Community Forums

fl gramps · 10-02-2020, 01:31 PM

I am considering renting a class c in CO and driving to Alaska in lieu of taking a cruise from Vancouver. Cruise tickets $12K.......class c rental tbd

do I need a toad?

I am thinking that motorized bikes and a roll out inflatable boat would be very nice additions.......find a nice place spend a few days....test the water...maybe catch a salmon....definitely test the local lager

40 years ago i rented a class c and drove boston to LA before taking a 4 years assignment in HK........great trip, no problems. That was my only RV experience

I am 78 wife 72 and golden doodle a 8 year old puppy......your thoughts and suggestions appreciated...wife drove 50% initial trip....70% to alaska?

I am thinking that class c is easiest and less complicated than trailers. Yes/no
Class A to me seems intimidating even a small one 30 foot? I recall no problems w gas class C and mountains or air turbulence from high speed semis

Can I get class C ford/chevy/dodge serviced in car dealership for truck problems?

Red Wolf · 10-02-2020, 01:42 PM

Hi Gramps -

You could rent a car when you get to your location. I know a few folks who do that instead of towing their own. Less wear and tear on their car.

My brother was looking at Class C rentals on RVShare.com - they were going for about $250 per day, which is a lot cheaper than $12k for cruise. Plus, you see more of the country.

Check out RVTripWizard.com for trip planning. There's a support forum here on IRV2 for it, as well. It'll help you pick your route, parks to stay in, and route you around short bridges. :-)

-Red

Peat · 10-03-2020, 10:27 AM

We made the Alaska trip, from Kansas, in 2008 in our 30' Class C ('03 Minnie Winnie with the V10). If you haven't already, you should get a copy of The Milepost https://themilepost.com/ as it gives a pretty complete guide to almost everything to see or stop at on the way to Alaska. We did not take a toad and like a lot of things, there were times we wished we had one and other times glad we didn't. We missed several opportunities to see things where we didn't want to take, or weren't able to take, the motorhome, but a lot of the campgrounds only have back-in sites and we would have had to unhook every time we stopped for the night. Also, at least in 2008, a lot of the campgrounds only had 30 amp service and water - had to use the dump site each morning.
It took us 10 days to drive from Kansas to Tok, Alaska, through Calgary up to the ALCAN highway - good roads and several places to get motorhome service. We stopped in Whitehorse and had the oil changed and they had facilities to put the coach up on a lift. There are a lot of areas where there isn't cell phone coverage so we took a portable CB radio for backup.

Have a good time if you decide to take the trip and be ready for a LOT of driving.
Pete

WyoFree · 10-03-2020, 03:31 PM

I think that's a great idea fl gramps,
Except for Red referring to you as on old geezer! Something I would never do myself of course.

Will an RV rental company let you pull a toad? And if you did I couldn’t be four down because your car isn’t equipped for it. So renting a car isn’t a bad choice anyway.

Another thing you may want to consider with all those sleeping accommodations in a Class C? Take another 3 or 4 women along on the trip would sure be nice on those cold Alaskan nights! I'm not in any way trying to undermine your lovely wife. I was just thinking how much those 35 to 40 year old young ladies would enjoy the trip your planning.

Oh... And it will be so nice company for your wife. Yah I could sell that to my wife.

Red Wolf · 10-03-2020, 05:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fl gramps

Can I get class C ford/chevy/dodge serviced in car dealership for truck problems?

I missed this this earlier - the answer is, "it depends". Some Ford dealerships will service Ford chassis RV, some won't. (My local ones won't!)

But there are commercial truck service centers that will work on RV's, and there are body shops that will as well. You can call your local RV dealership and ask them where they recommend for engine work.

Ron Dittmer · 10-03-2020, 11:17 PM

Just make sure COVID19 is over because Canada won't let USA citizens through their country for vacation purposes. You are not allowed to stop anywhere to sightsee, only to sleep and move on to AK. Traveling in a motor home could be a serious problem because the border guard might not believe you.

Fiesta48 · 10-04-2020, 09:44 AM

I'm 72. Was going to AK, until Covid hit. Bought a new 24' Minnie now sitting in back yard. A little cramped since we do have a 41' DP, we pull an Accord. But the Minnie is small enough to park anywhere without pulling.

twogypsies · 10-04-2020, 05:40 PM

When you're ready to plan your Alaska trip be sure to check out the Alaska section of this forum. Lots of good information.

You'll see RVs of all sizes and types on the trip and anything will work. You definitely don't need a diesel. Unless you plan to ride the bike in a town be careful taking it out on more secluded roads. Bears love to chase bikes. Someone posted a picture once.

balijoe7 · 10-06-2020, 01:28 PM

My wife and I are both 77. Last year we drove our 31’ Lazy Daze class C towing a Jeep Cherokee from Alabama to Alaska and back. My wife of 59 years drove exactly 7 miles of the 12,000+ miles. She’s just not comfortable driving the motorhome but she is very comfortable giving me directions! We took our time, 4 month, and we wouldn’t consider going anywhere without the Jeep. That’s just us, we like to explore in places you just can’t take a motorhome plus the convenience of not having to break camp just to go have a nice dinner or lunch and explore the local area. We had a ball and were planning to do it again this year until this COVID thing. Hopefully it will disappear come November and we can do it again next year. By the way, we made very few advanced reservations, sometimes the day before but mostly the day of with the exception of holidays. Not sure how you would tow a car with a rental if you didn’t already have a toad setup. I think a tow dolly would be very inconvenient on a trip like this.

vccomputerguy · 10-06-2020, 03:45 PM

We did the Kansas to Alaska trip with our pickup and rv trailer (we had not changed to our Phoenix Cruiser yet). Wonderful trip! There were only a couple of places we went that a MH wouldn't go. We want to go back again in the MH and not planning to take the Jeep TJ toad at this point. 99% of what we wanted to see or do we could accomplish with our Phoenix Cruiser.
Figure out a way and go to Alaska, you won't regret it!

Ron Dittmer · 10-07-2020, 07:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vccomputerguy

We did the Kansas to Alaska trip with our pickup and rv trailer (we had not changed to our Phoenix Cruiser yet). Wonderful trip! There were only a couple of places we went that a MH wouldn't go. We want to go back again in the MH and not planning to take the Jeep TJ toad at this point. 99% of what we wanted to see or do we could accomplish with our Phoenix Cruiser.
Figure out a way and go to Alaska, you won't regret it!

I have been itching to take our 2007 Phoenix Cruiser 2350 to Alaska. Unlike all our other trips, I would leave our tow vehicle home. It is good to read your report to confirm my decision is a good one.

But we won't plan such a trip for some years. Our grand daughters are very young and very tight with us. My wife and I both have a much bigger itch to maintain that rather than disappear for so long a time. We got time as we are 62 years old. The day will come when our priceless treasures are old enough to retain Grandma's and Grandpa's love and influence during an extended absence. In the mean time, we've taken 2-3 week trips until COVID came along.