Just Your Thoughts

I would take the best tool available to me. In this case it would be the Jeep. It sounds like a lot of fun, enjoy your trip and I hope you post your adventure along the way. Take care and safe travels. Tommy

2gypsies wrote:
Since the OP has two vehicles he can choose to take, I'd suggest the older one. Having gone there before he surely knows what kind of roads he wants to drive. However, these "horror stories" of damage to vehicles and the road conditions are left over from many, many years and keep getting repeated by those who have not gone there. Or else folks are bragging about the 'hardships' of driving there when in fact, there are no hardships. It's paved roads.

Some friends of my Mama who have long since retired from RVing went to Alaska every single year for almost 20 years. They loved it and never sustained any damage to their truck, camper, dogs or feelings. Alaska is cold and it is snowy and it is icy, but it is not a vast car-eating wasteland.

We towed our CRV for 60,000 miles without a scratch and then “Welcome to the Alaskan Highway” where we had both windshield and paint damage. Defensive and slow driving helps but the problem is not the bad construction areas but the chip seal in Canada which is not swept off of the roads.

This is what we learned from a RV repair place that was not trying to sell us anything. The biggest problem is the heavy rear mud flap that hangs less than 5” from the road. It will kick up the rocks on the road. So tie it up or remove it. I removed ours. This is actually not a mud flap at all. Its sole purpose is for advertising and marketing so leave it at home.

The vertical rock shield while protective can and does reflect rocks forward at the MH and will damage paint and rear radiators. The radiator shop in Whitehorse loves those shields! You could add a damping cover on the shield to help. The bras offer good protection but must be removed and cleaned every day otherwise the dirt that accumulates under them will rub the car paint. Be sure to cover everything including the mirrors. The bra must be a custom fitted one of professional quality. The ones I’ve seen have spring loaded snaps along the bra edges that connect to the car. The best protection is the horizontal shield that connects either over or under the tow bar. Our CRV would need one under the tow bar to protect the car radiator. This shield does not protect the car from traffic from the opposite direction.

In Watson Lake we made a bra. It was not successful as there was a lot of accumulated dirt under the bra. In Whitehorse we used a Yoga mat to make covers for the windshield and it was secured inside the car with shock cords. And a radiator cover which was secured by the hood and shock cords. These covers worked well and would have prevented most of the rock damage. It would not prevent rock damage to the leading edge of the hood.

As for rock damage, the only noticeable damage we had on our 2008 trip to Alaska was a rock to the MH windshield-------------on nice paved roads near Jasper!!! Could have happened anywhere else as well.

I don't understand anyone wanting to take a motor home trip to Alaska with a new or old tow or none at all. Guess I've heard too many wild stories. There are too many places I've never been in the lower 48.

CA Traveler wrote:
Not everyone sustains rock damage on their rigs on an Alaskan trip and they are fortunate.

You can have rock damage on any road but it's much more likely on the Alaska trip IMHO. One MH owner had 3 in his windshield and 2 of them remained after impact.

For those not willing to expect damage you're missing a great adventure. We're going back.

Thats why you carry glass breakage on your RV insurance and when you get back home call the insurance joint and they will send a man out to fix it

No Guts...No Glory....:B

Since the OP has two vehicles he can choose to take, I'd suggest the older one. Having gone there before he surely knows what kind of roads he wants to drive. However, these "horror stories" of damage to vehicles and the road conditions are left over from many, many years and keep getting repeated by those who have not gone there. Or else folks are bragging about the 'hardships' of driving there when in fact, there are no hardships. It's paved roads.

On our last trip we towed our Jeep with our 40' motorhome from Arizona to Alaska and back. The ONLY damage we had was when we left Arizona a rock hit our windshield and put a small crack in it. We decided not to replace it thinking since we're going to Alaska we'll probably get another cracked windshield anyway.

Well, we returned to Arizona with the same rock damage that was there when we left Arizona five months previously. We didn't get any dings on our vehicles during the trip. Of course, we weren't in a hurry and didn't drive fast. If we were on gravel road construction and an oncoming vehicle was approaching we pulled as far to the right as we could and many times, because the roads aren't heavily traveled, we came to a complete stop until the vehicle passed. No problems.

Also, we didn't have a solid rear rock guard on the back of our motorhome. We only have guards behind each tire. When we got to Whitehorse we saw folks removing those solid flaps claiming they were throwing rocks at their vehicles. Indeed, we did see some that had a layer of large stones nestled against their windshield. We had none of this. Perhaps they were just driving too fast or perhaps it was because of the stiff rock guard. Who knows?

Regarding the horror stories that would keep you from driving to this gorgeous state...the lower 48 roads have construction areas, too. Do you whiz through them? All the roads to Alaska are paved nowdays but yes, summer is the time they do repairs so you always have to be alert. You will not be driving at interstate speeds. Plan this trip when you have plenty of time to do it, preferably at least 12 weeks. There's a lot to stop for in Canada and the Yukon, too. It's not just Alaska that has the beautiful views! Enjoy!!

Not everyone sustains rock damage on their rigs on an Alaskan trip and they are fortunate.

You can have rock damage on any road but it's much more likely on the Alaska trip IMHO. One MH owner had 3 in his windshield and 2 of them remained after impact.

For those not willing to expect damage you're missing a great adventure. We're going back.

Well since you went in 2007 you at least have the luxury of knowing what to expect. We also buy new toads (contrary to advice from many)and will be doing it again soon. The Vue was new in 2006 and we have dragged it on every trip. Not a scratch on it.