RN40 Maldita 73 norte | Warning

April 11th, 2024 by susi_schlademann

we drove the ruta frim south to north with camper truck, 5.5t. our conditions: dry and no wind at all - no problem to use this road, some sections were rocky or loose gravel, but going slow at these parts absolutely ok with any rig size. we had normal cars going by, 40t-trucks, big tourist buses.
however, before you go: check with locals if the road is wet/rain is coming-then it will be very slippery and deep mud to get stuck in!

March 20th, 2024 by Frieke

We drove the "street" with our little campervan while it was raining and I gotta say it was though... We nearly got stuck in the mud twice (and could only save us by driving backwards) and slipped around a lot of times (one time we even turned 90°)
The motorcyclists we saw on the way were struggling pretty hard too.

based on the previews comments the wet ground probably made it way harder.

March 17th, 2024 by emmamaloy

As everyone says, long stretch with lots of stones and gravel. Our windscreen just got chipped by the gravel getting kicked up from a passing vehicle

February 17th, 2024 by limitedairship10

All of the comments here is about the gravel condition and how bad it is for them and not really talking about the real problem for light motorcycles..

For me the gravel wasn’t bad and actually was in good condition the only “problematic” part was the deep gravel section that requires a little bit of technic.

The real difficult part for me was the STRONG side winds (30-40 km/h) that with a light bike (300cc / 170kg) was just exhausting, i found my self fighting the wind at slow speed all the way.
For the big bikes it’s less of a problem because of the weight

Recommend to check the winds speeds before leaving and maybe get on this part early at the morning when the winds are low

February 5th, 2024 by nomadesxelglobo

Es un tramo de 70 kms, mapsme lo indica bien su inici/fin. Si se maneja con cuidado, no hay nada de que preocuparse. Lo definiría en 3 tramos, el inicio y final (desde donde se venga) es de roca dura moldeada con el tiempo, imposible ir más de 20-30 km/hr, la parte central es un largo plano de piedra suelta que genera montículos altos entre las huellas de las rueda y si se tiene un vehículo bajo, ocasionalmente golpea. Recomiendo en éste tramo utilizar el carril derecho (de sur a norte), que está notoriamente en mejores condiciones y es posible alcanzar hasta los 50-60 km/hr. No olvidar sacar un poco de aire a los neumáticos y ser solidarios con quién está en la ruta. Viento lateral constante.

January 14th, 2024 by olaf

Took us a bit under two hours to get through this section of ripio from south to north. Yes some sections are packed with dirt and good, others are very hard and rocky (the slowest and hardest for us) and definitely there is washboard. With washboard you have two options: as fast as you can go without drifing and loosing control, or as slow as you can to avoid all the noise from your interior seemingly falling apart:) The fastest parts we could do 50/60km/h. the slowest 15-20km/h. I think it depends on your vehicle type and weight, for us (MB Vario 4x4, 5500kg) it is not that easy due to weight. We deflated our tyres until about 60% of the normal pressure.

January 9th, 2024 by Family4rêveurs

Gravel ok. Some portion are little rocky but for us is not that bad that everybody tell. Like Carratera austral even better. We did this portion in 2h30 from north to south. Be careful very windy!

December 5th, 2023 by vankeulen.mariska

For those coming from the south, from here on Ruta 40 (via Gobernador Gregoris) is paved again.
We have a quite old camper (from 1999), so for us it was better to drive more kilometers on a paved road than continue on a dirt road (ruta 29).

November 24th, 2023 by losgeFAHRen

No problem going here with 2wd camper. pleased see entry at the south end of this passage

October 23rd, 2023 by karlandliis

Honestly one of the best gravel roads for 4wd and slightly higher clearance cars that we have driven during our 6 month South American trip. Wide road with no washboard whatsoever. Most of the road can be driven 80-100 km/h if you have good tires. For motorhomes and motorcycles yes, there is like a 10km section with massive piles of gravel gathered in some parts, so stay alert there.

March 19th, 2023 by @alyvanblake

I just wanted to check in here as well to clarify. this pin and south is for ruta 40, not for this side road bypass. this 75 km gravel section of 40 is maddening. some parts are smooth and flat and capable of cruising at 70km and then bam, you are airborne and sliding sideways. almost as bad as the Austal. definitely air down here when going south.

January 18th, 2023 by tanguy.adriaenssen

For those who deflate their tires to adapt to the terrain, this is your queue! This is the start or end of the rough section knows as Maldite 73 at the north end…
Not going over what the conditions are like as plenty has been written about in the post regarding this section of the road posted in G. Gregores.