Should I take a new AS to Alaska?

[Renascence]

Originally Posted by uncle_bob

Hi

.... that was indeed the point

Bob

Am hoping some day we camp at the same spot - might need to 'make' it happen. Would love to 'visit' for a awhile.

[drew05]

With regards to damage, flip a coin to determine your odds. If you take it easy and do not "drive it like you stole it", you'll be ok.

Going from 25 to 30 ft. you might limit campsites you can fit in. I'm not saying you won't find sites. I'm only saying you "might" have some challenges.

We went to Alaska last year with a 25' Flying Cloud. Our only damage waste our stone guards, they now have some "dimples", and the roadside solar guard has a small crack. With regards to length, we mainly stayed at Provincial and State Parks. With a 25', we only had a tight fit in 3 or 4 parks. Maybe those with longer trailers can give better advice.

[Whamm511]

Originally Posted by drew05

With regards to damage, flip a coin to determine your odds....Our only damage waste our stone guards, they now have some "dimples", and the roadside solar guard has a small crack.

We have a 1978 Argosy 30 w/o the Rock Guards. From all of the good advice here I would like to invest in a set of Rock Guards. Would love to find a “New-To-Us” set. What advice do any of you have regarding adding a set? Pipe dream? Well worth the time & effort? Any recommendations for sourcing those as “new-to-us”?

[uncle_bob]

Originally Posted by drew05

.....

We went to Alaska last year with a 25' Flying Cloud. Our only damage waste our stone guards, they now have some "dimples", and the roadside solar guard has a small crack. ....

Hi

Pretty much what we saw camping around Pennsylvania in our first couple months of ownership. We bought it to use it ....

Bob

[Antnee51]

Zip tie your safety chains up so they do not drag and scatter gravel (will not affect their operation).

Chains? When did you leave and return?

[pitdoug1998]

Originally Posted by larrysun

I'm planning a trip to Alaska and thinking about trading in my 25ft AS trailer for a new 30ft. However, I'm concern about taking the new 30ft to Alaska due to the roads and maybe damaging the new trailer. Would it be better to just take the older 25ft or would it be ok to take the new trailer?
Thanks for any advise.

I sell Airstreams so obviously I want you to trade every chance you get! That said I’d personally take the one you have and trade it after your adventure.

Doug@ Airstream of Tennessee/Chilhowee RV!

[TexAirS]

You will get a couple of mementos from a trip to Alaska. I didn't think the first one would be outside Bakersfield. A dust storm pitted the windshield on the truck. And later, going north in B.C., a stone put a hole in the roadside wraparound shield. And later going south in B.C., a rock cracked the TV windshield.


But we were ok in Alaska.


The roads were very good in late June, July, August and Sept. Frost heaves were repaired. Still a lot of bumps. So, adjust your speed. Glennallen Highway and the road to Skagway were the worst. Top of the World Hwy wasn't dusty. Road inside Denali NP to Tek was. Lots of buses.



In 106 campsites this summer, our 30' would not fit in 5. Mostly NP and California SP. And diesel is more common than Premium above the 49th parallel.



Sjohn

[Firefly77]

Originally Posted by jdcamp

How about this — get the new trailer tow it to Seattle or Vancouver. Park it and take a cruise to Alaska. Problem solved.

"..... cheaper / quicker / easier to fly to Alaska ... Bob"


I flew to AK last year on a whirlwind tour of remote fly-in places (business and some pleasure), and have done the same several times in Canada. We've experienced enough to put the slow route to Homer in an AS on our bucket list, and take our time weaving through Canada as well. We got the Milepost and have been pouring over the forums to piece together our route. Our plan is to base camp along the way and take day (or more) trips without the AS to some of the more inaccessible destinations.

Speaking of cruises (or not!), one aspect of our journey I haven't figured out, and that is how to see the inside passage. There are some great destinations and scenery we would love to see by ferry that don't seem very practical towing a 25-27' AS. I have read of accounts where it has been done, but getting ferry reservations, if possible, can be dicey, and some of the small towns and islands along the way we would want to see can't accommodate trailers. We are thinking of base camping at a "safe" campground in or near one of the ferry points, or dropping our trailer with a friend in Homer and taking time (maybe up to a couple of weeks) to run down the AK coast and back.

Others may have an interest in this as well....any AK/BC ferry with trailer experiences to add to this thread?

I'm also rehashing the many threads again on larger Airstreams. We had a lightly used 2019 FC 25RBT at a great price lined up, deposited and even camped in, but the deal fell through on the other end (decided not to sell ) so we are back in search mode. Contrary to my sentiments in an earlier post, after a few days hauling the 25' around, I think we would be fine with putting it through an AK adventure right away. As I think uncle-bob stated, the first couple of weeks and 1500 relatively flatland miles winding through the plains states would get us used to the new feel of the larger (than our 19') AS before we hit the Rockies. As others have said, life is short...buy it to use it...etc.

[uncle_bob]

Hi

Up to the point that you get to Alaska, the coast is reasonably accessible ( = in Canada). You can see a lot both from Victoria Island and from the shore. Indeed there is enough to see that a couple weeks may not be enough. Been there / done that.

If heading north from there is on the list, I'd certainly price out a cruise. There are a *ton* of them and they have all sorts of fare wars. My *guess* is that a cruise on sale is the cheapest way to see the mostest. Indeed they don't go everywhere.

The ideal way to do it would be by boat. Rent what makes sense for the size of your group and then go anywhere you want. Indeed there are some skills involved and you might also be renting a crew as well. Price wise ... hmmm..... outside my budget.

Lots of choices.

Bob

[Firefly77]

Originally Posted by uncle_bob

Hi

Up to the point that you get to Alaska, the coast is reasonably accessible ( = in Canada). You can see a lot both from Victoria Island and from the shore. Indeed there is enough to see that a couple weeks may not be enough. Been there / done that.

If heading north from there is on the list, I'd certainly price out a cruise. There are a *ton* of them and they have all sorts of fare wars. My *guess* is that a cruise on sale is the cheapest way to see the mostest. Indeed they don't go everywhere.

The ideal way to do it would be by boat. Rent what makes sense for the size of your group and then go anywhere you want. Indeed there are some skills involved and you might also be renting a crew as well. Price wise ... hmmm..... outside my budget.

Lots of choices.

Bob

Thanks, Bob. It's just me and my wife post retirement. We're not fans of the cruise scene...too structured, limiting and crowded, but they have their place. We have been to Victoria Island and the Pac NW several times and want to finally push through to Homer via Banff and Jasper. If we do a coastal foray, it makes sense to me for this trip to take a ferry south from Whittier or Skagway for a run down the AK coast to see Juneau, Petersburg and some of the sites along the way. This may be best accomplished with two separate trips...

[uncle_bob]

Hi

We've done the Banff / Jasper thing several times. Each time we sort of sigh and say "it's more crowded than it was ...". The starting point for me was in the 1950's .....

I'd say it's also a two week sort of adventure. I would include several of the other parks in the area as part of that tour. They are sort of a day trip vs quite a bit more time in the bigger parks.

Bob

[tbaugh]

I took 6 weeks to do the ferry from Prince Rupert to hanes. We spent
A week at each ferry stop. Great trip

[Firefly77]

Originally Posted by tbaugh

I took 6 weeks to do the ferry from Prince Rupert to hanes. We spent
A week at each ferry stop. Great trip

Thanks. The more I look at the logistics of this, the more I think it will be a separate trip to do the route justice. We plan on around 3 months to work our way through the Midwest, Canada and into Alaska and back. We take our sweet time on these trips, and it seems tight already without the coastal foray.

Quote:
uncle_bob: "We've done the Banff / Jasper thing several times. Each time we sort of sigh and say "it's more crowded than it was ...". The starting point for me was in the 1950's ....."

We started in the 70's and have some great memories of uncrowded parks and lonely highways. With the increasing popularity of RVing and "getting away", the competition for campsites, lodging, attractions and green spaces has gotten fierce. We try to look for those hidden gems off the beaten path.

[Firefly77]

Originally Posted by tbaugh

I took 6 weeks to do the ferry from Prince Rupert to hanes. We spent
A week at each ferry stop. Great trip

Curious as to the time of year of your trip and if you took your AS or SOB with you on the ferry run? Some of the stops (according to Milepost) seem to barely accommodate a TV.

Just noticed you hail from Powell...we work in Powell on Sawmill Rd.

[Renascence]

Some friends of ours have taken multiple AK/Canada trips with pickup campers and have traveled the really out of the way roads - Canol, Dempster, Dalton, Top of the World, Telegraph Creek, BC, Yellowknife, Wood Buffalo National Park, and others. They said they would not consider a trailer for the trip as it is too limiting for access to the good stuff that is not packed with rv's and lots of cars and people. FWIW

[billb54]

We too, toured Alaska this summer. Four months, 12,500 miles and the Marine Highway from Prince Rupert to Haines. The only firm dates we had for the entire trip included the ferry booking and Tek reservations. The inside passage was fabulous, and and in my opinion, is not to be missed. We stopped in Ketchikan, Petersburg and Juneau for several nights each before disembarking in Haines.
The crew on the ferries were excellent. The tide was such at one port, the possibility of dragging our tail was very likely. Crew members first unsuccessfully tried to set wooden cribbing to lessen the angle of boat deck to ramp. A supervisor witnessed the effort and decided the safest solution was to insist the harbor crew lower the shore ramp. Ten minutes later, the ramp was reset and we were on our way. There was true concern for the safety of our unit. The Yukon River ferry at Dawson could have presented a similar problem, but luckily for us, the approach had seen regraded the morning of our crossing.
Drive slowly! The frost heaves are very real.
We can’t wait to go back.

Bill

[tbaugh]

Originally Posted by Firefly77

Curious as to the time of year of your trip and if you took your AS or SOB with you on the ferry run? Some of the stops (according to Milepost) seem to barely accommodate a TV.



Just noticed you hail from Powell...we work in Powell on Sawmill Rd.

Our trip was last week of May. Yes we took the Airstream. The ferry workers were great and directed us on and off with no problems. At one stop we had to back the length of the ferry, make a left turn in the ferry and back down the side exit/ ramp and out into the lot before turning and leaving. The ferry workers were station at each corner of the rig and one at my door giving great instructions all the way.

PM me if you would like to get together to discuss this in detail.

[Gene]

If you are that nervous, maybe you should shrink wrap your Airstream and keep it in a garage. They are meant to be taken places. Wally Byam led caravans all over the world to some pretty primitive places.

The best reason for not taking a new one anywhere is that a lot of new ones have problems and it will take time to sort them out and get them fixed. Otherwise, the roads up north are about the same (bad at times) as anywhere in the US. The Canadians usually do a better job. It seems that stories about the Alaska Highway as it was when it opened to the public in 1947 persist and make it sound much worse than it is. Most of the Highway is in Canada and mostly it is a good highway. Frost heaves are inevitable and driving carefully solves most of that.

[Renascence]

Originally Posted by Gene

If you are that nervous, maybe you should shrink wrap your Airstream and keep it in a garage. They are meant to be taken places. Wally Byam led caravans all over the world to some pretty primitive places.

The best reason for not taking a new one anywhere is that a lot of new ones have problems and it will take time to sort them out and get them fixed. Otherwise, the roads up north are about the same (bad at times) as anywhere in the US. The Canadians usually do a better job. It seems that stories about the Alaska Highway as it was when it opened to the public in 1947 persist and make it sound much worse than it is. Most of the Highway is in Canada and mostly it is a good highway. Frost heaves are inevitable and driving carefully solves most of that.

We found that using it for a season/year was sound advice. Then go to AK and all points along the way. That is our plan. Thanks to those who have provided their hard won insight and wisdom.

[uncle_bob]

Hi

Wait long enough and you now have 30,000 or 40,000 miles on the trailer. You are wondering about "was two years too long to wait?". Maybe after that many miles it's time for new tires / brakes / axles / stove before you take off for Alaska .....

Bob