2inAlabama
Huntsville, AL
Senior Member
Joined: 01/08/2008
View Profile
 Offline
|
Is it advisable to travel across Canada into Alaska without special equipment, i.e., CB radio, extra tires for TV/TT, generator. I don't have any of these but would like to travel from N. Dakota across Saaskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia into Alaska, then back down the coast. How far apart are the towns? Are the roads paved and patrolled? In other words, if you have problems, are you on your own or is help close by? What special equipment would one need and how self-sufficient would one need to be? How much fuel would one need to carry?
Just DH & DW
'02 Allegro Phaeton, 300 hp Cummins, Freightliner
|
car nut
B.C Canada
Full Member
Joined: 08/26/2009
View Profile
Offline
|
The only thing We brought when we went was a spare for both vehicles,5 gals of extra diesel,fat wallet to buy fuel and all the normal stuff.Sounds like a good trip....Enjoy.
2007 Triple e Commander
2011 F350
|
garym114
Bluff Dale, Texas
Senior Member
Joined: 07/24/2006
View Profile
Offline
|
A generator would be good to have to charge. Most Alaskan state and NFS campgrouds do not have power.
2000 Sea Breeze F53 V10 - CR-V Toad
Some RV batteries live a long and useful life, most are murdered.
Get a Digital Multimeter and Learn How to Use It
|
MARKW8
Akron OH
Senior Member
Joined: 03/09/2004
View Profile
Good Sam RV Club Member
Offline
|
When we went in 08 with our truck camper, we didn't really take anything that wasn't normally there. The only thing was I changed the belts on the truck and took the old ones with us. We only took the factory spare and didn't need it. 12,200 miles total. We went as far as the Arctic Circle.
Mark
|
Luke Porter
Not on the road :(
Senior Member
Joined: 10/03/2000
View Profile
|
You should have a spare tire/wheel for each tire type.
Threre are plenty of folks behind you making the same trip you are. Hundreds each day. Many or most of them will stop and and offer help. You might even get some folks fighting over who helps you.
Yep, actually drove to all of these places---in the last eight years. Missed Rhode Island and New Jersey.
.
|
|
|
skipnchar
Topeka or somewhere else
Senior Member
Joined: 12/17/2003
View Profile
|
No more reason for those items in Alaska than anywhere else. We certainly took nothing we didn't take anywhere we traveled, nor did we NEED anything else. rocks there are no sharper than in the lower states, just as many paved roads there and folks traveling or living there are very prone to helping anyone having a problam (probably MORE than most places). I certainly agree you should have a spare tire (traveling ANYWHERE). Good luck / Skip
2011 F-150 HD Ecoboost 3.5 V6. 2550 payload, 17,100 GCVWR -
2004 F-150 HD (Traded after 80,000 towing miles)
2007 Rockwood 8314SS 34' travel trailer
US Govt survey shows three out of four people make up 75% of the total population
|
alaskan-rver
Anchorage, AK
Senior Member
Joined: 09/25/2005
View Profile
Offline
|
I think you're falling into the mindset that a trip of Alaska is like Afghanistan, but with grizzly bears!
You don't NEED a CB, or a sat phone. That said, remember that in the mountains (which is pretty much everything past Edmonton) cell phone coverage is spotty to non-existent.
Just about all the main roads are paved. Probably your best bet would be to get a copy of the Milepost book, and use that to educate yourself and start planning your trip. The gravel roads are usually well-maintained, and you can maintain 30-60 mph on them.
"Towns" can take on a different meaning up here. Some are really small (like 100 people), with virtually no rural population to also support. Therefore, shopping and service options are pretty minimal.
I would recommend having a spare tire for your TV and trailer. If you don't, and suffer a blowout, here's what could happen: Either you bum a ride into "town" (see above), or pay out the nose for a tow. Then, if you are particular on what brand of tire you want and they don't have it in their limited stock, the garage can gladly get it for you. You'll just have to wait several days in this one-moose town for it to come in on the next shipment.
If you can carry enough gas to make it 200 miles, you should be good in most instances. Like previous posters have said, many public campgrounds don't have site electricity, and boondocking is a great way to travel. It's rarely warm enough that you need air conditioning, it hardly gets dark (so you don't need many lights), and there's probably no TV reception, anyway! So, besides the microwave, you may not need that much AC power. With a little pre-planning, you can leapfrog your way from private campgrounds with hookups.
Your best bet is to have your rig in good working condition before you start. Have a descent set of tools, and don't be surprised if somewhere in the 10,000 mile trip you end up having to change a tire. I think you'll find that the people are friendly and willing to help you out should you end up in any kind of distress.
|
sue.t
Ibex Valley, Yukon
Senior Member
Joined: 08/05/2004
View Profile
|
There are tourists on the road in all types of vehicles doing all types of camping. Seeing lots of cars with tenters pulling into the state campgrounds. Small cars not uncommon. Plenty enough tents in the commercial campgrounds too.
Some folks on bicycles pedalling the Alaska Highway. Lots on Harleys doing the drive of a lifetime and resting their poor tired butts overnight in tents.
It all depends on what kind of travel you like to do. Some folks get by with bare essentials and some like their luxuries. Do make sure you have a good spare for your vehicle. Likely no need to carry extra fuel unless you like to explore out of the way places.
DH likes to fish so we carry kayaks too. Usually drycamp in remote spots with a visit every 7-10 days to the "city" to cleanup humans, clothes, etc. and to get some more groceries.
sue t.
Pictures from our many RV Adventures to Yukon & Alaska
|
joe b.
Florida
Senior Member
Joined: 08/24/2002
View Profile
 Online
|
The Alaska Hwy is no longer a remote wilderness gravel road. It is now, for the most part, a good paved two lane highway through a beautiful remote wilderness. A big difference IMHO. Take what ever you would take on any long trip, be it a cross country in the Lower 48 or across Canada. We no longer carry a generator, as there are very few things in life that perturb me more than being out in the Canadian or Alaska wilderness camping beside a lake or stream and have to listen to the sound of a generator, your's or mine. As mentioned above with the other good comments, there really is not much need for a generator, IMHO, anyway with a little preplanning. We carry two coffee pots, one for the stove and one for when we are plugged into power. Beyond that there is nothing I know of that we need 120 volt electricity for in the rig. If it is one of the hot smoky summers, we plan our stops at commercial campgrounds where we can plug in. On our 2004 trip, it was 94F the afternoon we pulled into Whitehorse, AC was required by us. LOL Now if I was going to camp for several days at a remote dry site, I might take my Honda 2000i generator with us but seldom do we stay more than two nights at the same dry spot and my battery power is fine for that.
On edit: I have been trying to think of anywhere on the Alaska Hwy that fuel is not available about every 100 miles, normally closer together than that. On the Cassiar, Hwy 37, the stretch between Bell II and Kitwanga is about 150 miles if a person doesn't visit Stewart-Hyder and fuel up in Stewart. Then you are looking at about 100 miles apart again. Not sure what size fuel tank is on your Tundra but at 10 mpg towing, you only need between 10 and 15 gallons of fuel to make it between stations. With the closing of many of the old roadhouses, it is more important than ever to drive on the uppper half of your fuel tank. Top off when you get the chance. In the towns along the way, try to check out the prices as they can vary greatly, such as in Haines Junction.
Most of the tire problems I have seen over the last 48 years of driving the Alaska Hwy have been on trailers, TT and 5th wheels. It seems that the manufactorers of trailers are getting much better about putting the proper sized tires and running gear under them so much less of a problem with the newer rigs. If I decided to drag my 5th wheel up to Alaska next summer, I will take a spare for the truck, a mounted spare for the trailer and an unmounted tire for the trailer. (just in case one of the factory originals pop on me)
Here is a photo of the Alaska Hwy just north of Watson Lake about 20 miles. Most, 90%, I would guess is this good with other sections not so good. (Burwash Landing to the Alaska border) Just slow down and all will be good. There has always been sections of road construction in different stretches of the highway and will continue to be so, IMHO, due to the climate in the winter.
This one is farther up the road. 
Some of the frost damage and the orange/red markers put up by the highway crews.
* This post was
edited 08/26/10 06:12am by joe b. *
joe b.
Stuart Florida
Formerly of Colorado and Alaska
Dodge/TCD - Rockwood 8281 SS 5th Whl & 2008 Lance 845 TC
www.pajbcooper.com web site
Alaska Trip 2011 - now posted.
Alaska-Colorado&others, photos
"Without challenge, adventure is impossible".
|
2inAlabama
Huntsville, AL
Senior Member
Joined: 01/08/2008
View Profile
Offline
|
I would not even consider leaving home without spare tires for both my TV & TT. I am well equipped for camping in campgrounds with power and water. Thanks for your help.
|
|
|
|
