Readying TT for ALASKA Trip

Don't believe the doom and gloom sayers! The trip is somewhat remote in places but not a problem if you SLOW DOWN and enjoy the trip. I did put some 3m type film on the lower front of the 5er, not sure if it prevented any gravel chips or not. Again, just match speed to conditions, it's not a race.

We drove up and back in 2016 and cracked our windshield in Montana.

I carried an extra 5 gal gas can; a spare tire for the 5er and pickup; and an extra unmounted tire for the 5er and pickup. Never used any of it but it was comforting to know I had the backup.

ENJOY!

When we went last year I packed like I was going to build a truck from scratch. When I go back I will still take a nice array of tools but not everything I own. I took two trailer spares and used only one and that was caused by something you could pick up anywhere. Some of the roads had some rather large rocks that looked like could shred a tire at will. Next time I’ll deflate them and still drive slow. I have a pancake compressor and little generator to reinflate with later. Deflating also helps on roads that were ruined (oops graded) with a bulldozer. It should help smooth those out too. I will also pack one supply of oil and a filter for an oil change because I found the stuff I use is not always readily available.
Remember, Alaska is not a third world country like some you tubers will have you believe. The best thing to have is lots of time with a heapin helpin of patience.
Hope you have a great trip!!!!

left the motor home in winter storage in Anchorage for four winters. Flew up in the spring and back in the fall. Drove to many lactations. Came back with no chips or dings on the MH or toad. It is not a matter of where you are, how you drive is what makes the difference. You may never see a gravel road for driving at speed. You will have frost heaves in the northern Yukon.

The main thing is slow down when you get in the gravel areas or areas with frost heaves. You'll see people driving like mad to get to Alaska and they miss all of the great sights in Canada.

If you drive to fast and bust something, you'll have to wait for repairs as all of the repair places are full waiting for parts to fix everyone else who drove too fast.

If you get a chip in your windshield it's relatively easy to get it fixed. In most campgrounds in the evening there will be someone driving around that does repairs.

Bill

Puddles wrote:
90% chance your windshield will be chipped... bigger issue to me was protecting the radiator... highly recommend a rock screen in front of the grill. One of the best trips we've ever taken... enjoy..

Nope, I never experienced a single chip. As previously stated, it is your vehicle running into a rock made airborne by a passing vehicle that causes the damage. I slowed down to a crawl or even stopped when passing vehicle was throwing rocks. No problem!

90% chance your windshield will be chipped... bigger issue to me was protecting the radiator... highly recommend a rock screen in front of the grill. One of the best trips we've ever taken... enjoy..

You've basically done as much as you reasonably can. Mudflaps or rock tamer type flap.
If you're extremely OCD and want to protect against every little chip, you could install a full layer of clear vinyl film like clear bra over the cap.

Welcome to the forums!

Maybe it's Murphy's law, but I've put a lot of miles on my trailer, about 50,000 and haven't had any "cap" damage from the roads, including the roads between here and Alaska.

Best thing to do if you're on a road with loose stone in my opinion is to SLOW DOWN ... it's not the speed of the passing vehicles that does the damage, it's the speed of your own vehicle slamming into the rock that was made airborne by the other vehicle.

2 spares, water hoses, fan, serpentine belts, etc.
Put some wire screens on your headlights. Try to avoid rocks coming the other direction to protect your windshield. Give big trucks plenty of room. Good luck.