2 wd vs 4 wd to Alaska?
We have just bought a new to us Lance camper 2013 9 ft 2 slides and have Dodge 2wd dually Diesel 2001. We are traveling to AK from Ut in August. Will we need 4wd?
Forum Discussion
I lived in Alaska going on 35 years now in the interior, as I have yet to own a 4wd rig to this day.
There were a few times during the winter I wished I had 4wd with the bad weather days, however if I were living in other parts of Alaska besides the Fairbanks area during the winter months - I would only commute in 4wd as there is generally more rain, slicker surfaced conditions and wetter snowfall with warmer freezing temps in comparison to subzero colder temps here.
Another note is if I resided in the nearby foothills rather than living on the flat valley floor here, I would definitely have 4wd during the winter months.
I have driven to Anchorage during the winter in 2wd rigs of mine on six occasions and yes at times it was nerve racking but always made it back safely.
As far as summer season goes, I been on practically every Alaska road there is on the linking road system for that matter and had no problem anywhere with 2wd rigs, even took my camper rig on the Dalton Hwy (haul road), up and over Atigun Pass with a 10 and 12 percent grade, and beyond pump station 4 in the north slope sector before turning around in August 2006.
If my 2wd 1970 Ford Truck that I strictly used as a camper rig for 20 consecutive years can putt around all over the far north country of Alaska and Western Canada that has logged over 46,000 miles of travel, in which at least over 3000 miles of that were unpaved roads and who knows how many frost heave surfaces and other construction zones in between, practically any 2wd rig can also bear the commute to Alaska while exercising the current road conditions with care meaning slow down in frost heave and other bumpy areas.
There were a few times during the winter I wished I had 4wd with the bad weather days, however if I were living in other parts of Alaska besides the Fairbanks area during the winter months - I would only commute in 4wd as there is generally more rain, slicker surfaced conditions and wetter snowfall with warmer freezing temps in comparison to subzero colder temps here.
Another note is if I resided in the nearby foothills rather than living on the flat valley floor here, I would definitely have 4wd during the winter months.
I have driven to Anchorage during the winter in 2wd rigs of mine on six occasions and yes at times it was nerve racking but always made it back safely.
As far as summer season goes, I been on practically every Alaska road there is on the linking road system for that matter and had no problem anywhere with 2wd rigs, even took my camper rig on the Dalton Hwy (haul road), up and over Atigun Pass with a 10 and 12 percent grade, and beyond pump station 4 in the north slope sector before turning around in August 2006.
If my 2wd 1970 Ford Truck that I strictly used as a camper rig for 20 consecutive years can putt around all over the far north country of Alaska and Western Canada that has logged over 46,000 miles of travel, in which at least over 3000 miles of that were unpaved roads and who knows how many frost heave surfaces and other construction zones in between, practically any 2wd rig can also bear the commute to Alaska while exercising the current road conditions with care meaning slow down in frost heave and other bumpy areas.
