1976-ish, getting ready to head (on that trip) up from Helena to Los Anchorage involved: full mechanics set of tools on the 1-ton, 40 gallons of gas (in 5-gallon cans) between the 1-ton and the deuce and a half, 1 spare for the 1-ton (on rim) 2 spares for the deuce and a half (not on rims), headnets, 10 gallons of water (for drinking), a couple of shovels, bottle jack(s), hand saw, ax, 2500 in cash that was converted into Cdn as soon as we crossed the border, 1000 in reserve USD, telex code, and both Visa and MasterCharge. Lost two tires on the deuce-and-a half, fortunately not both at once, so we could limp to the nearest place to get the replacements mounted. Lost a hub gasket on the deuce-and-a-half...fixed that by wrapping kitchen string around the bolts until we could get to (IIRC) FSJ. Spent most of the 2500, missed getting dragooned into fighting fires by 1 hour....it was actually a great trip.
Fast forward to 2018....leaving from Idaho this time: check that Visa and Mastercard are paid off, check that the spare in the Sequoia is full. Drive.
In the 20+ trips in-between, the only flat I had was when I picked up a load of airplane parts from a construction site...grabbed a nail. It makes sense to carry a spare for whatever rig you have, but the road doesn't chew tires like it used to.
The scenery is still spectacular and it's a nice drive; some of the character of the old Alcan is lost in the improvements though.
