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Alcan Highway report.
Having just arrived in Tok, AK the Alcan has been much better than anticipated. Joining it near Ft St John it’s been very good all the way to Whitehorse, Yukon. Even the warnings for the frost heaves can be ignored as we ran at 60-65 mph all the way. There were only 4 or 5 1/4 miles sections of gravel in this first 900 miles. Fortunately north of Ft Nelson they had plowed the 8+ inches of snow as it would have been rough going otherwise. We’ve had freezing temps for the last week. The first 20 miles out of Whitehorse is pretty bad and then from Burwash Landing to the AK border it’s pretty bad in spots, but they are well marked. You learn real quick if there is a white line across the road you need to slow down to 40 mph as that’s a section they are going to repair.
We are driving a 10 year old E450 30’ Class C with a V10 that’s getting 9 mpg. Fortunately it has a 50+ gallon tank as many of the places along the Alcan are still closed… some are not going to open ever. The road from the AK border to Tok is good with a few frost heaves. Fuel is less expensive in Alberta at $1.20/Liter and the most we paid was $1.50/L with the average closer to $1.40 Fuel in Tok is $4.05/gallon.
We started this trtip in Las Vegas 11 days ago and 3100 miles ago. We visited Bryce, Tetons, Yellowstone, West Glacier, Baniff, Lake Louise, and Jasper on the way up before getting on the Alcan. We have another 9 days to explore AK before turning the MH in at ANC.
We found the free 2012 Alaska Highway & connecting routes booklet more up to date and easier to use than the Mile Post book. There are not may miles markers along the Alcan so unless you keep up with where you are, it has way too much detail.
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Ivylog
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05/20/12 11:16am |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: tires
Ken, I'm in the exact same situation with a 04 Dynasty with late 02 GY Marathon's. These tires which were made in Germany have a very good rep in Europe unlike the US made G670's. Having put all but the first 4K miles out of 55K on my Marathon's and being anal about my tires: weights/pressures/use/storage/inspections/tpms/tire temps, I replaced my two front tires (with 315's) before going on a long trip out West two years ago. Unfortunately those tires that were $500 are now $700 so price wise I should have replaced all of them. Not sure how much longer I'll run the rear tires.
I would suggest putting Firestone FS400 315's on the front. On the rear you do not need 16 ply tires as it's easy to get the drive axle at 20,000 lbs so 5K/tire. Same with the tag as it's carrying even less per tire.
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Ivylog
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05/09/12 05:59am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Spare tire for diesel pusher?
"Both methods fraught with danger to those below." :S
Have you ever done this? We are not talking a mounted spare which would be interesting. Unfortunately I've had to do it several times and letting it hit close to flat on the ground is the best way.
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Ivylog
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05/07/12 05:05pm |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: Analysis of battery/charging times using generator...
My 2000Watt inverter/charger will only charge 60amps max (not the rated 100) and I have 800 amp hours of AGMs. I'd buy another charger and split your battery bank.
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Ivylog
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05/07/12 04:56pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Safety Chains - extending
YES
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Ivylog
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05/06/12 08:35am |
Towing
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RE: Spare tire for diesel pusher?
OP, if it's a 275/70/22.5 I would buy a used one and carry it unmounted on the roof as that is not a common truck size. At a large truck tire shop when I had that size and need a tire they actually laughed when asked if they had one. You should be able to fine a used one for $100 which is pretty cheap insurance.
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Ivylog
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05/06/12 08:34am |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: Help with a question about House batteries not charging
Call Monaco (800-634-0855) tomorrow and they can help you find your problem. You'll need a meter and the last six of your vin #.
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Ivylog
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05/06/12 06:22am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Better to have the hitch too high or too low?
If behind a PU then lower as it needs more weight on the rear. If behind a wagon or SUV then higher as they do not need extra weight on the rear. Actually you have too much time on your hands to worry about 1/4" difference.
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Ivylog
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05/05/12 02:26pm |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Spare tire for diesel pusher?
Your 39' DP probably has a 275/22.5 which is not that common a tire. I carry a unmounted spare on the roof. At my shop I use a BobCat but on the road I've used my 30amp cord to drag it up the ladder. On a previous DP I carried one around a vent in the center of the roof without even tying it down. You do need to put a short peice of hose under it to keep water from comming in the vent. On this DP I carry a 295/80/22.5 at the back as there is not room anywhere else. Getting it down is easy enough as you just roll it off with someone to stop it or drop it so it lands flat. I do use a strap from the ladder to keep this one in place. I protect it by wrapping in alum foil and plastic wrap.
http://i28.tinypic.com/14l5yrl.jpg width=640
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Ivylog
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05/05/12 02:11pm |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: 50/30 amp adapters
Rarely will you find a MH with anything that's 240V so the adapter has a Y that feeds both of the 120V lugs in the 50amp with four blades.
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Ivylog
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05/05/12 05:51am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Engine Brake
Uses the same amount of fuel as using your regular brakes.
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Ivylog
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05/05/12 05:37am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Dinghy towing has someone been pull over being to long
I would not worry about an extra five feet as you see 45' DPs pulling huge trailers. At least with the Jeep if stopped you could have the DW drive it until the next state. I sometimes pull a 30' trailer that puts me 10' over length in GA and Fl and have yet to even have them look at me.
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Ivylog
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05/05/12 05:11am |
Dinghy Towing
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RE: Possible Purchase
If you need help with a item, call 800-634-0855 as the new LLC still has many of the same service people. Give them the las 6 of the vin and they can answer any question.
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Ivylog
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05/05/12 04:38am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Dry camping gen set
The RV generators are good units but not designed for 24/7 for long periods of time. What I mean is that a new well maintained unit could run for days on end but will wear out quicker.
They are dependable and I'm sure that some will step in and say different but I know what a continuious run generator is, GMies and CATs are designed to run forever and all you have to do is add oil and fuel.
His older diesel generator probably has a Kubota engine and while it doe not say GM or CAT it will run 24/7 without making it wear out sooner than the normal 20,000 hours... the same as a CAT.
OP, if fit's hot at night then run it as your neighbors are probably running theirs. Agree with making an exhaust extension for $17 as shown in this post.
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Ivylog
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05/04/12 04:51am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Towing Boat with Class A
I would worry about the hitch only being rated for 3000 lbs.
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Ivylog
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05/03/12 04:25am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Best full service ,private, RV park near Jackson,Wyoming
"Need a good base camp with full comforts" unfortunately you'll pay $60-$70 for some of the sorriest CG's around. I'll boondock before paying that much for so little.
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Ivylog
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05/01/12 08:03pm |
RV Parks, National Parks, State Campgrounds & More
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RE: Sumitomo Tires 275 70r22.5
With all the problems with Michelin XRV's and their lack of support, no way will I buy another Michelin. A big price does not always mean a good tire. XRV's that blew up sitting still and GY G670 and their Rivering problems comes to mind.
OP, for the couple dollars more I would have gone with the Firestones.
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Ivylog
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05/01/12 07:29pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Residential fridge
If you boondock a lot you will need more batteries and I would recomend a seperate Pure Sinewave Inverter on the extra batteries to run just the new refer. A counter depth unit should fit in the door while others have to go in through the windshield or a large side window.
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Ivylog
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05/01/12 07:23pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Sumitomo Tires 275 70r22.5
"They only downside, was the RV felt a bit twitchy" You may have too much air in them as this will make a new tire not handle right. Many truck tire places put the max amount of air in them which is fine for a semi but not a MH. After you put a 1000 miles on them the higher pressure does not make as big a difference.
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Ivylog
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04/30/12 05:23pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: This MH is cooking my goose!
By putting a manual shutoff valve on a heater hose and removing the cap tube from the evaporator I rarely have to run my genny and roof AC. Those automatic shut of valves are know to leak hot water and cycling the AC compressor does keep the evaporator from freezing up but cuts down on the amount of cooling. Out West with the low humidity this is not a problem and even in the East it usually take 4-6 hours before mine freezes up and the air flow drops off. Turning the compressor off for 1/4 hour usually is all that's needed to make it through the rest of the day. If you do not want to pull the cap tube out, then remove the connector and put a spade fuse in it.
When it's going to be 100 out I do turn on the front AC so all I have to do is hit the generator start button to add the front AC.
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Ivylog
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04/30/12 05:13pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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