We are trialing retirement and have taken the family van out of moth balls and scrubbed off the mould.
We will be travelling from Toowoomba to Noosa an souls like avoid Brisbane. i am worried about where to cross the Great Dividing Range. Do we go through Kilcoy or a northern loop through Kingaroy? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
PeterD said
10:00 PM Feb 21, 2021
You will not have to cross the Great Divide. You are already on the top of it. You are going to encounter descents no matter which way you go. The main thing is not to rely on your brakes on the descent when towing. I suggest you just learn how to tackle them. If you know the technique then stop reading this paragraph now. To save your brakes, reduce your speed, select the lowest gear you can at this lower speed. Either use your selector on your auto gearbox or if you have a manual gearbox select second gear. You allow the speed to build up to nearly red line on the tachometer and then apply the brakes firmly to reduce your speed. This gives the brakes time to dissipate the heat you built up whilst braking. If you are in a low enough gear you will only be applying the brakes for a quarter to a third of the time. You should not feather the brakes under any circumatance as this builds up too much heat. If you use this technique then your brakes will be stinking with a burnt smell when you get to the bottom of the descent.
I also steer clear of Brisbane when travelling north from Toowoomba. I use this route- Alternately, you could drop down the big hill to Gatton and go north from there. Mostly I start or finish at Warwick so when heading for the Sunshine Coast I go through the Gatton Gap.
Possum3 said
05:25 AM Feb 22, 2021
Welcome to GN's Helzie, I won't comment on your route other than to say best avoiding Brisbane if travelling Mon - Sat.
Radar said
07:47 AM Feb 22, 2021
From Toowoomba to Yarraman then Blackbutt to Caboolture, the Blackbutt Range is select a low gear, pretend your are large truck, steady, cautious and 5 or 6 minutes you on way.
Radar said
11:11 AM Feb 22, 2021
Double up
-- Edited by Radar on Monday 22nd of February 2021 11:12:15 AM
Rod Mac said
02:02 PM Mar 5, 2021
I have done the Twmba Noosa run a few times and for me, I now stick to the main hway, especially with the now open Twmba bypass, you do not need to go into Brisbane traffic area.
You can sit on 95/100kph, no major braking downhills etc, dual lanes all the way, yes you pay tolls but no huge hills, apart from the Gateway Bridge climb, faster traffic can get past you and sometimes a nice tailwind after the Gateway Bridge for some good fuel economy.
The tricky part from Ipswich onwards is making sure you follow the signs to the Gold Coast and then look for the Sunshine Coast signs, do not get caught taking the Ipswich motorway into the city.
Hi
We are trialing retirement and have taken the family van out of moth balls and scrubbed off the mould.
We will be travelling from Toowoomba to Noosa an souls like avoid Brisbane. i am worried about where to cross the Great Dividing Range. Do we go through Kilcoy or a northern loop through Kingaroy?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
You will not have to cross the Great Divide. You are already on the top of it. You are going to encounter descents no matter which way you go. The main thing is not to rely on your brakes on the descent when towing. I suggest you just learn how to tackle them. If you know the technique then stop reading this paragraph now. To save your brakes, reduce your speed, select the lowest gear you can at this lower speed. Either use your selector on your auto gearbox or if you have a manual gearbox select second gear. You allow the speed to build up to nearly red line on the tachometer and then apply the brakes firmly to reduce your speed. This gives the brakes time to dissipate the heat you built up whilst braking. If you are in a low enough gear you will only be applying the brakes for a quarter to a third of the time. You should not feather the brakes under any circumatance as this builds up too much heat. If you use this technique then your brakes will be stinking with a burnt smell when you get to the bottom of the descent.
I also steer clear of Brisbane when travelling north from Toowoomba. I use this route - Alternately, you could drop down the big hill to Gatton and go north from there. Mostly I start or finish at Warwick so when heading for the Sunshine Coast I go through the Gatton Gap.
From Toowoomba to Yarraman then Blackbutt to Caboolture, the Blackbutt Range is select a low gear, pretend your are large truck, steady, cautious and 5 or 6 minutes you on way.
Double up
-- Edited by Radar on Monday 22nd of February 2021 11:12:15 AM
I have done the Twmba Noosa run a few times and for me, I now stick to the main hway, especially with the now open Twmba bypass, you do not need to go into Brisbane traffic area.
You can sit on 95/100kph, no major braking downhills etc, dual lanes all the way, yes you pay tolls but no huge hills, apart from the Gateway Bridge climb, faster traffic can get past you and sometimes a nice tailwind after the Gateway Bridge for some good fuel economy.
The tricky part from Ipswich onwards is making sure you follow the signs to the Gold Coast and then look for the Sunshine Coast signs, do not get caught taking the Ipswich motorway into the city.