Alaska in 2012 Or 2013

[DCTENT]

My Wife & I want to Rv to Alaska, We are thinking of caravan being it's our first time, Has anyone Caravaned to Alaska & Whom should We contact?. Any info will be appreciated.

[GaryKD]

Hi DCTENT,
Consider posting your question in another part of iRV2. On the iRV2 main page, scroll down to the RV CAMPING FORUM. This is about 1/3 the way down the main menu. Inside there is a forum about Crossroads - About Traveling. This forum may provide some results for your question.

[OLYLEN]

We did this trip last summer. Read a bit, buy a couple books and go for it, no need for a caravan unless you feel the need for a specific itinerary. DO NOT take your MH over the top of the world hyway, we did and it is really dusty or muddy one of the two. The road itself is not bad, ruff. Do a bit of the pull off camping by the beautiful scenes, lakes and mountains. Take you time and read all the threads on the trips others have taken and you will miss nothing.

LEN

[DCTENT]

Thanks To Both Gary & Olylen!

[mr300ce]

I recently read a thread about the dust on some long dirt roads. It clogged the air filters and eventually caused the engine to fail. Keep an eye on that, and carry spares to swap out, then clean dirty ones when you can.

[larry koenn]

DCTENT

I have friends who have used a caravan service and didn't like it all. You have to stay on their schedule, and it's expensive. The roads are good and there are plenty of services all along the way. The wilderness is gone.

We've made the trip 11 times. You didn't say where you would cross the Canadan border but work your way up towards Edmonton, and then onto the Alcan (97). And then (1) and (97) at Watson Lake to Alaska. I agree, if you like your motorhome don't go to the top of the world. It's just not worth it. Once you're in Alaska go on to Fairbanks or Anchorage, the roads are all good in Alaska. The last day in Canada you will have to slow down due to frost heaves on the road, they normally start around Lake Kluane. We normally hold our speed to 35 to 40 miles per hour that last day. Most are marked but not all. (little red flags)

Sounds like you will be over length for BC, (65') you may want to get a permit. I don't think they would bother you but you never know. Google the Canadan DOT.

The other thing: Gas and diesel cost is much higher in Canada so you may want to run across the northern US a bit.

Get a new copy of the Milepost, it's a must have. There are plenty of CGs on the Alcan and also plenty of wide spots on the road to just pull off and sleep for the night.

The other option going or coming is the Cassiar Highway. (37) But as you can see on the map, there are not a lot of towns or services in the northern section. Both the Cassiar and Alcan are now 100% paved. There will always be a short section where they are working on the road though.

Have a great trip, like I said, we've made eleven round trips and can't
wait to go again this year.

Larry

[Rich and Cork]

We plan to leave home about May 1 and be back home first part of July. Looks like they had a pretty cold winter up there this year; should be interesting. We are really looking forward to the trip. We travel alone.

[1ciderdog]

We and two other RV's took the trip about three years ago and I'm thinking 2013 will be do able for us. Most often we simply parked along side the road for our over night stops. We used RV parks about every three or four nights to dump tanks and fill up H2O. We did the top of the world highway and will pass on that on our next trip. We started seeing black bear with in 100 miles of the US Canada border and lots of wildlife the rest of the trip. Was GREAT!! We would not consider on of the caravans that have scheduled arrangements simple because we don't want to be "scheduled".
Safe Travels
Bob

[matt.brown]

Headed to Alaska this summer for a two month excursion. Wife and I are going it alone, we like the freedom of seeing what we want when we want. After 22 years of Naval service, kind like being on my own schedule for a change.

First I've heard about air filter issues. Maybe I should toss one in before leaving?

Have a great trip! I'm sure either way will be great!

[mrschwarz]

We are headed that way, too. No set schedule, just some general dates and places. In the next few months, we'll be studying the Mile Post and Mike and Terri Church's books.

Hadn't planned on carrying extra filters. I may add that to the list of things to bring.

[Bob and Inga]

DCTENT,

If the cost of a caravan is not an issue, then go for it. There are lots of outfits that do it so some research is in order. But FMCA has partnered with an outfit for FMCA members only caravans and is a place to start. We did a 48 day caravan with Fantasy in '08 and are glad we did. There were lots of things that we would have missed or opted out on because of weather. As they were paid for we did them anyway. Glad we did.

We had 22 rigs in our group, 1 class B, 1 Airstream, 1 truck camper, 1 5th wheel and the rest were all A's pretty well split between gas and DP's. While there we some problems, most were of a minor nature. Only the C had tire problems and it had the original tires on it and it was (looked like it to me) overloaded.

We met great new friends that we have kept in touch with to this day. We just met up with two of them last Friday for breakfast. Also, while the Top of the World highway is not the best of roads, I cannot see not doing it. Dawson was one of the highlights of the tour, we saw Jack London's cottage, took a guided walking tour of the town with entry to many locked historic buildings and also a guided tour of a dredge. So I say if it won't break the bank then go for it.

Bob