by eggsalad » Mon Mar 10, 2014 10:10 pm
Where I sit right now is about 12 miles from Oatman. The road is swell from Fort Mojave to Oatman.
However, if you continue east from Oatman to Kingman, the road gets pretty hairy. It's actually an old old OLD piece of Route 66, a section that was bypassed in the 1940's. The hills are steep, the turns are tight, most of them are posted at 15-20 mph, and you better take that seriously.
According to some historical signage along the route, Model T's had to go up the hill in reverse, because their gravity-fed fuel systems would starve going up the grades forward.
If you have the time, make Oatman a side trip instead. Take US-95 south out of Las Vegas and across the Colorado River. Continue south on 95 about 15 miles after that, then take the turn to Oatman - it's another 15 miles after you turn off 95.
Once you've seen Oatman (and it's well worth seeing) double back to US-95, and head back north towards the bridge. Instead of going back over the bridge, go straight on to AZ-68 to Kingman. But be aware that the first 15 miles of AZ-68 are STEEP uphill. Google "Davis Dam Truck Test" and you will learn that this specific stretch of road is where truck manufacturers go to test their tow ratings. In fact, the new SAE towing standard (J-xxxx) *requires* manufacturers to tow a load up this specific hill in order to give the legitimate tow rating.
It'll test your rig, that's for sure. If you're warm, turn off the a/c anyhow, or you'll overheat before you reach the summit. Even in May.