we are more interested to know what the road from Bega to Cooma is like towing a van
Thanks in advance
Very do able, drive to the conditions and for a short time up hill with slow corners.
From one truck driver to another, "just another hill", the lookout is interesting on the way up.
Don't forget to drop your second trailer at the bottom as that is mandatory.
-- Edited by Radar on Tuesday 1st of December 2020 11:35:13 AM
I will make sure to leave the A trailer at the bottom
Thanks for the info
Narrow is not a word I would use for that road. It is a full two lanes on that hill (and as far as I can remember for the rest of the road.) The shoulders are a little narrow to non existent in a few parts. Drive the road before you hitch up.
Up BROWN MOUNTAIN at Bemboka, NSW - This one starts on a property at Bemboks.
Ascending Brown Mountain, NSW. I don't know what he is towing his Jayco Journey with but it sounds like a sewing machine. He is also playing with the lens settings at times which makes the road look odd.
Down Brown Mountain A bit quicker on a bike.
If coming from the south another way is from South Pambula to Bombala via the Mount Darragh road. Not as steep or wide as the Brown Mountain way and a little bit shorter to the top. Of course, the round trip to Cooma is also longer than going up the Brown.
(Ignore a sign post just before Bombala pointing to Nimitabel - that is a fairly rough dirt road. Carry on into Bombala.)
We have made some eight trips up and down the Brown, started towing a camper trailer, upgraded to a Jayco Freedom then finally our Stirling - which has made three trips to date, plus the Mt Darragh one.
A tip about the Brown - as mentioned the Brown is ten kilometres long. At the bottom read your odometer and count off the kilometres. Otherwise, it will seem to take forever. The lookout on the left is about two kilometres from the top and from there the road actually improves a little bit.
As others have already said, drive to the conditions.
Murray
PS: I put our Ranger in sports mode and select third gear for all but the tightest bends. (Both going down and coming up.)
-- Edited by Long Weekend on Tuesday 1st of December 2020 10:36:35 PM
-- Edited by Long Weekend on Tuesday 1st of December 2020 10:37:15 PM
double post
-- Edited by Trevor 57 on Wednesday 2nd of December 2020 05:43:15 AM
From Nimitabel it doubles up with the Monaro Highway that runs from Canberra through Cooma then splits just to the east of Nimitabel and heads south to Cann River.
Stop for a cup of coffee at Bemboka which is a couple of kms from the start of the Brown. The climb is quite sudden - one moment you are on level road and the next the bonnet rises up.
Murray
These maps indicate that the Kings Highway has longer stretches than the Snowy Mountains Highway. Refer to the bit labelled "Bonzle incline/gradient summary" on each map. My preference as to which road to use is "use the most convenient one at the time."
thanks for that, that is good info. I was just looking at the shortest route, we will be coming up from Victoria so no big deal where we turn off
The same tip I gave for the Brown applies for the Clyde - at the start of the climb read your odometer and count off the kilometres. Otherwise it will appear endless.
The Princes Highway north of Bega is not real good either - lots of bends and speed restrictions. From Moruya it does improve though.
Nonetheless, despite what appears to be negatives about the Brown and Clyde, they are easily taken with a caravan on tow, albeit not at highway speeds! You will certainly see other vans going in the opposite direction, even come up behind ones ahead or have them come up behind you. Buses and semi trailers use the same roads safely, just manually select your low gears and take care.
Murray
Hi Trevor,
You being a truck driver you can anything they put in front of you.
The Cann Valley/Monaro Highway from Cann River is great easy drive not like when I first did it in the mid seventies, windy dirt road its all sealed and not windy. Pretty easy run.
Or the one I did last year and enjoy as it was seriously quiet was from near Pambula to Bombala though Wyndham. I can still taste the coffee and cake on the side of the road while being entertained by the bell birds.
I don't take short waysi, we like scenic ways.
First stop from Cann River is Bombala for a coffee. Next is Nimitabel on the Snowy Mountains Highway proper. It is several years since I went through Nimitabel but I seem to recall that the servo had closed down. Might be worth a check as it is some thirty odd kilometres to Cooma from there.
Murray
Deleted double post!
Murray
-- Edited by Long Weekend on Thursday 3rd of December 2020 03:04:57 PM
I hadn't actually considered going from Cann River to Cooma, actually truthfully I didn't know you could. I kinda like the idea, we have never been that way before and I like new tracks
Any free camps that way?
-- Edited by Trevor 57 on Thursday 3rd of December 2020 07:26:25 PM
Trevor, If you are not spending any time in the Bega/Eden region I suggest you go up the Monaro Highway from Can River. It is the same width of road as the Brown or Clyde Mountains. That is the way I go. Truckies travelling from Sydney to East Gippsland also use that route. Map of route. - Route through Bega. That will save you 100 km travel.
Sorry, I left a bit of the wording out. What I meant to say was "has longer stretches of steep road than.."
Minister for War & Finance has decided we are going the Brown Mountain route
Murray
let us know howmany gear changes you make?
Just joking e joy the drive, let us know your thoughts on the scenic drive.
You will probably make more gear changes on the undulating country than on the big hill itself.
Peter D hi.
My comment was all tongue in cheek, one old ex truck driver to another.
But I would be interested in his thoughts, if he is anything like me it will be, "just another hill".
Not sure if you will be able to see this, but this is our rig going into towards Top Crossing Hut near Lake William Hovell, 1st gear low range - now that is a hill lol
https://www.facebook.com/171515292920140/videos/2073618682709782