Any limit as to RV length on the Alaska Ferry

[flyfishing48]

Planing a 2019 Alaska trip and wanted to be sure we can get on the ferry pulling a 5th wheel that is about 35 ft long?

[soren]

sljohnson1938 wrote:

ROBERTSUNRUS wrote:

kcfissel wrote:
The only restriction is your wallet.

🙂 Hi, exactly what I was going to say; They charge by the foot $$$$$$$$$$$ and their rules are horrendous for pets, so I drove.

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a way round the pet issue. go to ebay and purchase a 'service' animal vest for your dog. then you can take your dog anywhere. problem solved.

It should be a crime to fraudulently claim that you have a need for, and are legitimately using a "service dog", when you do not.

[sljohnson1938]

2gypsies wrote:

sljohnson1938 wrote:

a way round the pet issue. go to ebay and purchase a 'service' animal vest for your dog. then you can take your dog anywhere. problem solved.

Don't tell me you're one of THOSE!!!! :((((

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no, we do not own any pet now. our last one was our dog Poodle Fifi. she left us in 2003.
she was my dog. if my wife came and sat next to me, Fifi would squeeze in between us.

[2gypsies1]

sljohnson1938 wrote:

a way round the pet issue. go to ebay and purchase a 'service' animal vest for your dog. then you can take your dog anywhere. problem solved.

Don't tell me you're one of THOSE!!!! :((((

[sljohnson1938]

ROBERTSUNRUS wrote:

kcfissel wrote:
The only restriction is your wallet.

🙂 Hi, exactly what I was going to say; They charge by the foot $$$$$$$$$$$ and their rules are horrendous for pets, so I drove.

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

a way round the pet issue. go to ebay and purchase a 'service' animal vest for your dog. then you can take your dog anywhere. problem solved.

[EEWally]

I would strongly agree with driving to Prince Rupert and starting from there. Play around with the starting date. We did and got "civilized" departure and arrival times. We needed a room only one night (on the Ketchikan to Sitka leg). The other legs were in the daylight hours.

Also, we met a couple in Whitehorse who left their big 5th wheel in Texas and, for this trip, bought a Lance camper for their Dodge diesel (like our setup). They were having a ball with their newly discovered agility!

[Grit_dog]

It’s a cool experience!
To save a buck, cut out the Bellingham to PR leg. It’s mostly open water. The scenic portion thru the inside passage is from PR north.
Know your not allowed below deck while underway and no propane use allowed so make provisions with your fridge/perishables. I ended up draining the batteries and with some pleading to the purser , they let me plug in, but it’s not allowed in general.
Pets really need to be crated so you can move the crates to the pet area below deck.
We took the ferry when we were moving to AK, so 2 dogs that I thought I could leave in the cargo trailer and the cat in the camper had to be unloaded. I was short a crate and the other 2 crates were buried in the trailer.
IMO, the biggest pain in the ___ was the pets. I wouldn’t bring em if you don’t have to.

[fanrgs]

I went to AMHS website just to see the current ferry rates. I input a 30' motor home and a 13' toad plus a cabin for 2 seniors (us!) from Bellingham to Haines with no other stops and a mid-July 2018 sailing date. The cost was $5500 one-way.

I agree with the others about the ferry loading crews. They are experts at cramming as many vehicles onboard as possible, but the tides can hamper even them at some ports. We were behind a seriously overloaded Class B with a hitch-mounted cargo carrier at Skagway and the crew had to build a ramp with timbers to finally get them onboard. Took 15 minutes to load them and less than 3 to load our truck and trailer.

[SideHillSoup]

You say you want to travel south on the Alaska Hwy again this trip. Maybe think about traveling down the Cassier Hwy 37 south from just west of Watson Lake Yukon to Hwy 16 at Kitwanga. Also if you take this route home take the short side trip on Hwy 37-A to Stewart BC & Hyder Alaska. You maybe there at a good time to view the bears feeding in fish creek.
Here is a link to the Hwy cam at the Jct with the Alaska Hwy and Hwy 37.
Hwy cam

Soup.

[soren]

I watched a large class A unload in Skagway, about a decade ago. The tide was way down, and the rig had to transition from a floating platform attached to the hull, to a very steep ramp. He started forward and began dragging the lower lip of the front cap. He stopped, with a full load of trucks, RVs and cars behind him, and the dock hands told him that he had no choice but to gun the throttle and keep moving. I don't know how badly it cracked and mangled the front cap, but it was an ugly scene to witness.

[PghBob]

As noted, the Ferry system does charge by the foot. They will ask you all about your rig(s) and pets when you book. Give correct answers. They have people on the docks who may/will measure your length if necessary. Have a great trip.

[flyfishing48]

Thank you everyone for the replies. This will be our second trip to Alaska. The first time we drove the Alcan both ways. This time we want to take the ferry to Alaska, getting off once or twice, then drive the Alcan home.
Can’t wait.

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

kcfissel wrote:
The only restriction is your wallet.

🙂 Hi, exactly what I was going to say; They charge by the foot $$$$$$$$$$$ and their rules are horrendous for pets, so I drove.

[ORbiker]

kcfissel wrote:
The only restriction is your wallet.

Indeed.

You will need reservations also and way ahead.
I've been on the ferry with my old Harley. The cabin was not very big and wasn't that expensive, but that was 10 years ago.
When it's time to load your rig there will be 2 or 3 people guiding you in. They will put you exactly where they want you. All you have to do is follow instructions. You can only go down where the vehicles are 3 times a day (on a schedule).
Pack lots of snacks and drinks because the food is expensive.

My wife and I road up the Alcan on the Harley and road the ferry from Haines to Juneau. We got off the ferry with the bike for 36 hours to see the sights and then back on the ferry for 3 nights to Prince Rupert. From there we road back down the Alcan to Oregon. It was a great experience and I would love to do it again.

[Twomed]

Practice backing if you need to...a friend was last loaded on and had to back off the ship at two ports. Cruel...but he was retired fireman, no problem.