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Off to Alaska in March ARRIVED IN FAIRBANKS

fulltimedaniel
Explorer
Explorer
SEE THE MOST RECENT UPDATE AT THE END OF THE THREAD

An update to my earlier posting:

After a Four day run from Tucson we are now in Bellingham. We arrived yesterday afternoon about 4pm (Sat 3/4)this morning it is snowing.

Not to worry it isnt sticking but snow isnt going to keep me from going anyway...it's just such a jarring change from the beautiful weather of Tucson.

In Tucson I insulated the underside of my trailer with the Pink Foamular by Owens-Corining and put coroplast over that. I could not completely cover the underside in one smooth installation for a couple of reasons; one is my frame rails (I Beams) are only 8 inches deep thus my water tank hangs below that by several inches when full and then there is the waste tank plumbing and I wanted to keep open access to my slide mechanism for lubrication and repair if necessary.

But I was able to get the insulation over the entire bottom except my water tank, and coroplast to cover it it just took a lot longer and much more work.

This wont have much effect on the interior temperature of the trailer but it will help keep the pipes warmer and insulate the heater ducts.

I also lined all the pipes that are accessible with pipe insulation tubes. It isnt a perfect solution but will help. In addition I insulated the big front storage compartment under the big bedroom and all the doors of all the other storage areas.

The insulation work I have done is mostly for the cold spring and fall nights we will see while in Fairbanks. Since we don't leave until the end of September I figured that the extra insulation was worth the trouble.

The Home Depot snafu. While in Tucson at the HD trying to decide on which insulation to use I had a terrible time getting any help. They had two types of the Pink insulation but were out of the thicker one. But crazily the thicker one was $7 LESS per 4x8 sheet than the thinner one. I finally got the manager to ask him when he might get the thicker one in...confusion reigned...not for a long time. So Why is the price lower for the thicker one I asked, this seems crazy? No idea...he said scratching his head. But he did tell me that he would "take care of me" on the price when I came back to get it and gave me his card. I needed to go measure to see exactly how much I would buy.

When I did go back later that day and got to the checkout I told the person there that they needed to Call Cory the manager and explained why...more confusion. Finally Cory was found...all I heard the woman say was..."All of them?" Then she rang up my stuff and told me Cory was GIVING me the insulation, which was $20 per sheet and I had seven sheets. I told her I certainly didnt; expect that and I was willing to pay the lower prices and told her I thought this was very generous.So my insulation project was made considerably cheaper by that great customer service. Sometimes a rare event in HD.

While here in Bellingham I will winterize the water system in the trailer just before we leave. I wont need it as we will stay in motels after Quesnel anyway. (depending on temps)

My truck is getting the oil changed and new fuel filters here in Bellingham and FCA is putting in a Block heater cord which was not included with the truck originally.

To say that I feel a bit crazy to leave the warmth and sunshine of Tucson for the cold and snow is an understatement...but I need to be in Fairbanks on March 15th so off I go.
27 REPLIES 27

hone_eagle
Explorer
Explorer
RV anti freeze will freeze but it will not expand.
2005 Volvo 670 singled freedomline 12 speed
Newmar 34rsks 2008
Hensley trailersaver TSLB2H
directlink brake controller

-when overkill is cheaper-

Grit_dog
Nomad III
Nomad III
TxGearhead wrote:
Man I'm wanting to be up there. I worked in Bellingham a few weeks on a doomed arctic drilling project and it left me with a great desire to see more of the PNW. It was a great and welcomed respite from a summer in Laredo TX at 116F. If you go back through Bellingham there used to be a Cajun restaurant near the docks that wasn't too bad.


After the last few months of record rain n snow here, I'll trade you!
We've gotten a years rain in Seattle in the last 5 months.
Great weather for road building!
2016 Ram 2500, MotorOps.ca EFIlive tuned, 5โ€ turbo back, 6" lift on 37s
2017 Heartland Torque T29 - Sold.
Couple of Arctic Fox TCs - Sold

jnharley
Explorer
Explorer
Love Fast Eddy's and their prime rib Friday dinner.
2015 Dodge Dually
2012 NuWa Discover America 355CK

sljohnson1938
Explorer
Explorer
Great, we are so glad you made it ok. Fast Eddy's has great pizza.
1999 Dodge 3500 CTD dually
Ham radio - WU4S

fulltimedaniel
Explorer
Explorer
Arrived in Fairbanks yesterday 3/13 it was warmer than any place on the road at about 5deg F.

Stayed in Tok at Fast Eddys where there was a snowmobile Poker Run going on so we were lucky to get a room. Woke up in the morning to -34 deg.

Headed out to Fairbanks and arrived about 12:30. The road was clear and the skies sunny and bright.

Some photos of the last leg of the trip:







All in all it has been a fairly easy trip considering the length and time I drove it in. No serious weather or extreme road conditions were seen.

I hope that this post will serve as a motivation for those that are uneasy about driving to Alaska in the SUMMER much less now. You don't need a caravan, fuel gas and food are plentiful, lots of RV Parks (many still open now)and many many great parks for camping all along the highway. The road is good you can drive any vehicle on it. In fact it is a far easier place to drive a really big rig than most of the lower 48. There is so much room at all the services and turnouts that a big rig is a breeze.

This was my 3rd trip to Alaska driving (many others flying) so I hope that those of you that would like to go but are held back by old notions of rough dirt roads, showers of rocks flying at you and no fuel throw all that out the window.

For the record I got many good suggestions here for what I should do before I started and here is what I actually did:

I DID NOT take chains for either the trailer or the truck.
I didn't take a winter front either.
I DID winterize my trailer but have doubts about the antifreeze as the gallon jug I left in the trailer froze solid on the trip.

and

I do not have a weight distributing hitch or (god forbid) an anti sway system. I have never found a need for either.

As you can see from the photo of my trailer I have a significant amount of stuff on the rear bumper including my generator and a storage box and my trailer spare. (I designed and had this bumper built in Mexico last year) All of this has NO adverse affects of handling. I keep the tongue weight at the right percentage and the trailer balanced.

My trailer Weighs 9840 (approx to the best of my memory of the weight ticket) with about 13%-14% on the tongue. All told the truck and trailer weighs a bit over 16700. My trailer has an additional 1200 lbs reserve before it reaches it's GVWR.

I run (GASP!) tires made in China and they have over 20 thousand miles on them since last May when they were put on. I have never had a problem with them. (I keep them at the right pressure and my trailer isnt overweight and I don't obsess about them)

In other words I do everything so many here tell you not to do or you will: A. Die. B. Kill some poor innocent family C. Crash and burn.

I say all of this to highlight that my rig is perfectly safe and properly set up and you don't need to invest a lot of money in new stuff like hitches and tires before a trip like this.

The important thing is to go. And enjoy it.

Thanks so much to those that followed this trip, made suggestions and offered encouragement and I look forward to your comments.

fulltimedaniel
Explorer
Explorer
sue.t wrote:
Saw you driving by our place this morning when we were walking the dogs. At first I was wondering who would be pulling a trailer north this time of year, then I realized it was YOU!


Hey how cool is that! If I'd known I would have waved.

Veebyes
Explorer II
Explorer II
Ha! Recognised a couple locations, even with all of the white stuff on the ground.

Trip #4 next year we hope.
Boat: 32' 1996 Albin 32+2, single Cummins 315hp
40+ night per year overnighter

2007 Alpenlite 34RLR
2006 Chevy 3500 LT, CC,LB 6.6L Diesel

Ham Radio: VP9KL, IRLP node 7995

TxGearhead
Explorer
Explorer
Man I'm wanting to be up there. I worked in Bellingham a few weeks on a doomed arctic drilling project and it left me with a great desire to see more of the PNW. It was a great and welcomed respite from a summer in Laredo TX at 116F. If you go back through Bellingham there used to be a Cajun restaurant near the docks that wasn't too bad.
2018 Ram 3500 CC LB DRW 4X4 Cummins Aisin Laramie Pearl White
2018 Landmark Oshkosh
2008 Bigfoot 25C9.4
2014 NauticStar 21 ShallowBay 150HP Yamaha
2016 GoDevil 18X44 35HP Surface Drive

sue_t
Explorer
Explorer
Saw you driving by our place this morning when we were walking the dogs. At first I was wondering who would be pulling a trailer north this time of year, then I realized it was YOU!
sue t.
Pictures from our many RV Adventures to Yukon & Alaska from Vancouver Island. Now we live in Yukon!

garyhaupt
Explorer
Explorer
Right on!!


Gary Haupt
I have a Blog..about stuff, some of which is RV'ing.

http://mrgwh.blogspot.ca/

fulltimedaniel
Explorer
Explorer
Update From Whitehorse Yukon Territory (Day 5 out of Bellingham)

I am now in Whitehorse YT and so far the trip has been great if rather uneventful. the scenery is gorgeous and the road...well it differs from hour to hour.

The weather has been cold and the locals along the way tell me this is an unusual cold snap for March. Since waking up in Dawson Creek at -20F it has been at -24F or less each morning as I started the truck. The daily highs have hovered around -5 to +5F.

My engine block heater on my 2016 Dodge Ram Cummins keeps the coolant and the oil at 104F and makes starting a breeze.

The road conditions have been varied from really great Clear dry asphalt to snow packed and very icy. The weather has been just as changeable with some snow showers at the higher elevations and sunny clear days.

Below are some photos along the way.

On the way to Dawson Creek



Some general photos of the road out of Ft Nelson and Watson Lake and Toad River Lodge.







Here is the dash readout as I was descending a steep hill in 4TH gear just after leaving Toad River Lodge I believe. Note the temp.


One surprise for us is how many of the RV Parks are still open if for only electric. But at more than -20 below every night so far we have only camped once and that was in Williams Lake BC. We have stayed in Motels otherwise.

Tomorrow it is on to Tok Junction AK which will be a fairly long drive at almost 400 miles.

Since leaving Tucson on March first we have driven 3473 miles this includes a three day layover in Bellingham to get the oil changed and other chores done.

Most days I have driven about 300 to 350 miles on average. One day was 398 miles.

We have seen a few like minded souls on the road dragging travel trailers north to Alaska but only 3 so far and one Class A.

Tonight I am thawing out my DEF Fluid in the motel room (it rides in the back of the truck) My dog and all the stuff that shouldnt be frozen rides in the cab with us.

So far the trailer has been fine no problems except for a tail light lens that got lost somewhere. My theory is that it shrank in the cold and fell off. Miraculously I found an exact replacement in Ft Nelson. Considering this is something I probably would never find at a Camping World I felt lucky.

Well I will post again as soon as WiFi allows.

Tee_Jay
Explorer
Explorer
sue.t wrote:
Yukon should be sunny and clear when you go through here, but with chilly nights. We've overnighted at -40 and survived, so I'm sure you'll be fine.


I seem to recall a -50 night in a single WWII surplus sleeping bag under a downed tree in the snow a few years back. Not quite the Marge of Lake LaBarge, but felt close in the am.

Carry on, Daniel, you are doing great.

FLY_4_FUN
Explorer
Explorer
Im sure it might have to wait until you have wifi again, but please post some pics of your journey if you get a chance. Even cold/snowy rv shots are better than same shot without an rv in it!!

Safe travels

Daryll
2012 Dodge Ram 3500 crew SB 4x4 CTD 3.73
2015 Brookstone 315RL
2009 Colorado 29BHS (sold 2015)
05 Jayflight 29BHS (sold 2008)
99 Jayco Eagle 12SO (sold 2005)

sue_t
Explorer
Explorer
Yukon should be sunny and clear when you go through here, but with chilly nights. We've overnighted at -40 and survived, so I'm sure you'll be fine.
sue t.
Pictures from our many RV Adventures to Yukon & Alaska from Vancouver Island. Now we live in Yukon!