I've just begun my research for our 2019 summer trip to Alaska. My wife ''told'' me we were going a few months ago so I got my first copy of the MILEPOST and will be reading and planning all winter when we are in Mexico.

We are about to begin our sixth year of travels and I have always said ''some day Alaska'' but we have been too busy trying to get through our bucket list. Right now I have realized that it may take 20 years to work through the National Parks and Monuments. We have only made a small dent in the 400-500 locations available.

I think RVillage has groups that are planning for both 2018 and 2019. Check them out.

Bill and I went in 2016 and I blogged a lot about it, feel free to check it out. If you don’t want to read the whole summer worth - I did 2 summaries that received a lot of good feedback. Please ask any questions you have and if I can help I will!

bkamericanodyssey.com/2016/06/05/getting-to-alaska/

bkamericanodyssey.com/2016/10/15/recap-alaska/

One thing I will promise - it will be a trip of a lifetime!

We are also planning for 2019 to Alaska. I do not want to travel with a group but I don't want us to go it alone on such a long trip. My niece and her husband will be traveling with us. It would be fun to meet up with other RV-Dreamers along the way. We will be leaving from Iowa. Our tentative plan is to be gone 10 weeks as our niece needs to be back in time for school in early August as she is a teacher. Poor thing, isn't retired like us and her husband. 😉

I'm big into research but have just started with a purchase of milepost. I will look forward to more comments and advice as the planning continues.

I have a question for Kelly or anyone else with a long rig; our fifth wheel is 35' and our niece's is 42'. They are extremely concerned about taking such a long and heavy fifth wheel to Alaska. They are regretting buying a long rig because they don't think they will find places to park, not only in Alaska but in the lower 48. They are just starting as RVers. They will be part-timers like us, probably, 5-6 months of the year. I'll read your blog posts regarding Alaska. Thanks for any comments regarding finding places to fit their rig. We haven't had any issues with ours, but we have been RVing since 2001, in our vintage Airstream and now the fifth wheel, so we have had experience all over the lower 48. I keep telling them it's doable it just takes planning. Her husband is not into boondocking unless absolutely necessary.

Candy

cejones4210 wrote:

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I have a question for Kelly or anyone else with a long rig; our fifth wheel is 35' and our niece's is 42'. They are extremely concerned about taking such a long and heavy fifth wheel to Alaska. They are regretting buying a long rig because they don't think they will find places to park, not only in Alaska but in the lower 48. They are just starting as RVers. They will be part-timers like us, probably, 5-6 months of the year. I'll read your blog posts regarding Alaska. Thanks for any comments regarding finding places to fit their rig. We haven't had any issues with ours, but we have been RVing since 2001, in our vintage Airstream and now the fifth wheel, so we have had experience all over the lower 48. I keep telling them it's doable it just takes planning. Her husband is not into boondocking unless absolutely necessary.

Candy

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 Concurring with BillJ Big Rigs are no problem as such.  In fact one will find a large selection of Big Rigs all through Alaska.  IMO the one thing that could surprise you is the potential distance between fuel locations - or perhaps locations that have fuel.  Sometimes this is no issue and sometimes it can be with just the standard fuel tank in pickups.  At the very least I recommend carrying a couple of 7 gallon portable totes.  A friend who traveled with us got within 1 gallon of empty once.  Good planning makes the trip go without undue concern.

Second, as in all cases, make sure you have quality tires and a spare. An upgrade is worth it, IMO.

Most all commercial campgrounds have power.  However, it may only be 30 amps and not a particularly "good" 30 amps - meaning you may only be able to draw ~15 amps, or less, before the voltage drops down too far. "It depends." Some may only offer 15 amps "depending" and only ~7 amps is usable due to voltage drop. ("Ask me how I know this.") This is not widespread but does occur. A 30 amp plug doesn't always mean 30 amps of power.

I really do recommend putting in a quality power monitoring / protection system such as the Progressive Industries EMS-30c with in-coach readout for 30 amp rigs or the EMS-50c with in-coach readout for 50 amps.  This will protect the electrics in the coach from low (and high) voltage which is not uncommon on generator locations such as the beautiful Muncho Lake / Liard Hot Springs area.  Likewise for the wonderful stop at Cottonwood RV just SE of Destruction Bay on Kulane Lake, Yukon Territory.  This device is way more then an inexpensive surge protector and worth it.

We traveled with our 40’ 5er and drove for road conditions - AKA - SLOWING DOWN WHEN NECESSARY - and had no problems.

I believe one of the things I stress before making the trip - do your proper maintenance - check tires, running gear, suspension, etc. Bill had done all of that and rechecked it again before we headed back out. He ended up replacing our shackles before we left.

We carried 2 - 5 gallon containers of diesel - Bill called it my $50 piece of mind - and he was right - we didn’t use a drop but the low fuel light did come on once, as we pulled into a station. Sometimes there is a station but no one is home, so stay full when you can.

We boondocked a lot (almost exclusively) on the way up and back.

Best advice - relax and enjoy! Ask Bill N - I was nervous but he and Linda (and a few others) put me at ease and they were right!

We have always planned on going back. For years family matters kept us from being able to, but most of those matters are now history.

Some friends kept deciding not to go to Alaska, even though they had relatives that lived there. The cost of the trip was always stopping them. Finally they decided to just do it and had such a great time, including the visit with the relatives, that they went up two summers in a row. The cost was worth it in their minds and they figure if they had made the trip a few years earlier they would have made the trip more than two times.

We drove on our own and so did the friends that went up two summers in a row. Others we know took caravans and most felt rushed or had other regrets from being so regimented.

We also had friends who arranged to go up with an informal group of about 7 RVs. They made ground rules between them for the trip and learned the hard way that one of the rules, "if someone wants to go out instead of cooking in, we all go", was a code word for "I don't cook, so we will be going out every day". The group only traveled together until they got to Tok Alaska, then they broke up and went separate ways.

If the costs bother you, fuel and restaurants are more expensive and you need to plan your bulk grocery runs, then figure out what a typical summer costs you and only look at the added expense do to higher fuel, groceries and the added cost of tours and other tourist activities that you will do because you are in Alaska. If your summer normally costs you $6000 and going to Alaska will cost you $10000, then the added cost is $4000.

Our trip was in 2006 and at the time I wrote up a guide to help others, http://www.sacnoth.com/2006/AlaskaGuide1/AlaskaGuide1.htm.  Hopefully it still has useful advice and information.

Hairtriger wrote:

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Anyone have suggestions on RV trip to Alaska, caravans and info

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 First off, did you questions get answered in the replies so far?

Secondly, are you specifically asking about caravans?   If so have you been on a caravan in the past to have a feel for what they are like? 

Some thoughts about caravans.  In general, my impression of caravans: the good thing is, everything is planned for you.  Where to stay, what to do, etc is pretty well set up.  You don't have to make much planning or decision making.  The down side: with minor exceptions, you have to move when the schedule dictates.  You can't stay a day or two longer or leave a day or two later if the driving weather is not to your liking.  Also if the weather is kind of nasty, not unusual for the far north, and an activity is planned, you either go in the unpleasant weather, or just for go the activity. 

Travel by yourself.  You get to take you time.  If you want to stay longer, or leave earlier you can.  You may have to space out your RV Park reservations to accommodate a looser schedule.  It also may mean you will stay at your second or third choice of places to stay.  However you are not on this trip to stay in a really fancy RV Park.  Besides, an awful lot of the RV Parks are gravel parking areas and not all that fancy.  

If you dry camp or boondock, or make the effort to learn how to travel w/o hookups, it really opens up the opportunities for traveling on your schedule rather than being tied to RV Park reservations.  

Plan on scheduling plenty of time for the trip.  3 to 4 months at least from the time you cross into Canada until you cross back into the lower 48 states. 

We never saw a situation where there was any lack of fuel availability. The towns along the Alaska Hwy and also the Cassiar Hwy coming back were spaced no more than 150-200 miles apart. Sometimes there was fuel available in between the towns.  We also traveled up early in the season, crossing into BC on April 27th and arriving in Fairbanks about May 18th. 

Our trip in 2016 was different from many other folks.  We spent 4 1/2 months, made no reservations other than at Denali NP, where we made reservations about 2-3 weeks before we arrived.  We boondocked or dry camped for 137 of our 139 days of travel. 

We have a blog of our trip if you are interested.  http://downtheroadaroundthebend.blogspot.com/2017/01/alaska-trip-index-april-26september-6.html

 

-- Edited by alflorida on Sunday 17th of June 2018 07:11:02 AM

My blog posts are linked above, we have 1120 watts of solar on the roof and 6 6 volt batteries. On the way up and back, we almost exclusively boondocked. (We Workamped the whole summer and had FHU’s). On the way out we were very glad to have our Honda generator (we actually have 2 but only needed one at a time) because there was not enough sun to keep batteries charged enough. I might also mention we do have a residential refrigerator, so it is an energy hog.

Keep in mind you will be very far north, so you will not get nearly the amount of sun as it is low in the sky. The only positive is there is longer daylight, but not sure it will be enough.

I’d suggest investing in a portable gennie, a Honda or Yamaha. Better safe than sorry or you may end up needing a plug.

Expanding a bit on Bill&Kelly's and Terry's generator comments for those thinking about generators, all very true.  Terry's comments are correct about high altitudes and gas generators.  However, if one is considering a built in generator in a fiver just be aware that LP generators don't have this high altitude problem with plugs fouling or with mixture issues, etc.  They don't even have a mixture control.  

We've run our 5500 watt LP Onan at 9,000 feet under load without issues.  LP is not quite as efficient as gas but it is a lot less trouble, the fuel doesn't go stale siting in the generator carburetor or tank, and the LP generator starts easily after sitting for extended periods.  While they have their drawbacks in motor homes they, IMO, make much more sense in a 5er if one is purchasing a larger, built-in unit.  Ours still going strong after 12 years installed in two different rigs.  

Just info.

I wish I too could go for the trip. :(

gumpster wrote:

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Plane on going to Alaska in Mid June of 2019. Have been following F/B site (original) Alaska 2019.the site is run by Paul Hana, he also has a web page and YouTube site. My wife and I will be leaving from Tidewater Va and hope to cross into Canada around Glacier National Park MT by late June. Meeting with friends near the crossing and hooking up with them for the rest of the trip. Would like to maybe include a couple more RV's to make the journey.

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 Providing a link to the Facebook site would be very helpful.  While I do use Facebook, I don't know just what I am supposed to search for from your statement: "F/B site (original) Alaska 2019."