Alaska bound, need tips

[Markb5900]

Hi all,
We are heading to Alaska next spring. Probably end up in the Valdez region to start. We plan to be gone a couple months.
Right now I plan to carry 20 extra gallons of gas in 5 gallon cans in the bed of the truck for just in case insurance.
I have a spare tire for the trailer, has been suggested I get a second one, thoughts?
Will have our generator with us.
As far as must haves, any tips or thoughts are appreciated.

[Bmiller]

Start by picking up the latest edition of the Milepost, which will give information on most things along the highway.

[dvspl]

+1 on the Milepost. That's the most important thing to have with you. It will help you find whatever else you need.

[dwaynebmsg]

Don't leave too early in the Spring. April is "Breakup" when the snow and ice really starts melting. I suggest late May. Definitely get a "Milepost". It will be an unbelievable trip. I drove up from Augusta, Ga to Fairbanks back in Sep 1975, in a Porsche 914! Back then, it was a 1200 mile dirt road. Enjoy!!!

[Radar57]

- Spare parts: set of leaf spring - cheap insurance for rough roads.
- Shovel - help dig you out if you get stuck in the mud

[jetlag]

My buddy just got back from a 6 month trip to Alaska. They left Tampa in Late April and crisscrossed the country, he says a total of 20K miles by the time they got home. They spent a month in Alaska. The sights were beautiful, he sent many incredible pictures from all over the country. Having said that, on the way home they stopped by our farm and spent 4 days with us. His Pinnacle, same model as mine, was thrashed, best way to describe it. Developed a water leak behind the shower and had to take down the wall to get to it. Pieces of trim were either lose or totally fallen off. He blew a tire and mangled a skirt on that side. For whatever reason, he replaced all the Endurance tires with another brand, so he had lots of spares in the back of his dually. His tablet quit completely, and it goes on and on. It is at the dealership in Tampa getting repaired as I type this. He told me it was a beautiful state, however, if he were to do it again, he would fly and rent a local camper. His words not mine. At times he was driving 20mph and still getting shaken badly. They went into Canada first and from there to Alaska. He did manage to see all our national monuments along the way as well.

[Kim Gass]

The Alaska Highway is paved. Its no longer a gut wrenching ride
I looked at the Milepost and did not buy it
I dont need to know the location of every little bridge.
Just be mindful of wandeing bison
We never found the need to carry fuel. Fuel stops are st most 250 miles apart, but you know your mileage of your unit and i dont
not at all like the Trans Labrador highway which has fuel every 400 miles. We carried jerry cans for that as thr potential existed Churchill Falls would be out of furl and we would have 800 miles between fuel

[Happy wife / happy life]

X3 on the Milepost. Insect repellent with the highest percentage of “ DEET “ you can find. The mosquito is the unofficial state bird for a reason, it’s not that they are so big ,but that there are so dang many of them.

[Markb5900]

Thanks to everyone so far, it is appreciated.
I have the milepost already.
We plan on going through Montana and entering Canada at Sweetgrass. Planning to stay off the interstate as much as possible.

[Kim Gass]

A must camp at Liard Hot Springs
We didn't have any skeeter issues all along the Alaska Hwy except for there
Yes they were big about half an inch long
We had a Thermacell and they simply sat on it

[us71na]

Be prepared for sticker shock when buying food and gas/diesel. Filling an RV can almost melt your credit card. Most pumps have a $100 limit, so you may have to do multiple transactions to fill up.

Get some head nets and light nylon windbreakers to wear when setting up just before or after sunset to protect from mosquitos.

Have binoculars for each person. A good SLR camera with telephoto zoom lens will be far better than the best cellphone camera there is.


Camping spots in many Alaska campgrounds are much smaller than they are in the lower 48. They also tend to fill up quickly so make reservations where you can.

[Kim Gass]

You'll be going through the Yukon and BC
Gasoline in Canada is high
Its running us in Newfoundland 1.94 a litre
even with the exchange rate that's over $6 USD a gallon

[Quidort]

There’s fantastic groups on Facebook. RVing the Alaska Highway and my personal favorite, RVing to Alaska The Original. People post regularly about road conditions and other stuff, things to take and things to leave behind. Stacy and Gary hosts an RV rally which was super fun, meeting with others from across the US.

[Ricky555]

Just a reminder, Canada is it's own country. DON'T bring your guns. They will be taken away from you at the border or will turn you back. If you do get turned back you will be on the computer and will be searched every time you come into Canada. We don't hate guns, our laws are stricter than in the US. Enjoy your trip.

[Markb5900]

Thanks all!!

[Kim Gass]

That is not accurate.
Handguns yes
But do your own research because some guns are permitted with conditions

[Markb5900]

If you wish to have a weapon in Alaska, it appears to me the easiest way is to use an FFL holder on both ends and ship to AK and pick it up when you get there. Thereby avoiding the Canada gun laws all together.

[STOKER]

Went up in 2016,had good tires on the truck and camper as well as spare tire. Also packed 4 extra tires,with 2 tires mounted and after 13000 towing miles had 1 tire left .Ran into a snowstorm in earlyJune in BC high country.At that time I got fuel at every place it was available,and it all worked out.By the time we got home it was time to trade camper for a new one. Try to be prepared and enjoy the ride.

[jeffmcpa]

Extra gas - We were there this june-july, I can't think of any way you will need 4 extra cans of gas, if you stop and fill up everytime you see a station after you have gone 100 miles or so.

Took 2 spares for the trailer and one for the truck, needed none in 9000 miles, but take them anyway. I don't recall seeing anyone changing a tire the whole way.

I took 1 extra trailer spring and a set of spring shackles but didn't need them - rather have and not need ...etc.

Yes to RV to Alaska the Original ...facebook group. Very active in the travel season lots of good information.

Yes to Milepost - not really needed anymore but lots of interesting tidbits.

Dawson Creek BC Visitor Center (Mile 0) has a one page photocopy sheet listing the status of all gas stations and campgrounds for the whole alcan. Seemed accurate to us as far as we could tell.

Not sure where you are from, but Gas/Diesel prices in Alaska are less than on the west coast of the US. (Washington Oregon California). Canada is higher. We averaged $4.50 per gallon of diesel for the whole trip from June 4 to July 18.

We were lucky - no really bad Mosquito's, but you need to be ready for them.

Fishing - We were early, If I knew what I no now, I would have left 2 weeks later. Really no fishing at Valdez 3rd week of June, and Kenai was just starting up close to the end of June.

Destruction Bay to Tok changes throughout the season, as work is done, but I generally felt it was not near as bad as facebook posts. Frost Heaves can be spotted far enough ahead to slow down once you figure out what to look for. New repairs in alaska generally do not need to brake, New repairs on pavement in Canada - get on the brakes now! Generally just a rougher finish.
Reading the road is the real key.

Food is more expensive, but we expected that, and just bought what we needed.

Pay attention to what foods might be not allowed over borders (Either way) changes often and at times this summer some produce and chicken were being blocked.

Mostly just have a heck of a good time!

[Blueberry Mary]

I would second that idea of flying in and renting a rig, especially if you have super big one. A small one will make the trip ok, get dirty yes, maybe scratched on the Cassiar as last I knew a great deal of that was gravel. But there is nothing as so much fun as seeing the country on the way there!! We had a van and t hat worked very well in 86, but our 28 foot Jayco Greyhawk we have now, I would not want to take up those roads. The thrashed RV story a few frames back is what we saw, with loss of mirrors on roads going off the beaten path into Canada etc. We were glad in that day we traveled simply in full sized van. Going from Anchorage to Fairbanks and Denali and south can be done on the train, but a lot fun can be had by going by road too. Remember that when the camp ground is by a lovely plot of water==mosquitoes. We planned to weekend at Might Mo's, we ended up calling it Mighty Mo's Mosquito hole as we had such a heavy load of mosquitos join us as ate and tried to escape them in the van. After that we camped on hill tops much better than stream valleys. Milepost is a good idea, as at least you know what to anticipate. We liked it very much so we didn't miss places like Laird Springs.