Were thinking about coming down the kings highway from Queanbeyan nsw to Batemans bay, If anyone knows what it's like to haul a van down there it would be much appreciated,that would save us a lot of time on the way home.
Ron...
msg said
04:20 PM May 1, 2017
The road is excellent. There are any number of passing lanes. Just take it easy. and possibly avoid Canberrans over the weekends who seem to want to travel at breakneck speeds. LOL
JayDee said
04:22 PM May 1, 2017
No issues with us. We have a 23 footer weighing around the 3 tonne mark, and as long as you drive to the conditions and not try and break any land or mountain climbing records, should be a piece of cake to handle.
Jay&dee
Dougwe said
04:54 PM May 1, 2017
The locals over in the 'Bay' call it the Clyde Hill, Me, I call it a big mountain and to be honest don't like it but know a few that have no problems, up or down it.
"Canberrans and breakneck speeds" hey Mel. I spose ya mean the ones in Campervans
Keep Safe on the roads and out there, OH! and the Clyde mountain.
msg said
05:30 PM May 1, 2017
No Dougwe. How could you say such a thing. Although we do tend to go crook at caravan towers holding us up. LOL.
Compared to the Canberrans, campervan drivers are very sedate.
Seriously though, did the trip last summer over a long weekend (kids wanted to go for a weekend down the coast) and was quite intimidated by drivers going very fast and frowning (or worse) at me driving sedately at the speed limit.
Yeah, its a big mountain to me as well and deserves to be driven with some respect.
Ron-D said
10:28 PM May 1, 2017
Thanks for your input msg,Doug,and Jay sounds like it should be ok I will take it easy and it should be ok...
PeterD said
07:39 AM May 2, 2017
Ron-D wrote:
Were thinking about coming down the kings highway from Queanbeyan nsw to Batemans bay, If anyone knows what it's like to haul a van down there
If you are a confident driver then there is no problems. There are a couple of descents where you should slow down and pull your gear box back into as low a gear as you can. Slow down until you are in a low enough gear to hold your speed without having to use the brakes too much. That way your brakes will not smell too bad when you get to the bottom of the descent. I used to use those descents down to the coast regularly and did not replace the brake pads any more frequent than those who did not tow.
-- Edited by PeterD on Tuesday 2nd of May 2017 07:40:12 AM
Tony Bev said
01:30 PM May 2, 2017
I went down that highway in 2006, or thereabouts, in a car (not towing anything)
At that time I did find it a bit steep, with very few areas to pull off the road, on the mountain sections
I will not be travelling that particular road as a shortcut to save fuel, as you will be in the lower gears, on the mountain section
As others have said, any road is doable, providing you drive to the conditions, and you might as well do it once, just to see what it is like
If I remember correctly somewhere on that highway, there was a little shop (in the middle of nowhere), with a sign saying that they sold the best homemade pies in the world
Unfortunately for me, they had sold out, so they must have been good
I hope that you enjoy the trip
msg said
01:40 PM May 2, 2017
There have been a lot of roadworks since 2006 that have improved things considerably. Not quite so hard on the brakes. Though Pooh corner hasn't changed.
Dougwe said
01:44 PM May 2, 2017
Why do they call it "Pooh" corner Mel? Is it that bad?
Is that the real bad sharp corner?
I only ask cos it might help out Ron.
msg said
02:26 PM May 2, 2017
Its a really sharp corner and people have been placing Pooh Bears there for many many years. About 1980 was when I first saw them and it was well established then.
Ron-D said
10:17 PM May 3, 2017
Sounds like it won't be to bad ,thanks for your replies Tony and Peter, I have a lot of towing experience and it does not sound any worse than Macquarie pass that I do regularly with the Van....
msg said
10:41 AM May 4, 2017
Not nearly as bad as Macquarie Pass.
PeterD said
02:24 PM May 4, 2017
Dougwe wrote:
Why do they call it "Pooh" corner Mel? Is it that bad?
A small rock cave at "Pooh Bear's Corner" can be found near the top of the Clyde Mountain pass. This was the location of a munitions store during the Second World War that could be detonated to stop passage from the coast to the national capital inland. Dozens of soft toys are placed in the eucalyptus trees along the stretch of road that connects Queanbeyan and Bungendore. These soft toys were placed there to mark the way to the ACT Nudist Club grounds, following repeated vandalisation and theft of signage.
There is some background on the history of Pooh's Corner and your trivia for today.
"Is that the real bad sharp corner?" There is nothing special about the corner, it's just a bend similar to others on the way down. If you feel there is anything bad about it it may be because if follows one of the steeper bits or the descent and you may have let your speed increase a little too much It worries me a little when people say they they dodge these types of road. I wonder about their driving skills/confidence. I think they should do a little more travelling on these types of roads to increase their skills.
msg said
04:10 PM May 4, 2017
My first trip over the clyde would have been mid fiftys.
Mum & Dad in their little soft top volkswagon towing our CV and Auntie & Uncle towing theirs in their new more powerful ??whatever. (they always had better than us)
Uncle,s car stopped halfway up while we sailed on. Family joke for many years lol. I don't remember what the road was like, probably just a dirt track lol. which wouldn't have bothered those intrepid travellers when they had to go all the way from Darlington Point to Melbourne (about 450k's) on a dirt road. Did that trip lots of times.
Dad did it quite often before that when he was stationed at Narranderra during the war on his what would be considered a postie bike these days. No tar back then until you got close to Melbourne. The corrigations were so bad the front door on the car came loose just out of Tocomwal and mum and my little sister fell out. No serious injuries but mum had got gravel rash on leg.
msg said
05:22 PM May 4, 2017
msg wrote:
My first trip over the clyde would have been mid fiftys.
Mum & Dad in their little soft top volkswagon towing our CV and Auntie & Uncle towing theirs in their new more powerful ??whatever. (they always had better than us) Uncle,s car stopped halfway up while we sailed on. Family joke for many years lol. I don't remember what the road was like, probably just a dirt track lol. which wouldn't have bothered those intrepid travellers when they had to go all the way from Darlington Point to Melbourne (about 450k's) on a dirt road. Did that trip lots of times.
Dad did it quite often before that when he was stationed at Narranderra during the war on his what would be considered a postie bike these days. No tar back then until you got close to Melbourne. The corrigations were so bad the front door on the car came loose just out of Tocomwal and mum and my little sister fell out. No serious injuries but mum had got gravel rash on leg.
Uncle Al's getting to me. Strike that should be Vauxhall
Were thinking about coming down the kings highway from Queanbeyan nsw to Batemans bay, If anyone knows what it's like to haul a van down there it would be much appreciated,that would save us a lot of time on the way home.
Ron...
Jay&dee
The locals over in the 'Bay' call it the Clyde Hill, Me, I call it a big mountain and to be honest don't like it but know a few that have no problems, up or down it.
"Canberrans and breakneck speeds" hey Mel. I spose ya mean the ones in Campervans
Keep Safe on the roads and out there, OH! and the Clyde mountain.
Compared to the Canberrans, campervan drivers are very sedate.
Seriously though, did the trip last summer over a long weekend (kids wanted to go for a weekend down the coast) and was quite intimidated by drivers going very fast and frowning (or worse) at me driving sedately at the speed limit.
Yeah, its a big mountain to me as well and deserves to be driven with some respect.
Thanks for your input msg,Doug,and Jay sounds like it should be ok I will take it easy and it should be ok...
If you are a confident driver then there is no problems. There are a couple of descents where you should slow down and pull your gear box back into as low a gear as you can. Slow down until you are in a low enough gear to hold your speed without having to use the brakes too much. That way your brakes will not smell too bad when you get to the bottom of the descent. I used to use those descents down to the coast regularly and did not replace the brake pads any more frequent than those who did not tow.
-- Edited by PeterD on Tuesday 2nd of May 2017 07:40:12 AM
I went down that highway in 2006, or thereabouts, in a car (not towing anything)
At that time I did find it a bit steep, with very few areas to pull off the road, on the mountain sections
I will not be travelling that particular road as a shortcut to save fuel, as you will be in the lower gears, on the mountain section
As others have said, any road is doable, providing you drive to the conditions, and you might as well do it once, just to see what it is like
If I remember correctly somewhere on that highway, there was a little shop (in the middle of nowhere), with a sign saying that they sold the best homemade pies in the world
Unfortunately for me, they had sold out, so they must have been good
I hope that you enjoy the trip
Is that the real bad sharp corner?
I only ask cos it might help out Ron.
Sounds like it won't be to bad ,thanks for your replies Tony and Peter, I have a lot of towing experience and it does not sound any worse than Macquarie pass that I do regularly with the Van....
From The Kings Highway
Notable features and landmarks
A small rock cave at "Pooh Bear's Corner" can be found near the top of the Clyde Mountain pass. This was the location of a munitions store during the Second World War that could be detonated to stop passage from the coast to the national capital inland. Dozens of soft toys are placed in the eucalyptus trees along the stretch of road that connects Queanbeyan and Bungendore. These soft toys were placed there to mark the way to the ACT Nudist Club grounds, following repeated vandalisation and theft of signage.
DEMOLITION OF OUR HARBOURS, AIRFIELDS, ROADS AND OTHER IMPORTANT INSTALLATIONS
See the paragraph at the bottom of that section.
What's the history behind the small cave called Pooh Bears corner on the Clyde Mountain
There is some background on the history of Pooh's Corner and your trivia for today.
"Is that the real bad sharp corner?" There is nothing special about the corner, it's just a bend similar to others on the way down. If you feel there is anything bad about it it may be because if follows one of the steeper bits or the descent and you may have let your speed increase a little too much It worries me a little when people say they they dodge these types of road. I wonder about their driving skills/confidence. I think they should do a little more travelling on these types of roads to increase their skills.
Mum & Dad in their little soft top volkswagon towing our CV and Auntie & Uncle towing theirs in their new more powerful ??whatever. (they always had better than us)
Uncle,s car stopped halfway up while we sailed on. Family joke for many years lol. I don't remember what the road was like, probably just a dirt track lol. which wouldn't have bothered those intrepid travellers when they had to go all the way from Darlington Point to Melbourne (about 450k's) on a dirt road. Did that trip lots of times.
Dad did it quite often before that when he was stationed at Narranderra during the war on his what would be considered a postie bike these days. No tar back then until you got close to Melbourne. The corrigations were so bad the front door on the car came loose just out of Tocomwal and mum and my little sister fell out. No serious injuries but mum had got gravel rash on leg.
Uncle Al's getting to me. Strike that should be Vauxhall