Off to Alaska Soon YES in FEBRUARY

[fulltimedaniel]

I know this will sound strange but there is a good chance that I will accept a job in Fairbanks for the summer that will require me to leave Tucson very soon to start the trip north.

However it means that I have to be in Fairbanks by the 19th of March.

I tow my 33 foot travel trailer with my new 2016 Dodge 4x4 Cummins. This will be its 2nd trip to Alaska since I bought it last April.

For all of those who wonder about going to Alaska and the road and all of that other stuff..stay tuned. I will report back here at every opportunity with photos and commentary about the trip and how I handled it.

Keep in mind that in late Feb/Early March it will definitely be WINTER still for much of the trip especially that portion on the Alaska Hwy.

Now to be fair I have to admit that I have driven the hwy in winter before...in 1972/3 when I was re-stationed from Biloxi, MS to Elmendorf AFB in Anchorage.

Hopefully the posts will be informative as well as entertaining.

[slickest1]

I think you will be fine.Just watch the road conditions and forecasts and if a big storm is coming through wait it out. I have been in Northern Alberta( Ft. Mcmurray) and drove my Dodge Cummins when it was -50 celcius. It was a long stretch between fuel stops but no problem. I always carried 2 5 gal jugs of winter diesel. just in case there was an accident or other road closure that I had to sit out. I always carried a set of chains just in case and never needed them.
The propane will be fine,it is usually the regulator that will freeze up.
We left Alberta to head south a few times with our truck and fiver and just left it winterized.We were coming home one time in our Motorhome and had not winterized it and the black tank and grey had stuff in them. Needless to say they were froze solid at the dump valves and I had to wait for a few weeks for them to thaw. The biggest thing there was no dump stations open.

I hauled logs in the north country in that kind of weather and you just have to be paying attention to what is going on and use common sense when you travel on snowy roads and cold temps.
Good luck and let us know the details.

[profdant139]

Daniel, I have heard of it being so cold that various parts of a brass monkey are endangered. I had never heard of it being so cold that your steering wheel gets all puckered up. That is a great story!

[AKsilvereagle]

As on an earlier post....the OP had stated he was going to use Shell Rotella T6 brand, which is a 5W40 diesel engine blend that is fully synthetic.

As my youngest vehicle is a 1976 Lincoln Mark IV and never owned anything newer, I only run semi synthetic 10W30 Valv-O-Line during the winter months....and run straight weight SAE 30 or SAE 40 premium conventional Valv-O-Line racing oil during the summer months in all my rigs as this brand has the highest amount of ZDDP zinc additive added available to lubricate the overhead cam most effectively on older american cast iron V8 designs.

For all my differentials in every single vehicle I run Valv-O-Line semi synthetic 80W90 gear oil - year round.

The only time I use full synthetic oil (75W90)- is for my standard transmission (New Process NP435) on my 1970 Dodge Truck, year round also.....as that oil never seems to break down....I only replenished the oil in it once in a 12 year span since running it, and the old oil drained out still seemed very fresh.....the semi synthetic blend in the trans case did change color a little bit after running it for 6 years previously before first replenishing with the full synthetic blend, noticed it shifted a little easier during the winter too.

[fulltimedaniel]

Yeti plus wrote:
Daniel
You said in an earlier post that you would need an oil change on the way North. Make sure they put in synthetic or semi synthetic oil. It doesn't get as hard as regular oil in the cold.
I needed an oil change in the Northwest Territories and all they offered was semi synthetic or full synthetic because that is what works up there.
Talked to my son who lives in Edmonton Alberta and he only uses full synthetic fluids in all his vehicles. He is a heavy equipment mechanic so has seen the results of regular oil on the equipment.He worked on some of the equipment outdoors in -40 weather(-40C =-40F)
Looking forward to your trip posts. We went to Alaska in 2016 so it will be interesting to see some of the same spots in winter.
Safe travels
Brian

I have used full synthetic in my engine from day one. (And the rear comes with it from the factory)

Here is a quick story about my first trip up the Hwy in winter...1972 I stopped in Beaver Creek for the night at what I remember as the only motel in town at that time. I plugged my car in (an ex California Highway Patrol cruiser with more than 100k on the odo), and went to bed. It was VERY VERY COLD that night and at about 2 AM I was woken up by my HORN going off.

I threw on my Parka and ran outside couldnt understand for the life of me WHY my horn suddenly started honking. I yanked up the hood and pulled the horn wires off. I stood there dumbfounded. And didnt put two and two together...I went back to bed.I was only 19 at the time.

In the morning my car was frozen solid. I pulled out the dipstick and my oil was like Vaseline it was clotted to the stick. It was then that I realized what had happened. The plug I had plugged into was not working. And what set my horn off? That was the plastic on my steering wheel contracting and pressing the contacts together.

Starting it was out of the question. It spent most of the day at the gas station next door with two huge propane heaters underneath both ends of the car to defrost it. It had to be dragged there.

Now to the best of my memory I had changed the oil to what was recommended at that time for cold weather and I did that in San Diego. Synthetics were not really widely available then if I remember correctly.

That was a learning experience for sure. Make sure the plug-in you are using is working.

[Yeti_plus]

Daniel
You said in an earlier post that you would need an oil change on the way North. Make sure they put in synthetic or semi synthetic oil. It doesn't get as hard as regular oil in the cold.
I needed an oil change in the Northwest Territories and all they offered was semi synthetic or full synthetic because that is what works up there.
Talked to my son who lives in Edmonton Alberta and he only uses full synthetic fluids in all his vehicles. He is a heavy equipment mechanic so has seen the results of regular oil on the equipment.He worked on some of the equipment outdoors in -40 weather(-40C =-40F)
Looking forward to your trip posts. We went to Alaska in 2016 so it will be interesting to see some of the same spots in winter.
Safe travels
Brian

[2gypsies1]

Make your dog a nice igloo of straw in the rear of your truck. He'll stay warm.

[Grit_dog]

ppine wrote:
Towing a big trailer in snow is a disaster waiting to happen.

No one tows trailers in the winter?
I wish someone would have told me sooner.....been doing it since I learned how to drive!

Driving up there in the winter is actually nicer than most places. Very few vehicles, well plowed roads and the snow/ice is a lot less slippery as cold as it gets.

[PA12DRVR]

"With a long bed crew cab truck you have a lot more time to react when the rear end breaks loose."

^^^ That's the prizewinner so far.....Combine the normal geometry/physics of a "shortbed" 1/2 ton along with "all season" radials and the (apparent) asymmetrical match of Speed Racer ego and Fred Flintstone ability and that's why one sees lots of snazzy 1/2 ton ditch divers when the roads get ugly.

It will be interesting to see what this morning brings when I do my grandkid circuit a bit later between Rabbit Creek-Upper O'Malley-Fire Lake.

[Trackrig]

As for towing a trailer, it's not that much of a problem - look at all of the large enclosed trailers that head out every Friday night with four or more snow machines in them. They're headed for the hills where the snow is.

The only ones that have problems are those short wheel based half ton trucks with all season radials on them. Usually one of them goes in the ditch every weekend. They're a pain to pull out. I have to drop my trailer and sometimes chain up to get them out. Nothing like a good 30' x 6" snatch strap or two to reach them, over a thousand pounds of fuel in the back of the truck and two sets of modified tire chains.

With a long bed crew cab truck you have a lot more time to react when the rear end breaks loose. I don't run in four wheel drive unless it's really bad out.

Had to pull one guy out twice. Got him out and sent him down the road. Then I had to drop my chains, hook up my trailer and go. Got down the road and found him in the ditch again. I told him if he went in a third time I wasn't stopping.

Bill

[fulltimedaniel]

Thanks again to all who have offered such great advice and warm wishes.

While I monitor the conditions NOW about every other day I wont be passing through those areas for another 15 days or more so conditions will be different.

I have allowed myself more than enough time to be stuck somewhere due to weather for a few days for the roads to be cleared, but I really don't expect that kind thing. But it can and does happen.

I am still installing the corplast underneath my trailer. This is a rather laborious job.

My poor pooch who is now shedding like crazy because of the nice warm weather here in Tucson will be very confused as will his internal systems when he hits the cold weather and starts adding more fur. The poor dog probably thinks I am as crazy as some of you do.

[PA12DRVR]

Raining, above-freezing temps (in many areas) and black ice scattered throughout the greater Los Anchorage - MatSu area today. Snow conditions forced the Seward Highway down to 1 lane of traffic going South (for at least a few hours). Ugly.

Regardless of the benefits of the modern winter tires (and I have both Blizzaks and siped Hakkapolitas on my mix of vehicles), given the generic nature of the beast, I'd carry chains for both the drive and steer axles of your TV and for one axle of your trailer. Much better to have them and either not need them or decide to stop for a while than to be halfway between points A and B on wet ice with a heavy trailer.

[sue_t]

In Yukon, the temperature is above freezing around Whitehorse and yesterday it rained northwest of Whitehorse. The rain turned to ice on the Alaska Highway. The Alaska Highway was closed from Whitehorse to Haines Junction last night, and this morning is closed from Whitehorse to Destruction Bay due to black ice and slush. The temperature outside our place is 39F.

So be prepared for anything.
Check Yukon road conditions here http://www.511yukon.ca/en/

[bobkatmsu]

My nephew has driven a tandem fuel tanker in Alaska for years. Has used chains twice. Says good quality snow tires do just fine.

[sue_t]

We towed our 25' fifth wheel from Whitehorse to Liard Hotsprings in March 2013.
http://yukonsights.ca/20130329_Rancheria-Liard.html

We overnighted at Rancheria Lodge. Temperature was 5C in the morning so the programmable thermostat was a nice treat - warmed up the fifth wheel before we got out of bed. Generator came in handy for plugging in the block heater. A flat tire developed overnight.