Alaska costs

2gypsies wrote:

Veebyes wrote:
I'm thinking something over $20,000 for a four month trip all in.

It all depends on how you travel and your needs but I think your estimate is way over. Of course, it will be nice when you return with some extra money!!

Agree, current estimate for us on fuel on gasbuddy.com Austin, TX to Fairbanks, AK $3242 x2 $6484. 8 MPG DP
Campsites average $40 $5600. for 140 days. This will probably be less.
$12,084. When we travel fuel and campsites are extra everything else we would spend anyway.

lizzie wrote:
For our 2013 trip I took Joe's advice and budgeted $10,000 for our 90 day, 15,000 miles trip from Florida to Alaska and return to North Carolina. I do not include food in trip expenses since we have to eat wherever we are. We spent about $500 less than expected but we did not drive the Dempster Highway, as planned. Otherwise, we didn't pass up anything that we wanted to see or do. lizzie

Second the food cost. We only include fuel and camp sites in the expenses. Everything else we would be paying out wherever.

Following on AKsilvereagle's suggestion regarding the Cassiar, it is another reason to take the AK Hwy northward in the spring and Cassiar south later in the summer or fall.

The AK Hwy is better maintained through the winter and usually needs less spring tweaking. The infrastructure is also more robust.

The Cassiar is more prone to flooding and washouts in the spring due to the spring melt from the mountains. The Cassiar route also gets a heavier snow load through the winter due to it being more "coastal". The freeze/thaw cycle also creates more potholes and pavement breaks that need repair. It takes the crews a while to cleanup the route in the spring. August and September are a better time to travel the Cassiar if you wish to have the best conditions.

Having said that, both the Alaska Highway and Cassiar Highway experienced washouts a couple of years ago in the spring. On the AK Hwy, a bridge washed out at Rancheria YT; crews had traffic moving again in four days. On the Cassiar, the road simply went underwater in a marshy area.

There's another troublesome spot on the Cassiar that has held us up on two separate trips; a creek usually overflows its channel and sweeps across the road. On one trip, we were piloted through the area with the water still running across the highway.

The single biggest way to cut costs, is to buy as little fuel and spend as little time as possible in Canada. If at all possible, carry as much fuel as you can and plan your fuel stops to be large towns only. Try not to buy any fuel on the Cassiar Highway. I dropped $800 on one fuel stop in deese lake this past September (1/2 tank in a U-haul & 1/3 tank in my 1 ton). I did the math, and if I had bought a 90 gallon tank and installed it in my truck, the fuel savings would have paid for the tank and install.

Well, in retro I would agree with this statement if I were just hauling goods or passing thru if I was constraint for time, noting of a U-Haul in parallel travelling with an RV rig shown here,...this is the way my philosophy was in my past trips thru Canada well before I finally got an RV rig.

However most of us that own an RV are on a vacation, and most of the RV rigs on the road tend to be near, at or over GWVR capacity to where there is no room or too heavy to add a filled 90 gallon auxiliary tank for some rigs (I wish I could add one).

I assume the $800 fuel purchase shown was a typo for an $80 fuel purchase at Dease Lake, in which is one of the highest priced fuel stops on the Cassiar Highway as I never buy fuel there (thank god for dual fuel tanks).

According to my records, Dease Lake was $1.569/litre in September 2013 when I passed thru, $1.489/litre in September 2012, $1.339/litre in July 2010.

Junction 37 at the north end of the Cassiar Hwy. was $1.519/litre in September 2013, $1.439/litre in September 2012, $1.199/litre in July 2010.

Bell II Lodge fuel prices was $1.510/litre in September 2013, $1.460/litre in September 2012, $1.250/litre in July 2010.

Kitwanga Jct at the south end of the Cassiar Hwy. was $1.399/litre in September 2013, $1.349/litre in September 2012, $1.089/litre in July 2010.

In September 2011 the Cassiar Highway severely washed out in two places by torrential rains which left motorists stranded for a few days that were located between the two washouts until the south closure had one lane open with pilot car escort, the north closure washout remained closed and was still under extensive repair.

Since the Cassiar Highway route runs along many hills and mountains over some wicked terrain, among some of these locations tend to be exposed to coastal weather conditions as especially on moderate or severe rainy days of travel I highly recommend for those to choose to commute on the Cassiar Hwy. to carry adequate spare fuel with them and to keep adequate fuel supply you feel comfortable with in case an impassible washout persists to where you might be a distance factor away from a fuel station upon potentially having to turn back in the opposite direction, there are not too many fuel stations along the Cassiar Highway compared to the Alaska Highway.

Since 2008, the fuel alone along my RV trips ranged between 65% to 68% of my total vacation cost, as my per day expenditure costs were over $150 per day when the fuel prices skyrocketed however in 2012 and 2013 that figure had lowered down under the $150 per day threshold.

Now be aware, those figures mentioned were compiled while vacationing in Northwestern Canada for every consecutive year from 2008 thru 2013, while only passing thru Interior Alaska enroute to Canada or returning home, so in other words the fuel prices in this region of Northwestern Canada are well higher than the continental US, Southern Canada and Alaska.

In comparison to fuel prices in Southern Canada being relatively cheaper vs Northern Canada prices, that can bear anywhere between a 15% to a 30% variation within Canada alone depending on what routes you take towards Alaska, however you will still need to purchase fuel somewhere within the Northern BC region where fuel will cost the most in order to reach Alaska by driving thru Canada, unless a rig has a large enough fuel capacity capable to travel well over 700 miles before refueling in order to skip a fuel purchase in BC altogether, as making one fuel stop in Alberta (cheapest fuel prices in Western Canada) and one fuel stop in the Yukon enroute to Alaska could generally save 15% to 20% on total fuel cost purchased within Canada (around $300 for my rig if it were ever capable) in comparison to most of us that don't have that capability to make two or less fuel stops in Canada to reach Alaska.

As others have noted : The best way to lower RV costs for those concerned is to increase more days on vacation (less overall cost per day) as you can control spending much less on other categories like restaurants and site fees if one feels the need to.

The price of energy increased significantly since 2004, and since 2008 our RV commuting costs have increased even more big time, in which there is hardly no way to get around the fuel price factor anywhere in North America as we have no control of pricing, but you can hedge a bit by lowering costs on other expenditures if one feels that is an issue.

No matter how fuel efficient a vehicle is versus a typical large RV, sure you can save some fuel costs that way thru Canada to Alaska, but fuel costs is still going to be one of the most expensive expenditures, and driving an RV will be the most expensive expenditure for fuel, period.

It's nice to sometimes be selective on purchasing less fuel at higher priced regions within reach along my chosen route while carrying spare fuel, while keeping comfortable in current fuel supply as dual tanks has its advantages to fill one tank by passing thru one stretch, and fill both tanks when reaching lower priced regions...

I will save roughly $40 to $50 in fuel per Canada trip by selective purchasing in the RV after comparison or around 2% in savings which helps spend it on other things, as in 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013 when filling up in Fort Nelson upon my return home, I dispense my 10 gallons of spare fuel first that I never used upon duration of the trip and immediately save $12 to $19 depending on the fuel prices between Fort Nelson and Fairbanks.

I also learned over the years in Canada when arriving to overnight in a town while having to purchase fuel, purchase it before crashing out as on one occasion the following morning I seen a 10c per litre increase and on another occasion seen another 3c per litre overnight increase....compared to lowering fuel prices which do not drop as gradually.

I have posted my total expenditures for 2012 and 2013 to give a general perspective on how my costs are broken down, as to my surprise how real close percentage wise these categories were.

The majority of admission fees and camping fees shown was due to the Rocky Mountain National Parks of Banff, Jasper, Kootenay, and Yoho, which in comparison to total vacation cost only accounted to roughly 5%, which to me was definitely worth visiting in 2011, 2012, and 2013 (so far).

2013 Expenditures Total : - $3073.93 USD - 23 days at $133.65 per day
Canada Dollars Disbursed : $2677.89 CAD - at $1.000 USD exchange rate

Fuel purchases - $2014.19 USD (65.52%) - 409.2 US gallons at $4.922 per US gal
Canada Dollars Disbursed : $1693.70 CAD - 329.6 US gallons at $5.138 per US gal within Canada
Total miles - 4789.7 (at 11.70 miles per US gallon) .4205 US cents per mile

Non fuel expenditures - $1059.74 USD (34.48%)
Canada Dollars Disbursed : $984.19 CAD at $1.000 USD exchange rate

Combined restaurant and tips - $381.90 (36.03% non fuel) or (12.42% total vacation cost)

Restaurant - $294.66 (27.80% non fuel)
Tips - $87.24 (8.23% non fuel or 29.61% added to restaurant tab)

Gifts or souvenirs - $164.45 (15.52% non fuel) or (5.35% total vacation cost)

Grocery - $159.24 (15.02% non fuel) or (5.18% total vacation cost)

Retail - $122.05 (11.51% non fuel) or (3.97% total vacation cost)

Camping - $102.90 (9.71% non fuel) or (3.35% total vacation cost)

Admission fees - $46.70 (4.40% non fuel) or (1.52% total vacation cost)

Showers - $27.40 (2.58% non fuel) or (0.89% total vacation cost)

Bar tab - $22.50 (2.12% non fuel) or (0.73% total vacation cost)

Automotive - $16.80 (1.58% non fuel) or (0.54% total vacation cost)

Internet usage - $10.00 (0.94% non fuel) or (0.33% total vacation cost)

Beverages - $3.80 (0.35% non fuel) or (0.12% total vacation cost)

Short changed - $2.00 (0.19% non fuel) or (0.06% total vacation cost)


*********************************

2012 Expenditures Total : - $3224.33 USD - 22 days at $146.56 per day
Canada Dollars Disbursed : $2743.90 CAD ($2842.46 USD) - at $0.9653 USD exchange rate

Fuel purchases - $2196.27 USD (68.11%) - 435.2 US gallons at $5.046 per US gal
Canada Dollars Disbursed : $1802.59 CAD ($1869.12 USD) - at $0.9644 USD exchange rate
354.0 US gallons at $5.280 per US gal within Canada
Total miles - 5116.1 (at 11.75 miles per US gallon) .4292 US cents per mile

Non fuel expenditures - $1028.06 USD (31.88%)
Canada Dollars Disbursed : $941.31 CAD ($973.34 USD) at $0.9671 USD exchange rate

Combined restaurant and tips - $367.55 USD (35.75% non fuel) or (11.40% total vacation cost)

Restaurant - $296.84 USD (28.87% non fuel)
Tips - $70.69 USD (6.87% non fuel or 23.81% added to restaurant tab)

Grocery - $200.07 USD (19.46% non fuel) or (6.20% total vacation cost)

Camping - $159.34 USD (15.50% non fuel) or (4.94% total vacation cost)

Gaming - $81.69 USD (7.94% non fuel) or (2.53% total vacation cost)

Gifts or souvenirs - $61.05 USD (5.94% non fuel) or (1.89% total vacation cost)

Admission fees - $40.74 USD (3.96% non fuel) or (1.26% total vacation cost)

Attractions - $36.86 USD (3.58% non fuel) or (1.14% total vacation cost)

Beverages - $26.15 USD (2.54% non fuel) or (0.81% total vacation cost)

Equipment - $22.24 USD (2.16% non fuel) or (0.69% total vacation cost)

Showers - $19.96 USD (1.94% non fuel) or (0.62% total vacation cost)

Parking - $5.17 USD (0.50% non fuel) or (0.16% total vacation cost)

Laundry - $4.14 USD (0.40% non fuel) or (0.13% total vacation cost)

Internet usage - $3.10 USD (0.30% non fuel) or (0.10% total vacation cost)

*********************************

Can't find my 2011 trip expenses at the moment but it is on a different notebook from the 2011 log, however my memory serves the per day expense was around $153 USD.

What seemed to really help on lowering the per US gallon fuel cost for 2013 was I made the adjustments of buying Canadian Dollars online when the market was favorable to do so by increasing my Canadian Dollars reserve to match the exchange rate at $1.00 par, which in comparison hedged a $62.52 USD saving fuel cost for 2013 fuel purchased in Canada, or converted to a $0.19 CAD per US gallon less price.

After withdrawing that reserve at $1.000 par to use for 2013, I deposited more US funds at the same time and converted some of it into Canadian Dollars at the $1.0250 USD rate, and sold the remaining US funds as my new reserve now stands at the $1.0313 USD rate for 2014 vacation, as I might increase that reserve rate for more purchasing power now that the current cash buy rate has just topped the $1.0700 USD mark.

Chiefelectusn wrote:
We are going in 2015. Fuel will be the largest expense, but , but my thought is go slow, see as much as you can and enjoy.
It costs what it costs! Some people will stay in RV parks others will boondock and we will do some of each. You do what you feel comfortable doing.
I have no budget, we are going to take boat trips, plane trips and eating out when and where it seems right. I have waited my whole life to get to Alaska and saving a few bucks by not seeing or doing something is not going to happen.
We have followed the 2013 blog and will follow the 2014 posts. Lots of information is posted by members and we read and evaluate want members post, thanks to all.

Spot on. In most aspects of expenditure, AK is just generally expensive..but the scenery is something special so concerns about cost shouldn't be allowed to interfere with the trip.

We are going in 2015. Fuel will be the largest expense, but , but my thought is go slow, see as much as you can and enjoy.
It costs what it costs! Some people will stay in RV parks others will boondock and we will do some of each. You do what you feel comfortable doing.
I have no budget, we are going to take boat trips, plane trips and eating out when and where it seems right. I have waited my whole life to get to Alaska and saving a few bucks by not seeing or doing something is not going to happen.
We have followed the 2013 blog and will follow the 2014 posts. Lots of information is posted by members and we read and evaluate want members post, thanks to all.

If one is taking a pleasure/sightseeing/RV trip to Alaska and doesn't go slow enough/long enough to enjoy the Canadian parts of the trip (particularly BC and the YT), you're really missing a good part of the scenery.


IMNSHO.

I averaged $107/day in 2006 on a 12,000 mile 3 mo trip from New England. Gas was was the most expensive line item.

Agree with Sue. Fuel should be the least of expense worries. The Canadian component of the Alaskan trip is huge. Stay out of the restaurants. An hour in a restaurant is the better part of a day worth of fuel. Stay out of private CGs at $35 plus a night. The northern experience is in the PPs at $12PN. The world will survive without you being being in comunication for a few days via WIFI or cellphone.

The trip north is all about what you see out of your vehicle windows but you must slow down to see stuff. The real bears are there hiding among all those rock bears & stump bears.