Alaska: AS tow or RV with toad?

[Firefly77]

I've been sifting through Alaska threads here and on other sites. Most of them are several years old and I was looking for some updated opinions/experiences. My wife and I picked up this year's Milepost and are planning an open-ended sabbatical for a bucket list road trip from Ohio to Alaska next summer that will likely take 3 months to work our way through the U.S. and Canadian Rockies. We have the option of taking our Ram 4x4 Hemi towing a 2008 19' Bambi SE or using a 2010 Winnebago 24' View on a Sprinter chassis with 6 cyl Diesel hauling a small (2009 CRV) toad. Both options offer us the base camping and drive option we want, and both options are 40 ft. total on-road length. We love our Bambi but my concerns are the size (corner bed vs slide-out queen in the Winnie) of living space for such a lengthy trip. 25 years ago we lived 5 months out of a Coleman tent camper, but we value comfort more these days. I also am concerned about beating up the AS on the gravel roads, although there have been some great tips for that in threads here. We travel light enough that storage space is not a big deal either way, although the Ram has it's advantages with cargo capacity. We have travelled with both rigs in the Smokies and the Southwest, but have not experienced the northern Rockies with either. We have not ever pulled a toad with the Winnie, so that would be a new experience. The Winnie has 16" new Michelins as does the CRV, so I feel a little better about that vs the 14" Goodyears on the Bambi. Boondocking might be a little easier on the road in some settings for the Winnie as well with a built-in generator and water capacity. Backing up the AS is no problem, but not so with the toad. If things get hairy, I guess we could unhitch the CRV and drive through the situation. At this point, I'm leaning toward the Winnie while my wife would prefer the Bambi.

I would love to hear your thoughts-pros/cons, opinions and experiences on tow or toad and the run to Alaska?
Thanks so much, Tom & Donna

[Bill M.]

Can not help with the decision. We went to Alaska last summer. I do not think beating up the trailer on the roads is a problem. We saw little gravel pulling the trailer and what gravel there was was in good condition. We did some side trips without the trailer that were just plain rough. I wouldn't tate the trailer to Eagle. Actually I think that road is now RV restricted.

I would dump the tires on the trailer and buy new tires just for the trip if going in the trailer. If the tires are Marathons I would have dumped them already anyway. It seems like you have 2 good units to choose from. Our trailer is a 25' with twin beds so we did not have to deal with restricted space. Diesel fuel is readily avaliable everywhere we went in Alaska.

[Airtandem]

Happy wife !!

[Firefly77]

We outfitted the Bambi with new tires and a spare. Not much to choose from on the 14" but I did find some made in USA Goodyear Endurance which are better I guess than the China Marathons.

Happy wife indeed! That's the tiebreaker!