I can't comment on RV'ng to Alaska either solo or with a caravan as I've done neither. There was the trip in '76 with a duece-and-a half Jimmy that kept breaking down, but that is the days of old.
Since I can't comment on the RV perspective, I'll only offer that if this is truly going to be your one and only trip to AK, take the whole bloomin summer to come and go....3.5 - 4 months, maybe even 5 depending when you want to leave STL and how leisurely you want to travel to the U.S./Canadian border.
Don't know if that kind of time is at all in the cards, but there is so much to see on the way to/from and in Alaska that the "only" trip deserves to be a long one.
If that resonates, it probably eliminates the caravan option.
