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Smitty77's avatar
Smitty77
Explorer
Apr 08, 2014

"Helpful Ideas for Alaskan Travels" - Air Filters & Chains?

In Janet's nice post on "Helpful Ideas for Alaskan Travels", I noted spare air cleaner. And on another forum, chains were mentioned too.

My normal maintenance cycle this year, included the replacement of the air cleaner (it was time by years, regardless of no need via the air restriction gauge readings). In our DP, this is one heck of a big air filter, and the box would take up lots of room.

So how about it? Those with DP large air cleaners, have any of you needed to replace one while on the road to Alaska?

Same kind of question about chains. I do have them, heavy they be and again the bags take up some space. While I've read time and again that the weather can be fickle, I've never out chains on this (or any car) - and have not desire to drive in conditions that require chains.

So how about it, 40' rig with tag. Pretty safe to not have chains and understand we may need to sit tight for a few days, perhaps a week, to let things clear out? (I do have a set for the CRV, and will bring them, in case they're needed for an emergency...).

Opinions on both please:)! TIA,
Smitty

10 Replies

  • Chains may be needed on steep grades immediately after a heavy snow. If you need them for the DP, you also need them for any tow. Your tow can drag you off the road and into the ditch in a heartbeat, which is why truckers also chain the trailers.

    The only reason one chains the trailer on a big rig is for the brakes .
  • Veebyes brought up a good point about following too close. Yes, there are portions of the highway that are dusty and it amazes me when you see a second and maybe third MH following right on the tail of the fist one in the dust cloud. You see it on the paved roads and I don't understand it there either. The following vehicles don't try to pass, they just sit there tailgating asking for an accident. Tailgating in the dust leads to accidents, chipped windshields, bad air into the engine and dust in the MH itself. Backoff and you'll see more and enjoy the trip more. You're on great trip, slow down and enjoy it. People get in a rush to get to Alaska and drive right through the scenery in Canada that is everybit as good as Alaska's.

    Here's another reason to slow down in the gravel that Sue brought up. I started off towing a Jeep behind a Ford station wagon before I ever knew factory tow bars and braking systems were made. Everything worked fine with the exception of towing too fast on dirt roads. In those days the Parks Hwy didn't even go through from Fairbanks to Anchorage. It went from Fbks to Clear and then later down to Healy and it was all gravel. If you went north of Fbks, it was all gravel.

    When you tow on pavement, the tires of the towed vehicle whether a car or trailer, grip well on the pavement. Now stop and think about gravel roads. As far as towing at faster speeds go, gravel is nothing more than little round ball bearings made of rock ranging from 1/4" to 1" in between your tires and the harder road base. If you tow a vehicle too fast on gravel, even in a straight line, the vehicle or trailer will start swaying back there - going from side to side. You paid a lot of attention to that when the station wagon you were towing with only weighed about twice that of the Jeep. At least towing with a MH you have a better weight ratio to control things, but the sway will still happen.

    And the same thing will happen when going around corners on gravel roads. You'll still have all of those rock ball bearings between the tires of the light toad and the solid road base - so there goes the toad swinging wide on the corners. You'll be watching the road ahead trying to see around the corner and never notice what's going on behide you. So while you're riding very comfortable in the heavy DP, depending on your speed, the toad can be back there swinging all over the place.

    Slow down - enjoy the trip. If you pay attention to the Mile Post it will tell you about all of the upcoming turn off so you can get off the road a little to let tailgaters get by.

    And a word of caution about the turn offs. You can come on them with very little notice because the road isn't very straight to see them from a long ways off. The navigator needs to be paying attention to the Mile Post and the mile posts along the highway. If you're in a DP with a toad, slow down and pay attention before your pull in. A lot of pull offs, the type where you completely pull off of the road and not just onto the side of the road, only have one access point. A lot of them don't have and entrance and an exit. This means that with a DP and toad, you can get into trouble because there isn't enough room to turn around in them either because it's a small pull off or other RVs is in the way. So slow down and take a look before pulling into some of them.

    We ran into the people updating the Mile Post last year (in Haines?) and they were traveling with a TC. We suggested that for further MP updates, they indicate which pull offs didn't have both an entrance and exit. Since they were in a TC, it really hadn't occurred to them. Hopefully it will start showing up in future editions.

    Bill
  • You may be going through North Pole but you won't need chains. Air filter replacement needs could be up to your driving style. If you drive in the dust cloud of the guy in front of you, see it often, then you will clog the filter much faster.

    Start the trip with everything serviced & in top shape, drive at speeds appropriate for the road conditions & everything should come back in good shape.
  • Yeah, what Tee Jay said. I've followed DPs northbound on the Alaska Highway, travelling a bit faster than the speed limit. Seemingly unaware that their toad is bouncing and crashing behind them.

    Have seen sparks fly with hitches hitting the pavement with towing vehicle going one way and the towed vehicle going the other on the frost heaves.

    One Class A's rear bumper hit hard, yet the brake lights didn't come on. Likely the driver wasn't aware.
  • Dust is a road resurface issue, not likely until August and by then it is usually raining. If your DP uses a common truck engine, parts are available in Ft Nelson and Ft St John as oilfield locations, Whitehorse, Anchorage and Fairbanks.

    Chains may be needed on steep grades immediately after a heavy snow. If you need them for the DP, you also need them for any tow. Your tow can drag you off the road and into the ditch in a heartbeat, which is why truckers also chain the trailers.

    Ran into a relatively heavy snow twice approaching Summit Lake in BC in May, once early and once late. Park at the side of the road and wait about 4 to 5 hours and the grader clears it off and they put sand/gravel down for traction.

    Northern BC and the Yukon have a lot of heavy industry and heavy truck traffic, and road closures and equipment failures are costly. They have what it takes to keep things moving.

    The bigger concern for DP travelers is to pay attention and slow down when you see the red flags at the road edge and the painted stripes go crazy. About the third time you peel the wife and dog off the ceiling reality will intrude. Don't mean to be uncivil but we see it every year, and the air suspension on the small bumps luls you to ignore the large ones.
  • I've used chains about 10 times on the road in 40 years of driving in AK and 8 of those were on a big rig.....I've used up about 4 sets of chains on the cabin truck to get through the mud, bogs, and dirt.... But that's off-roading and you won't be doing that

    No need for chains on the rv and there are filters for sale inAK
  • I travel on gravel roads all summer and I never had a problem with the air filter but I have a Truck Camper, so the air intake is comming in the front, your's is at the back. The road I travel are not very busy, just like AK gravel road so there is not a constant dust cloud. You will probably have more mosquitos than dust in your air filter!
  • When we were RVing to Yukon, did two December trips with the Class C and didn't need chains, even in a storm. Now that we live in Yukon, the only time the chains come out is when we need to plow the driveway with the Jeep after a winter snowfall.

    If you enjoy dusty backroads, the air cleaner might get a bit dusty. Otherwise, no worries.
  • We where in a snowstorm in Fort Nelson in May 2012, we just stopped for the day /night and the road was just wet asphalt the next day.
  • I came down the AlCan last summer and have lived in Alaska for 50+ years. I wouldn't worry about carrying either chains or a spare air cleaner.

    Air cleaners are available in Alaska. Call NAPA, Pacific Power, or Trailer Craft who is the Freightliner dealer if you want to double check before heading north. All three have stores in both Anchorage and Fairbanks plus there are plenty of other shops.

    As for tire chains, don't bother. I took the MH north the year before in very early spring and ran into a snow storm. We were trying to make time because I was short on vacation time - made it in 99 hours from Portland,OR to Anchorage. We had 3" of snow on the front of the MH one night. If we had been in the mountains I would have found a place to stop earlier. The snow was gone from the roads in 12 hours. If you're traveling during the normal summer months you won't have a problem. If if snows, sit it out for a day or two, after all you're in your traveling house.

    Bill