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.