Alaska Caravan - Summer 2017??

[R__Walter]

Anyone interested in caravanning together on a 60 day or so round-trip to Alaska this coming summer?

I'll ether pull my 5th wheel or load my 2004 Lance 815 up and take that. My wife and I are both early 60's, pretty physically fit and like to see and do things along the way. We're flexible as to when we depart and return, but cannot leave earlier than mid-to-late May.

I'm thinking, maybe 3-4 rigs traveling together or at least meeting up every night (or two)could be a good thing for the right couples.

Any interest out there?

[FLY_4_FUN]

I think its cool that you want to get together with like minded travellers and see some of the worlds most stunning scenery. Just as some on here prefer complete solitude, others enjoy the social aspects of RV'ing. I hope your thread generates interest, and I look forward to reading more about everybody's travels this summer. Having lived and camped in much of Alberta and the Yukon I envy those seeing the Alaska highway from an rv. Some day I will get back up that way.

[R__Walter]

2gypsies wrote:
OP: You stated you've been to Alaska several times already. I'm wondering why you want to caravan? You could probably drive it blinkfolded! 🙂

Long story.... my wife would prefer a group traveling together. I'd prefer not to get into the reasons why in this forum, but will be glad to explain to anyone who wants to travel together. Thanks for your understanding.

Again, interested parties please contact me.

[R__Walter]

Veebyes wrote:
Done The North 3 times. Once with another 5er owned by a very long term friend.

Not easy. There are conflicts in how much distance wants to be covered, conflicts in what time to get moving each day, conflicts of what to see & how much time to spend seeing it.

If you want the security of a caravan pay the $$ & do a professional tour. Otherwise wing it on your own. The North is not the dark side of the moon. Yes there is no cell service for huge stretches of road. Yes, roads can be very deserted. But along the way you will meet the same people at various CGs. Everyone is on the same mission. It is not like there are that many roads to make a wrong turn & get lost on. The worst frost heaves are better than the potholes of many interstates.

Slow down. Do it on your own at your own speed.

Thanks for your advice. As I said in the immediate preceding post, I'm looking for actual interested parties in caravanning together.

[2gypsies1]

OP: You stated you've been to Alaska several times already. I'm wondering why you want to caravan? You could probably drive it blinkfolded! 🙂

[Veebyes]

Done The North 3 times. Once with another 5er owned by a very long term friend.

Not easy. There are conflicts in how much distance wants to be covered, conflicts in what time to get moving each day, conflicts of what to see & how much time to spend seeing it.

If you want the security of a caravan pay the $$ & do a professional tour. Otherwise wing it on your own. The North is not the dark side of the moon. Yes there is no cell service for huge stretches of road. Yes, roads can be very deserted. But along the way you will meet the same people at various CGs. Everyone is on the same mission. It is not like there are that many roads to make a wrong turn & get lost on. The worst frost heaves are better than the potholes of many interstates.

Slow down. Do it on your own at your own speed.

[R__Walter]

CA Traveler wrote:
Listen to Sue. We meet a guy in Dawson Creek that was in day 19 getting his 5er repaired.

Thanks for all the advice. As stated in my opening post, nothing is set in stone. I'm quite flexible as to miles per day, start dates, return dates, the exact itinerary and so on.

Right now I'm simply trying to find several 2 or 3 interested parties. Any takers who would like to take the conversation to another level such as a telephone conversation or PM?

[CA_Traveler]

Listen to Sue. We meet a guy in Dawson Creek that was in day 19 getting his 5er repaired.

[sue_t]

R. Walter wrote:
Thanks for the interest, but I'm thinking that I'd probably like to cover 250-300 miles a day or so, which may be a little faster than you like. And maybe take a day off in a nice location every 3 -4 days.

If you're towing a fifth wheel, 300 miles a day might be optimistic for the Alaska Highway. There will be construction zones with up to a 30 minute wait for the pilot car, and there will be sections with lots of frost heaves and dips that can damage your rig if you hit them too fast. There are sections of the highway where we invest four hours to travel 100 miles so that we don't damage the fifth wheel - bent axles are common.

With the truck camper we can make better time but we still mosey along when we know the highway is unpredictable.



36km of road construction equals 22 miles


Although, sometimes the wait for a pilot car can be entertaining

[CA_Traveler]

BTW Commercial caravans can use a lot of CG sites and they have reservations. For those situations leave by 9 AM and stop ahead of the rest of the pack by 2 PM.

[CA_Traveler]

Trying to coordinate even 2 campers might not work out due to diverse interests and schedules along the way. My suggestion is to communicate with each other about your planned stops and just meet up when possible.

Communication is limited especially in Canada. CG WiFi should be good enough to sent text messages especially if you have a amplifier to help. But don't be surprised if you have to walk over near the antenna for access.

Cells only work in the towns and your plan has to have Canadian access. For $15/month additional we added Verizon access and that served us well. Do this before you cross into Canada.

[kedanie]

R. Walter wrote:

kedanie wrote:
We'll be heading north around June 1st for what will most likely be at least a 3 month trip. This will be our second trip. Don't mind meeting up every couple of days. However, traveling full time together is a mistake, found that out the hard way! Way too much to do and see for a 60 day trip. That's why we are planning for at least 3 months.

Keith

I've been up to Alaska several times in the past and kinda want to be heading back down south before September 1 to get back to NM and get ready for elk and deer. Maybe could caravan up together?

We'll be going up the west side of Glacier Park and Flathead lake heading through Lake Louise and Banff. We intend to wander around quite a bit and have short travel days. Will keep an eye out for NM plates and if we meet somewhere have a cool drink. Not really fond of traveling on a schedule anymore.

Keith

[c_traveler2]

If you take you Lance 815 please post a Truck Camper Trip Report in the Truck Camper forum of your adventure. We also have a 2002 Lance 815 and hope to go back to Alaska in 2018.

[R__Walter]

kedanie wrote:
We'll be heading north around June 1st for what will most likely be at least a 3 month trip. This will be our second trip. Don't mind meeting up every couple of days. However, traveling full time together is a mistake, found that out the hard way! Way too much to do and see for a 60 day trip. That's why we are planning for at least 3 months.

Keith

I've been up to Alaska several times in the past and kinda want to be heading back down south before September 1 to get back to NM and get ready for elk and deer. Maybe could caravan up together?

[R__Walter]

gemert wrote:
We are planning on entering Canada at Sweetgrass Montana on or about June 1st. We have reservations at Grizzly Bear Resort over July 4th. We only drive 4 hours a day and sometimes stay somewhere we like for 2-4 days. That is the extent of our plan. We are not opposed to traveling with others but we understand that our travel patterns are a little different than most. We will return when we get around to it, probably September.

Thanks for the interest, but I'm thinking that I'd probably like to cover 250 -300 miles a day or so, which may be a little faster than you like. And maybe take a day off in a nice location every 3 -4 days.