Protecting The Truck

We left Arizona with a cracked windshield on the towed Jeep. We decided not to have it repaired thinking we'd just get another on our Alaska trip. We returned to Arizona with the same crack and no additional damage.

As other stated, leave space between you and the person in front of you on gravel/construction areas. When you see an oncoming truck moving fast pull over to the side as far as safe and slow way down. Many times we just moved over and stopped. Some of those roads have very little traffic and you can do so. This is especially true in the Destruction Bay area, rightly named. :) It will always have miles of gravel because of the permafrost.

Our damage came on good paved road just about 30 miles north of Dawson Creek. We had a cracked windshield and dents in both the truck hood and the front cap of the 5th wheel. A gravel truck going the opposite direction lost some of its load and it hit our truck. We had the damage to the truck repaired after returning to the lower 48 and not more than a couple months later, we were hit by a rock on the interstate and the windshield was broken again. So damage can happen anywhere. That was the only damage we had and we did not meet anyone else who had damage. We were just unlucky.

The year my Mom and Dad went they did two things. Dad bought an over sized (probably 2" higher while resting on the bumper) bug screen and the unit he bought allowed him to cut out the screen to line up the headlights properly. He also went and bought some of that rubber ribbed floor runner and completely covered the lower section of the front of their fifth. He fastened the rubber to the camper using sheet metal screws and aluminum 1/2" strapping (don't forget to cut out and strap for the propane tank door - do not cut the hinged side and just drill out the smallest hole for the door handle). The only damage they had was a flat tire. My dad was a diesel mechanic and welder and I have to admit that this project of his was one of his best and was the nicest I had ever seen. In retirement he built many beautiful pieces of oak furniture which wasn't bad for a person who grew up in the nineteen twenties and thirties ) and only had a grade three education). I'll sure miss the education I got from him - measure twice and cut once / is there a better way to do this.

We drove to Alaska last summer and didn't put anything extra on the front of the vehicle. We had no damage there or to the windshield except for BUGS.
We did get some pitting and roughening of the surface on the front of the 5th wheel in the area directly behind the rear wheels of the TV.

Also slow down on either gravel or narrow roads (NOT just in AK!) when meeting another vehicle. maintaining distance behind vehicles in front is important - tougher when passing. At least by slowing down rocks. etc coming at you will have less impact. Except for a couple VERY minor pings in the hood and a tiny windshield chip (which occurred in the lower 48 on our way to AK!), no other damage in 15k miles on our AK adventure! ST

Drove to Alaska summer of '16. Didn't do anything to the front of the truck. Put plastic film (imitation 3m) on lower front of 5th wheel which seemed to protect it well.

There really isn't much more exposure to road damage on the Alaska Hwy than anyplace else. The best approach is to use a little extra caution and slow down in construction zones.

Opinions are ....well, we all know what opinions are like. So, FWIW, my opinion

- In 20+ years of driving the Alcan (admittedly not too recently) I saw some of the most outlandish contraptions one can imagine...some of debatable usefulness

- "...back in the day", the big worries were radiators, fuel tanks, and headlights. Other than the possible exception of headlights, those aren't as worrisome now...and I think headlights are much less susceptible to damage.

- Most protectors cause enough damage to finishes (paint, plastic, etc) so that any benefit of avoiding impact/penetration damage is outweighed.

Opinion only YMMV

What I ahve found works best on gravel roads for protecting the front of your TV is distance. Keep a distance between you and the vehicle ahead of you. Keeping the distance allows the dirt and gravel to settle down before it hits your truck.

As for the front of your fuver, use a good quality mud flaps loke "Rock Tamers". Make sure there is a couple inches between the bottom of the flaps and the road surface.