Long hill descent in 4x4 low gears

I'm planning a road trip to Bella Coola, BC this summer. "The hill" between Anaheim Lake and Bella Coola is notorious for its extremely steep grades (this road was not engineered and was built by citizens as the BC Gov't was not interested in building one). The loaded weight of our trailer is about 2,600 lbs. The steepest section of the road (reportedly up to 18%) consists of hard-packed dirt. There is typically very little traffic on this road, so one can travel slowly.

What I'm thinking is making the descent in 4x4 and low gears, in order to try and save the brakes. Is there anything wrong with this idea from a mechanical perspective? Can this do harm to the transfer case or anything else? Would it be any different from ascending these grades in low range? It may appear to be a dumb question...and maybe it is...if so, go easy on me

 

Ought to work just fine.

 

It's the preferred method. If it's an auto, manually select the highest gear you wish to use, if a manual, do the same and stick with it while adjusting your top speed with the brakes occasionally.

 

Hey, thanks for your reply and sorry for my late reply to yours. It's been a busy time. Our Taco is automatic. We're going to try this most likely this summer or fall.