Alaska without toad?

Tom/Barb wrote:
some thing to remember ---- they rent cars in Alaska.

And they're virtually unavailable during tourist season and marked up about 300% compare to the off season. Don't rely on being able to get a rental in the summer without advanced reservations and deep pockets.
Agree with posts so far about the toad. If you're adventurous a small 4x4 or a sxs or quad(s) will extend your smiles per mile if you want to do more than drive the highways.
Personally I wouldn't consider taking a big trip there without something to get me off road.
That said, even getting to McCarthy is easy with a 25' C.

The last 4 round trips we have made to Alaska have been in a truck camper. We don't tend to stay many nights in one place so don't really need a tow. If we are staying a week in Fairbanks, Valdez or other urban areas, we have at times rented a car. Most of our trips have been in a mid sized Class C without a toad. Only remember pulling a toad on one trip. Nice to have while there, but a pain to get it there. When RVs get over the 30 ft. range, toads seem to be more useful to have with you. Most full timers pull a toad everywhere they go, so a trip to Alaska is no different.

We now camp in a 31 ft Class A and pull a Jeep Wrangler on most trips here in the lower 48 May try to work in another trip to the north country next summer, but not sure if the Jeep will get to go or not. Sold our truck camper and 5th wheel so no longer have the option of taking one of those. I tend to tell folks, just take what you own and are comfortable driving.

We bought a 22.5 foot RVision B+ for the 3 months trip to Alaska and back. Did not want to take a toad because we came back on the ferry system and it was cheaper without.

Great trip and we love the B+. Easy in/out of anywhere. Parking was never a problem and it had enough space for the two of us.

Dale

If you are accustomed to traveling in a C without a toad you are the best judge of how well you can manage Alaska. We were very happy in our Roadtrek sans toad for trips in the eastern USA & Canadian Maritimes for up to six weeks but when we started heading out for three to four months to Alaska and the western provinces, we switched to a TT pulled by a 4x4 truck. We have made three such trips in the past six years. There is simply no way that we could have had the range of experiences we had without a toad or separate tow vehicle. That said, we are now the proud owners of a B+/C- and a little KIA toad. We do not anticipate doing the kind of off-road exploring that we did in the past. lizzie

some thing to remember ---- they rent cars in Alaska.

Some thoughts from Alaska and an Alaskan:

- Disclaimer is that other than renting a Class C once and a Class A once, my camping in AK is either truck, plane, or backpack camping; I have driven most roads in the state;
- As noted in previous posts, many folks will say that a toad is not needed unless you go out in the boonies: this is factually true.
- I would offer that if your style is to stay several days at one spot, a toad would be very beneficial, even if not in the boonies: Staying at Matanuska Glacier and want to run up to Eureka to see how the locals drink? Toad is much more convenient. Want to run in to McCarthy/Kennicott ("run" is a stretch) from Chitina? Toad is much more convenient.
- REcognizing that most RV'rs stay away from Anchorage (and I could understand that), still, if you're spending time at a spot (ER State Park for 14 days, perhaps?) where you'll want to see Anchorage, a toad is helpful. FWIW, if I'm going "downtown", I'll leave my pickup parked and take the Jeep Wrangler
- Ditto even some of the smaller towns (Talkeetna, Homer, Palmer, etc): Very little that can't be accessed with a MH/Class C/Whatever, but a toad is much more convenient.
- If one is taking ferry's, railroad, etc, a toad would be a monstrous PITA
- If one likes to take the dirt roads (not 4WD trails, just some of the dirt roads) a toad can be a much more carefree and enjoyable way of noodling around
- Want to spend an evening seeing the bright lights and having a nice dinner "downtown" (whether Anchorage, Fairbanks, or Homer)? Easier in a toad. Entirely do-able (with planning) with a bigger rig, but easier in a toad.

All the above assumes that "toad" is something like a small p/u or a Jeep or something of that nature. Much of what I see as benefits of a toad are lost if it's a Prius or something like that.

We went up to Alaska summer of 2015 in our 27 foot C without a toad. Never felt like we needed one. Out of our 3 month trip, we rented a car for one day to see a few things we didn't want to use the coach for. However, there are many folks who like to do more out-of-the-way trips, and were glad to have their toad. Sit down with the folks going on your trip and determine what you want to do/see and figure out if a toad is desirable. Also, keep in mind that if you use the Alaska Marine Ferry system for any leg of your trip, your fare is based on the total length of your vehicles.

We went to the Yukon and Alaska again this yr with out the toad and didn't have to worry about getting into a tight spot with the toad, just put it in reverse and back up, Even stayed with Sue.T this yr and their driveway is fun to back out of, the only problem when your 30 miles from town and parked it is sure nice not to have to break camp when you have the toad with you.

We toured Alaska in a 26ft B+ without a toad and were glad to be toadless. It really depends on how you spend your time and your goals.

We took a number of ferry trips with the motorhome and it would have been much more expensive and difficult to fit if we had a toad. Getting into some camp sites would have been more difficult with a toad. As we were traveling more than camping we didn't miss a toad.

We got very dirty on some roads and it was much easier and cheaper cleaning up without a toad to wash. We saw one toad that was so covered with oil/dirt from the chip seal road construction stuff that you could not tell if it had windows or what color it was. I personally would not tow a nice car/suv to Alaska, maybe a beater ;-). We made sure we washed the RV frequently when traveling in areas where there was chip seal road construction.

Great trip...we tried to keep it simple as see a much as we could.

I was born and raised in Alaska but hadn't been back since I left for college. When I retired I made my first trip back in my Class B without a toad. This year I made the trip back in the same Class B but towed my Jeep Wrangler with me. I didn't really need or use the 4-wheel drive, but it's my other vehicle. I did do a lot more exploring and travel with the Jeep (15,000 miles not including the drag up and back) than I had in the RV on my previous trip. So I'd say it depends on your camping style and how much exploring you want to do.

The Jeep was nice for the trips up the Dempster to Inuvit in the Yukon, the Top of the World Highway, Prudhoe Bay and Eagle, AK but I wouldn't have a problem driving those roads in my RV.

I will be going back again next year for a HS reunion and I'm seriously considering dragging the Jeep again. There are some places and side trips that are much cheaper and easier in a small vehicle vs an RV, such as exploring the the marine highway on the ferries. I was able to get squeezed onto the ferries even when they were booked full where folks with RVs sometimes had to wait for days to get a booking for a trip.