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Old 03-08-2023, 11:55 AM   #43
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Lots of good information in your post. Thanks!
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Old 03-08-2023, 12:01 PM   #44
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Cell providers? Not work related, just occasional voice and some streaming. We currently have 3 Verizon devices, and two Verizon jetpacks. Thinking about an ATT device/jetpack for backup. Understand T-Mobile not worth much in Canada/Alaska. Thoughts and recommendations?
Once you get in bigger towns you'll get cell. You won't get it while driving long barren expanses. The farther north you go you normally won't get satellite radio either. Having 2 different phones could be a good idea. We just traveled with a TracFone and I believe it used Verizon. We just told family not to worry. We're having fun! We'll call when we can. We sent postcards!
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Old 03-08-2023, 05:23 PM   #45
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The further north you go the more & more sparse cell service becomes.

If you are one of those people who is addicted to the cellphone & can't survive with at least being able to clutch the thing every few minutes expect some serious withdrawal symptoms.

Some of the best CGs are nowhere near a cell tower. We try to let our primary home contact have an idea of where we plan to be. She has our vehicle description & tag numbers. We are easy to pick out in a crowd. There are very few Alpenlite 5ers around & only ours has a Bermuda beach scene on the front cap. Up north it is not like there are many roads that you can go wandering off on in any known area.

Get out there & enjoy the solitude of being unconnected.
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Old 03-09-2023, 04:40 AM   #46
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Dog Care in RV

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So, I read through this and found it very interesting. You mentioned posting about your experience with you dog in a different thread. I’ve searched several ways and can’t find a thread with that title. I’m bummed, because we are taking both of our dogs this summer. Any hints on how I might find it?
Youy can try here
https://www.irv2.com/forums/f97/dog-...ng-596301.html

and here
https://www.irv2.com/forums/f97/cons...gs-604405.html
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Old 03-10-2023, 12:54 PM   #47
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Cell providers? Not work related, just occasional voice and some streaming. We currently have 3 Verizon devices, and two Verizon jetpacks. Thinking about an ATT device/jetpack for backup. Understand T-Mobile not worth much in Canada/Alaska. Thoughts and recommendations?
ATT is much more generous on data usage going thru Canada. Verizon gives you enough data to check your email, as long as you don't download anything. Their version of throttling = shut you off. We did good with ATT in Canada. In Alaska, our Verizon phones did good, but I think ATT was still better. Our ATT SIM was in a hotspot.
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Old 03-11-2023, 05:06 PM   #48
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As I have said in previous posts we did Whitehorse to Tok on the ALCAN summer 2022 in our 30-foot class A with tow. The road from Destruction Bay to Tok is 100 miles to the border and 100 more to Tok. The drive is the most miserable paved 200 miles I have ever driven. We took 7.5 hours the first time and the second time because we were following a large A it took 6 hours. When the class A bounced we slowed. The problem is the speed limit is 100km. If you go that speed there will be many times you will be glad to have a seat belt. There are potholes, frost heaves, and gravel. A third of our drawers broke. In our experience, 5.5 hours from Whitehorse may be OK in a car and would be very problematic in an RV.
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Old 03-11-2023, 06:46 PM   #49
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As I have said in previous posts we did Whitehorse to Tok on the ALCAN summer 2022 in our 30-foot class A with tow. The road from Destruction Bay to Tok is 100 miles to the border and 100 more to Tok. The drive is the most miserable paved 200 miles I have ever driven. We took 7.5 hours the first time and the second time because we were following a large A it took 6 hours. When the class A bounced we slowed. The problem is the speed limit is 100km. If you go that speed there will be many times you will be glad to have a seat belt. There are potholes, frost heaves, and gravel. A third of our drawers broke. In our experience, 5.5 hours from Whitehorse may be OK in a car and would be very problematic in an RV.
This is really interesting to me as I drove that route 6 times over 3 years and I spent 3 winters and 5 summers in Fairbanks. When I first took that route to Tok, the Canadians construction crews were working on 10's of miles of road way and it was a horror to drive. But I took it slowly with no damage. That's when I learned that those tiny flags on either side of the road were warnings of frost heaves. Also learned to stay way behind other vehicles to avoid rocks and learned to drive slowly. Then as I crossed into Alaska the roads got good all of a sudden. Stayed in Tok for a month, then pushed on to Fairbanks.

This was 2007 thru 2010 seasons.

But my point is that the 3th or 4th trip N-S or S-N the roadwork between the US border and Whitehorse was finished and the drive was pleasant.

What happened!?
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Old 03-11-2023, 10:09 PM   #50
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As I have said in previous posts we did Whitehorse to Tok on the ALCAN summer 2022 in our 30-foot class A with tow. The road from Destruction Bay to Tok is 100 miles to the border and 100 more to Tok. The drive is the most miserable paved 200 miles I have ever driven. We took 7.5 hours the first time and the second time because we were following a large A it took 6 hours. When the class A bounced we slowed. The problem is the speed limit is 100km. If you go that speed there will be many times you will be glad to have a seat belt. There are potholes, frost heaves, and gravel. A third of our drawers broke. In our experience, 5.5 hours from Whitehorse may be OK in a car and would be very problematic in an RV.
Even though there may be a speed limit of 100km (62mph) it doesn't mean you should go that fast and I can't imagine even thinking of driving that fast. I just looked at my notes from that drive. We drove it not over 50 km (31 mph) and much of the time at 25mph. We had no damage. We stopped midway at Lake Creek Provincial Park for the night. We didn't drive far that day and we were in no rush to complete the drive to Tok. This is where we had a moose looking in our front window of the motorhome one evening! We avoided following anyone and when an oncoming vehicle came we pulled over as far as we could and stopped completely. We didn't want any rocks flying at us.
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Old 03-12-2023, 03:12 AM   #51
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I agree 25 to 35 mph is the sensible average speed for the Destruction Bay to Tok drive and that is what we averaged. We observed many frost heaves were not marked with the little black flags thus the rough drive. When we went thru this section in August/September we did not see a single construction crew, unlike the other parts of the ALCAN. We thought might be a funding issue.
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Old 03-12-2023, 03:21 AM   #52
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Just remembered that the speed limit was 90kph, not 100.
Also, there are long stretches where the road is just fine and you are tempted to drive just a little faster, and then boom an unmarked frost heave.
If anything the road teaches you patience. :-)
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Old 03-12-2023, 06:25 AM   #53
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When we traveled to Alaska in 2014 the road North of Whitehorse was in pretty bad shape in quite a few areas and there was plenty of maintenance work going on. I was told that in 2016 the road was in good shape. It seems that it is pretty much impossible to keep it that way for long before the frost heaves take their toll again. We lost a side window to a passing truck on the way home and did get several dings in the windshield along that route. But it was a motorcycle kicking up a single rock on a paved highway in North Dakota that hit the windshield and spread multiple large cracks.

We are hopefully headed up to Fairbanks in late summer and stay as late as we can to see the Northern Lights.
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Old 04-07-2023, 04:39 PM   #54
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Has anyone traveling with dogs to Alaska ever been asked for a health certification form from your vet at the border?
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Old 04-07-2023, 04:58 PM   #55
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Has anyone traveling with dogs to Alaska ever been asked for a health certification form from your vet at the border?
The border crossing into Alaska from Canada is just a kiosk. They lean out and ask you where you're headed and if you're 'Merican and then wave you through. Don't volunteer anything. Don't say, "Hey, you're not doing your job, I have a dog in here!". Or, "NO, I SWEAR, I don't have pot in here!".
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Old 04-07-2023, 05:47 PM   #56
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Has anyone traveling with dogs to Alaska ever been asked for a health certification form from your vet at the border?
Whenever you cross from Canada to the U.S. or vice versa be prepared to have the correct documentation for the dogs and the allowable food, etc. Read the Canadian site thoroughly. It's another country. Why wouldn't you do what is required? Sure, you may have an easy-going official at the crossing but then again, many are not that lenient. Be prepared. It's not difficult. Don't try to hide anything.
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