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Hikerdogs · 01-22-2014, 01:12 PM

There are plenty of things to see on the way. Whitehorse is a great place to visit as well as several of the provincial parks along Icefields Parkway. Jasper and Banff are spectacular. Be sure to stop and take the "Bus" ride on the Athabasca Glacier. The bus is built on a mining truck chassis with tires about 6' high and 4' wide. It goes down about a 30% grade out onto the glacier. The bus is capable of climbing and descending a 32% grade and the drivers love to show off what it can do.

However you choose to get there you won't be disappointed. We've been there 3 times (2 by motorhome, once by cruise ship). We spent 2 months there last year in our new motorhome. When we got back we were tired and said "glad that's over" Now only a few months later we're thinking about going back again.

Both motorhome trips were in a gas powered Winnebago Adventurer. The first was in our 2001 the second in our 2013. The ride was quiet and enjoyable both times. There were no problems with power, stability, ride quality, or excess noise. All gas motorhomes are not created equal. We put over 100,000 enjoyable miles on our last motorhome and already have over 11,000 miles on our new one.

smiller · 01-22-2014, 01:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hikerdogs

When we got back we were tired and said "glad that's over" Now only a few months later we're thinking about going back again.

Funny how that happens so often in an RV.

Daveinet · 01-27-2014, 06:27 PM

You have probably talked to all the wrong people/dealers about renting. Look here:
Renegade Rentals
If I'm not mistaken, they do not charge for mileage, so it makes the rental very affordable. 4 weeks $6700 bucks, there is no way you could recover that by purchasing and reselling. Don't know if you have ever been inside a Renegade, but they are incredibly well built nice machines.

MRUSA14 · 01-27-2014, 08:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hikerdogs

There are plenty of things to see on the way. Whitehorse is a great place to visit as well as several of the provincial parks along Icefields Parkway. Jasper and Banff are spectacular. Be sure to stop and take the "Bus" ride on the Athabasca Glacier. The bus is built on a mining truck chassis with tires about 6' high and 4' wide. It goes down about a 30% grade out onto the glacier. The bus is capable of climbing and descending a 32% grade and the drivers love to show off what it can do.

All these things and more are wonderful, except that he won't have time to see them and see Alaska too. This trip is not a four week trip, it is an 8-12 week trip. To cram this into 4 weeks will be a disaster.

Hikerdogs · 01-28-2014, 07:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MRUSA14

All these things and more are wonderful, except that he won't have time to see them and see Alaska too. This trip is not a four week trip, it is an 8-12 week trip. To cram this into 4 weeks will be a disaster.

I was just listing some of the options that are available on the way to and from Alaska. Since it isn't a 1 day trip they're going to have to stay somewhere unless they plan to drive straight through. Some of the campgrounds in and around Jasper or Banff might make a good stopping point. The scenery itself is spectacular whether you're stopping for the night or just driving through. Whitehorse is one of the biggest towns around. There are lots of services, campgrounds, and grocery stores.

You're right about not having time to visit all the attractions along the way. We've been to Alaska a couple times in our motorhome. Both times for several months and still haven't had time to see everything we wanted to. However if you don't know what's along the way you may miss the one thing that makes the whole vacation memorable.

winniman · 01-28-2014, 04:59 PM

We did a trip from Huntsville Ontario to Newfoundland last summer. We had three weeks vacation. We clocked 10,ooo km, about 6000 miles on our trip. We spent 4300 dollars in fuel. Luckily we didn't have much in the way of mechanical troubles other than a flat tire and some minor stuff. My coach is a 2000 winne adventurer. Plan on putting on more miles than what you think. You will want to venture off the trail to see things. I agree with the others that four weeks is not enough time for that long a trip. We travelled almost every day except for a couple of two day stops. The motorhome was definitely the way to see Newfoundland as there is not many motels and car rentals ect. are hard to find in spots. Im sure you would find the same in Alaska. If I had to do that long a trip again I would either have twice as much time or fly there and rent a motorhome. If you are the only driver, you will be dead. We had three drivers who are all experienced motorhome drivers, and it still seemed like a lot of driving in a short period of time. good luck on your trip

Ed S · 01-28-2014, 05:24 PM

Close to home rental for you. You may want to drive over towards Rockford to see.
Renegade Motorhome Rental For Sale

Hope all works out for you.

Dr4Film · 01-28-2014, 05:31 PM

If you want to travel and spend time in Alaska, then fly, rent and drive for the time you have allotted.

Trust me, I have driven the from CA to Alaska and back. Then again from Florida to Alaska and back to CA. 4 weeks is not near enough time. If you're going to pound the pavement then why go if you can't spend the time to see and do the things you want to both on the way and back plus driving around the state of Alaska. I have spent two summers in Alaska, 2010 and 2012 and there is still a ton that we haven't seen. Our next trip will be in 2015.

When I travel to Alaska, it takes 9 days for me once I cross the Canadian Border to cross the border back into Alaska. It's the same on the return trip. Yes, you can do it quicker and non-stop BUT what fun is that.

That's 18 days leaving you 10 days to see Alaska and whatever days to get home from the border.

I hate to bust your bubble but you'd be better off either waiting until you have the time to enjoy the ride or fly and rent. When I was still working, I would fly everyplace I needed to go as the time was short with lots to do.

Now that I am retired with plenty of time, I enjoy the ride and if there happens to be a place we want to stay a little longer than planned, we can afford it.

When working and on vacation, it was get me there quick to have fun and then get me home quick to go back to work.

Best of luck on whatever you decide and safe travels.

Dr4Film ----- Richard

SteveUpp · 01-29-2014, 07:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daveinet

You have probably talked to all the wrong people/dealers about renting. Look here:
Renegade Rentals
If I'm not mistaken, they do not charge for mileage, so it makes the rental very affordable. 4 weeks $6700 bucks, there is no way you could recover that by purchasing and reselling. Don't know if you have ever been inside a Renegade, but they are incredibly well built nice machines.

This looks like the perfect rental RV for such a trip. I know many people have been saying its too far... I know, but my wife and I have a history of not being shy of taking long road trips... and for a number of reasons, she really really wants to go. Even if we don't get a ton of time there, the scenery on the drive up should be awesome.

MartySQ · 01-29-2014, 08:12 PM

I had forgotten about this when this thread started, but a conversation with my Brother in law reminded me... my Mother in law and her husband bought a used RV (older but in pretty good shape) for a trip they took from Kansas to Florida in a round about manner visiting family along the way. Plan was to sell it when they came back as they didn't intend to be "campers" it just seemed cheaper than motels the whole way. They would have had a good deal if the leaf springs hadn't broke on them far away from home and help. Needless to say, it turned out more expensive in the long run.

I wouldn't rush the Alaskan adventure... you can come back to the main 50 later and see stuff, but Alaska is a long way away and you will likely never get back there and probably will regret not doing that up properly. Just my 2 cents worth!

bluepill · 01-29-2014, 08:28 PM

Consider the cost of sales tax if you are in a state that charges it. It can run into the thousands if you buy, and you will never get any benefit from it.

Your trip sounds too ambitious to me, as far as time for all the miles. You may end up souring everyone on the RV experience. Maybe a run to the western states with their wonderful National Parks would be a better for a first time out.

If you drive a class C and stay in campgrounds like KOA that have cabins, you can ease the sleeping and bathroom crush by putting people in the cabins.

Whatever you choose, enjoy the adventure!!

YZF571 · 01-30-2014, 07:21 PM

Hi, I didn't read all of the posts so forgive if this is repeated info. I rented several years before I bought a used Class A. One thing to be ware of is that most companies, or individuals (I have done business with both) will pass on the cost all of the failures, break downs, etc. to you if at all possible. Read the fine print, I have been fortunate and not been stuck badly but have been forced to pay for items that really weren't (as determined by me) my responsibility. As far as owning one, in spite of the fact that I pay to store it, insure it, don't use it nearly often enough, and I break, wreck, or otherwise repair or replace something everytime I do use it............I wouldn't have it anyother way. I imagine anyone owning anything you would trust to embark on an adventure such as you have in mind would want an enormous deposit, and would charge a ridulous fee. The use fee, the fuel fee, the miles fee and gen fee would be insane. I typically would get (as I recall) 100 free mile a day, and one or two free gen hours per day. After that .30 per mile, and dollars per hour gen use. I'd roll the dice, buy smart a late 90's early 2000's large class A gasser, buy smart hope for the best and expect the worse. I orinarily expect to put 1K in services, breakage, failures in 5K of use. But then again I tend to be hard on mine as I use it strictly as a base to have fun out of. Mainly MotoCross racing, but also do lots of mountain biking, hiking, rafting, climbing, these activities put me off the beaten path in pretty rough enviorments. I would think you could purchase for 20K best case senario spend 1500.00 or so maintaining it on a trip such as that and resell for say 15K. That 6500 to 7500 is a ton cheaper than the big $ associated with a lease/rental unit. On the other hand you could buy a money pit too..........................
Best of luck either way.

plasma800 · 01-30-2014, 07:28 PM

Buy one... Exactly what you want for the next 5 to 10, and love it.

Problem there is it takes many more months of researching and even then, you don't know what annoys you about a rig until you've spent some time in it. If you're on a short schedule, what's the harm in renting ??? Heck with it, get out and live.. And god speed, that many miles in an rv for the first time is a "trip" man, not like in I'm taking a trip, but in like, wow what just happened, that was a trip!

Rent one for a weekend and go someplace close, cause the "ropes" have a learning curve. And I'm a feet first jumper who took a 4000 mile trip right out if the gate!

plasma800 · 01-30-2014, 07:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bluepill

Consider the cost of sales tax if you are in a state that charges it. It can run into the thousands if you buy, and you will never get any benefit from it.

Your trip sounds too ambitious to me, as far as time for all the miles. You may end up souring everyone on the RV experience. Maybe a run to the western states with their wonderful National Parks would be a better for a first time out.

If you drive a class C and stay in campgrounds like KOA that have cabins, you can ease the sleeping and bathroom crush by putting people in the cabins.

Whatever you choose, enjoy the adventure!!

He's right. We have a saying in our rv

"Time expands"

Everything takes longer than you think it will, every time!

Every stop, very fuel stop, every lunch, every wrong turn, every bit of unforeseen road construction, every border stop, every mountain, every hill, every crappy stretch of rough road, every time you park, stop, sleep, it all slows you down like crazy.

Time expands