Alaska trip

[Frosty22]

Has anybody done this trip?
https://www.rvadventuretreks.com/60-...a-rv-tour.html
I was supposed to go this year, but my Mother got sick and passed, and my old Dog, a 14 year old retired Guide Dog for the blind got sick and also passed. The owners of the trip were kind enough to honour my price for next year. I'm a little nervous about my 2007 Silverado, even though I love that Truck, I think I'll drop the dough for a newer rig. I think it's a 9,000 mile trip, but it's the trip of a lifetime and I'm looking forward to it.

[Roadpop]

I’ve not done that trip, but a buddy of mine did an Alaskan caravan tour last year - not sure if it was the same operator or not. He said it was the trip of a lifetime and very worth it. His experience was that it was hard on a lot of the rigs (both 5th wheels and Class A) due to the roads.

[Markb5900]

Originally Posted by Frosty22

Has anybody done this trip?
https://www.rvadventuretreks.com/60-...a-rv-tour.html
I was supposed to go this year, but my Mother got sick and passed, and my old Dog, a 14 year old retired Guide Dog for the blind got sick and also passed. The owners of the trip were kind enough to honour my price for next year. I'm a little nervous about my 2007 Silverado, even though I love that Truck, I think I'll drop the dough for a newer rig. I think it's a 9,000 mile trip, but it's the trip of a lifetime and I'm looking forward to it.

We did 2 months going to and visiting around Alaska this year.
The worst road by far is in between Dawson city and Chicken AK. If you’re lucky you will average about 30 mph.
Mechanics are few and far between in the more rural parts. In Valdez there is one! I say again One mechanic. Great guy, but knows he’s the only one.
I would be prepared with spare parts. One good spare tire, breaker bar and working jack. Our TT had a valve stem start leaking between Tok and Valdez so I had to change the tire.
Don’t expect cell service unless you’re in a more populated area.
You don’t really need to worry about roads till north of Whitehorse.
In Dawson Creek at the mile 0 sign, they have a sheet of paper that has all the gas stations and campgrounds on the Alcan, pick it up.
Feel free to PM me if you have more questions.

[jetlag]

Originally Posted by Frosty22

Has anybody done this trip?
https://www.rvadventuretreks.com/60-...a-rv-tour.html
I was supposed to go this year, but my Mother got sick and passed, and my old Dog, a 14 year old retired Guide Dog for the blind got sick and also passed. The owners of the trip were kind enough to honour my price for next year. I'm a little nervous about my 2007 Silverado, even though I love that Truck, I think I'll drop the dough for a newer rig. I think it's a 9,000 mile trip, but it's the trip of a lifetime and I'm looking forward to it.

Originally Posted by Roadpop

I’ve not done that trip, but a buddy of mine did an Alaskan caravan tour last year - not sure if it was the same operator or not. He said it was the trip of a lifetime and very worth it. His experience was that it was hard on a lot of the rigs (both 5th wheels and Class A) due to the roads.

A good friend took his Pinnacle, same year/model as ours, from Tampa to Alaska, with various detours last year. His camper was a mess, from leaky shower that he had to take a bedroom wall out to get to the leaks, blown tire, falling trim, and more. He flat told me, Alaska is beautiful, we should do it, but fly there and rent one .

[Frosty22]

Originally Posted by Markb5900

We did 2 months going to and visiting around Alaska this year.
The worst road by far is in between Dawson city and Chicken AK. If you’re lucky you will average about 30 mph.
Mechanics are few and far between in the more rural parts. In Valdez there is one! I say again One mechanic. Great guy, but knows he’s the only one.
I would be prepared with spare parts. One good spare tire, breaker bar and working jack. Our TT had a valve stem start leaking between Tok and Valdez so I had to change the tire.
Don’t expect cell service unless you’re in a more populated area.
You don’t really need to worry about roads till north of Whitehorse.
In Dawson Creek at the mile 0 sign, they have a sheet of paper that has all the gas stations and campgrounds on the Alcan, pick it up.
Feel free to PM me if you have more questions.

Thank you, good tips. I plan on running as light as possible, everything we don't need is coming out. I've been prepping the Fiver for this, I've added box tube cross members, the Roadmaster slipper springs with shocks, and a reese Goose Hitch. I'll do new Hubs and brakes right before we go. Definitely will have tools and some parts.

[Frosty22]

Originally Posted by jetlag

He flat told me, Alaska is beautiful, we should do it, but fly there and rent one .

That sounds like sound advise. LOL
That's a lot of Rig too, fortunately I'm smaller, I would be even smaller. but the DW had to have this floor plan.

[Kim Gass]

We have done it in a smaller unit. We drove across Canada then up to Dawson City via Whitehorse and then on the Top of the World Highway to Chicken and Tok then to Valdez and over to Homer and up to Denali and Fairbanks backtracked to take the Denali Highway between Cantwell and Paxson then back home via the Stewart Cassiar Highway. We had no issues and found the roads pretty fine even the dirt ones. The Top of the World was getting foam panels installed to insulate the perma frost in hopes of keeping the road evener That said we did not even have a flat tire ( we did on the Yellowhead highway before we got there). We met many caravaners. The idea is not to our liking as its quite scheduled but to those who enjoy not planning and having events it is fine. We met two caravaners who wanted out as they wanted more time than the tour allowed in several places. I believe one left. There was more emphasis on keeping your rig up with the appearance of the Joneses with participants and the places they had to book to accommodate large units were quite ( to me ) unappealing. Basically large serviced parking lots. We sometimes felt ashamed as we were camped in one ( Tok ) and had a dirty but did not wash as they all did. ( we were going to Mc Carthy the next day)

30 mph isn't what we can do on our way to our normal campground in Maine. That is quick.. we can do 23 sometimes mostly 8-16. So viewpoint and experience matters.

We had no issues finding fuel but with a 22 gal tank we had about 300 miles range. We did carry a little extra gas just in case. We often do in the North Maine Woods too but the only time we have had to fill is on the Trans Labrador Highway. Doubt there will be caravans seen there( we did not) as gas stations are 400 miles apart.

Our trip was with the 195 RB.

[JERatte]

I’ll be headed up in 2026, 7700 miles border to border over a 5 month period in a 2022 32RLTS 5th wheel. I get independent suspension installed in a couple of months and I’m in no hurry.

[MoBird]

We have driven from Missouri twice. 15,000 miles in 2015 and 18,000 miles in 2002. Pulled a 18' Jayco TT the first trip and a 24' Jayco TT the second time--both pulled with diesel pickups. 13 and 15 weeks, respectively.

Best advice we ever got---Buy a Milepost book and learn to use it. Amazing info included for anyone driving to Alaska; everything from were gas and diesel are available to what wildlife to watch for in each area to what fish are most prevalent and when is their fishing season for each river or lake you cross! Just amazing and oh, so helpful.

2nd best advice----don't believe everything you read or hear on the internet! Overall, we found road conditions about equal to Missouri state and County roads; some better, some worse. Just SLOW DOWN, watch for Frost Heaves and ENJOY.

Best overall Alaskan Experience---travel part of your trip on the Alaska Marine Highway. Load your rig on one of their ferries and be ready for the experience of a lifetime! We spent 28 days hopping on and off the ferry, and staying several days each in Sitka, Juneau, Ketchikan, Petersburg, and Wrangle. Got on in Prince Rupert and off in Skagway. After traveling and spending significant time in 49 states and most of the Canadian provinces, we still say our time on the Alaska Marine Highway was the ultimate travel experience.

2nd most enjoyable Alaska experience---exploring the waters around Valdez with Captain Fred on the LuluBelle. Super informative and absolutely stunning scenery---everything from watching glaicers calve to being surrounded by pods of enormous humpback whales getting close enough to our boat to tell you they have bad breath when they "spout off"!

Bottom Line---don't worry to much about all the "what ifs". Life is too short to miss out on this amazing experience. You will not regret it. Feel free to private message me if you have questions.

[Capt. Bill]

Originally Posted by Frosty22

Has anybody done this trip?
https://www.rvadventuretreks.com/60-...a-rv-tour.html
I was supposed to go this year, but my Mother got sick and passed, and my old Dog, a 14 year old retired Guide Dog for the blind got sick and also passed. The owners of the trip were kind enough to honour my price for next year. I'm a little nervous about my 2007 Silverado, even though I love that Truck, I think I'll drop the dough for a newer rig. I think it's a 9,000 mile trip, but it's the trip of a lifetime and I'm looking forward to it.

Frosty- having made this trip twice here are some things I would suggest you do- Go up the East side of the Canadain Rockies- Baniff- Lake Louise- Jasper Ice Fields Buy a copy of the Mile Post book & study it. I would carry a spare tire for both units, 10 gal of fuel, good 5 Ton jack with some 2x8 & 2X10 blocks, windshield chip repair kit, & some big sheets of corrugated store under your mattress- to lay on doing road work.


The worst section of roads is from Destruction Bay to Tok. - just slow down on those frost heaves- I was down to 20 mph in some spots! I would take Rt 1 from Watson Lake to Tok- wash up everything there & then take the toad or tow vehicle over the Taylor Hwy to Dawson city- stay overnight have dinner & see the shows- then back over the Taylor to Tok. Leave the RV @ Tok- nice full hook up campground there with wash rack. Be sure to hit the Leird hot springs & Ice house north of Fairbanks, Take Capt Jim's riverboat Discovery cruise on the Tanans & Yukon rivers. Then on down to Denali NP- allow at least 2-3 days there. Hire a bush plane to fly you over Denali, On down to Anchorage & the Kenai Pen - hit Homer & do some Halibut & Salmon fishing- allow a week here- the on back around to Valdez.Come back on the West side of the Rockies- Glacier Nat Park- Canadian & watch the bears feed on the salmon in the river- stay on the USA side & drive over each day. Have fun-


Happy Trails

[Frosty22]

Thanks everyone, sincerely appreciate all your experience. Definitely getting that Milepost book.