Towing a fifth wheel back from anchorage ak February

Thoughts:

- Hope the job justifies the PITA factor of getting the 5th wheel up here and back down;
- I happen to love winter.... that being said, even Los Anchorage will be dark and dreary in the Nov- Jan timeframe.
- As noted, people live in their RV's all winter in Anchorage. Skirting and a big a** propane tank really help.
- I see the posts above about average temps. Obviously, averages are average and you could see much lower temps at any given time on the way back.
- Don't know if it's practical for your situation, but if I was doing it, I'd close out/drain/batten down the 5th wheel in Anchorage and simply stay in motels on the way back.
- While not the worst of times, if you haven't driven in /on snow and ice before, really need to evaluate that. Even leaving out any L48 travel, there are things to be concerned about: polished ice at Los Anchorage intersections, heavy snows (well, it's possible even after the non-winters that Alaska has had) along the route, severe cold that requires cautious warmup of your vehicle, etc, etc, etc.
- There will be widely varying opinions on this, but you might think about the expense of winter tires for your tow rig. My personal approach is to have dedicated winter tires (either studs or Blizzaks) and dedicated non-winter tires. That can add serious $$ to the cost of driving in AK.

Opinion.

06Fargo wrote:
....
If you route home via the great plains you will travel in many days of winter weather. If you route home via Yukon,BC, and the west states you will have milder weather and lose winter sooner.
Sounds like an adventure...

Unfortunately the BC to Washington route gives lots more mountain passes. So it's a mixed thing.

Scottiemom wrote:
I'm curious, Sue, as to the temperatures you experienced on that 11 hour drive from Anchorage to home. . .


Dale

The average high in Yellowknife, in Feb, is about 25F, average low about 15F. There is about 8 hr of daylight in early Feb

When we winter travel toward an above freezing destination we leave with our camper or 5th wheel winterized and leave it that way until we are in above freezing daytime conditions. We carry some drinking water in the truck cab in jugs. We run the furnace. We flush the toilet with RV antifreeze. We don't carry food that will freeze damage. We have warm blankies....
If you route home via the great plains you will travel in many days of winter weather. If you route home via Yukon,BC, and the west states you will have milder weather and lose winter sooner.
Sounds like an adventure...

I'm curious, Sue, as to the temperatures you experienced on that 11 hour drive from Anchorage to home. . .


Dale

I have two pages of a drive from Anchorage to Whitehorse in my car in March 2013
http://yukonsights.ca/20140328_Anch-Whrs.html

And another set of pages of a trip we took with the fifth wheel from Whitehorse to Liard Hot Springs in March 2013
http://yukonsights.ca/20130329_Rancheria-Liard.html

Then we have two December trips with the motorhome
http://yukonsights.ca/19981212_AlaskaHwy.html
http://yukonsights.ca/20011215_AlaskaHwy.html

Hope you like night driving.

People live in RV's in Anchorage every winter. It's much colder in upper BC/Yukon than Anchorage. Most are in RV parks and have a large propane tank delivered and placed under the 5th wheel overhang and have propane delivered for refills. And the drive....I prefer a winter trip, less traffic, no road construction, and the roads are smoother. RV parks may be closed but most northern motels have no problem providing power for travelers...income is income!

I wouldn't worry about driving back more than living in the RV for 3 winter months. Would the park or wherever you're working help you out with making your RV more weatherproof (skirting) or will they help with the propane cost for trying to keep warm? What about fresh water and dumping? It probably could be done and there are probably Alaskans who do this but think it out carefully.

Driving home probably wouldn't be too bad but you'd have to be prepared to just stop anywhere if the roads get bad. You'd probably want chains on all tires, also.

Is this a good-paying job to want to do this? :) Could they use you at any other time of year?

Have you ever driven in the snow? If not, I'd scrap the idea completely. Tackling slippery weather conditions for the first time in a car is one thing but adding driving the 5er is nuts.