Traveling the ALCAN in Winter
My wife and I have traveled the ALCAN several times in the summer and twice by auto in the winter, but never in an RV in the winter. Our plan is to leave Alaska in early October and return in January...
Forum Discussion
Thanks to all - Sue, Mike and Carole, Bill, Joe, and “sm” - for the very specific recommendations and experiences of your winter travels on the Alaska Highway. I have made a list of your suggestions and added them to my list of “must do’s” in preparation for the trip. Some of the comments made me laugh and that is what makes these “adventures” most enjoyable in life.
Sue - I hadn’t thought about the larger propane tank regulators freezing from moisture. I have had the smaller disposable bottles freeze on me when using as a fuel source for my aircraft engine preheater, but never thought that the RV regulators could also be susceptible to any moisture in them freezing. I may have to go into Anchorage to get the tank purged, but I will do that. We have yet to stop at Laird Springs; perhaps this October is the time to add that to our bucket list. I am familiar with using styrofoam for special purposes (outhouse seat spacers, etc) and always have extra pieces stashed away when needed…. like duct tape…. the all purpose survival tool. I spent a lot of time today reading your trip blogs. Thanks for those links; you have a great “Yukon Sights” web page. I’m glad you mentioned the gasoline antifreeze. Here in Wasilla, our fuel supplies have been water-free for years it seems… at least I haven’t needed to add it for years. But this winter trip to the Lower 48 is a very different situation; I’ll throw a case in the boot and take it along so I can add at each fill-up.
Bill - Thanks for the tip on the arctic jumper cables. I have cold wx extension cords for the block heater, but hadn’t thought about having more flexible jumper cables. In fact I didn’t know that such a product was available. That has me thinking about the RV electrical power cord. It really stiffens up in cold wx and perhaps I should put a hand warmer in that compartment to make it easier to use when a hookup is available. I just sent a request to Polar Wire in Anchorage for a quote for these wiring changes for my RV. I had to laugh about the poor guy whose radiator froze up…. jogging down the ALCAN is not my way of staying warm ! We are used to wearing arctic gear while traveling in winter in the arctic. I have been a volunteer pilot for the Iditarod Air Force and have flown our Cessna 206 to Nome and back many times in March. We have the arctic gear to wear when needed and will have arctic sleeping bags along in case the furnace fails at night. We’ll keep a close eye on propane use and top off the tank when available.
Joe - You are right…. we who live in the “banana belt” of Alaska do get complacent about winter driving. Only when I flew the Iditarod did I have to deal with serious cold temperatures. We don’t get those -30 and lower temps here very often. Now, “snow snakes” is a new one on me; I shall be prepared so I don’t populate the Highway with any of those critters. I’ve flown when temps were -30F and will probably us that as a guide for this drive-out, but as you know, doors, keys, latches, etc just don’t like to work properly when temps get that low, so we probably will be a bit more conservative and prefer a delay for warmer temperatures. We got caught in a blizzard after dark on the Highway one winter and I don’t ever want to duplicate that experience. We are hoping the make the return trip in early January to take advantage of the January thaw, but a close watch of the wx forecasts will be our guide for travel.
sm - Thanks for the chain tip. When we drove the Highway that winter in our Ford Explorer, I had chains on board but never had to chain up. Not sure which type to buy for the Class C RV; a 27 foot Winnie on a Ford E450 chassis. A set of those cable style look simple to install, but not sure how effective they are compared to a standard tire chain. I’m open to suggestions on that one from folks who have experience with them.
Thanks again to all for the tips, suggestions, and humor. We are looking forward to this “adventure” and will add our experiences to this thread when we return.
Sue - I hadn’t thought about the larger propane tank regulators freezing from moisture. I have had the smaller disposable bottles freeze on me when using as a fuel source for my aircraft engine preheater, but never thought that the RV regulators could also be susceptible to any moisture in them freezing. I may have to go into Anchorage to get the tank purged, but I will do that. We have yet to stop at Laird Springs; perhaps this October is the time to add that to our bucket list. I am familiar with using styrofoam for special purposes (outhouse seat spacers, etc) and always have extra pieces stashed away when needed…. like duct tape…. the all purpose survival tool. I spent a lot of time today reading your trip blogs. Thanks for those links; you have a great “Yukon Sights” web page. I’m glad you mentioned the gasoline antifreeze. Here in Wasilla, our fuel supplies have been water-free for years it seems… at least I haven’t needed to add it for years. But this winter trip to the Lower 48 is a very different situation; I’ll throw a case in the boot and take it along so I can add at each fill-up.
Bill - Thanks for the tip on the arctic jumper cables. I have cold wx extension cords for the block heater, but hadn’t thought about having more flexible jumper cables. In fact I didn’t know that such a product was available. That has me thinking about the RV electrical power cord. It really stiffens up in cold wx and perhaps I should put a hand warmer in that compartment to make it easier to use when a hookup is available. I just sent a request to Polar Wire in Anchorage for a quote for these wiring changes for my RV. I had to laugh about the poor guy whose radiator froze up…. jogging down the ALCAN is not my way of staying warm ! We are used to wearing arctic gear while traveling in winter in the arctic. I have been a volunteer pilot for the Iditarod Air Force and have flown our Cessna 206 to Nome and back many times in March. We have the arctic gear to wear when needed and will have arctic sleeping bags along in case the furnace fails at night. We’ll keep a close eye on propane use and top off the tank when available.
Joe - You are right…. we who live in the “banana belt” of Alaska do get complacent about winter driving. Only when I flew the Iditarod did I have to deal with serious cold temperatures. We don’t get those -30 and lower temps here very often. Now, “snow snakes” is a new one on me; I shall be prepared so I don’t populate the Highway with any of those critters. I’ve flown when temps were -30F and will probably us that as a guide for this drive-out, but as you know, doors, keys, latches, etc just don’t like to work properly when temps get that low, so we probably will be a bit more conservative and prefer a delay for warmer temperatures. We got caught in a blizzard after dark on the Highway one winter and I don’t ever want to duplicate that experience. We are hoping the make the return trip in early January to take advantage of the January thaw, but a close watch of the wx forecasts will be our guide for travel.
sm - Thanks for the chain tip. When we drove the Highway that winter in our Ford Explorer, I had chains on board but never had to chain up. Not sure which type to buy for the Class C RV; a 27 foot Winnie on a Ford E450 chassis. A set of those cable style look simple to install, but not sure how effective they are compared to a standard tire chain. I’m open to suggestions on that one from folks who have experience with them.
Thanks again to all for the tips, suggestions, and humor. We are looking forward to this “adventure” and will add our experiences to this thread when we return.
