Community Forums

wingram · 10-17-2019, 05:49 AM

My first post so i apilogize in advance. Im looking for guidance on our first big voyage from PA to AK. Id like to travel the Trans Can Hwy. My question is simple. I have a f250 diesel and a 36ft 5'er. Is diesel plentiful the whole way? Im pretty sure the mountains will be fine and im not too worried about the road. What else whould i be thinking about?
Thanks in advance.

grindstone01 · 10-17-2019, 08:26 AM

Yes, fuel is available on any route to Alaska. There should be a forum subtitle on Alaska trips, and it has been requested many times in the past. We should all PM our local " iRV2 Administrator"

Pigman1 · 10-17-2019, 09:03 AM

Yes, diesel is readily available in Canada, but be prepared for some sticker shock. We have paid up to $6 (US) a gallon for diesel, especially when you get into the northern regions of BC and Yukon. Do a good internet search and you will find prices posted in most big towns, but just remember they post in $Canadian per liter and the current exchange rate makes a big difference. If you use an American Bank credit card you'll get the best exchange rate rather than play the change money routine. We've been up to Alaska 9 times so far and don't even carry Canadian currency any more. Also remember that buying fuel in remote areas is going to really cost you. Some places even have to generate their own electricity to run the pumps.

Conversion formula is:

Price per liter times 3.785 divided by the current exchange rate equals your price in dollars per gallon.
At a 1.30 conversion rate a Canadian posted price of C$1.50/L=US$ 4.37/gal

PulNSerenity · 10-17-2019, 12:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pigman1

Yes, diesel is readily available in Canada, but be prepared for some sticker shock. We have paid up to $6 (US) a gallon for diesel, especially when you get into the northern regions of BC and Yukon. Do a good internet search and you will find prices posted in most big towns, but just remember they post in $Canadian per liter and the current exchange rate makes a big difference. If you use an American Bank credit card you'll get the best exchange rate rather than play the change money routine. We've been up to Alaska 9 times so far and don't even carry Canadian currency any more. Also remember that buying fuel in remote areas is going to really cost you. Some places even have to generate their own electricity to run the pumps.

Conversion formula is:

Price per liter times 3.785 divided by the current exchange rate equals your price in dollars per gallon.
At a 1.30 conversion rate a Canadian posted price of C$1.50/L=US$ 4.37/gal

Holy smokes!!! $6/gal. ?!? I would put several fuel cans in the bed, fill milk jugs, fill your pockets, what ever it takes!

mjdenn · 10-17-2019, 01:10 PM

Fuel will be substantially cheaper south of the border.

hayward3411 · 10-17-2019, 01:13 PM

I believe that $6.00 Canadian so about $4.15 a gallon US. We went in 2017 no problems with fuel or places to camp. We only made 1 reservation in 2 months and that was July 4th.Enjoy the trip!

Rocketman3 · 10-17-2019, 01:30 PM

This summer we (My parents & I) took our rigs to Alaska. A couple of other points.

In Canada Fuel was expensive , but everything else was cheaper. In Alaska Fuel was cheaper but everything else was more expensive.

Roads were pretty good - there are always sections that needed work a few years ago...

Enjoy

hayward3411 · 10-17-2019, 02:56 PM

Beer is $$$$$ in Canada!

Pigman1 · 10-17-2019, 07:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hayward3411

I believe that $6.00 Canadian so about $4.15 a gallon US. We went in 2017 no problems with fuel or places to camp. We only made 1 reservation in 2 months and that was July 4th.Enjoy the trip!

Actually, that was $6 US a US gallon. It was a few years ago in Whitehorse, YT, and we put in about 130 gallons. Since then fuel has been cheaper, but we're talking $4-5 US in Whitehorse. You'll find that fuel is more expensive the further north you go (we're talking about the large towns and cities, not the roadhouses). The last few years the exchange rate has been a big help, but no one would tell you Canadian diesel is cheap, by any stretch of the imagination. It's a cost of the trip, so just be prepared for it. If you use the Internet you can actually pick the cheaper prices in town. We've seen as much as 40 to 50 cents a gallon variation in the same town, so do your research and pick your station carefully. Just remember the price you see on the sign is in $Canadian PER LITER (close to a quart).

wingram · 10-18-2019, 07:16 AM

Wow!! Really appreciate the feedback. Im pretty happy now that we can enjoy ourselves with very little worrying. I figured it would be more but sometimes ya just gotta suck it up. Thanks again.

MtCamper · 10-24-2019, 07:04 AM

One suggestion is to fill every time you find fuel once you leave Dawson. The Milepost and other guides often list fuel available at places that have since closed. We haven't had any problems, but if you're down 1/4 tank and fuel is available, fill.

Tdave · 10-24-2019, 08:55 AM

Have a great time, last time I made that trip it was 1991 and in the middle of a 1 year odyssey around North America in a 72 VW Camper van, starting from PA.

Me and my buddy made the mistake of wanting to see Alaska in September, before "winter set it." Little did we know that end of September is already winter in Alaska. We realized that after arriving in Dawson and seeing ice everywhere.

If I recall, there is a truck stop in Destruction Bay, in the Yukon, that has diesel. I remember spending the night there and waking up to 3 feet of snow... and out of propane for our heater.

We made it to Tok, about 100 miles over the border into Alaska, and turned around.

You can grab the ferry out of Haines Junction as an alternate route back to the lower 48.

LAKnox · 10-24-2019, 10:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pigman1

Actually, that was $6 US a US gallon. It was a few years ago in Whitehorse, YT, and we put in about 130 gallons. Since then fuel has been cheaper, but we're talking $4-5 US in Whitehorse. You'll find that fuel is more expensive the further north you go (we're talking about the large towns and cities, not the roadhouses). The last few years the exchange rate has been a big help, but no one would tell you Canadian diesel is cheap, by any stretch of the imagination. It's a cost of the trip, so just be prepared for it. If you use the Internet you can actually pick the cheaper prices in town. We've seen as much as 40 to 50 cents a gallon variation in the same town, so do your research and pick your station carefully. Just remember the price you see on the sign is in $Canadian PER LITER (close to a quart).

Right now, there's a 50 cent spread in metro PHX for regular gas and a whopping 90 cent spread on diesel; $2.62 to $3.52. According to GasBuddy...

Lyle

alaskaman1 · 10-24-2019, 11:37 AM

We just returned to Wasila, AK from Mesa, AZ two weeks a, pulling a 36' 5er. Going down we traveled via Edmonton/Calgary entering the states in Montana. That trip was fast and trouble free except for major fog and rain in Canada.

Returning a week later a winter storm came down through Montana, Idaho and Eastern Washington, we diverted into Oregon, up through Spokane and entered BC at Oroville/Osoyoos.

We stayed ahead of snow all the way up, but diesel fuel was, as mentioned above, expensive, as in $5.50/US, and I was getting 8 MPG on a good day.

The road from Destruction Bay through Glenallen, AK was horrible, frost heaves that were not visible caught us by surprise many times. In the end the damage to the 5er included both pendant lights above the island broken, lights dropped from the ceiling, the rear couch evidently bounced so much it broke both window regulating knobs off the back windows, the inside shower door of a 3 door slider shattered when the latch failed. We never were going over 60 mph.

We're trying to get a replacement shower door panel, so far the only option from a supplier in the lower 48 is a full 3 panel set, $488 plus $1,000 shipping - that's not a typo, one thousand.

My advice is ensure everything is secure, duct tape sliding doors! This was my 8th ALCAN drive in large moving vans and POV's pulling car haulers, etc, so I'm not a first timer.