Hey,Some of you might know our homebuilt RV (truck camper, toyhauler, class C...it really doesn't fit a category). For those who don't, we built a living pod and a garage/workshop pod that both go on a 2006 Isuzu NRR 4cyl diesel 20 foot flatbed truck with 19.5 Toyo M608Z tires. The garage pod holds our motorcycles and has tools + workbench while the living pod is where we sleep. Both pods are removable with jacks we carry in the underboxes but it takes an hour or two. We have completed a 11,000 mile trip of the lower 48 from Washington state to Florida pulling our 17 foot sailboat with no problems although the rig is slow up the mountains. We are thinking of leaving the sailboat for the trip to Alaska and perhaps leaving the 400 pound cnc milling machine and canoe/kayak to lighten up the garage pod.So, the questions:1) The truck is 2wd and we do have brand new dually chains but I have never driven the truck in snow. Is it likely we will not encounter much real snow if we leave mid April and take about a month to get to Anchorage?2) I go slow already, around 52mph during the 11,000 mile trip of the lower 48, which nets me about 10mpg pulling the sailboat. If I want to go even slower through most of the Al-Can, is it relatively easy to let people pass? Turnouts or just not that heavy of traffic?3) At 10mpg I have a max range of about 300 miles with the 31 gallon tank. I was thinking of taking at least 10 gallons more diesel. Is that silly or not enough?4) We don't carry a spare 19.5 tire for space and weight reasons, plus we don't have a jack that can lift the truck itself or a breaker bar to turn the lugs. Should I think hard about carrying a spare? In the lower 48 my plan was to just call a truck service but we have not had an issue to date with the new, heavy tread tires (which now have about 12,000 miles on them). A spare plus jack plus breaker bar is probably going to be 150 pounds, which subtracts from our cargo, but we are dropping the cnc milling machine and not having the tongue weight of the sailboat so it is possible.Thanks and here are a few of pics of our rig:

I doubt that you will need to install chains in April. Weather should be breaking into spring.Your speed is alittle slower then we traveled the Alaska Highway.You need to keep an eye your fuel gauge. Fill up more often. Fuel is available however stations are farther apart. Your 300 mile range should handle it. 10 gallons as precaution will do.Your good condition tires will do the job on most roads. Some of the shale gravel roads in the Yukon can be rough on tires. You might think about carrying an un-mounted spare, however it may not you do any good when there is no tire service location to mount it. There are tire stores along the route in most larger communities.Not sure where you are going to use sail boat. Is it worth taking is your call.It is a great trip!

I don't have anything productive to add, but wanted to compliment your awesome rig.

Your rig is cool you should start a company. Have any inside pictures? I carry a 20 ton bottle jack and a battery impact,used it to change a front flat with the camper loaded.

I run 19.5s on my truck and don't carry a spare. The place where my spare tire used to sit has been taken over by my Kelderman system's air compressor and other gear. I don't lose any sleep over it, the 19.5s are a lot more durable tire than the LRE tires they replaced. YMMV, but I'd venture to say you can get by without a spare. Like GTO66, I carry a battery impact. Makita XWT08Z, but it makes sense for you to grab whatever you have batteries for. I know that the Makita addresses 140# lug nuts like they're absolutely nothing.

I would leave the sail boat at home. The main places to use would be out of Valdez, Seward or Homer which means salt water ocean sailing. If you're you're not set up for that and experienced, I wouldn't. And unfortunately in our coastal areas it rains and a lot - not the most pleasant sailing weather. You do have Harding Lake south of Fbks, Big Lake north of Anchorage and Lake Louise east of Glennallen.Early April can be interesting. When we did it to bring the DP home, we were making a quick run for it. With two of us driving we made it in 99 hours from Portland to in the driveway in Anch. The DP was empty except for sleeping bags, snacks and no toad.Surprisingly you got to see a lot more because there were no leaves out on the trees further north to block the view - that was nice.We did run into snow south of Chetwynd during the night. Pulled into their tourist office and slept for six hours while it blew over and went on our way. If you run into snow, it shouldn't be a lot. Spend a day and wait it out. The temps will be warm enough that it will melt shortly on the pavement. I don't think I'd worry about the chains. If it snows, you're self contained, pull over and spend a while.Let me give you a word of caution on wet or snow roads in the spring if it's freezing out. My brother was the first one up the AlCan one year on a motorcycle. What he found was that in the mornings, the sun would come up and melt the snow or ice on where the sun was hitting. Then as he proceeded around a mountain corner or dropped into a shaded area where the sun hadn't hit, it was still icy - he went sliding a few times.As for people passing you, the Canadian members may find this answer a little strange. When we brought the DP back down and were pulling a toad, we were sight seeing and taking our time - usually about 55 MPH. The Canadians in their cars or trucks would be usually driving faster than that so they'd catch up to us, but they wouldn't pass, even on long wide straight stretches. Since there was good road visibility, I'd slow down to about 35mph driving over to the right side and sort of force them to pass us.Canada has lots of good pull outs with bathrooms and trash cans - a lot better than Alaska I'm sorry to say.I would take an inflated spare, jack and breaker bar. That's only 200# or less - leave the sail boat at home. Getting someone out there a couple of hundred miles to fix a tire is going to be a long wait. And remember cell service only works off of the single cell tower for a short range within the small towns. There are no cell towers all along the highway as you get further north. And when you get someone to bring you a tire, it probably won't match what you have on the rig already - you're going to take whatever tire you can get.Also think what it's going to cost you to get a tire repaired 50 - 100 miles from a tire shop at $100 an hour for shop time by the time they drive out there, fix the tire, and then drive back to their shop. Carry a spare and the tools. If you have some sort of auto insurance that's supposed to cover this, check how far they'll pay for the repair shop to drive. Also some of them require you to pay for it yourself and then seek reimbursement.Make sure whatever you're carrying in your pod is well secured for the frost heaves as you get further north. The first time you really hit one, things are going to go all over if not well secured. Make sure the pods themselves are well secured for the up and down motion of the frost heaves. SLOW DOWN. Usually the DOT marks the frost heaves with little red flags - pay attention to them, but they can't mark all of them though.Look into Good Sams towing plan. For under $100 a year, if you break down, they will tow you as far as needed in Canada or Mexico to get you to a repair shop that can repair your rig.As for fuel, you should be fine, but in the early spring not all of the tourist stops are open yet, or may not be on extended hours yet because the tourist traffic hasn't hit so fill up when you can.You will find lots of places to run the bikes, don't leave them home. Have a small extra gas jug that you can strap onto them.Bill

Driving our homebuilt rig to Alaska....questions

Crowe
Explorer
Feb 23, 2017
I've never attempted anything like that but have been to Alaska a number of times. I agree with leaving the sailboat home-as others have said there aren't a lot of places to use it. I do, however, find it hard to believe you'd venture that way without at least one spare and that you are concerned about an additional weight of what, maybe 100 lbs? As far as your concern on the space, could you mount the tire on top of the toy hauler? I would think that with those bikes not being very large it would fit inside. Just musing as I realize how jealous I am!
Jfet
Explorer
Feb 23, 2017
Thanks for the input so far guys, keep it coming...Alaska virgin.

There is a (very) long build thread on rv.net about our camper here:
Flatbed Camper

The Isuzu cab isn't that bad...we have driven 11,000 miles in the past 9 months in it. I think maybe the weight we have on it has dampened the ride because it doesn't bother me. My butt gets tired after about 6 hours though. The visibility and turning of the 28 foot rig is amazing. I can do a u-turn in a normal two lane road without getting the wheels on the grass. Hitting a moose is not going to be fun though, so I am going to try really hard to avoid that.

You have convinced me to not tow the sailboat. We had pretty much decided to leave it behind even though we do sail saltwater in it (only 3 to 5 foot seas in 20 knot winds). Also leaving the milling machine as I bet I will be too busy seeing the sights to use it. We have a 12 foot port-a boat folding boat we carry in addition to the sailboat, canoe, kayak and paddle board, so I will take just that and the 6hp kicker from the sailboat.

All of that saves me about 600 pounds, so I will buy a 19.5 Toyo and a spare rim and get it mounted. I will take a bottle jack and a breaker bar or something that can turn the rather large lug nuts. We have Klim gear in storage which must go since I think we will spend at least one winter up there and ride snow machines. We did that a lot in Washington State and actually designed the garage pod to hold two snow machines. The problem is the truck isn't a snow capable truck or I am not a snow capable driver in it so not sure what we will do about getting machines to the snow (have to buy the machines up in Alaska too).

Definitely taking the WR250R bikes. They are so much fun off road and street legal too. We do carry a spare 1 gallon on each bike...so about a 160 mile range.

I am getting a bit excited.
oldokie
Explorer
Feb 23, 2017
It would be nice if you had an enclosed trailer to carry your spare stuff. An open trailer would be very handy and not be too heavy. I have a 5x8 two wheel open that I would build a box that would fit on it and carry my extra stuff in it.
The_real_wild1
Explorer
Feb 23, 2017
This is May long weekend 2016. Yes it can snow any time of the year.If someone tells you otherwise they are not from here. Chances are you won't need chains but it won't hurt to have them just in case.
Luke_Porter
Explorer
Feb 23, 2017
I think the very first thing on the list for an Alaska trip is tires. Having tires in good condition and having the appropriate spares for your vehicles.

I had a heck of a time finding a 19.5 tire in Florida. Another time 60 miles east of Kansas City--wasn't so hard, but had to wait 2 hours for Wing Foot to bring some. That isn't going to happen along the Alaska Highway.

I think you will find hauling the boat up and back to be a HUGE Pita. I can assure you your trip will be much easier without it.
PA12DRVR
Explorer
Feb 23, 2017
One sees quite a few of the Isuzu's running around Los Anchorage, even in winter. Different box setup than yours, though.

If you're going to be chasing the snow to go snowmobiling, while it depends on where you are going to (and from)....just bring the chains. The major roads will be maintained to some degree at least and if you have chains, I suspect you'd be able to navigate any secondary roads to your drop-off point. In 20+ years of sno-going, I only had trouble twice with my 4WD pickup: Once in the parking area near Petersville and once on an ATV trail near Big Lake that I convinced myself was simply a snow covered access road. Chains would have saved hours of time and buckets in either situation.
Grit_dog
Navigator
Feb 24, 2017
Cool trip!
300 mi range will keep you from needing to use your spare fuel, but there are places along the way that you may need to re fill at half a tank to not run out before the next station. Don't ask me how I know....
You got a diesel, I'd put a slip tank in that thing and fill er up before hitting the border and re fill everything where the fuel is cheaper, like anchorage and the bigger towns in Canada. At a minimum I'd pack some emergency fuel.....and a spare.
Driving slow is what it is. You won't be the only one and in the frost heaves, it won't matter, since you have to slow down.
Bringing the bikes will be a blast. Lots of unbelievable riding up there. Same for Sno machines.
Only difference from anywhere else is you can actually get away from civilization. And it's unbelievably beautiful.
Mid April could easily still put some snow on most of the roads between middle of BC and everywhere north.
fulltimedaniel
Explorer
Feb 24, 2017
I am leaving in a few days to head to Fairbanks hauling my 33 foot trailer. By April you will be fine.

I disagree with many here...take your boat if you want there is great sailing in Valdez, Homer and Seward. But take a spare for the boat trailer. If you are a competent sailor you wont have a problem.

And while it is true that it CAN snow at any time. At that time of year it doesnt last long (a day) and usually the roads are cleared very quickly...at least in Alaska. This would be low on my list of worries.

The road is good and I am sure it will be no problem for you. Have Fun.
profdant139
Explorer II
Feb 24, 2017
This info is second-hand, so I can't vouch for it -- but I knew someone who was a fisherman in the Valdez area who said that there are waterlogged logs in the coastal waters that can easily puncture a hull. He called them "sleepers" -- he said that they are very hard to see or to avoid. I would think that a sailboat, which does not stop on a dime, would be at risk.

But I don't really know if this risk is significant or just occasional.
PA12DRVR
Explorer
Feb 24, 2017
Some final thoughts:

- The scenery in Alaska is spectacular. One can see more of it and more variation with toys (sno-go, ATV/Dirt Bike, boat, or airplane);
- Depending on the size of your boat/trailer, shoreside storage (i.e. parking the boat trailer) can be pretty costly at the coastal towns on the road system (as mentioned, Valdez, Homer, Seward) or at the areas near lakeside (i.e. Big Lake, Finger Lakes, etc) especially during the season. Most places have transient slips in the water but limit the duration of stay....and depending on location, getting a "permanent" slip may involve waiting. Also, although I don't know how it will play out this year, but last year, of course I checked in mid-season, a couple of places would only rent shoreside storage by the month....but I was looking for a 40' spot. Depending where you setup camp, it detracts from the experience a bit if every sailing trip involves a drive of several hours and launching and loading each time.
- Sleepers: a real PITA, ranking right up there with seaweed and related debris for powerboaters. Sleepers can be either naturally-fallen stuff that washes out to sea or (more frequently) timber (i.e. harvested, no branches) that has gone wandering during transit. Like Icebergs, most of the timber is below water with only a bit above water. Definitely hard to see and can cause damage if hit at speed. If one hits them end-on, doesn't take much speed to do the damage.
- OP mentioned a kicker.....obviously needed if one will be taking their sailboat in/out of the various harbors. Not needed quite as much if sailing on lakes....but very convenient.
- In years gone by, I've worked at Prudhoe and at Barter Island and gone hunting at Purkeypile: all of which experienced still air temps in the -50's and wind chill that was off the chart. However, the most miserably cold that I ever got was going out of Homer in a powerboat late March. The OP will be up a couple months later...but keep in mind that it will be pretty cool on the salt until well into summer...and the water's cold all the time.

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