Big rig friendly or Truck camper?

2gypsies wrote:


I think this is a big exaggeration. A big RV doesn't have to drive 5mph over frost heaves and doesn't drag. "A few axles by the road"? Really? :) We've never seen or heard of anything like that. This is 2016 not 1960. :)

I wish it were, but I followed a number of those big rigs at about 5mph over a number of potholes and frost heaves from Destruction Bay on up to the border and again on the Tok Cutoff. And a friend in a big fiver left an axle and a tire by the roadside near Burwash Landing. No, the axle thing isn't common, but it does and can happen. Most of the road is good, but the stretches that aren't just aren't.

As I sit looking out my window in Los Anchorage, and a few weeks ago on the road to the Kenai Peninsula, it is obvious that many folks come up here with big TT's, big 5th wheels, and big MH's.

As noted, I wouldn't get a camper solely for reasons of driving on the Alcan or the roads getting to it. However, a truck camper has much better mobility for driving around any of the unpaved roads of Alaska. Want to drive the Denali? Truck camper much more suited for that. Want to explore Downtown Anchorage? Truck camper much more suited for that. Want to drive over Hatcher pass.....not sure if any RV is exactly suited for that, but a Truck Camper comes closer than a big 5th or MH.

If one is planning that their trip will include more than just driving the main roads and routes, a truck camper might be more beneficial....but big trailers and MH's come to Alaska in droves every year.

2lazy4U wrote:
Granted, you can certainly make it to Alaska pulling a fiver or in a big motorhome. But having been stuck behind said rigs, especially from the Kluane stretch on to the border and also on the Tok Cutoff, I would rather be in a pickup any day. Five miles an hour over frost heaves isn't my idea of fun, and some of them still would scrape bottom. This is a small portion of the entire trip, but not insignificant time wise. I also saw a few axles by the road, and a friend who had pulled a fiver and basically parked it in Houston for the whole trip told me he felt bigged down by the thing. It depends on your own tolerance for such things. I like to be carefree more than sitting in my big rig all comfy. But them I'm a hiker and not much of a nester.

I think this is a big exaggeration. A big RV doesn't have to drive 5mph over frost heaves and doesn't drag. "A few axles by the road"? Really? :) We've never seen or heard of anything like that. This is 2016 not 1960. :)

Many, many expensive RVs are driven up there each summer. Like someone said It's not driving to the end of the world in extremely rough conditions. It's not interstate driving but then again, some of the interstates are in pretty poor condition, too.

Granted, you can certainly make it to Alaska pulling a fiver or in a big motorhome. But having been stuck behind said rigs, especially from the Kluane stretch on to the border and also on the Tok Cutoff, I would rather be in a pickup any day. Five miles an hour over frost heaves isn't my idea of fun, and some of them still would scrape bottom. This is a small portion of the entire trip, but not insignificant time wise. I also saw a few axles by the road, and a friend who had pulled a fiver and basically parked it in Houston for the whole trip told me he felt bigged down by the thing. It depends on your own tolerance for such things. I like to be carefree more than sitting in my big rig all comfy. But them I'm a hiker and not much of a nester.

Want-to-travel wrote:
Which highway? ?? In Alaska, or on the way there?

Any of the roads!
You're not going to the moon, thousands of motor homes, 5th wheels, truck campers, trailers, motorcycles and bicycles go to Alaska every year, all types of drivers, all sorts of conditions.
Some places there is road construction, same as anyplace else in the world.
The key is drive under existing conditions!
Some of the Interstates here are in worse shape than the Alaska highway!

Which highway? ?? In Alaska, or on the way there?

I just drove the highway for the second time. It is a no-brainer and not really any harder on your rig than the usual Lower 48 US Highway two lane road.

There are many many full bus chassis Class A's up here from down below.

I would think that getting a camper would be a waste of time and money.

If you wanted to have your cake and eat it too, you can do both. You could tow your trailer to Calgary, Vancouver, or Whitehorse, then rent a pickup camper from Fraserway truck rentals. The details can be found HERE.

You will see many Canadians traveling in rented Adventurer pickup campers from Fraserway on all the highways in BC and Alberta. We even met a young couple from Germany traveling in a very small Fraserway Class C when we were at the city campground in Burns Lake, BC. They had flown into Calgary, where they rented the RV, and had just left Banff and Jasper NPs in Alberta. They were on their way to Prince Rupert to take the ferry to Alaska. I have no idea of the cost of doing something like that, but it is an option.

But, as others have said, a long 5th wheel is no problem in Alaska if you already have it and are comfortable towing it for 10,000 or more miles on two-lane roads. I wouldn't have any problem taking it over the Top of the World Highway, but I personally wouldn't take it on the Denali Highway, the Dalton Highway, or the road to McCarthy/Kennecott.

Thanks for everyone's input. I really appreciate you taking the time respond

Well, I certainly don't call truck-camper camping roughing it, and maybe the folks around the fire enjoyed being outdoors, as most TCs and TTs have furnaces. But it does boil down to comfort versus simplicity and ease of getting around. The roads certainly aren't bad enough to preclude pulling a fifth wheel if you choose.