Alaska 2016

[vmbridges]

I'd love to hear from anyone with experience in towing an airstream to Alaska (from California). Or if anyone is thinking of going around June-July between 6-8 week trip, I'd love to hear from you, too.

[Farmer Dan]

We pulled our '89 Excella 25' to Alaska this past summer. We towed with my '10 F150 with 5.4 engine and 6 spd tranny. We had a great time and had no difficulties. We travelled a total of 12,500+ mi. From SW IA to Farmington, NM then to the Alcan and home through San Francisco where our daughter lives. It was a fantastic trip! The prettiest area we saw was on the 40 mi. trip from the Cassiar hwy to Hyder, AK. Beautiful glaciers and trees and mountains.

Dan

[switz]

We are scheduled to take the WBCCI 2016 Alaska caravan with 34 other rigs. We figure three months total trip travel with two weeks going to start point and two weeks returning home.

[vmbridges]

When does the caravan leave and return?

[tsunami]

Are non-WBCCI allowed to join the caravan? What is the cost of the caravan?

[OregonVista]

Check out the thread "Seattle to Alaska, could use a few tips and advice" on this forum. Lots of information there, primarily from 2014.

[switz]

This caravan requires WBCCI membership with the numbers on the trailer. The cost is $6,500 per trailer that covers parking fees, entrance fees, and some of the meals. The information below is from the WBCCI website.

Caravan: N-45-C
Alaska, The Great Land

Leaders: Bill & Sandy Johnjulio
WBCCI: #242

Dates: July 12, 2016 – September 12, 2016

Start Location: Dawson Creek, BC
Stop Location: Prince George, B.C.

Address: 6193 Althom Road, Tidioute, PA 16351
Phone: 814-484-7221 Cell 216-533-1752

Email: flintlocksbyjj@aol.com

There will be a total of 35 rigs. It is suggested to have new tires on both the truck and trailer or coach and two spares for each vehicle.

One can check if there is still space or get on the list as an alternate.

[moosetags]

I will be following this thread with great interest as SuEllyn and I are considering an Alaska run in 2016.

Brian

[Wayne&Sam]

I think the suggestion that you have two spares each for your tow vehicle and trailer is overkill.

Back when the entire road was gravel you did that, but now it's practically all paved. And if you're traveling with 35 other rigs the chances of everyone having more than one flat are pretty remote.

Even when I drove it the first time in 1971, and it was all gravel and FAR rougher than it is today, I never needed a spare.

[OregonVista]

Originally Posted by switz

This caravan requires WBCCI membership with the numbers on the trailer. The cost is $6,500 per trailer that covers parking fees, entrance fees, and some of the meals. The information below is from the WBCCI website.

Caravan: N-45-C
Alaska, The Great Land

Email: flintlocksbyjj@aol.com

There will be a total of 35 rigs. It is suggested to have new tires on both the truck and trailer or coach and two spares for each vehicle.

One can check if there is still space or get on the list as an alternate.

We were on the 2014 Alyeska Caravan led by JJ and Sandy. They are excellent leaders, have done this several times, and know what they are doing. Our experience with tires was a total of 8 (that I know of) 15" tires blown, many in less-than-desirable shape to begin with. There were no 16" tire problems. If you have good tires and a good spare, you should not have to carry any extra. Your trailer and tow vehicle need to be in tip-top shape, however. The cost for the trip is very reasonable, especially if you check with other RV tours going to Alaska. And with a favorable exchange rate there may be a refund at the end when all expenses are tallied.

[switz]

A friend just returned from a solo trip to Alaska and he had a Michelin front tire on the truck go flat from the sharp stones. No issues with the trailer tires.

[rjack]

We took the WBCCI caravan to Alaska in 2014.....worried, planned, fretted, annoyed others with zillion questions, prepped trailer and tow extensively, etc......Had absolutely no problems. No damage, except windshield ding two miles from home in Missouri. Suggestions: drive slowly...new tires of RECENT manufacture...extra drain plug for freshwater tank drain (it is fragile)...foam wrap for exposed propane lines...good CB antennae...fill fuel tanks at any opportunity...and drive slowly. Sandy is great and JJ is a work in progress....really a fine caravan. Garretts

[thomasa98]

My wife and I are contemplating a trip north this summer since gas prices are down but we would do it with a pickup and camper as we did last time. While the roads are better than the gravel of the 70s, there is still mostly gravel off the main AlCan route and this is still not a trip for the faint of heart or novice drivers.

In 1999 we made the trip from Seattle to Dawson City, Yukon via the Cassiar Highway then up the Dempster highway as far as the arctic circle, then back to Dawson and on over into Alaska, ending in Anchorage. From there we had the unit shipped back to Tacoma, WA. The only trouble we had was a fuel filter plugged with what appeared to be goat hair. The rig was a one-ton Chev pickup with a 11' camper. We took 6 weeks.

It was frequently a long way between fuel stops and we carried 65 gallons of gasoline, some spare parts (spring leaves, fuel pump, water pump, belts, radiator stop leak, etc), a CB radio, tools, jack, one spare tire, a spare inner tube and tire irons.

We passed a number of people with tire trouble on the gravel sections. It seems new, deep tread captures gravel and eventually beats a hole in the tire. Open tread patterns are best on gravel. Look at the tires on a log truck some time and you'll see what I mean. The open tread patterns don't capture the rocks but throw them out.

We traveled over many miles of rather primitive road and I did not envy the trailer folks. On many hills I smelled very hot brakes (not ours). Even my pickup was a handful, it lacked power steering, and my arms were tired at the end of the day.

We also found that the campsites in BC and Yukon were much cleaner and generally nicer than in AK. At that time AK had contracted out the state park operations to private firms and it showed. The Canadians seemed genuinely glad to host us. This may have changed as I have recently heard that parks along the Ice Fields Parkway between Banf and Jasper have become frightfully expensive and quite crowded. That said, the further north we went the less crowded things were. We traveled in late June through August. High season.

I would do the trip again in a heartbeat and the '99 trip is one I will always remember fondly. It was a great adventure. But go prepared and don't be afraid to venture off the beaten track. We went to Skagway, hiked the Chilcoot trail, rode the narrow gauge railway back from lake Bennet, got a haircut in Whitehorse, went on a midnight nature walk with a Yukon park ranger that left camp at 10PM got back a 1 AM, saw a triple rainbow at 3AM, snowy owls, arctic terns, caribou herds crossing rivers, saw and heard the northern lights, hiked in the Toomstone Mtns and best of all, met amazing, adventurous people. It really is different up north. Go! do it.

[oledawg]

See you there. �� BTW, what are you doing for additional trailer protection?

[HowieE]

The first thing anyone considering a trip to Alaska has to decide is do you need a leader that will take you to all the tourist traps and insure you have hook up at night or are you a free spirit? Each has some advantages.

I chose to travel along and am sure I saw considerable more. There are only 10 numbered roads in Alaska but there are hundreds that lead you to those real interesting places. A gold pannier, up for the summer from AZ, 30 miles off the beaten path. A tour of the Canadian gold mine north of Hyder. Camping alone at the end of a fishing pier. A 7 pm flight to Wiseman north of the arctic circle. A flight to watch the bears feed in Katmai National Park. We had to take a Park bear etiquette class before we could walk the 1/2 mile to the viewing area. Now the walk is completely enclosed with fence walls and roofing. Kind of takes the fun out of it.

I was told you can camp anywhere that is not private property. I asked how do I know if it is private. The answer was the sign will say "trespassers will be shot". That made it clear to me. Service stations are required to have water available and the larger grocery stores have dump stations.

The one caution I will stress is the protection of the front of the trailer. I made mud flaps for the truck. However I designed them for east coast stone and those only cleared the ground by 3 in. The stone in Alaska is very soft and powers into sand. That sand was vacuumed up by the flaps and cleared the trailer tongue of paint and sandblasted the front of the trailer. The dust from that stone will get into everything. 16 years later and I can still find Alaskan dust. Dust even got under the plastic insert on the banana strip.

[MDR]

We are considering a trip up there from Arkansas for the month of July.
Still deciding if I want to pull the Airstream.

[OTRA15]

FYI there was a recent thread about the costs and timing logistics of an Alaska trip from Rhode Island and back in 6 weeks.

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f42/...ka-148809.html