Alaska

[kenandjudy]

Planning on going to Alaska summer of 2013, I want to install a hitch mounted mud guard and was wondering which to buy, The solid material or the brush type.
Thanks Ken

[dpam]

I recently bought Rock Tamers from Cabelas at a cost of $200.00. Prior to my purchase I did a lot of research on quality and price and found Rock Tamers to be one of the better units. It is very solid and adjustable and simply slides in to your hitch reciever. The rubber flaps can be cut to fit the clearance you require, plus you can change the angle of the flap.

My 2 cent opinion.

[Art-n-Marge]

Solid might work better. Many of the roads are gravel and when it rains then you'll be kicking up mud, too and I don't think the brush type will hold up as well. But that's only my opinion. I will warn you I've been driving through there several times and there's always some long part of the road (in Alaska and Canada) that's getting worked on which is where most of the debris occurs.

I have not towed but driving a car or van and the roads in inclement weather are pretty wicked. Then if it's raining and you've been driving in mud don't forget to pull off and rinse off the mud while it's still wet. I think rinsing off a solid surface versus brushes would be easier, too.

I'm envious! Have a great trip! If you can afford it, I highly recommend the ferry up the Inside passage, at least in one direction.

[hunts800]

We went with only mud flaps on all four wheels, so your idea is a good one, and will prevent chips on the front of the trailer. But - be prepared to wash off your rig at almost every stop (almost all RV parks have a truck/trailer pressure wash area) as you will be travelling through a lot of road construction, and the wet gravel/slush needs to be washed off or it will harden like a rock! We usually got off the roads early (no later than 2 or 3pm) just to avoid the long lines at the wash stations. We went up the ALCAN and back the Cassiar - well worth it. Made it the whole way without one single windshield chip!

[alandaudrey]

I agree with Art on using the solid rock guard versus the brush type. I used the brush type and only had partial success with stopping rocks. I took some hits on the front of the Monty.

The advice to wash your TV and rig frequently is good. The road crews use calcium chloride on the roads to keep dust down. Calcium Chloride is very corrosive to the underside of your TV and axles and wheels of your trailer. Wash at each RV park. Prices vary from free to $15.00 but it is a necessity.

[Tfthorp]

We used the solid type don;t remember which brand it was but had to do some modifications. Might also look into a screen for your radiator. I had one made up it sure kept a ton of bugs out of the radiator.

[gregdan24]

I did not get the rock guards you're thinking of, but would next time - solid for sure. I just painted some of that pink house exterior styrofoam white after cutting it to fit, and used white duct tape to attach to the front of the 5er behind the tires. Actually worked pretty well judging from how beat up it was when I took it off! Rocks/stones will be your worst enemy. The mud and dust cannot be stopped.

Even then, while this may protect the front of the 5er, you might want to put some sort of protection on everything metal that faces forward, like the fronts of the steps. The trailer tires will also kick up rocks that will knock the paint off the front of your bumper. Or you can do like I did and just clean up and repaint those areas when you get back.

As for the front of the truck, I mounted 1/4" hardware cloth behind the grill to protect the radiator. Some people use bubble wrap taped on the headlights to protect them as well cuz they're pretty pricey to replace. You won't need lights once you get to where the roads start getting bad anyway - doesn't get dark too early up there! Make sure you put all this stuff on when you get on the Alcan at Dawson Creek, or when you get on the Cassiar. Wait until you hit a bad spot and it will be too late.

Forget the windshield - unless you are very lucky or stop for every vehicle coming at you on a dirt section of road, you will need a new one when you get back. We tried to be careful but still ended up with 2 chips. New windshields are nice though....

It's not as bad as I make it sound - definitely worth the trip.

[hunts800]

One more point - the worst roads I was on in Alaska are better than the freeways in California!

[The Oldguard]

quote:Originally posted by hunts800

One more point - the worst roads I was on in Alaska are better than the freeways in California!

X2 & Washington

[Art-n-Marge]

We can bag on the bumpy roads where you live (insert town name here), but the bumpies don't typically cause a lot of debris to fly in the air and hit your rig like in Alaska (not saying it doesn't but I do mean "per capita").

I think Alaska roads are great considering where they are located except when you get to a part where there is a frost heave, then they are worse than any road I've been on in the lower 48.

But debris? Get on a gravel road with your rig going 60, then pass someone going the other direction at about 65-80 and them rocks are coming at you at 130 mph and it's like buck shot when the opposing vehicle is a semi truck and trailer. I remember developing a cringe for every oncoming vehicle especially when I got pretty good at telling they are way over the speed limit and not gonna slow down.

I think the speed limit is low on the ALCAN because of this and not that they want you to go slow. Those frost heaves come at you in a second and you don't have time to slow down when you finally notice it! Serious vehicle damage is a major problem because people drive too fast in the expanse of that final frontier. You can't help it. After driving through a beautiful viewpoint, you want to get through that 200 miles of viewpoint to quickly get to the next 200 miles of the next viewpoint. The irony is that the gravel portions sure seem flatter than the paved parts of the road so I don't recall as many frost heaves, ouch! But there's buckshot for every vehicle, rig or big truck going by on the other side, then if you are passed, by that car that cuts back over too soon.

Anyone else have the same experience or better?

[Chasnracin]

We traveled up the ALCAN last year and it was fine, only about 15 mi total of construction (read gravel road) and speeds were kept down by having to follow a pilot car. This also meant no head on traffic. The frost heaves are the worst of your worries. If you see the cones and flags, SLOW DOWN. It is the only warning you will get. Some are very small, but some will bottom out your suspension, no matter how you hit them. We just drove down from Fairbanks to Anchorage today. The road is pretty good, with 2-1/4 mile sections of dirt and construction. Some of the frost heave portions were pretty "rough" on the rig. Take your time and enjoy the drive.