alaska trip

[turley]

Has anyone made the long trip to Alaska this past summer? how was the road through Canada and the famous alaska hwy...??? thanks

[emorris548]

Turley,
I made the drive from California to Alaska back to Alberta, (Baniff, Jasper etc.) yelowstone then home, last year. When you hear about the roads in Alaska it's all a matter of opinion. Just this week I was talking to a couple with a Motor Coach who thought the roads were horrible, and would not go back again. As for me I found the roads not that bad. Up the Alcan just before entering Alaska, (Destruction Bay) you will find a lot of frost heaves, which are marked with orange flags, go slow and you will not have a problem. Often there will be contstruction, the road construction season is short, which will mean dusty conditions, try to stay will back from anyone ahead, and slow down when a vehicle approches. Once in Tok Alaska the road are very good to Fairbanks and to Anchorage. I came out through Chicken to Dawson City which is as I recall about 60 miles of dirt road. I towed almost 10, 000 miles and my damage was one flat tire which I got from a nail picked up at a fuel station in lower Canada, and a broken fog lamp, also not in Alaska. Also only 200 miles of the famous Alcan is in Alsaka the rest is in BC and the Yukon, which USA pays Canada to Maintain. Enjoy the trip, it's worth it.

Lee

[birdie]

Will agree with Lee just got back to Illinois put on about 16,000 miles. The worst stretch was the first 20 miles of the Dalton Highway going up to the Arctic Circle.

[Tfthorp]

We are looking to go next July. Hope it will be owrth it. Any extra prep ideas?
Tom

[Tom S.]

quote:Originally posted by Tfthorp

We are looking to go next July. Hope it will be owrth it. Any extra prep ideas?
Tom

Yup - I got a few tips!

Buy a copy of the Mile Post. It lists all the essential information you will need on the Alcan and other routes.

Carry 10 extra gallons of fuel.

If your tires are questionable for any reason, replace them. I didn't carry extra spares, nor would I if going again, but I would make sure my tires were in excellent condition. You are going to adding 8,000 to 14,000 miles to them, so if in doubt, replace now!

Carry a hydraulic jack with enough capacity to lift the trailer (I have a 12 ton from Harbor Freight).

Once you hit BC, be on the look out for little orange flags along side the road. They mark frost heaves in the pavement. Some of them are really bad.

Handguns are illegal in Canada - period. But you can carry a shotgun as long as its barrel is not under 18" and it has a full stock. You need to pay $25 at the border for a 'license'. Down load the required form on line from the Canadian website so you have it ready.

Animals must have proof of shots - most specifically rabies.

Passports are now required. You can get the forms at your local post office, but not all post offices can process them for you. Apply at least 90 days before your trip.

Unless things have changed since 2006, General Motors' navigation systems do not work in Alaska. Well, actually they work but the DVD has no roads on it for Alaska, so the screen shows you wandering through the wilderness! So take some maps! I suggest the Rand McNally Carrier Atlas. It's more expensive than the regular one, but lists more including low bridges. It comes in two flavors - paper and a spiral bound with plastic coated pages. The spiral is really nice because it lays flat and the pages more durable. Amazon is a good place to get it, and since you aren't going until next year, you might wait until then and pick up a 2010 (the current one) when the 2011's come out, but I'm not sure when that is.

Credit cards a good to use, as the companies will automatically figure out the exchange rate for you - but be forewarned, some card companies charge a service fee for this, so check with your card company before you go.

If you use a special motor oil, like Amsoil, take enough with you for an oil change. Also take a spare oil filter and at least one extra fuel filter. Also carry an extra serpentine belt and the tools needed to change it.

Aluminum foil and masking tape will let you cover your bedroom windows and sky lights on the inside so you can sleep.

Fuel in Canada is VERY expensive, but you obviously you can't avoid buying it. But you can fill up before crossing, which will save you a little bit. This also applies to propane - fill it before you cross over and you shouldn't have to worry about it while in Canada.

The border crossing going in to Alaska from Canada has three lanes, one marked for semi-trucks only. Ignore the sign because the other two lanes have a roof and pipes that are only 13". Use the truck lane.

Be prepared for construction delays. Lack of roads means lack of detours, so when they are working on the road and need to shut it down, they do so and you wait. We waited over 2 hours near Destruction Bay while they replaced a culvert.

If you don't already have one, buy a torque wrench. Should you have the misfortune of having to change a trailer tire, you will need to re-check the torque after 50 miles. As several threads here have also pointed out, you should also keep an eye on the torque of your axle u-bolts.

Unless you have satellite radio, take lots of cd's. Radio stations in the wilderness are few, and their selection not good.

When you return, you will have a bug collection on the front of your trailer that would do the Smithsonian Institute proud. Wet the cap and use Bounce fabric sheets. Short of a disk sander, it is the fastest way to remove the carcasses. Power washing will help too but take care that you don't remove your decals accidentally.

Check with your cell phone company. Roaming charges in Canada are $.50 a minute. Some US companies offer a 'go anywhere' plan that will significantly reduce this cost. Do not use your computer's data plan (if you have one) as there is no special plan for this and again, the roaming charges will put you in the poor house. Many camp grounds do have wireless now though, so that shouldn't be an issue unless you are wilderness camping.

Hope that helps!

[emorris548]

Tom covered most of every thing you’ll need on the trip. I can a few thoughts. First, take plenty of mosquito spray. A full-grown moose can lose a pint of blood a day to mosquito and black fly. It became our perfume of choice during the trip.

I have Sirius Radio with the antenna mounted above the windshield; I lost the signal from Fairbanks toward Anchorage. So as Tom said CDs are good.

Canada’s Provincial Parks are very nice and cost $15 to $12 Canada Dollars per night. Most only have water available somewhere in the campground. My 5’er is 33 feet long so we would try to stop early 2 to 3 PM at the Park as not all sites can handle a large rig. Canadians love to camp, try not to use them on the weekends, as ones near large cities will be full.

In the Yukon and in Alaska it is not illegal to park along the road and in turn outs, although we never did. Alaska’s Wal-Mart’s are very RV friendly. A lot of campgrounds do not have sewer hookups, only electric and water, however in most towns in the Kenai, the city will have dump location based on donation.

In Alaska, most people know the Highways by its name, i.e. The Dalton. We used “The Milepost”, and Mike and Terri Church’s, Camping Alaska, for our information. The Milepost has so much info, that DW sat with it in her lap; most of the trip, using different color felt pens to mark off items and to make notes.

Took me 6 years of talking about the trip, before we did it, you’ll be glad you did it.

Lee

[Army Guy]

We just got back a couple weeks ago. I agree with all said up top. I carried 3 extra 5 gal cans of fuel but never really needed them. If you have a generator, make sure you carry extra fuel for it. The roads are just like mentioned, watch out for the orange flags and construction. You can not carry pepper spray or mace unless it specifically states "Bear Spray". I've been told to carry wasp spray as it is about the same as bear spray and will shoot 30 feet and is not illegle. Be prepared to get chips in your windshield. Otherwise, be prepared to say WOW at about every turn in the road and to take alot of pictures. We had a great time and am so glad we didn't wait.

[Tom S.]

The extra fuel may very well go unused, but here's what happened to us. When we arrived at a scheduled fuel stop in northern B.C., we found the only fuel station had burned to the ground! The lesson we learned from that was we started stopping and fueling when the tank reached 1/2 empty, but we ran into a stretch in Alaska were we drove a long long time after the tank hit the half empty mark and ended up not finding a fuel station until we only had an eighth of a tank. It was comforting to know that if needed, I still had a reserve fuel supply.

[timandsusan]

Lots of good info. Yes, drive on the "top half" of your fuel tank. We can carry 38 gallons and did not cary any extra on our trip to Alaska and did not have any issue. We rarely drove over 200 miles per day so 38 gallons of diesel was good for us.

We took out a recliner and put in a 5 cubic foot freezer--for fish that we filled up during our 10 weeks in Alaska. Now if we are out more that a few weeks, the freezer goes back in--sure is nice for ice cubes, ICE, and lots of frozen stuff.

Take plenty of time and have a safe trip.

[bob n pam]

We agree with all TomS and the others have posted. Great info.

[Gloria]

I plan on going to Alaska leaving from Florida in June 2011. My sister and husband from Texas will be joining us and we will have a small carivan. I will save this site and keep reviewing all of the great tips. I learned quite a bit today by reading these Tips. Thanks Gloria

[exav8tr]

One thing not mentioned above is an AIR filter or two. I clogged mine up coming down in '07 and truck nearly stopped. Easier to change your own than buy one in Canada. We had a 56 Gal Transfer Flow OEM tank installed before leaving Alaska which worked out fine. I would probably carry two jerry cans if I didn't have the larger tank. Be very wary of the "Frost Heaves", they can do some damage if not careful. A note on using the turnouts: We pulled into one and a MH pulled in "in front of us" (nice guy), I had to crank it over to get out and I picked up a vey sharp rock in trailer tire between sidewall and tread. Starting leaking almost immediately and had to pull over to change the tire. The Pressure Pro system let me know it was leaking. Above all, make sure you have plenty of time and enjoy the trip. You will be wowed by all the beautiful scenery in Canada and Alaska......Oh! One last thing, Alaskan drivers do not care for RV'ers too much, probably a good word would be "tolerant" at best. Be courteous and pull over when you can to let the locals pass. After 14 years of living there, I can speak from experience about this.....I used to hate RV'ers, now I are one, Go Figure........

[adelmoll]

Some people just have to age a little to get smart Phil.

Helen

[Art-n-Marge]

If you caravan with someone don't forget some 2-way radios but keep the chatter to a minimum. On our caravan trip to Alaska we had radios and were using them to communicate with others to find a place to exit, divert or stop, etc. At the Oregon/Washington border someone came on claiming they were with law enforcement and to keep the lines open for emergencies only. We weren't anywhere near an emergency frequency. But we just changed to an alternate channel and continued. Some persons emergencies are not necessarily other persons emergencies. Caravanning and not losing each other in strange areas is pretty much an emergency to us since in high traffic towns with multiple routes it almost happened a couple of times and the radios kept us together. You probably won't need them as much in Canada and Alaska, but they can be useful for status and pointing out scenery.

Exav8tr is right about the RVs versus vehicles especially RV caravanners who do not leave an interval in between for faster vehicles to pass. We drove the Alcan a couple of times and appreciated RVers who made themselves passable. Following an RV that does not "cooperate" is NOT nice, they block the view and kick up all kinds of stuff even with flaps.

Be careful passing cyclist groups - yes, two or more cyclists probably cycling together on the Al-Can.

[OldRetiredMSGT]

We are planning the Alaskan Trip in summer of 2011. Originally had planned on a full three months. Not realizing how long school was out in the summer iinvited a grandson along and now I just found out that his summer vacation is not three months long.(Boy have things changed) Can I make it in six or seven weeks??? Travelin from Kansas City.

[Art-n-Marge]

I think it's doable, but it's hard to say without knowing your driving style, preferences or knowing how well your Grandson likes to travel. I sent you an email with a description of a possible schedule and route and with some parameters. Give it a look and see if the preliminary plan is about what you're thinking.