Trans Labrador Highway

Don't forget to turn left at Deer Lake. There's a lot of island east of that point.

We will cross to NFLD at Blanc Sablon. This will be our second trip across Canads/USA. In 2008 we had a truck camper and towed our new MX5 Miata on a car dolly. Worked really well - 18,000 kms on the truck and 6,500 on the car. We want the car because I don't want the use the MH for sightseeing. We went to NFLD last time, and across to Quebec/Labrador for one day, and want to spend more time in the province.

Martin

Martin...how are you going back? Same way or through newfoundland?

My two cents...go through newfoundland!

Why do you need that toad?

donna

Thanks to all for the comments. Much appreciated. I don't drive very fast at the best of times so going slow will be natural for me. We are planning to rent a satellite phone for the planned 3 month duration of our trip, and I will look into protection for the toad.

Just the fact that dcason is planning to do the trip again is encouraging.

As mentioned, our trip is for 2020 and I will be looking for more info. before we set out.

Thanks again.

Martin

Thank you for the update. We did this in 2013 with no problems and decided to NOT get the satellite phone...next time I think we will. 25 foot class c with NO toad and won't bring one next time as we use our class c as a roaming hotel and not a base camp.

For us 389 was the worst...could not get up to a good speed (40 miles per hour) to let the suspension do the work because it was up/down, weaving winding. BUT I think I talked hubby into driving it again!

Next year it is on our list and we will take more time.

I hope, Martin, that you have some sort of protection for the toad from flying gravel (protect a toad?)or just go very slow on the gravel...which is pretty easy...
Donna

We drove from Quebec to Goose Bay to Blanc Sablon to Newfoundland to Nova Scotia last August. I can't remember exactly how much of Hwy 389 in Quebec was unpaved -- I think about 400 miles. It was not too bad if taken slowly. Actually, we needed to go slowly on the paved protion of 389, also! But we enjoyed the experience. From the Labrador border to Goose Bay, the road was good pavement.

From Goose Bay to Red Bay (Labrador highway) was another story. I rate that road as horrible. Even taken slowly, I had some damage to both Fifth-wheel and truck from pounding. I would not want to repeat that trip.

If I were to do it again, I would return from Goose Bay the way I went up (Quebec 389) and enter Newfoundland via the Nova Scotia ferry. That's a must longer trip to be sure, but the pounding from the Goose Bay-to-Red Bay road was just too hard on the equipment. I spend more than a week in St. John's getting the truck repaired, so the few extra days spent taking a longer road would not have been wasted, had we gone that way.

Yeti plus wrote:
That happened just before we headed from Quebec north.They had equipment on scene on both sides within a day, then had to wait for water flow to lessen and within a week it was repaired. When we went through there was still equipment off to the side and they still had to pave, but it was open to traffic both ways.
Interesting side story. Our son was in Peru to do some climbing, but phoned to wish his mother Happy Birthday. We mentioned the washout, he said let me check on it as he has a friend that works for NL government. Within 5 minutes we had a reply that road would be good by the time we got there. Peru to NL to Peru to Quebec in 5 minutes!
Gotta love technology!

I believe it, because you couldn't have made that up. :B

Can I get the friend's phone number at the NL Transportation and Works, in case we ever decide to try it? His name wasn't Barry, by chance?

That happened just before we headed from Quebec north.They had equipment on scene on both sides within a day, then had to wait for water flow to lessen and within a week it was repaired. When we went through there was still equipment off to the side and they still had to pave, but it was open to traffic both ways.
Interesting side story. Our son was in Peru to do some climbing, but phoned to wish his mother Happy Birthday. We mentioned the washout, he said let me check on it as he has a friend that works for NL government. Within 5 minutes we had a reply that road would be good by the time we got there. Peru to NL to Peru to Quebec in 5 minutes!
Gotta love technology!

How did this little "problem" look when you went through?

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/labrador-washout-1.5187265

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/tlh-washout-trimper-1.5193657

Be aware that this sort of thing happened in June of this year, and could happen again, there or somewhere else, so just an FYI. It completely closed the highway, no exceptions and no alternate routes.
Like the Boy Scout's motto......

We drove the Trans Labrador Highway at the beginning of July. Yes the road through Labrador will be down to about 150 km of gravel by the end of this construction season, but the gravel sections aren't bad.
That's the good side.Now for the bad side.The road from Manic 5 to almost the Labrador border is still a bad gravel road!And the paved part isn't very nice either.However there were lots of what appeared to be road straightening and widening sections of construction in Quebec.
We travel in a Chevy dually with a Bigfoot camper, and a bicycle carrier on the hitch, so about 28.5 feet overall. We had no problems, and you shouldn't either. Just watch the fuel level and fill up at the towns and at Relais Gabriel. It is basically a restaurant and fuel stop at just the right place.
Enjoy the trip.
Brian