Spare tire for Alaska trip ?

Plus, very desolated, no big rig garage, tires available, yes but hundred miles away. A spare = peace of mind.

Keep in mind the road from Destruction Bay north to Alaska is "Terrible" with miles and miles of gravel. Lots of potholes also as of one week ago.

Been there twice with a truck camper, first trip, one flat in the middle of nowhere, a rock punctured the tire. Second time, one tire got a broken cord and started going out of round. I brought 2 tires and used one each time. One was under the truck, the other on the roof.

I would bring a spare. I think I can fit one just in front of my Generator (I have a DP), the opening is about 22 inch, if not, I would bring it on the top, just tie it to the ladder. To take it down, just push it.

There are many lonely strech, at least, you have the tire and do not have to wait for one. These tires can me mounted with pry bars, of course you would need a service truck going to you.

I carry a spare tire, a rated bottle jack and lug tools to change. While I may not feel capable of doing the job myself, at least I am ready to accept help, without getting stranded for a week. While there are services available, scheduling has to be considered. A fellow camper south of Whitehorse a hundred miles was stuck for two weeks last summer waiting on shop time availability and tow truck for a diesel exhaust problem.

FWIW, I traveled the Alcan for circa 20 + RT's (or combination of 1-ways that added up to 20+ RT's) between '76 and 2007-ish. Took a few partial trips in the intervening years but not all the way.

In that time I didn't drive an RV, but drove every other type of vehicle from passenger cars to KW's. Dumb luck or not, I never had a flat....but I always had at least one mounted spare. Maybe that's the key.

A few years ago, I decided to go to Northway just to see what was left. Had two mounted spares in my pickup bed. Had one flat just outside of Palmer, then two more before I got to Northway. Thank goodness for the plug kit and a bottle of compressed air.

Next time I get a hankering to go to Northway, I'll just bypass it and go to Whitehorse instead. :)

We didn't carry a spare for our 40' motorhome. However, we did replace all tires before making the trip. They were 5 yr old at the time.

The roads are worse in the lower 48. Nasty interstate potholes come to mind.

Seems one way to guarantee not needing a spare is to carry more than one. We did carry 2 last year. One on a rim. The other, a used tire with some life still in it, unmounted.

Turned out that we did need the spare but that was not due to a northern road damage. It was due to damage sustained on a civilised highway S of Calgary.

And if you do get a flat and you've replaced it, I'd suggest to get the the removed tire either repaired or replaced a.s.a.p. . That way you'll always have two spares.

And you may not be more than a day from road service but will they arrive with your tire? They will change it if you have it with you though. Several years ago we broke down near Kluane...two days for a part to come from Whitehorse. The mechanic said that was lucky, usually took longer.

Yes you need a spare. It can be a long way between tire stores and it will be round trip. So a day to go get a tire a day to bring it back. Many people take 2. Many of the little "towns" you see on the map are just a few houses and maybe a gas station and restaurant. I had a flat 2 miles from Homer and it still took a day and a half to get back on the road...and that was just a truck tire. Same thing happens on the Cassiar and you could be sitting a week...not in a campground, just on the side of the road. It is amazing the # of things that need to be ordered from Whitehorse, Kamloops, Anchorage or Fairbanks. There is just not enough call to keep many items anywhere else.