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
rockerbox, as far as I know, there are not any of the problems with motor vehicles and the water/oil separator (slobber bottle on diesels) on water cooled engines. As the OP is mentioning, on an air cooled aircraft engine, it is something that can be a potential problem of the most serious magnitude. When flying, the moisture leaving the engine as a by product of combustion, the water vapor given off has a tendancy to freeze the tube shut. Then the engine starts looking for other places to get rid of crankcase pressures. Once that tube freezes closed, then the engine will start blowing oil out any possible place on the plane. Doesn't take long to be out of oil in the crankcase and then engine failure. Many northern pilots, most likely the OP as well, will modify the hose with some extra holes cut into the top of the tube, up where the warmth of the engine should keep them from freezing shut. Also many northern pilots add a set of cowl flaps to keep the warmer air around the engine longer and to make the heater work more efficiently in the cold. You just have to remember when to open them and when it is OK to have them closed.
For windshield wash fluid, the regular premixed product you can buy in many stores, will freeze before it gets real cold. The best product I have ever used in is vodka (100 proof if you can find it) and mix a half cup of Dawn™ dish washing detergent. (makes it taste terrible though) LOL It is good down to about -70°F or a bit more. Plus it won't hurt your RV plumbing, as it has never hurt my personal plumbing, less the soap, in all the years I used it in Interior Alaska.
Just remember, the closer to the oceans you are, the less super cold weather you will find. This is why the Kenai, the Anchorage Bowl, Whittier, Skagway, the Whitehorse area is not subject to the super cold of Tok, Snag and Beaver Creek YT, Delta, Fairbanks, etc. I am not saying they have good weather in the winter, but not the super cold places like Tok and Glennallen have most winter. The place I lived that had the worst weather, IMHO, was in Nome, built on the beach of the Bering Sea. Minus 20 or 30°F is a cold day there, but the snow, the sea winds blowing salt water onto the houses, up to about 3 blocks in from the beach, will make homes look like giant ice cubes. When I first rented my small apartment in Nome in 1964, I asked why it had two doors, one facing the sea and one facing away from the sea. That winter I found out why as my front door that faced the sea, was frozen over with sea ice, probably a foot to 2 feet thick for several months. But you didn't have to plug your car in at night to keep the engine warm enough to start the next day.
Many of you have probably noticed the electrical plug ins mounted on poles in the parking lots of some businesses in Fairbanks. These are for the employees to use to keep their vehicle engines warm so they will start when the person gets off work. The ones at some of the big box stores are not really for RVs and most have an off/on switch located in the building. They may even rent out a few in the summer time. I often kept a parking spot, with a power plug in, leased at the Fairbanks Airport. Just like a seasonal stay with an RV at some campgrounds, a flat monthly rate for the site and the electricity was metered, on some of the parking sites.
A friend in Nenana sent me this photo last winter. This and colder is what the OP is hoping not to have to deal with.
For windshield wash fluid, the regular premixed product you can buy in many stores, will freeze before it gets real cold. The best product I have ever used in is vodka (100 proof if you can find it) and mix a half cup of Dawn™ dish washing detergent. (makes it taste terrible though) LOL It is good down to about -70°F or a bit more. Plus it won't hurt your RV plumbing, as it has never hurt my personal plumbing, less the soap, in all the years I used it in Interior Alaska.
Just remember, the closer to the oceans you are, the less super cold weather you will find. This is why the Kenai, the Anchorage Bowl, Whittier, Skagway, the Whitehorse area is not subject to the super cold of Tok, Snag and Beaver Creek YT, Delta, Fairbanks, etc. I am not saying they have good weather in the winter, but not the super cold places like Tok and Glennallen have most winter. The place I lived that had the worst weather, IMHO, was in Nome, built on the beach of the Bering Sea. Minus 20 or 30°F is a cold day there, but the snow, the sea winds blowing salt water onto the houses, up to about 3 blocks in from the beach, will make homes look like giant ice cubes. When I first rented my small apartment in Nome in 1964, I asked why it had two doors, one facing the sea and one facing away from the sea. That winter I found out why as my front door that faced the sea, was frozen over with sea ice, probably a foot to 2 feet thick for several months. But you didn't have to plug your car in at night to keep the engine warm enough to start the next day.
Many of you have probably noticed the electrical plug ins mounted on poles in the parking lots of some businesses in Fairbanks. These are for the employees to use to keep their vehicle engines warm so they will start when the person gets off work. The ones at some of the big box stores are not really for RVs and most have an off/on switch located in the building. They may even rent out a few in the summer time. I often kept a parking spot, with a power plug in, leased at the Fairbanks Airport. Just like a seasonal stay with an RV at some campgrounds, a flat monthly rate for the site and the electricity was metered, on some of the parking sites.
A friend in Nenana sent me this photo last winter. This and colder is what the OP is hoping not to have to deal with.
